Egyptian Museums

This book offers a fresh perspective on the origins and development of Egyptian museums over two centuries, beginning with the inception of the first Egyptian museum in Azbakeya, Cairo, in 1836, conceived by Rifa'a al-Tahtawi and Muhammad Ali Pasha, the founder of modern Egypt. This vision revived Egypt's pioneering role as the cradle of the first museum in the ancient world, established in Alexandria in the third century BC. The book even presents evidence demonstrating that ancient Egyptian temples served as museums for millennia. Within the context of the modern development of museums in Egypt, it reinterprets the profound connection between Egyptian museums and the study of ancient Egyptian archaeology in the modern era. It exposes the influence of colonial ambitions on shaping Egyptian museums and Egyptian culture, a phenomenon evident in the traditional Egyptian concept of the museum, which reflects Western intervention and attempts to reduce it to the conventional image. Therefore, the author does not adopt a traditional historical approach; instead, he presents a new perspective that poses questions and seeks answers within the folds of history, events, and individuals, striving to re-examine details and analyze facts and evidence. The book presents evidence regarding the origins of museums, their stages of development, diversity, and the reasons for the availability of certain types of museums at the expense of others, or the absence of some despite their importance. It concludes with an analysis of Egyptian museum administration and a comprehensive classification of all Egyptian museums.