c. The New Town.
To the W. of the Ezbekîyeh Garden and the Place de l’Opéra (p. [446]), to the W. also of the fashionable Shâria Kâmel (Pl B, C, 2, 3) and of the Shâria Abdîn (Pl. C, 3, 4), lie the new Ismaîlîyeh and Tewfîkîyeh quarters, extending to the Nile and the Ismaîlîyeh Canal, the latter quarter, named after Tewfik (p. [444]), being the most recent. They contain several of the large hotels, most of the ministerial and consular offices, the chief banks, and many palaces of wealthy European, Levantine, and Egyptian magnates.
Ismaîlîyeh and Tewfîkîyeh are separated by the broad and busy Shâria Bûlâk (Pl. B, A, 3; tramway No. 6, p. [440]), which leads from the Ezbekîyeh Garden to the Abu’l-Eileh Bridge (Pl. A, 3) and Bûlâk. From October to December the banks of the Nile present a very busy scene, the state of the river being then most favourable for the goods-traffic from Upper Egypt, Nubia, and the fertile Delta.—Steam-ferry to Gezîreh (p. [457]; bridge now being built).
The direct way to the Nile is by the Shâria Kasr en-Nîl (Pl. C-A, 3, 4), diverging from the Shâria Abdîn to the S. of the Place de l’Opéra. It crosses the round Mîdân Suleimân Bâsha and ends at the Mîdân Mariette Bâsha (Pl. A, 4), near the Egyptian Museum.
A little to the S. is the Mîdân Ismaîlîyeh (Pl. A, 4, 5; tramway No. 4, p. [440]). On the S. side of it runs the Shâria el-Kubri, to the W., to the Great Nile Bridge (p. [457]), while from it to the S. stretches the long Shâria Kasr el-Aïni (Pl. A, 5, 6). In the latter street, immediately to the left, is the free Egyptian University (Pl. A, 5), founded in 1908, the purpose of which, in contrast to the old Gâmia el-Azhar (p. [447]), is to offer Mohammedans a liberal modern education. Farther on, to the left, opposite the handsome houses built on the site of the palace Kasr ed-Dubara, are the Ministries of Public Works and War (Pl. A, B, 5) and the building of the Sudan Agency; on the N. side of the grounds is the Geological Museum.—Still farther to the S. the street is prolonged by the Shâria Fum el-Khalîg (Pl. A, 7), leading past the native (Government) hospital Kasr el-Aïni (Pl. A, 7) and close to the narrow E. Arm of the Nile (Bahr el-Khalîg), opposite the island of Rôda (p. [461]), to Old Cairo (comp. p. [460]).
The **Egyptian Museum (Pl. A, 4; El-Antikkhâneh) is now housed in a new building (1897–1902) in the Shâria Mariette Bâsha, near the Great Nile Bridge. The collection, the greatest of its kind, founded in 1857 by the French Egyptologist Aug. Mariette (1821–81), consists of Egyptian and Græco-Roman antiquities found in the Nile Valley. Adm., see p. [442]. Director, M. G. Maspero.
The two long colonnades adjoining the vestibule, are destined for casts. They terminate in two pavilions, containing, on the left, the Library and, on the right, the office for the sale of duplicates, photographs, and scientific publications.
The Ground Floor contains the large stone monuments, including the sarcophagi in the Grande Galerie d’Honneur, beyond the vestibule.
From the W. (left) wing of the Grande Galerie we first enter, to the right, Rooms A-D, containing memorials of the Old Empire (3rd–6th Dynasties; about B.C. 2900–2350). Noteworthy among the master-works in Room B are: *74. Wooden statue of a man, known as the Sheikh el-Beled (village magistrate); 73. Statue in diorite of king Khephren (p. [463]); 78. Figure of an official, writing. Case B: *114. Nofer, the brewer; 115. Wooden figure of a man in a cloak.—Room D: *163. Statues in limestone of prince Ra-hotep and his wife Nofret; 167. Statue of king Phiops I., in embossed copper, with eyes of enamel; 164, 165. Statues in limestone of the priest Ra-nofer.