Benaki Museum of Islamic Art

The Benaki Museum of Islamic Art, the only museum of its kind in Greece, features a unique collection of world-renowned artifacts, one of the top-ten collections worldwide.

More than 8,000 works of art, including ceramics, gold, metalwork, textiles and glass, bone objects, inscribed funerary steles and weaponry, as well as the marble-faced interior of a reception room from a 17th-century Cairo mansion, demonstrate the evolution of Islamic civilisation from the first appearance of Islam up to the Ottoman period and the corresponding development of Islamic art up to the 19th century.

The Islamic art collection of the Benaki Museum is housed in a complex of neo-classical buildings located in the historical centre of Athens, near the ancient Kerameikos necropolis (cemetery). While converting the building into museum, a section of the ancient city wall of Athens was uncovered at the basement level that is now accessible to visitors.

Free audio guided tour using QR codes is available in Greek, English, French, Spanish, Russian and Chinese.