In an ancient redeveloped two-floor building dating back to 1774, Naguib Mahfouz Museum and Creativity Center is located in the heart of Cairo, just near monumental Al-Azhar Mosque, to commemorate the life and works of Egypt's Nobel laureate novelist who died in August 2006.

Opened by the minister of culture in mid-July 2019, the museum houses personal belongings, books and handwritten drafts and texts of Mahfouz, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988 to be the only Arab to do so.

Egyptian Minister of Culture Inas Abdel-Dayem described the museum as "a new Egyptian landmark on the international cultural path," noting that the museum hosts Mahfouz's medals and certificates, a collection of his personal belongings, all his works in their old and modern editions in addition to those of them translated into other languages.

"Naguib Mahfouz Museum, with all its symbolism, confirms Egypt's keenness to preserve the biography and history of its creative nationals who have formed the elements of its soft power," the minister told Xinhua.

A few-step outdoor staircase leads to the central hallway of the first floor, which contains a seminar room and a group of libraries with one housing researches and studies on Mahfouz's works.

The entrance is surrounded by a large picture of Mahfouz and several signs reading quotes from his most famous novels in both Arabic and English.

The main part of the museum lies in the second floor of the old-style building, which was built by a ruler of Egypt during the Ottoman Empire as a free shelter attached to a mosque.

It contains several small halls: one has the Nobel Medal displayed in a showcase in the middle, another hosts personal belongings of Mahfouz including his suit, hat and shoes, a third screens shots of movies based on Mahfouz's novels, a hall displays a documentary on the unique novelist, and others.

"Through the museum, Egypt shows appreciation to Mahfouz for his creativity and persistence and for his beautiful works that pleased millions of people in Egypt, the Arab region and the whole world," said the museum's manager Youssef al-Qaeed, who wrote a book on Mahfouz that was published in 2015.

"I have known Mahfouz for long years and I have been influenced by his writings as well as his kind and noble character," Al-Qaeed, also a prominent author, told Xinhua.

"Mahfouz always believed that one day he will go but his works will remain," said the museum manager.

Two halls in the museum are dedicated to showcase the many medals and certificates Mahfouz was awarded locally and internationally.

Among the displayed awards he got are the State Award in Literature in 1957, the Medal of Merit of First Rank in 1962, the Order of the Nile in 1988, the American Academy for Arts and Literature honorary degree in 2002 and Cavafy's Award in 2004.

His daughter Umm Kulthum said that Mahfouz's personal belongings, books and awards were dedicated by his family to the museum.

"We have also provided the museum with more than 1,000 books from my father's personal library and translations of his works into other languages, besides his personal belongings, awards and handwritten articles and novels," Mahfouz's daughter told Xinhua.

She said she was very happy about the opening of the museum as she was worried about his personal belongings the family provided to the ministry years before its inauguration.

At the personal level, Umm Kulthum said Mahfouz was a very kind and just father who never scolded her or her late sister.

Cairo's Gamaliya district, where the museum is located, is near the birthplace of the author and was a source of inspiration for him as reflected on many of his novels and characters.

"As for his work, I love The Cairo Trilogy and The Harafish the most," his daughter said.

Among Mahfouz's masterpieces are Children of Gebelawi, The Beginning and the End, The Thief and the Dogs, The Beggar, Khan al-Khalili, Karnak Cafe, The Homeless Girl, Miramar and Ancient Egypt.

"Most Egyptians love the black-and-white films based on Mahfouz's novels. He entered every Egyptian home through them," said Noha Selim, a young lady visiting the museum, noting that she liked the large signs of Mahfouz's quotes everywhere in the museum.

Awarding him in 1988, the Nobel Prize committee said that Mahfouz, "through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind."

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