The Taha Hussein Museum chronicles fruitful chapters of the life of Dr. Taha Hussein, the blind man-of-letters who was widely acknowledged as the Doyen of Arab Literature. The museum is opened at Hussein’s two-storey villa, in which he lived from 1955 until his death. His widow died in 1989. The museum’s first floor is now a showcase for the landlord’s publications, studies and foreign books he translated into Arabic. The first floor also has Dr. Hussein’s study and the reception, in which he used to entertain preeminent members in the literary community, writers, artists and art scholars on Sundays.
Visitors will be greeted by a bronze bust of Dr. Taha Hussein made by sculptor Abdel-Kader Rezk. The exhibits also include five sculptures and a number of paintings made by Egyptian painters: Youssef Kamel, Ragheb Ayyad, Mohammed Nagy and Ahmed Sabry. The museum’s invaluable assets include more than 100 rare recordings of classic music and up to 3000 books. The second floor displays the landlord’s bedroom, his memorabilia and personal belongings of his wife. The Ministry of Culture bought the villa in 1992 to turn it into a museum. His family appreciatively collaborated with the ministry by offering his international and national recognitions and mentions to the museum, including the Nile Medallion. Moreover, the ministry wisely decided to open a new cultural facility, Ramatan Cultural Centre, to continue the cultural role the villa used to play during its landlord’s life. The museum was re-opened by the government on July 15, 1997