Sherif Khairy
Throughout thousands of years of history, Egypt has witnessed the rule of different regimes and empires: from the era of the Pharaohs, to the time of the Khedives, passing by Fatimid Egypt, Ottoman Egypt, to King Farouk’s Egypt. As such Egypt’s heritage encompasses numerous cultures, ethnicities, religions, and even architectural styles.
The notion of an inclusive diversity Cairo is something that is being celebrated and embraced in the best of ways by Cairo’s Museum of Islamic Art, whereby the museum has decided to give blind/partially sighted and deaf/hard of hearing people a means of enjoying the beautiful artefacts housed in and displayed by the museum.
Dr, Mamdouh Othman, General Director of the Museum of Islamic Art, stated that during the museum’s celebration tomorrow (May 16th, 2018) of the International Museum Day, they will install explanatory labels for a number of artefacts in the museum in the language of Braille. But that’s not all, this will be in addition to a guided tour in sign language, allowing for even more inclusivity.
Celebrations do not stop here. In addition to a lecture about the Kufiya writing style in Fatimid Cairo, the General Director added that there will be a gallery of handcrafted products, and it will include over 30 pieces that have been made and produced in the museum itself. All these products were manufactured during the past year, and production was made possible through many workshops and training courses that have been organised in the museum to give people an opportunity to gain the required skills for making those artefacts. Here’s to more development in every part of our cultural and touristic entities.