A visit to Textile Museum

CAIRO - 8 September 2017: Do you know that Egypt has the only textile museum in the Middle East? The Textile Museum in Muezz Street in Cairo displays fine collections of textile from the Pharaonic, the Roman, Coptic and Islamic eras. It is proof that Egypt’s lengthy history is not only documented on papyrus or stones, but also knitted in garments.


The ceiling of one of the halls


Statues of men in a workshop

The collection of the Ancient Egyptian textiles contains clothes, bed sheets, mummy covers, cushionsand even diapers. Beside the pieces of cloth, the museum also displays small statues of men, women, servants, and gods with their outfit carved on their bodies to display the variation in their dress codes.


A belt from the Old Egyptian Kingdom and a piece of cloth from the New Kingdom


Statue of a priest clad in a baggy shirt tied with a broad sash


Three women clad in white carrying sacrifices


A shroud painted with a portrait of the diseased


Mummy Cover

The section that displays the Roman era holds a number of sowing tools beside the textilesas well as a small model of a spinning and weaving workshop.


The entrance of the Roman section


Long-sleeved baby's tunic, fourth century

The Coptic areain the Museum shows this era was revolutionary in the textile production in terms of colors, and the use of other materials, as cotton, wool and silk.


Tools from the Coptic era

The Islamic section features different styles of Arabic calligraphy and holds parts of a cover of the Ka’ba, which Egypt used to produce.



Linen and wool Coptic garment


Piece of the Kaaba cover

The museum finally displays some pieces from outside Egypt, mostly from Iran.


A piece of silk textile from 16th century Iran

The lights of the museum are dim which is not very helpful for photographers, but this is because the lights, temperature and humidity are controlled to preserve the antiquities.

The museum's tickets are fairlyaffordable. Foreigners are charged LE 20 ($1.13) per adult and LE 10 per student; Egyptians are charged LE 10 per adult and LE 5 per student. Photography ticket is for LE 50.