In Pics: Visit Ismailia Museum during house quarantine

CAIRO - 10 May 2020: ET brings Ismailia Museum to you during the government-imposed house quarantine, imposed as a precautionary measure to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ismailia Museum is one of the oldest museums in Egypt. The museum was built by engineers working for the Suez Canal International Maritime Company (currently Suez Canal Authority). It was built in the form of a pylon.

The Ismailia Museum is famous for displaying a variety of unique artifacts that were discovered in the Suez Canal region and the Sinai region.

The idea of establishing a national museum in Ismailia came in conjunction with the digging of the Suez Canal (1859-1869). The goal of its creation was to find a place to preserve and display the discovered monuments in a manner that is easy to study. During the year 1934, the museum was officially opened.

The museum contains about 3,800 artifacts covering various historical stages of the Egyptian civilization. Among the most important pieces that have been unearthed in Ismailia Governorate is a granite statue of the Sphinx from the Middle Kingdom, in addition to a marble sarcophagus of a man named Djedhor dating back to the Ptolemaic era.

Furthermore, a pyramid from the era of King Ramses II was unearthed in the city of East Qantara during the digging works of the Suez Canal.