At his house in El-Haram district, close your eyes for a few minutes and try to take in the surroundings — the paintings on the walls, the chair, the table and smell of books.
You are inside Taha Hussein House, which became a museum in 1997. The place that the blind dean of Arabic literature had never seen.
Taha Hussein (15 November 1889 – 28 October 1973) was one of the most famous Egyptian writers and thinkers in the 20th century, and one of the most prominent symbols of the Egyptian renaissance and modernity movement in the Middle East and North Africa.
He was born in a lower-middle-class family in a village in Upper Egyptian el-Minya Governorate. At four years old, he lost sight as the result of faulty treatment by an unskilled practitioner.
However, attended the local kuttab, where he learnt how to read and write, and memorise the holy Qur’an. He later joined Al-Azhar, where he studied religion and Arabic literature.
In 1908, Hussein enrolled at Fouad I University (now known as Cairo University) and received lessons in Islamic civilisation, ancient Egyptian civilisation, geography, history, Semitic languages, astronomy, literature and philosophy from Egyptian and foreign professors.
Hussein was the first graduate of this University to receive a PhD in literature in 1914. He was granted a place on an educational mission to study at the University of Montpellier, where he met his soulmate, French-born Suzanne Bresseau (1895-1989). They married in 1917 and had two children. He obtained a doctorate in sociology in 1919 and a postgraduate diploma in Latin.
He continued his studies and obtained another PhD from the Sorbonne in Paris.
When returned to Egypt he became dean of the Faculty of Arts and later as Minister of Education. He was best known for his autobiography, Al-Ayyam (The Days), in three volumes from 1926 to 1967), Ibn Khaldun’s Philosophy (1925) and Tradition and Renovation (1978).
His works, which exceed 50 books on literature, history and philosophy are in his library on the ground floor in the house. These works were translated into French, English, Persian, Hebrew and Russian. His desk and chair are still in the same place during his time. The library contains 7000 books — 4000 in Arabic and 3000 in foreign languages.
Mohamed Abdel-Ghani, the director of the Taha Hussein Museum, told the Egyptian Mail that his wife and their children built this house in the 1950s making the internal layout easy for him to feel his way around without difficulty.
“The rooms are small, as are corridors and the small staircase to the upper floor. Even the cupboards are set in the walls,” Abdel-Ghani said.
Next to the library room is the white sitting room where Hussein received guests. Another salon was the meeting point for writers and intellectuals on Sundays. Dramatist Tawfik el-Hakim and novelist Youssef el-Sebaie were regular visitors. In this room are the dining table and piano given to his wife on their first anniversary.
On the next floor is a glass case containing Hussein’s suits and crutches. There is a room containing radio and rare vinyl records of Chopin, Bach, Ravel and Verdi.
A portrait of Hussein’s wife hangs in her bedroom over her bed. The wardrobe has a door to Hussein’s room, where he had his bed and white leather armchair. Next is the living room which is adorned by a United Nations Award for outstanding achievements in the field of human rights which was given to him posthumously.
Interestingly, the walls are hung with colourful paintings by Egyptian and foreign artists.
“Many visitors ask how a blind man could have fallen in love with colour. All I can say is that before he lost sight he saw colours and in that short period they were fixed in his mind,” Abdel-Ghani said.
On the dates of his birth and death, museum staff do guided tours and activities for young people.
“How he was opposed to bullying and he didn’t give up,” Abdel-Ghani said.
Taha Hussein Museum is located on a street named after him in El-Haram district in Giza. It is open daily from 9am to 2pm except Monday and Friday.