The Gayer-Anderson Museum is named for an early-20th century British doctor, John Gayer-Anderson, it is located in Cairo, adjacent to the Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Tulun in the Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood.

 

Gayer-Anderson restored the two 16th-century buildings that now house the museum collection. He decorated the rooms in a variety of Oriental styles and filled them with objects from his travels. In addition to objects from Iran and Turkey, he also has Egyptian (both ancient and historic) items, as well as a collection of paintings and drawings done by 20th century artists. The building, with its wooden mashrabiya (screened windows), is also known for being a set for the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. 

 

Labels are in Arabic and English, but a guide is a requirement. For a small tip staff members will guide you through the museum, showing you details of the buildings, such as a secret room from which women could watch festivities taking place in the room below. The house also boasts one of the few working Islamic period fountains in Egypt, and has a fine collection of birthing chairs and ethnomedical equipment in keeping with Gayer-Anderson ’s job as a doctor.