Museums of Cairo in postage stamps

As part of the Cairo millenary celebrations, the Egyptian post celebrated the three most important museums of Cairo in postage stamps. 

The Egyptian Museum

tombs of kings and the royal entourage of the middle family in Dahshur in 1894, and the museum now houses the largest Archaeological collection in the world that represents all periods of ancient Egyptian history. 

The museum was established in 1835. It was moved its current location in the center of Cairo in 1902 during the reign of the Khedive Abbas Helmi Pasha.

The Museum of Islamic Art

The Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo is the largest Islamic museum in the world. It includes a variety of Islamic art from India, China and Iran through the arts of the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Egypt, North Africa and Andalusia. The museum collections number up to one hundred thousand artifacts.

The museum was established in 1880 during the reign of Khedive Tewfik Pasha under the name of gallery of Arab Antiquities. As the museum collections increased,  the museum was moved to its current building in 1903.

The Coptic Museum

The Coptic Museum is located in the Old Cairo, within the walls of the “Babylon Fort”, that was built in the Roman era during the reign of Emperor Trajan, to be the first line of defense for the Eastern Gate of Egypt.

The museum was established in 1910, by the efforts of Morcos Samika Pasha, who is considered one of the prominent Christian figures and was interested in preserving the Coptic heritage. In 1931 the Coptic Museum became a state museum, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Antiquities.

The Coptic Museum houses the largest collection of Coptic antiquities in the world.  The antiquities displayed in the museum reflect the blending of Coptic art with the prevailing cultures including Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman, and its evolution to have its own personality and identity.

Catalogue Reference: Yvert & Tellier 790 to 792.

The face value of the stamps is 20 Millimes.