“Switzerland is committed to supporting Egypt’s efforts to protect its rich heritage. Cherishing arts and culture is an important statement against violence and intolerance. The museum has seen a large influx of visitors since the opening and we expect that it will draw even bigger crowds in the coming period,” says Markus Leitner, the Ambassador of Switzerland in Egypt. Since its official opening - with free entrance- on January 18, 2017, the museum received over 25,000 visitors, 70 percent of whom were local visitors and 30 percent foreigners, said Ahmed Al-Shoky, Director of the Museum. Entrance will now be through purchased tickets.
Egypt’s Museum of Islamic Art opens this Week to the Public
Local news, 07.02.2017
CAIRO – The Museum of Islamic Art and Manuscript Museum of Dar El-Kotob opened this week to the public, following years of restoration work to repair damages by a January 2014 bomb attack in Cairo’s Bab El-Qhalq area. Switzerland contributed 550,000 Egyptian pounds ($78,000) (exchange rate of 2016) to the restoration work along with the bulk of the funds provided by the Government of the United Arab Emirates and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
