International Journal of History and Research (IJHR) ISSN(P): 2249–6963; ISSN(E): 2249–8079 Vol. 10 Issue 2, Dec 2020, 25–46 ©TJPRC Pvt. Ltd POST MUSEUM IN CAIRO (EGYPT) MARIAM MAGDY BOSHRA1, ENAS FARES YEHIA2, DOAA ABDEL-MOTAAL AHMED3 & MOHAMED ATEF ABDEL-MAKSOOD4 1Tourist Guidance Department, Minia University, Egypt 2Tourist Guidance Department, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Egypt 3Tourist Guidance Department, Minia University, Egypt 4History Department- Minia University, Egypt ABSTRACT The Post Museum is distinguished by its ability to display collections in a simple manner suitable for all ages, combining the various departments in one place as it contains three-dimensional models for each period. These advantages are not available in a clear way in other museums. This makes the Post Museumwhich is located in Attaba Square in central Cairo, a tourist attraction for a large number of tourists from all parts of the world. The credit for the establishment of the Egyptian Post is due to Khedive Ismail after the purchase of the European Post Company, and the transfer of its ownership to the Egyptian government on January 2, 1865, as this day is considered a historic day for the Egyptian Post. Hence, the Egyptian Post Authority issued the first Egyptian post stamp in the Middle East in 1866. As for the Original Article establishment of the Cairo Post Museum, the credit goes to King Fouad, as part of the preparations that Egypt made before the tenth international conference in Cairo in 1934, so that the representatives of countries could see the museum to be the best evidence of the regularity of mail in Egypt; this article discusses the post museum with its ten division along modern Egyptian history, the most important point that Egypt possesses a rare collection museum in Cairo regarded as a witness for this long history. KEYWORDS: Egypt, Post Museum, King Fuad, postal Conference Received: Aug 14, 2020; Accepted: Sep 04, 2020; Published: Oct 06, 2020; Paper Id.: IJHRDEC20204 INTRODUCTION Egypt was one of the first Arab countries to issue post stamps in 1866. It is also one of the first countries in the Middle East to establish a post museum in 1934, which contain pictures, maps, a group of graphs, and models of the development of the Egyptian postal service throughout ages. Also contains many documents such as: the first publication of the Post Service in its governmental era and the concession contract of the European Posta Company, in addition to a large rare wall painting on which are fixed 15 thousand stamps representing the scene of the pyramids and the Sphinx. Besides, The Egyptian Post Authority also confirms that the date of the first document in which the term "post" was mentioned dates back to 2000 years BC.Indeed, Egypt is an open museum for the whole world due to its civilization that extends to seven thousand years. It is one of the oldest countries in the world that witnessed the emergence of postal services. Due to King Fuad’s appreciation of the importance of choosing Egypt as the seat of the Tenth World Postal Conference in 19341, after the ninth International Post Conference in London in 19292, he decided to move the 1Egyptian National Archive, Archival Code,(001443-0069). 2Portfolio 8, File 1, Conservation Unit 309, Archival code, (000151-4015). www.tjprc.org [email protected] 26 Mariam Magdy Boshra, Enas Fares Yehia, Doaa Abdel-Motaal Ahmed & Mohamed Atef Abdel-Maksood headquarters of the main post office from Alexandria to Cairo in 1930. In the same year, he ordered the establishment of the “Fuad I Post Museum3" in Al- Attaba to be the first museum in Africa and the Middle East.The amount of money spent on it reached to 4430 poundsAnd, now post museum is considered one of the most important historical museums because 4. it contains rare collections and important documents related to the history of the Egyptian Post. The Postal Authority started preparations for the establishment of the museum, by completing all the papers and searching for documents related to the history of the mail that is important to display in the historical section within the Post Museum to be created, in preparation for its opening in conjunction with the holding of the 10thPostal Conference5 in Cairo.So King Fuad ordered the establishment of a post museum in which he would include all the treasures of the past to show off and be proud of the history of Egyptian Post through the historical eras that had existed since the time of the Pharaohs. And to emphasize that Egypt was a pioneer in the use of postal service transport systems before all peoples. He ordered a search of all historical documents, old letters and manuscripts to preserve them from loss6, especially related to the purchase of the European post company, which became an Egyptian company by Khedive Ismail on January 2, 18657. The importance of the Post Museum The Egyptian Post Museum has many roles, and perhaps the most important of which is the educational role, due to the historical information and archaeological holdings it provides to visitors, scholars and researchers as it provides all the facts and evidence that were difficult to obtain in case of not establishing the museum, including the archaeological holdings and unpublished documents. The museum contains 1250 rare pieces and is divided into ten sections in two halls8, one of which is called the Great Hall, which contains nine sections and includes models for old and modern postal seals, postal bags and letter boxes, pictures for old and modern postal departments9, in addition to the basic make-up of the current building of the Post Authority, besides three-dimensional models of the means of transportation that were used to transport post. The museum also includes the emblems of old postmen and various examples of developments in airmail, from carrier pigeons to planes.Also contains the buildings section, which includes miniature models of some postal buildings, such as the Postal Authority in Cairo, the Port Said and Port Fuad Post Offices. And a set of statistics that show the development of the Authority's work, including registered and regular correspondence, internal and external transfers and parcels10. The museum also includes models of some of the aircraft donated by the Empire's airways and the Dutch airline. In addition to the first letter by air mail sent to Karachi from the Egyptian Post by air between the Egyptian country and India, and a sample of the first letter that came to Alexandria from London on August 17, 192911.As for the small hall, it includes a large set of stamps for each of the Egyptian, African, Asian, American, Australian and European post besides 3Egyptian National Archive, Portfolio 10, File 1, Conservation Unit 281, (ARC 000074-4024). 4Al Ahram, 19th January 1940, issue 19886. 5 Egyptian National Archive, Archival code(001443-0069). 6 Hussein Sherazy, Qesat Albareed, ( Cairo: Dar Elketab Alaraby, 1967), 28-29. 7 Egyptian National Archive, Portfolio 1, File 3, Conservation Unit 309, Archival code(000003-4015). 8Abd Elrahman Zaki, Mawsact Madinat Alqahra fi Alf Am, 8th edition, ( Cairo: Anglo press, 1987), 24. 9 Ahmed Yasser, “postal Museum: Reference for stamp Collectors in Egypt”, in Sada El-balad journal, Wed. 19/12/2018 - 24/1/2019, 12: 26pm ),Thurs(. 10Majalt Alarab, 10th October 2016, issue 10420. 11Transportation ministry, Maslaht Albareed, Daleel Mathaf Albareed Almasry,( Cairo: Amiria Press, 1934), 40-42. Impact Factor (JCC): 4.7084 NAAS Rating: 2.90 Post Museum in Cairo (Egypt) 27 inkpots from the Ancient, Roman, Coptic and Islamic periods. There is also a set of forms to explain the steps involved in making postage stamps at the Survey Authority in Cairo. First: the cultural importance of the Post Museum The museum's cultural role is evident in organizing a group of exhibitions that help encourage citizens, school students and families to visit the museum, whether inside or outside Egypt. Besides, the Post Museum participated in organizing many local and international exhibitions of Egyptian and foreign stamps. In addition, the post authority organized a huge exhibition in Cairo in 1946 to mark the 80th anniversary of the issuance of the first Egyptian post stamp in addition to the museum’s participation in the holding of the Centennial International Exhibition of Post Stamps in Paris and the Centennial International Exhibition of Post Stamps in Brussels. In 1950, the post Authority participated in organizing foreign exhibitions, including the Egyptian Stamps Exhibition in the United States. In 1966, the Post Authority participated in organizing the first regional exhibition in Menoufia Governorate, and it was awarded a commemorative certificate of excellence on the occasion of participating in the exhibition12. Second: the historical importance of the Post Museum The historical importance of the museum becomes clear through its holdings, as it contains the oldest historical documents that proved the existence of a mail system in the era of the Pharaohs and an express system during the Ptolemaic era in addition to photographs of a group of papyrus dating back to 111 years BC. There were also unpublished documents related to international postal conferences from the first international postal conference in Switzerland in 187413 until the eleventh postal conference in Buenos Aires in 193914. All this was inside the Post Museum, which was established in 193015 to become an eternal record of the history of the Postal Service and a witness to the efforts undertaken by the Authority and an incentive to continue progress towards improving postal service in Egypt and to be the best evidence of what Egypt possesses of rare collections dating back to thousands of years.