Ahmed Shawki Museum is a

writer's house museum Writers' homes (sometimes writer's, author's or literary houses) are locations where writers lived. Frequently, these homes are preserved as historic house museums and literary tourism destinations, called writer's home museums, especially when t ...

dedicated to the poet and dramatist Ahmed Shawki (1869–1932).

Location

It is located on the Nile Corniche,

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9.2 ...

part of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

History

The museum is named after and dedicated to the poet and dramatist Ahmed Shawki (1869–1932), who used to live in ‘Karmet Ibn Hani’ or Ibn Hani’s Vineyardin كرمة ابن هانىء at

Al-Matariyyah El Matareya ( ar, المطرية ) is a district in the northern region of Greater Cairo, east of the Nile, in Egypt. The district is unrelated to the coastal town in the Dakahlia Governorate, that is also named El Matareya. The district's locati ...

area near the palace of the Khedive Abbas II at Saray El-Qobba until he was exiled. After returning to Egypt, he built a new house at Giza which he named the new Karmet Ibn Hani. The

house later on became Ahmed Shawki Museum. It was first acquired in 1914 and named ‘Karmet Ibn Hani’ or Ibn Hani’s Vineyard, after the poet Abu Nawwas. It takes the form of a lavish white palace surrounded by a green garden and officially opened on 17 June 1977.

Exterior

The museum is noted for its

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

statues. In the garden, there is a large statue of the poet, created by late Egyptian sculptor

Gamal El-Sagini Gamal El-Sagini (Arabic: جمال السجيني) (January 7, 1917 – November 19, 1977) was an Egyptian sculptor, painter and medalist. Childhood and Education Born on January 7, 1917, in Bab El Shaaria, a poor suburb of ''Cairo'', ''Egypt' ...

. The statue was erected in a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the poet's death. It is however a replica, as the Italian Government ordered in 1962 that it be erected in the Borghese Park,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, alongside the statues of other world artistic figures. The ceremony was attended by the Egyptian and Italian Ministers of Culture, the Mayor of Rome, and many Arab artists, poets, and writers. There are also bronze statues of torch-bearing cherubic messengers. The torches represent enlightenment.

Interior

Ground floor

On the ground floor is the

Mohammed Abdel Wahab ''Mohamed Abdel Wahab'' ( ar, محمد عبد الوهاب), also transliteration, transliterated ''Mohamed Abd El-Wahhab'' (March 13, 1902 – May 4, 1991), was a prominent 20th-century Egyptian singer, actor, and composer. He is best known fo ...

Suite which comprises Ahmed shawki's library with 332 books and valuable draft manuscripts of poems hand-written by the poet on plain paper. There is also work related to singer and composer Mohammed Abdel Wahhab who was introduced to art by Shawqi and once practised and performed for Ahmed Shawki. There is a high-quality audio library in the museum containing such recordings.

Upper floor

The upper floor comprises his bedroom with his grand bed with high brass poles, a dressing table, photographs and then the room of Mrs. Khadija Hanem Shaheen, the poet's wife noted for its old-style elegant furniture and brass effigies of

cherubim A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

. There is a room on the upper floor containing more than 713 manuscripts and drafts of the poet's work and also a collection of oil paintings, antiques and photographs related to Shawki's life. Next to the study, there is a room presenting his accolades, ranging from gifts and certificates, to insignias and badges of honor including an encased gala uniform.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Museums in Cairo Shawki, Ahmed Literary museums in Egypt Poetry museums Historic house museums in Egypt Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in Africa Art museums and galleries in Egypt Museums established in 1977 Houses in Egypt Gardens in Egypt Buildings and structures in Giza 1977 establishments in Egypt Arab art scene