The Denshway Museum is a museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 in Al-Minufiyah, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, 100 kilometers north of Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

. The museum, which opened in July 1999 commemorates the Denshawai Incident

Denshawai Incident

The Denshawai Incident is the name given to a dispute which occurred in 1906 between British military officers and locals in Egypt, believed to mark a turning point in the British presence in that country...

, Egyptian peasants who struggled against British colonialism in 1906, and honors the seven martyr

Martyr

A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...

s who were hanged on 26 June 1906.

In creating the museum, it was hoped to remind villagers of the history that helped to shape the region and also provide a cultural center

Cultural center

A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run...

 which would increase tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 in the region.

The museum's design is that of an Egyptian pigeon tower, with three levels connected by spiral stone stairs. The museum includes a replica of the gallows

Gallows

A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...

, paintings and sculptures that tell the story of the incident as it unfolded, five exhibition halls, and public space.