With around 1.2 lakh items, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is the largest museum in Egypt. It is also called as the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities. Not all items are on display though because of the lack of space. A new museum big enough to house all the items is currently being built. The current museum is located in Tahir Square.
The museum has two floors with the lower floor mainly for the large statues while the upper floor has the smaller items like jewellery, weapons, small statues and the mummies. The museum is divided into seven sections with the first one housing King Tutankhamun's treasures. The second section includes items from the Old Kingdom while the third section has items from the Middle Kingdom. Artifacts relating to the Modern Kingdom can be found in the fourth section while those from the Roman era can be seen in the fifth section. The seventh section is home to sacrophagi. There is also a separate section for the royal mummies which requires an additional ticket apart from the main entrance ticket. It costs 100 Egyptian Pounds and can be purchased from the ticket counter outside Room 1.
The most famous items on display are undoubtedly the items that were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. You will find jewellery, weapons, vases and loads of items in solid gold. The most interesting one is the famous Gold Mask of King Tutankhamun. Photography is not allowed inside the museum and you have to deposit your cameras outside. Hence I have no pictures of the museum from the inside. All I have are some pictures taken from the outside.
It is wise to go with a guide because the signage in the museum is very difficult to read and not descriptive either. Some sections did not have any signage at all. You would need a guide to show you the important pieces and explain the history attached to it unless you are very well versed with Egyptian history. Overall, a must visit while you are in Cairo.
The museum has two floors with the lower floor mainly for the large statues while the upper floor has the smaller items like jewellery, weapons, small statues and the mummies. The museum is divided into seven sections with the first one housing King Tutankhamun's treasures. The second section includes items from the Old Kingdom while the third section has items from the Middle Kingdom. Artifacts relating to the Modern Kingdom can be found in the fourth section while those from the Roman era can be seen in the fifth section. The seventh section is home to sacrophagi. There is also a separate section for the royal mummies which requires an additional ticket apart from the main entrance ticket. It costs 100 Egyptian Pounds and can be purchased from the ticket counter outside Room 1.
The most famous items on display are undoubtedly the items that were found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. You will find jewellery, weapons, vases and loads of items in solid gold. The most interesting one is the famous Gold Mask of King Tutankhamun. Photography is not allowed inside the museum and you have to deposit your cameras outside. Hence I have no pictures of the museum from the inside. All I have are some pictures taken from the outside.
It is wise to go with a guide because the signage in the museum is very difficult to read and not descriptive either. Some sections did not have any signage at all. You would need a guide to show you the important pieces and explain the history attached to it unless you are very well versed with Egyptian history. Overall, a must visit while you are in Cairo.
For those who don't know:
ReplyDelete1 lakh is 100,000. 1/10 of a million.