Following fears that some robbery had taken place Tuesday 19 September 2017 at the 19th-century Palace of Muhammad Ali at the northern Cairo suburb of Shubral-Kheima, Elham Salah, Head of the Museums Sector at the Antiquities Ministry, assured that nothing was missing from the museum.
The committee in charge of opening the museum had on Tuesday found the locks of four chambers at the museum broken, also the keys to a number of halls missing, and the box they are usually kept in shattered. They directly reported the matter to the police who dispatched five police vehicles to the palace at 9:30am, and banned visitors from going in and anyone at all from leaving the premises. Investigations are ongoing.
Muhammad Ali Pasha (1769 – 1849) was the Ottoman Viceroy to Egypt in 1805. He ruled till 1848 And founded a dynasty that continued to rule Egypt till 1953 when the monarchy was overthrown and Egypt became a republic. Historically, he is considered the founder of modern Egypt.
In 1808, Muhammad Ali built himself a splendid retreat palace in Shubra al-Kheima, which he used as an official residence away from the Citadel in Cairo.