Detailed interactive map Papyrus Institute
Travel to Egypt is incomplete without a visit to the Papyrus Institute. It displays the various stages of the papyrus-making process.
Papyrus was very important to the ancient Egyptians as it helped transform Egyptian society in many ways. The raw material of papyrus paper comes from the plant Cyperus papyrus, a long stemmed plant that grows in regions of the Nile Delta in Egypt. Once the technology of papyrus making was developed, its method of production was a carefully guarded secret allowing the Egyptians to have a monopoly on it. The Egyptians gradually abandoned the production and neglected the cultivation of papyrus plantations shortly after the Arabs introduced the pulped paper process in the 10th century.
The modern technique of papyrus production was developed in 1962 by Dr. Hassan Ragab, an Egyptian engineer, who was long attracted by the mysterious techniques of the ancient Egyptians. Dr. Hassan Ragab opened his Papyrus Institute in 1968 in attempt to re-establish this ancient technique and to show the public how it was done. It is located in Giza next to the pyramids. People in the institute show visitors the entire process of manufacture. The museum details the papyrus making process and its attached art gallery regularly holds exhibitions. Nowadays the papyrus is the word for the most popular gift from the country. Sheets of papyrus with scenes of temple drawings and pharaonic figures painted on them make very good souvenirs. But unfortunately there is so much fake papyrus around that you are better off buying them from the papyrus institute.
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