Gayer-Anderson Museum

Cairo

LoginSave

Through a gateway to the south of the main entrance of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, this quirky museum gets its current name from John Gayer-Anderson, the British major and army doctor who restored the two adjoining 16th-century houses between 1935 and 1942, filling them with lovely antiquities, artworks and knick-knacks acquired on his travels in the region. The house was used as a location in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.

On his death in 1945, Gayer-Anderson bequeathed the lot to Egypt. The puzzle of rooms is decorated in a variety of styles: the Persian Room has exquisite tiling, the Damascus Room has lacquer and gold, and the Queen Anne Room displays ornate furniture and a silver tea set. The enchanting mashrabiyya gallery looks down onto a magnificent qa’a (reception hall), which has a marble fountain, decorated ceiling beams and carpet-covered alcoves. The rooftop terrace has been lovingly restored, with more complex mashrabiyya.

From here, it’s rewarding to keep walking another 750m west to the popular quarter of Sayyida Zeinab, where there’s a metro station.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Pyramids of Giza during sunset.

    Pyramids of Giza

    7.88 MILES

    The last remaining wonder of the ancient world; for nearly 4000 years, the extraordinary shape, impeccable geometry and sheer bulk of the Giza Pyramids…

  • A guide briefs tourists before canopic jars which contained the organs of the ancient Egyptian New Kingdom Pharaoh Tutankhamun (1332-1323 BC) at his tomb KV62, displayed with the Tutankhamun collection at the Egyptian Museum in the centre of Egypt's capital Cairo on November 6, 2022. - The resting place of Egypt's pharaoh Tutankhamun has become the world's most famous tomb, its discovery 100 years ago among the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time.

    Egyptian Museum

    1.68 MILES

    One of the world’s most important collections of ancient artefacts, the Egyptian Museum takes pride of place in Downtown Cairo, on the north side of Midan…

  • It is the most remarkable construction of the necropolis of Saqqara, south of the city of Memphis. Some tourists walk next to the pyramid..Saqqara, Egypt. March 27, 2008

    Saqqara

    11.09 MILES

    Covering a 7km stretch of the Western Desert, Saqqara, the huge cemetery of ancient Memphis, was an active burial ground for more than 3500 years and is…

  • View of the Citadel from Al-Azhar Park

    Al Azhar Park

    1.08 MILES

    With funds from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, what had been a mountain of garbage, amassed over centuries, was in 2005, almost miraculously, transformed…

  • Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo.

    Al Azhar Mosque

    1.4 MILES

    Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of the newly created Fatimid city, Al Azhar is one of Cairo’s earlier mosques, and its sheikh is considered the…

  • The minaret of Qalawun complex rises over Al-Muizz street.

    Sharia Al Muizz Li Din Allah

    1.39 MILES

    Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…

  • The Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt.

    Coptic Museum

    1.97 MILES

    This museum, founded in 1908, houses Coptic art from the earliest days of Christianity in Egypt right through to early Islam. It is a beautiful place, as…

  • Cairo, Egypt - December 24, 2017: Mihrab of Manial Palace mosque decorated with intricate golden patterns on carved wood, muqarnas in arch, bright blue tiles inside of niche, on December 24 in Cairo

    Manial Palace

    1.23 MILES

    After a years'-long restoration period, this palace complex, built by the uncle of King Farouk, Prince Mohammed Ali, in the early 20th century, has once…

View more attractions

Nearby Cairo attractions

1. Mosque of Ibn Tulun

0.06 MILES

The city’s oldest intact, functioning Islamic monument is easily identified by its high walls topped with neat crenulations that resemble a string of…

3. Mausoleum of Shagaret Al Durr

0.1 MILES

Shagaret Al Durr never got to be laid to rest in this mausoleum. After the death of her husband, Sultan Ayyub, she assumed the role of sultana but her…

4. Shrine of Sayyida Ruqayya

0.11 MILES

This is one of the most important shrines in the Al Khalifa area, dedicated to Sayyida Ruqayya, the Prophet's granddaughter. Inside, the stucco mihrab …

5. Amir Taz Palace

0.3 MILES

Walking west along busy Sharia Al Saliba eventually leads to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun. A short detour north on Sharia Suyufiyya brings you to this restored…

6. Museo Mevlevi

0.37 MILES

Just north of the Amir Taz Palace, behind a green door with an Italian Institute sign, this museum is essentially a meticulously restored Ottoman-era sama…

7. Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan

0.44 MILES

Massive yet elegant, this grand structure is regarded as the finest piece of early Mamluk architecture in Cairo. It was built between 1356 and 1363 by…

8. Mosque of Ar Rifai

0.46 MILES

Opposite the grand Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan, the Mosque of Ar Rifai is constructed on a similarly imposing scale, begun in 1869 and not finished…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "egypt/cairo/attractions/gayer-anderson-museum/a/poi-sig/406460/355225",
  "destination": "Cairo",
  "continent": "Africa",
  "country": "Egypt",
  "city": "Cairo",
  "position": "superzone"
}