Museum Materials - Qalawun VR Project

This web page presents artworks from the Museum of Islamic Art collection (Cairo, Egypt) that relate to Sultan Qalawun and his descendants and military. Seeing the actual shapes and designs of pieces from that time, and picturing how they would have been used, tells us more about how the sultans and other ruling class of that age lived.

Ms. Rasha Gamal, head of the Museum of Islamic Art’s education division, has kindly provided the photos and explanatory notes for the pieces seen here. To provide additional context in appreciating these photos and explanatory notes, the Qalawun VR Project has in some cases included supplementary materials and information from other museums and collections.

The Museum of Islamic Art has many other pieces on exhibit, some of which can be viewed on their website. For more information, please visit (https://www.miaegypt.org/).

We would like to thank Hikari Urushi (Waseda University Graduate School) and Eri Degawa (Chiba University Graduate School) for their work in putting together this web page. We very much appreciate their efforts and assistance.

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Rasha Gamal - Head of Education Section at the Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo, Egypt since 2018.

She seized several positions at Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities; inspector of Old Cairo Area, responsible for the religions complex site, member at the Scientific Research Department in Fustat area, director of the Follow-up and Coordination Department at the Museum of Islamic Art. Gamal Participated as a team member in several projects such as the project of Restoring St. George’s Church “Mar Gerges” Church in Old Cairo and el-Fustat excavation in co-operation With the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. In addition, membership in scientific archaeological committees at the Islamic and Coptic Sector at the Ministry Antiquities. She got Master’s Degree from Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University after graduation from the same institute in 2002. Her publication concentrates in adaptive reuse of historical buildings and community engagement, such as the site of the seven domes in the ancient city of Fustat area. Now Gamal is a Ph.D candidate of Islamic art in Art and Archaeology in Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University since 2020.