Inside the grounds of Ain Shams University in Cairo stands the Al-Zaafarana Palace (Saffron Palace), with its exquisite 19th-century architectural style welcoming its Egyptian and international students and researchers, reports
Nevine El-Aref.

After years of restoration, the first phase of the project to turn the palace into an educational museum has been completed, and the basement has been transformed into galleries relating the history of Egypt since the ancient Egyptian era right through to modern times.

The museum which was officially inaugurated on Tuesday by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Ayman Ashour and head of Ain Shams University Mahmoud Al-Meteni, is one of few educational museums in Egypt.

Issa explained that the museum was established according to the protocol signed between the university and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) to raise the cultural and archaeological awareness of Egyptian youngsters and help them to know more about the history of their country as well as to help all type of students and researchers in their studies on Egypt’s history and civilisation.

It displays 167 artefacts carefully selected from different museums in Egypt, such as the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, the Museum of Islamic Art, the Manial Palace Museum, the Royal Carriage Museum and the Kafr Al-Sheikh Museum.

He expressed his gratitude to the university’s adminitsration board for taking good care of this magnificent palace which will be the shrine of students and researchers from Egyptian universities. He highlighted the strong scientific collaboration between the university and the ministry in the field of tourism and antiquities in the past period.