The Gayer Anderson Museum (arabic :Kartliya House) is a museum in Cairo (Egypt) with themes of traditional Islamic home decors, architecture, art, archeology and curiosity. It is named after a British Officer Robert (also "John") Gayer Anderson, who lived in the house from 1935 to 1942 with special permission from the Egyptian government , the house contains decors and furnished antiques.
The building, whose main parts were constructed in the nineteenth and seventeenth centuries, is structurally based on the world-famous Ibn Tulun Mosque from the ninth century AD.
The building Part
The current museum consists of two old residential buildings.
The oldest building was built by Haji Muhammad bin al-Hajj Salim bin Jalman al-Jazzar in 1540. Residents called it “Beit Amna Bint Salim” after its later owner Amna the daughter of Salem al-Jazzar.
The smaller building was built by the wealthy merchant Abd al-Qadir al-Haddad in 1670.
Both buildings belong to the residential development that spread over the centuries in the “Sayyida Zeinab today” area and grew up to the Ibn Tulun Mosque. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the walls of the mosque were invisible.
His last British rank was Major. After retiring in 1924, Gayer Anderson set up in Cairo and continued his collecting activity. Later, King Farouk appointed him a (major general) and he received the honorary title of Pasha.
In 1935 R.G. Gayer Anderson gained a permission to move to the renovated building next to the Ibn Tulun Mosque. Work continued to modernize the building and to install Power and supply lines. He also repaired wells and sidewalks home.
During this time, he continued working on expanding his collection, displaying it and showing it at home. In addition, he furnished the house with traditional furniture and carpets. It is becoming more and more like a museum.
In 1945, Robert Grenfell Jair Anderson passed away.
The smaller building was built by the wealthy merchant Abd al-Qadir al-Haddad in 1670.
It was later acquired by a woman from Crete, who also called it "House of Crete," a name that was later called for the entire group.
Both buildings belong to the residential development that spread over the centuries in the “Sayyida Zeinab today” area and grew up to the Ibn Tulun Mosque. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the walls of the mosque were invisible.
In the context of efforts to facilitate access to Islamic monuments in Cairo, the Egyptian government began in 1928 demolishing the houses surrounding the Ibn Tulun Mosque. The Committee for the Preservation of Arab Antiquities opposed the demolition of the Kartliya House because this semi-detached house was much better than the other buildings surrounding the mosque. This ensemble has been preserved and the side walls strengthened so that the building will survive even after the neighboring houses are demolished.
The name
The British of Irish descent, Robert Grenville Gayer Anderson (1881-1945) that obtained a medical degree in England in 1903 and was enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps as a medical officer in the year. In 1906 he was assigned to the Egyptian army where he worked, among other things, as a recruiting officer. His love for Egyptian culture developed during his time in the army and later he served as Oriental Secretary to the High Commissioner.
His last British rank was Major. After retiring in 1924, Gayer Anderson set up in Cairo and continued his collecting activity. Later, King Farouk appointed him a (major general) and he received the honorary title of Pasha.
In 1935 R.G. Gayer Anderson gained a permission to move to the renovated building next to the Ibn Tulun Mosque. Work continued to modernize the building and to install Power and supply lines. He also repaired wells and sidewalks home.
During this time, he continued working on expanding his collection, displaying it and showing it at home. In addition, he furnished the house with traditional furniture and carpets. It is becoming more and more like a museum.
In 1942 he returned to England for health reasons and he handed over his home in Cairo, along with the furnishings and part of the collection, to the Egyptian government. In England, he and his twin brother Colonel Thomas Gayer Anderson, Who was also an avid collector of Egyptian antiquities, had a home in Lavenham, Suffolk, called "Little Hall". In 1943,
The brothers inherited the majority of their ancient Egyptian artifacts, totaling some 7,500 items, to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.A room in the Museum's "Egyptian Galleries" is named after the "Gayer Anderson Room".
In 1945, Robert Grenfell Jair Anderson passed away.
In 1947, the ancient Egyptian bronze statue of Cat arrived at the British Museum in London, which Jair Anderson donated to the museum in 1939. This artwork caused a sensation at the time and is still known today as the "Gayer-Anderson Cat". A copy is now in the Gayer Anderson Museum in Cairo
The building as a museum
The complex of buildings in Cairo is now open to tourists as a museum and can be visited for a fee. Managed by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the museum entrance is located between the outer and inner walls near the main entrance to the Ibn Tulun Mosque.
Visiting dates: -
From nine o'clock in the morning until five o'clock in the evening.
Ticket price: -
Entrance ticket price for Egyptians: -
The price of the entry ticket for Egyptians is 10 Egyptian pounds, on different days.
Ticket price for Egyptian students: -
The price of the ticket is 5 pounds, provided that the current university card is presented.
Ticket price for foreigners: -
The price of entrance ticket for foreigners is only 60 pounds.
Foreign ticket price: -
Ticket value entry value for the foreign student 30 pounds.
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