The Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The Egyptian Museum: Cairo is the capital of Egypt and a very important destination to learn about the Pharaonic, Islamic, and Coptic civilizations. You can see the marvel of Islamic architecture at the Saladin Citadel, the mosques, and the Islamic Quarter.
In the Coptic Quarter, you can learn more about the journey of La Sagrada Familia and see the ancient design of the churches. The great pharaonic civilization is in the first attraction of Cairo “the Pyramids of Giza of Cheops, Khafre, and Menkaure”.
The second major pharaonic destination in Cairo that attracts many visitors is The Egyptian Museum. It is also known as The Cairo Museum.
The History of the Egyptian Museum
In 1835 the first museum was built to protect ancient treasures and monuments from local and foreign greed. This museum was small in Esbakeya park. He was then transferred to the Saladin Citadel. In 1855 the Austrian Emperor Maximilian visited Egypt and the Egyptian governor Abbas Pacha gave him a collection that was in the museum.
In 1858 a new one was built by Augusto Mariette in the Bolaq neighborhood but it was destroyed by a great flood. Then he moved to the palace of Ismael Pacha. In 1897 Marcel Dourgon made the design of the new museum »Egyptian Museum».
In April 1897 the laying of the first stone was celebrated in the dynasty of Abbas Helmi II. In 1902 the palace monuments of Ismael Pacha were moved to the Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo.
The Design of the Egyptian Museum
He put 73 of the Egyptian Museum designs, but the French Marcel Dourgon’s design was chosen. It was the first museum in the world that was built as a museum (no building became a museum). The design was neoclassical not like the ancient Egyptian structure but the interior rooms of the Museum were in the shape of Egyptian temples.
The most important restoration of the Museum was in 2006. In 2016 it was restored to its original structure by 267 paintings found in the Museum. The Museum consists of 50 rooms on two floors. The rooms are arranged chronologically.
The Construction of the Egyptian Museum
It is on Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. The Museum contains 120 thousand objects from ancient Egyptian periods. The Museum has two floors;
-Downstairs; Papyrus sheets of various languages such as Greek, Latin, Arabic, and hieroglyphs (ancient Egyptian) are found from the last two millennia. There are also gold, bronze, and silver coins from various Greek, Roman, and Islamic periods. There are many objects from the new, middle, and old empires (found in the tombs of pharaohs).
-On the second floor; There is a room with Tutankhamun’s objects and his gold mask with more than 5 thousand artifacts found in his tomb. There is also a room for the mummies of the new empire and objects that were found in the Valley of the Kings.
The Exhibits at the Egyptian Museum
- The Mask and Sarcophagus of Tutankhamun; are very important in ancient Egyptian art. The mask is made of gold, glass, and precious stone. The sarcophagus is made of solid gold. They were found among the treasures of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
- The Statues of Amenhotep II and His Wife Tie; They are from the XVII dynasty and are 36 m high. They are in the center of the first room. They are accompanied by three small statues representing their daughters.
- Narmer paddle; It is a small plate with many symbols that represent the unification between Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.
- The Statue of Pharaoh Jasejemuy; he was the last pharaoh of the second dynasty of the unified empire of Egypt.
- The Statue of King Cheops; dates back to Dynasty IV. The statue sitting on a throne and the back of her head is a symbol of the god Horus.
About the Museum
The Auguste Mariette mausoleum was moved to the garden of the Egyptian Museum because it collected many Egyptian monuments. At the time of the construction of the Egyptian Museum, there were 12 thousand ancient Egyptian objects, but due to the recovery of Egyptian artifacts, they reached 120 thousand.
It is found in the cellars of the Egyptian Museum with 600 badly registered artifacts. Currently, the ancient monuments reach 150 thousand, so the Great Egyptian Museum is being built to display all the monuments that are on display and warehouses due to lack of space.
Visit Pharaonic Land Egypt
To visit the attractions of Cairo you can check our excursions in Cairo. If you want to enjoy a magical vacation, you can see our Egypt travel packages or if you want to explore Upper Egypt, choose your dream trip from our Nile cruises.
