On Al-Muizz street in the Al-Nahassin area stands the Sabil (water fountain) of Mohammed Ali Pasha that is scheduled to open Wednesday night. The Sabil has been closed to the public since April of this year for restoration and maintenance and Antiquities Minister Mamdouh El Damty is set to reopen it, according to Ahram Online.
The historic Sabil, which was originally built during the Mohammed Ali Pasha era to memorialize his son Ismail who met his tragic death in Sudan in 1822, is made of a rectangular hall leading to the Tassbil Hall. The Ottoman Empire's logo, a crescent and a star, illuminates the areas above the windows. The prominent style of decorating of most of Mohammed Ali's monuments and buildings, Rococo and Baroque style, can be seen on the Sabil's wooden decorations.
The museum exhibits 250 ancient textile pieces and 15 carpets dating from the late Pharaonic era to the Coptic and Islamic Ages in Egypt. A collection of tools and instruments used by the ancient Egyptians as well as a long line of illustrations and drawings that will demonstrate the different stages of how ancient Egyptians used to go by their day are exhibited. Muslim clerics' outfits and a wide variety of icons and clothing from different times of the Islamic era are also on display.
"One of the most beautiful pieces on display is a red bed cover decorated with gold and silver threads. It is believed to have been a gift by Mohammed Ali Pasha to his daughter for her wedding. Another astonishing piece is a large cover for the Kaaba in Mecca which was sent by King Fouad of Egypt to Saudi Arabia," Damaty told Ahram Online. "The black velvet textile is embellished with verses from the Quran and was woven with gold and silver threads."
Mohammed Abdel Aziz, the assistant antiquities minister for Islamic and Coptic antiquities, said that the restoration work done at the museum was complete. The work involved restoring cracks on the walls and floor, delicate restorations of all of the Sabil's stone and wooden decorative elements as well as upgrading its security systems to reach international museum standards.