Coptic Museum, Cairo (must see)

The Cairo Coptic Museum is the repository of the largest collection of early Egyptian Christian art in the world. The displays tell the tale of Egypt between the age of the Pharaohs and Islamic rule.

The museum was established by Markus Simaika Pasha in 1910. It was built on land intended for a Coptic Church after the founder obtained permission from the Pope Cyril V of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The building and surrounding garden cover an area of 8000 square meters. It contains objects donated by the Coptic community and artifacts that were once housed in the Egyptian Museum. It became a State Museum in 1931.

Exhibits at the Coptic Museum are arranged on two floors. The third floor has a library with 1200 of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts, a valuable collection of early Christian Gnostic texts found near the town of Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt. The library is only open to researchers and historians. The first floor has religious artifacts and objects made of carved stone, stucco work, religious frescoes, and wooden objects. The second floor has textiles, manuscripts, a valuable collection of Coptic icons and metal objects. It has a collection of over 16,000 works of art of which 12,000 are displayed at a given time.

Why You Should Visit:
Well organized and spacious; the dresses, manuscripts, sculptures, etc. induce a journey back into time by 1500-2000 years.

Tip:
The entry ticket is only to the museum; all other churches, the synagogue, structures around are free to visit and are indeed beautiful.
If you plan to take pictures inside, make sure you pay the extra fee at the entrance and keep the ticket you get.