Egypt's Museum of Islamic Art welcomes first visitors since 2014 bombing

REUTERS

Visitors look at an ancient copy of the Quran, Islam's holy book, written on parchment and dated to the Umayyad period, 8th century, during the re-opening of the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo

EGYPT---Egypt's Museum of Islamic Art, home to one of the world's most important collections of Islamic artifacts, is welcoming visitors for the first time since it was damaged in a car bombing three years ago. First opened in 1903, the museum was closed in January 2014 after a bomb attack on the Cairo police directorate across the street severely damaged its facade and dozens of exhibits. Restoration experts were able to salvage all but 19 of the 179 damaged pieces and more than 4,400 exhibits are on display, including about 400 that are being shown for the first time, Egypt's Antiquities Ministry said. [link]