Centuries-old glass and porcelain pieces were smashed to powder, a priceless wooden prayer niche was destroyed and manuscripts were soaked by water spewing from broken pipes after a car bombing wreaked havoc on Cairo's renowned Islamic Art Museum.

Ceramic and gypsum pieces dating to the Fatimid and Mamluk periods suffered the most damage, along with ancient lanterns once used in mosques. Of the world's 300 rare lanterns, the museum houses 60, and five of those were ruined.