5 Amazing Archaeological Houses in Cairo

As Egypt’s ancient capital, Cairo has countless historical and archaeological houses. From wealthy merchants to ordinary citizens, millions of people have lived there, leaving behind traces in time.

Here are some of the top archaeological houses in Cairo you should visit.

Top Archaeological Houses in Cairo

Beit Zeinab Khatoun

Beit Zeinab Khatoun, or the Home of Zeinab Khatoun, is an archaeological house located behind Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. In 1486, Princess Shaqra Hanim, Sultan Qalawun’s granddaughter, built this stunning house. 

With its beautiful design and splendid construction, this archaeological house in Cairo became a destination for filming sets for movies and television series.

Mohamed Bey Alfi was a senior Mamluk of Murad Bey. He was brought up in 1775 and eventually ended up with Murad Bey, one of the top Mamluk emirs until he became one of the Mamluk princes himself. Mohamed Bey Alfi was a rich man who built palaces and houses and owned many servants and mamluks. As soon as the French campaign descended upon Egypt, Mohamed Bey fled with Murad Bey to Upper Egypt. 

Napoleon Bonaparte made the Al Alfy Palace his residence. After Murad Bey allied himself with the French, according to which he became the ruler of Upper Egypt, Al-Alfi left him to continue his fight against the French. 

When the English came to Egypt to expel the French from it, he allied himself with them, but after they left Egypt in 1802, according to the Treaty of Amiens, he became in confrontation with the Turks, so he fled to Upper Egypt. 

However, he continued to correspond with the English to return to Egypt and help him to seize its throne, which Muhammad Ali Pasha had ascended to. Eventually, he defeated two of Muhammad Ali’s armies in Beni Suef and Rahmaniyah, until he died in 1807 on his way to Upper Egypt following a failed siege of Damanhour.

Zainab Khatoon was one of Mohamed Bey Al-Alfi’s maids. Alfie Bey freed her, so Zainab married a prince named Sherif Hamza al-Kharbutli. She became a princess, with the title of Khatoun, meaning honourable and venerable woman, so her name became Zainab Khatoun.

Her husband bought Shaqra Hanim’s house as a gift for her. Despite rumours that women in the Mamluk and Ottoman eras were isolated behind mashrabiyas and their role was limited to harems, Zeinab Khatoun proved otherwise. 

1798, the French campaign came to Egypt, and the Egyptians’ struggle against foreign occupation began. Zainab Khatun sheltered the guerrillas and the wounded who sought refuge in her house from the French. Twenty-seven corpses were found in the house, buried in an underground basement, believed to be the bodies of the wounded that Zainab Khatoun had sheltered inside her home. 

The house is at the centre of Egyptian history.

The entrance to the house was designed so that the guest could not see who was inside, which is what was called in Islamic architecture “the broken entrance.” As soon as you pass through the entrance to the inside of the house, you will find yourself in a large courtyard surrounding the four corners.

Beit Zainab Khatun follows the designs of Fatimid Cairo, similar to the house of al-Hrawi, which was built in 1486, the same year in which Beit Zainab Khatoun was constructed and is located opposite it, as well as the house of al-Suhaimi. The courtyard was an essential feature of the architecture of homes in the Mamluk and Ottoman eras. 

The princess’ rooms include the birthing corner on the third floor, characterized by elaborate coloured glass that illuminates it with different colours when sunlight falls on it. On the left side of the room, a door leads to the “sandala”, which contains the upper bed where the woman stayed after giving birth. After the lady gave birth, she would go up to the barge and leave the room only after forty days because the child’s immunity was weak in the first forty days. Therefore, the sandals isolated the child and the mother from harm that might affect their health.

The ground floor contains a mill, grain storage rooms, a kitchen, and a water well. The first floor includes the summer room on the south side, attached to a small bedroom. On the second upper floor are two halls, one of which is the great hall of the harem, covered by a wooden ceiling with a rattle in the middle. The hall contains a mashrabiya overlooking the courtyard of the house, and attached to the hall is a small bathroom consisting of three small rooms covered by empty domes filled with coloured glass. 

This archaeological house in Cairo reflects the masterpieces of Islamic arts in the Mamluk and Ottoman era. Its unique decorative elements include marble and stucco pieces intertwined with coloured glass and wooden ceilings decorated with floral and geometric motifs.

Gayer-Anderson House and Museum In Cairo

The Gayer-Anderson House and Museum (aka Bayt al-Kritliyya) is next to Ahmad ibn Tulun’s Mosque in Sayyida Zeinab, Cairo. The house dates back to the 17th century and is named after Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson Pasha, a member of the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1904 who lived there between 1935 and 1942 and worked with the Egyptian Army in 1907. 

When he retired in 1919, he began working as a Senior Inspector in the Egyptian Ministry of Interior. He continued to live in Egypt, focusing his interests on Egyptology and Oriental Studies.

Before Anderson, Bayt al-Kritliyya gained its former name because a wealthy woman from Crete owned it, so it was named the “House of the Woman from Crete.” 

The museum consists of two houses, one built in 1632 by Hagg Mohamed Salem Galmam El- Gazzar, while the second was built in 1540 by Abdel-Qader al-Haddad, also known as Beit Amna bint Salim in commemoration of its last owner. At one point, the two houses were connected via a bridge constructed on the third floor.

In the 1930s, Anderson enriched the house further with his collections of art and furnishings, which he gathered from all around Egypt. Before he fell ill in his early forties and had to leave the country, he gifted the house and its contents to the Egyptian government to be turned into a museum. In return for his thoughtful gesture, King Farouk of Egypt bestowed him the title of Pasha.

Over the years, the house has been used as a set for many Egyptian and foreign films, including the famous James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.

The house is divided into two sections: the Haramlik, where the women resided, and the Salamlik, where visitors were received. It is one of the best stops for any Egyptian adventure.

Other sections of the house include the Mak’ad, or the reception room, which is decorated with many objects, including brass bowls dating back to the 14th and 17th centuries. 

The Reading room has a window seat and shelves with Islamic designs, while its walls are decorated with Chinese flower paintings. The Writing Room now serves as an office for the museum’s curator. 

A secret chamber is hidden behind a door that looks like a regular cupboard and is used as a hiding place for people or objects in cases of emergency.

The Persian room holds furniture from the later Persian period, except for the bed, which is from Egypt. Then comes the Byzantine room, which connects the Haramlik and the Salamlik. 

The ancient Egyptian room was Anderson’s study. It contains an ancient map of Egypt engraved on an ostrich egg, an 18th-century black and gold mummy case, and a bronze ancient Egyptian cat statue with gold earrings.

The Mohamed Ali room is an Ottoman apartment with green and gold walls and Rococo furniture, including a throne chair. Anderson himself brought the 17th-century Damascus room from Damascus.

Many legends surround the Gayer Anderson Museum, such as a story about the circumstances of its building. It is said that the house was built on the remains of an ancient mountain called Gebel Yashkur (Hill of Thanksgiving), which is to be where Noah’s Ark stopped after the flood, and that the floodwater went into the well in the courtyard of the house. 

The famous well is also said to have miraculous qualities, so much so that if a lover looks into the water, they see the face of their beloved reflected in it. It is said that when the house was two separate houses, a young man lived in one, and a beautiful young woman lived in the other. 

Legend has it that a young woman looked into the well, and because of her incredible beauty, the well overflowed with water. So she fled in fear and bumped into the young man living in the opposite house. They immediately fell in love and eventually married, merging the two houses.

El Set Wasilla House In Cairo

El Set Wasilla House is located behind the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. It is characterized by its beauty of design and splendour of construction and represents a unique model of architecture in the Ottoman era. It is considered an archaeological and cultural attraction called the House of Poetry.

In 1646, the brothers Abd al-Haq and Lutfi, the sons of Muhammad al-Kinani, built a house on Atfa Al-Aini Street, next to Abdel Rahman Al-Hrawi’s home and a few meters from Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. The founding text on the house’s walls indicates that it was built by Haj Abd al-Haq and his brother Lutfi, sons of Muhammad al-Kinani, in the year 1074 AH/1664 AD. 

Then the ownership of the house moved from one person to another until it landed in the hands of Wassila Khatun bint Abdullah al-Bayda Matoukh. She was the last person to inhabit the house, so it was known by her name and attributed to her.

Wasila Khatun, who died on 4 May 1835 AD, is not recorded in history, but she seems to have been an influential lady in the neighbourhood, so they immortalized her name, and the house became well-known after that.

Like most ancient Islamic houses, the house was designed to preserve the privacy of its inhabitants. It was designed so that its people could see the outside, but at the same time, those outside could not eavesdrop on or see the house’s inhabitants. 

Therefore, its entrance is designed not to reveal the inside of the house. It then leads to the courtyard containing grain stores, a horse stable, a mill, a servants’ room, and a Mandara. To the right of the door is the water well. The house’s courtyard is open, and a wooden seat is in the middle. 

The house is characterized by two octagonal domes topped by a pyramidal cover, providing light into the room. The home’s ground floor includes the main hall, which consists of two iwans – two levels from the ground – and between them is a fountain at a depth of 90 centimetres that was recently discovered. The presence of these iwans is because they allow the most significant possible number of attendees to see each other while visiting the house, in addition to the highs and lows in the hall helping move the air inside.

The hall’s ceiling includes a “sistrum,” a hollow wooden lantern illuminating the area. Overlooking the main entrance is a group of mashrabiyas, where women used to sit to listen to the singers performing below. 

A wooden staircase leads to the first floor, including the summer residence, in the house’s courtyard. Its roof contains many Ottoman inscriptions and the house’s founding text. To the right is the bedroom, which provides rare oil paintings and a large portrait of a coastal city symbolizing Turkey. 

The second floor includes another hall and a bathroom with a bathtub and stove, where fires were lit to heat the water. Next to it is a dressing room, and finally, the roof, which was not essential to the house’s inhabitants.

The restoration of this house was completed in 2005. During the restoration, a part of the old bathroom was found, which is unique and one of the most essential and beautiful bathroom designs in Islamic architecture. It consists of two rooms; its ceiling is decorated with stunning decorations, and its walls are white marble. 

The restoration process also revealed the house’s central nave fountain and mill. The house was almost demolished two years ago, but the restoration included removing all the dust, worn areas, and waste. Then, the stone facade on the southeast side was revived. It consists of three openings resembling spindles, followed by a rectangular door closed by a wooden shutter, representing the current entrance to the house.

The main section of the house is the large hall on the ground floor, where guests are received. It is now used as a space for poetry readings, with a stage at the far end of the wall and several rows of chairs. In front of the stage is also an old well that was discovered during the renovation process. It is said that this well predates the house itself and is considered the oldest known well in Egypt.

Sinnari House In Cairo

Sinnari House is one of the few remaining palaces that were built for the elite class in Egypt. It is in the Nasiriyah neighbourhood of Sayeda Zainab. The house was built in 1794. It was established by Ibrahim Katkhuda al-Sinari, one of the mamluks affiliated with Prince “Murad Bey” until he became one of Cairo’s notable figures and died in 1801. The house was part of a three-house complex, but Al-Sinari House is the only remaining one.

The house was confiscated by the French in 1798 to house the members of the Science and Arts Committee that accompanied Napoleon’s military mission to conduct a systematic study of the country, the most important result of which was the book “Description of Egypt” which Dr Boutros Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, gifted original copy of to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt.

Like the French Scientific Academy, the Academy included four departments: the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Nature, the Department of Political Economy, and the Department of Letters and Fine Arts. With the French departure from Egypt in 1801, the Institute’s activities ceased due to the expiration of its raison d’être.

In 1916, Guillardon Bey submitted a request to the members of the Antiquities Preservation Committee, pleading that he be allowed to rent Al-Sinari’s house to transform it into a museum and display his private collection on the French campaign in Egypt and Syria. 

This request was granted, and from 1917 to 1926, Gaillardon Bey erected a museum in Bonaparte’s name, which was closed after his death and then vacated in 1933. All of the above led to severe damage to the house, and the 1992 earthquake added to it until the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in cooperation with the French mission, restored it in 1996.

At the request of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the new Library of Alexandria) and after the approval of the Permanent Committee of Islamic Antiquities, the Sinnari House was handed over to the library, which began to equip it to turn it into an essential cultural outlet in the Sayeda Zeinab neighbourhood, spreading cultural, artistic, and scientific awareness in the surrounding areas and encouraging young people to engage in public life. 

This is done by holding several cultural and artistic events such as exhibitions, seminars, forums, workshops, and theatrical performances. It also holds scientific discussions on the future of science and knowledge on several levels, and this is a continuation of the role that the Library of Alexandria has taken upon itself in reviving the old role of the Sinnari House to become a platform for science, culture and the arts.

The Sinnari House consists of two parts; the western part includes main rooms and reception halls, and the eastern part includes secondary rooms.

The house has a large entrance overlooking the Meng alley. It is a stone entrance topped by a mashrabiya. The entrance leads to a corridor and an inner courtyard with a fountain in the centre. The internal facades overlook the courtyard and are ornamented with carved inscriptions. Rich in decorations, its staircase leads to two doors on the right leading to the house’s rooms, then the great hall and the bathroom, and the left one leading to the seat and the eastern wing.

This house was built as a home for the wealthy, and it includes many features of the Mamluk era. In the front of the house is a spacious garden, and what distinguishes this ancient house from the rest of the other houses with Islamic architecture is the use of wood in its construction next to the stone, without any supporting materials. This makes it a model for the prevailing construction in that period. There is also an air vent on the right side of the house, which has an opening in the roof to let in moist air and thus makes the house’s atmosphere acceptable during the day when the weather is humid.

The house was restored in several stages, starting with a project to lower the groundwater level, which was linked to the leading sewage network in Cairo, followed by a selection of craftsmen with the experience to work on its architectural restoration. The street level next to the house was lowered to return it to the same level it was in the last century, which allowed the appearance of the main entrance entirely for the first time, and the restoration of the halls of the house, mashrabiyas, and wall cupboards were carried out by an Egyptian-French team. The renovations did not stop at restoring the lustre and beauty of the house only; the team added lamps to light all the rooms as well.

Now, Sinnari House receives dignitaries and visitors from around the world to explore it and attend some of the many events held there regularly.

Sinnari House opens from Sunday to Thursday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Al Suhaimi House

Al-Suhaimi House, or the House of Sheikh Abdul-Wahhab Al-Tablawi, is a house with distinct oriental architecture located in the Al-Darb Al-Asfar neighbourhood, branching from Al-Muizz Li-Din Allah Al-Fatimi Street in the Al-Gamaliya neighbourhood in the heart of Cairo. The house consists of two sections, one northern-facing and the other southern. Sheikh Abd al-Wahhab al-Tablawi established the southern-facing section in 1648. 

This date was written on a wooden panel on one of the house’s walls. The northern-facing section was established by Hajj Ismail bin Ismail Shalabi in 1797 AD, and he combined it with the first section and made them into one house. The house is named after Sheikh Muhammad Amin al-Suhaimi, Sheikh of the Turks Hall at Al-Azhar Mosque, who once lived there. 

Bait Al-Suhaimi is located in an area of ​​half an acre and is used as a museum for Islamic architecture and a centre for artistic creativity.

The house is an example of a traditional Arab house with a Cairene flavour. It is entered through a passage leading to the courtyard.

The house’s design is influenced by the Ottoman style, which designated the ground floor for men (Salamlek) and the upper floor for women (Haramlek). Therefore, the ground floor of the whole house is to receive male guests, and there are no other rooms or halls. There is a large hall divided into two iwans, and extending around the walls of the iwans is an inscription containing verses from Nahj al-Burdah, one of the most renowned poems praising the Prophet Muhammad. The hall’s ceiling is made of wood and covered with colourful floral and geometric drawings and motifs. 

The house has another iwan that opens onto the courtyard and lets in the cool air in summer. It is called the seat, and it also has a wooden ceiling that resembles a hall. The council was used in winter, and the seat was used in summer.

The family rooms are on the first floor. They are similar to those on the ground floor, except they have many windows covered with mashrabiyas overlooking the courtyard and some on the street. 

One of the rooms on the first floor is decorated with delicate floral motifs and includes dinnerware made of porcelain and coloured and ornate ceramics. 

No family was in the house, but the family slept on mattresses made of ornate velour. The bathroom is a small white marble room with a vaulted ceiling and square and circular louvres covered in stained glass. It has a stove for hot water, a basin carved from one piece of ornate marble, and a water tank.

The house was restored with a ten-million-pound grant from the Arab Fund for Economic Development. The project to document, restore, and develop the Beit Al-Suhaimi area lasted five years, from 1996 until 2000.

Al-Suhaimi House is currently used as an open museum for Islamic architecture and as a centre for artistic creativity affiliated with the Cultural Development Fund, where it hosts folklore troupes of various kinds, from musical arts and the art of shadow plays, as well as workshops to teach young people the origins of this art, to preserve the  Egyptian cultural heritage, protecting it and providing fixed exhibition spaces for those teams affiliated with the General Authority for Cultural Palaces, which present free shows on Sundays of every week at the Suhaimi Creativity Center.

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