Benaki Museum of Islamic Art

Small but wonderful museum with a diverse collection of Islamic art and artifacts. It is well organized and each room has a panel describing what was happening in the Islamic empires during the given time period. We visited on a Thursday afternoon and basically had to place all to ourselves. The cafe on the rooftop is very cute and a nice place to visit for some refreshments afterward. The view from up there is nice.

Visiting the Benaki Islamic Art Museum, was a very pleasant surprise for me. The collection is relatively small, but very well preserved and displayed. The artifacts were also very diverse, from ceramics, weaved textiles, carpets, tiles, and jewelry, to arms, armors, carved wood, and ancient writings. To add to the experience, beneath the museum you can see part of the ancient Athenian wall, while the rooftop hosts a lovely cafeteria with a nice city view.

Even though the museum is not big, the collection is complete in that compact location. We met with one of the museum manager and he helped us explaining about the museum and its collections. The view from the rooftop cafe is really pretty and the cafe's wall is exquisite.

This museum was a very nice place to visit. It has a vast collection, which is very well preserved and displayed. It has plenty of ancient artifacts, paintings, mosaics, statues, sculptures, and other works of art. I really enjoyed my time here and I would definitely recommend visiting the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art.

Muslim art from various eras spread through four flours. Ceramics, woodwork, tapestry, and even pieces of armour and highly decorated weaponry. Not too busy especially now with the Covid situation, located centrally yet a bit out of the city's hustle and bustle, it is an excellent alternative if you want to see something different. Most museums in Greece in particular, deal with the classic era and predominantly western artifacts, so this isn't something you would easily get to experience. The café on the roof of the building is a hidden gem and a great addition to a possible excursion. Vibrant with a great view over the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos and the hills near the Acropolis, I would suggest it for a sip of coffee and a quick rest after viewing the gorgeous exhibits.

Outstanding museum and exhibits for those interested in Oriental history, culture, religion and art Beautifully exhibited and historic eras from floor to floor covering iran, Turkey, Iraq, india. Current special exhibit of Kutahya ceramics very unique and unprecedented in Greece. Lucky we have both exhibit and the Museum in Athens. Bravo Benaki!!

There was no wait for the tickets. We went on a weekday so there was no crowd, no noise, no rush. Centuries’ worth of Islamic cultural pieces on display among 3 floors - each floor containing pieces from a certain time period (i.e 1200-1500, 1500-1700, so on). Be careful when bringing children, however. There is a guard on the floor you are on, and the guard is especially picky with children (which is natural). But the guard was a bit condescending with the way he was simply waiting for our toddler to go near ANYTHING so he could call him out, even if our toddler wasn’t touching anything. Other than that any history enthusiast should pay this museum a visit!

A very nice museum, member of the Benakis museums, dedicated to Islamic art and the art of Asia Minor. A cafe with excellent views of Acropolis and Keramikos is located on the roof top, serving sandwiches, cakes and coffee. Don’t miss it.