Antiquity minister inspects restoration works of Museum of Islamic Art

 Minister of Antiquity Khaled al Anani praised the efforts exerted to restore the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) located in Cairo's old district of Bab al Khalq.

The MIA will be inaugurated soon before local and international visits.

The minister made a tour of the MIA early Sunday to get briefed on the preparations needed before its opening. He was accompanied by Head of the Museums' Sector Elham Salahuddine and Head of the Projects Sector at the Ministry Engineer Waad Mohammad Abul Ela.

The minister pressed the necessity for offering all facilities to local and foreign visitors as well as providing the necessary guides to inform visitors about the Islamic civilization.

In recent years, the museum has displayed about 2,500 artefacts in 25 galleries, but it houses more than 102,000 objects, with the remainder in storage. The collection includes rare manuscripts of the Qur'an, with some calligraphy written in silver ink, on pages with elaborate borders.

On January 24, 2014 a car bomb attack targeting the Cairo police headquarters on the other side of the street caused considerable damage to the museum and destroyed many artifacts. It's estimated that 20-30% of the artifacts needed restoration. The blast also severely damaged the buildings facade, erasing intricate designs in the Islamic style. The Egyptian National Library and Archives in the same building was also affected.