Considered one of the oldest
qualitative museums in the world, the museum is also one of the most important
museums dedicated to chariots globally. It had been under restoration
and development until recently, with the restoration having started in 2001 and
suspended several times until properly resuming in 2017. Development included
rehabilitation of the building and its structural support, the restoration of
its façades, and finalizing all architectural finishes.
The basalt on the floor of the
hall remains the same since the museum was first established during the reign
of Khedive Ismail (1863-1879).
The museum includes a
collection of horse gear and supplies, and clothing for carriage workers. It also features a collection
of oil paintings depicting kings and princesses from the era.
The Royal Chariots Museum’s
main purpose is to shed light on unique artifacts through the museum’s five
exhibition halls, and plays a role as a strong and important addition to
Egypt’s archaeological sector.
The second hall is an open-air
exhibition hall in which the rarest types of vehicles are displayed such as the
Alay chariot, horse-drawn carriages manufactured with certain specifications
for kings and senior statesmen.
The third hall is the main
hall of the museum. It displays the carriages used by members of the Muhammad
Ali dynasty during various official occasions, in addition to oil paintings of
the dynasty’s royal family members.
In the fourth hall, you will
find the clothes of stablemen, and a set of special accessories used to
decorate the horses in the fifth hall.
A special celebration was held for opening the Royal Chariots Museum, launched by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, in the presence of many ministers, public figures and 50 ambassadors from different countries. Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khaled al-Anany, said that the museum enjoys the possession of purely Egyptian antiquities.
Source: egyptindependent
