Mut Ethnographic Museum
About
On a sleepy side street on the western side of Mut, this museum doesn't look like much from the outside, but the inside is modeled on a traditional mud-walled house and is filled with domestic and agricultural artifacts from around the oasis. The building is usually locked up tight, so go to the grandly named Qasr al Sakafa (Palace of Culture) to find Ibrahim Kamel (or, alternately, give him a call on his mobile phone), and he'll bike over to let you in. Exhibits include a collection of old handmade clothing, a mortar and pestle for salt, and an ancient goat-skin churn. Ibrahim will guide you, and his narrative alone is worth the price of admission, let alone the shakedown for a tip after he's finished. But if you can keep a straight face as he describes, among other things, the "hangar for chickens" (a chicken coop), he's actually quite interesting and his comments on otherwise incomprehensible objects add a lot of value to the museum.
