The Denshway Museum is a
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
in
Al-Minufiyah,
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 Medit ...
, 75 kilometers north west of
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
, which was established to commemorate the
Denshawai incident.
Establishment
The museum, which opened in July 1999, commemorates the
Denshawai incident, a confrontation between
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
officers and local Egyptians over the officers hunting of local pigeons
which the villagers grew for food. The museum honours the seven Egyptians who were hanged by the British on 26 June 1906.
Museum idea
In creating the museum, it was hoped to remind villagers of the history that helped to shape the region and also to provide a
cultural center
A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run.
Asia
* Cen ...
which would increase
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
in the region.
Museum design
The museum's design is that of an Egyptian pigeon tower, referring to the incident being sparked by British Army officers hunting pigeons for sport. The building has three levels, connected by stone
spiral stairs. The museum includes a replica of the
gallows
A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...
, paintings and sculptures that tell the story of the incident as it unfolded, five exhibition halls and public space.
References
History museums in Egypt
Monufia Governorate
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