Restoration of the Sabil of Muhammad Ali and transforming it into a textile museum - Egypt
Monuments Restoration
:: Completed Projects
:: 2010 ::
Client: Ministry of Antiquities
Description: Archeological buildings The Sabil of Muhammad Ali is considered one of the most famous Islamic monuments, as it was built by Muhammad Ali in 1820.
The Ministry of Antiquities decided to transform the sabil into a museum of Islamic textiles, as the Arab Contractors Company implemented a rehabilitation project to re-use it and use it again to suit its function as a textile museum, such as placing internal architectural additions to suit the new use as making equipment to facilitate the movement of people with special needs, whether by creating ramps or An electric elevator worked, and a place was allocated to keep visitors’ safety, as well as a cafeteria and toilets to serve visitors, and for the building to adapt centrally, which required closing all openings to raise thermal efficiency and reduce energy losses, and the windows of the way were closed by glass. As for the exhibits, they were placed in modern glass display cabinets equipped to control the temperature and humidity inside them and to isolate the archaeological exhibits from environmental deterioration factors, because the fabric is easy to be damaged if exposed to light and heat. The museum consists of two floors with 11 halls to display textiles dating back to the Pharaonic era, some Greco-Roman pieces, textile tools and some pieces of the Coptic era. One of the most famous pieces in that museum is the covering of the Kaaba, which was made in the house of the kiswa and is part of the kiswa that was made during the reign of King Farouk, and this is the jewel in the museum’s crown.