Egypt’s Min. of Tourism & Antiquities inspects Royal Chariots Museum

CAIRO – 25 October 2020: Egypt’s Minister of Tourism & Antiquities Khaled el-Anani, inspected the Royal Chariots Museum in Bulaq on October 25, to witness the latest works and place the final touches in preparation for its imminent opening.

During the inspecting tour Anani was accompanied by the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mustafa Waziri, Assistant Minister for Archaeological Sites Development Iman Zeidan and a number of the ministry’s leaders.

The tour included inspecting the exhibition halls, the courtyard, and the fountain in addition to reviewing the museum's guiding signs.

The museum will house unique artifacts, showing different means of transport used by kings and rulers of that era, in addition to the chariots that had been used in the different occasions.

It is considered one of the rarest museums, as it is the fourth of its kind in the world after the museums of Russia, England and Austria.

The Royal Chariots Museum was established during the reign of Khedive Ismail (1863-1879).

The museum’s restoration project began in 2001 and came to a halt several years ago. The restoration work was launched again in the museum in 2017 after it was suffering from great neglect. The cost of restoration amounts to about LE 63 million.

The museum’s development works included building rehabilitation, structural reinforcement, facade restoration, architectural finishes, as well as equipping and preparing the exhibition halls.

The museum was also provided with a visual exhibition hall to screen documentary films on royal vehicles. Also, a new exhibition scenario was set inside the museum's five halls shedding light on all the unique artifacts the museum houses.

A restoration laboratory with the latest scientific equipment was established inside the museum.

The five main halls in the museum include the Antikkhana Hall, which will display vehicles and chariots gifted to the Alawite family on various occasions; the Reception Hall, which has a screen to display documentaries on the time of the Alawite family; the Gamallon Hall, which displays the rarest types of vehicles; the Royal Events Hall which includes a group of chariots that were used by members of the Alawite family on official occasions in addition to oil paintings of kings, queens, princesses and princes of the Alawite Family; and last but not least, The Hosan Hall, which includes a group of costumes that were used by employees of the royal vehicles and chariots.

Additional reporting by Angy Essam