Middle East’s first torture museum opens in Giza

CAIRO - 22 June 2017: Egyptian researcher Mohammed Abdelwahab turned his house located in Maryotya , Giza, into the first torture museum in the Middle East. The museum is opened to visitors for only one day in the year; June 26, to commemorate the United Nation’s International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

More than 600 torture weapons have been used throughout the centuries by different countries including tools to cut hands and burn the body. The museum also exhibits pictures of torture victims.

Abdelwahab said that collecting all these tools took a very long time. He wanted to see the advancements that took place throughout the centuries that allowed people to take other people’s life.

He started his journey by visiting museums around the world and scanning the tools that were described in ancient Medieval Arabic texts and books. The most popular torture method in Egypt and Syria included removing major organs in the body like the heart, lungs, and liver over the course of a week. Another popular method was head smashing.

Abdelwahab hopes by exposing these inhuman torture methods that are practiced until this day, that people will take a firmer stance against torture.