Where: Athens (12 Dipilou St)
In a few words:
Organised by the Benaki Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art’s collection includes examples of Islamic art from as far as India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Arabia, Egypt, North Africa, Sicily and Spain and ranks among the most important in the world.
Why:
Museum of Islamic Art is housed in a neo-classical building complex that is located in the historic centre of Athens, near the ancient Kerameikos cemetery. The founder of the Benaki Museum, Antonis Benakis, initially started collecting Islamic art in Egypt, where he was born. The collection narrates the evolution of Islamic civilisation from the first appearance of Islam up to the Ottoman period and the corresponding development of Islamic art up to the 19th century.
What you will see:
The museum houses more than 8,000 works of Islamic art, including ceramics, gold, metalwork, textiles and glass, smaller groupings of bone objects, inscribed funerary steles and weaponry, as well as the marble-faced interior of a reception room from a 17th century Cairo mansion.
The two carved wooden memorial door panels from 8th century Mesopotamia rank amongst the more important objects in the collection, as do the unique reed wat from 10th century Tiberias, the small brass box bearing the signature of Ismail ibn al-Ward al-Mausili dated 1200AD, the bronze astrolabe of Ahmad ibn al-Sarraj dated 1328AD, and the famous 16th century velvet saddle from Bursa.
Opening hours:
Monday: closed
Tuesday: closed
Wednesday: closed
Thursday: 10am – 6pm
Friday: 10am – 6pm
Saturday: 10am – 6pm
Sunday: 10am – 6pm
The museum is closed on the following public holidays:
March 25th, May 1st, August 15th, October 28th, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Epiphany, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Clean Monday, Holy Spirit Day.
Ticket prices (2017):
Full admission:
Full admission: €9
Reduced admission:
Reduced admission: € 7
1. Students
2. Seniors over 65 years old
3. Teachers
4. European Youth Card holders
Journalists: € 1
Combined tickets:
If you combine tickets with a Benaki Museum satellite gallery/museum visit, you are entitled to a 20% discount to said visit.
Free admission:
1. Unemployment card holders
2. Visitors under 22 years old
3. Visitors with disabilities
4. Guides
Official website:
benaki.gr