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About
The palace hosts temporary exhibitions of Egyptian and international art within one of Cairo's most richly decorated early twentieth-century interiors.
Built in 1907 to designs by the Italian architect Antonio Lasciac for Ali Fahmy Pasha, commander of the army under King Fouad I, and named after his daughter Aisha, the palace stands on 2,700 square metres on the Nile in Zamalek. Annexed to the arts authority of the Ministry of Culture in 1975, it briefly served as a designated jewellery museum before becoming the Zamalek Arts Complex, an important showcase for Egyptian artists in the 1980s and 1990s. Registered as a monument in 2010, it reopened in May 2017 after a long restoration of its frescoes, silk-lined walls, stained glass and Japanese room. Managed by the Fine Arts Sector, it hosts temporary exhibitions in its salons and a 1,000-square-metre basement gallery.
Why this museum matters
Exhibo editorial
Aziz Abaza Street, on the Nile edge of Zamalek: a palace the Italian architect Antonio Lasciac built in 1907 for Ali Fahmy, army chief under King Fouad, and named for his daughter Aisha. Silk on the walls, frescoes, carved fireplaces, a triple-arched stained-glass window over the staircase, and upstairs a Japanese room with gilded figures and lacquer. In 1975 the state gave it to the arts; for a decade from 1978 it was meant to hold the royal jewels; then it became the Arts Complex where a generation of Egyptian artists of the 1980s and 1990s first showed. Closed for fifteen years, it reopened in 2017. Now the exhibitions change — Monet and Renoir one season, Umm Kulthum the next — and the rooms are half the reason to go.
Visit
Hours, tickets, and directions for Aisha Fahmy Palace (Zamalek Arts Complex).
Address
1 Aziz Abaza Street, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt
Opening hours
- Monday
- 09:00 – 16:00
- Tuesday
- 09:00 – 16:00
- Wednesday
- 09:00 – 16:00
- Thursday
- 09:00 – 16:00
- Friday
- Closed
- Saturday
- 09:00 – 16:00
- Sunday
- 09:00 – 16:00
Open to visitors mainly when an exhibition is on; some exhibitions open until 21:00. Closed on Fridays.