The House of the Cretan Woman:The
House of the Cretan Woman, Bayt al-Kritliyya is an example of upper
class medieval 
Cairene tastes. The house is located in the southeast
corner of the Ibn Tulun Mosque in 
Sayeda Zainab and is now part of the
Gayer Anderson House complex. The Gayer-Anderson House is actually made
up of two 17th century houses stuck together. This 
complex is named
after a British major who lived in it and restored it earlier in the
20th century. He filled the house with French, English and oriental
furniture and other fixtures. 
The house has a large reception room with a
balcony that overlooks it. The balcony is enclosed with a screen
through which women of the harem could discreetly watch the male
visitors below. The legends about this house are almost as intriguing as
the house itself.
Inhabitants of the house were said to have had the
blessings of the patron saint al-Hussein who was the grandson of
Muhammad. Another legend says that the well of the house gets magical
and curative waters from the Great Flood. This well is said to have been
the entrance to the palace of the King of the Jinn. Vast treasures are
said to have been guarded by magic. Jinn is believed to be evil spirits.
Bayt Al-Kritliyya is known for the
diversity of its collections (an eclectic mix of Pharaonic, Islamic,
Coptic and 20th-century art) and the rarity of its historical setting
(two linked traditional courtyard houses abutting the famed Mosque of
Ibn Tulun). An ongoing project aims to safeguard the museum, conserve
its contents and improve facilities for both staff and visitors. Besides
renovating the built fabric, the work has entailed constructing a new
conservation lab, cataloguing the collection, initiating training
workshops, creating new displays and publications, and landscaping the
museum gardens to provide an open-air venue for cultural events and
additional visitor facilities.
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