Wissa Wassef Art Centre

Giza

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The artisans of the Wissa Wassef Art Centre, who work in open studios, are known for their distinctive tapestries depicting rural scenes. Crude imitations are standard in souvenir shops; the ones for sale and on display in the museum here are in a completely different class, like paintings in wool. There’s pottery and batik fabric, done to equally good effect. The place has the feeling of a sanctuary – quiet and refreshingly green, especially after a dusty Pyramids visit.

The centre is housed in a beautiful mudbrick complex, the work of its founder, architect Ramses Wissa Wassef. It won an Aga Khan prize for its refined traditional style.

To get here, take a Saqqara-bound microbus (LE3) or taxi from Pyramids Rd at Maryutia Canal – a giant flyover runs above it. Get off when you see the blue ‘Harraniyya’ sign, after about 3.5km, and about 600m after the flyover turns away. The centre is by the canal on the west side of the road.

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