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Egyptian Museum
Egyptian Museum, located in Cairo, is a vast collection of age-old antiquities. It was moved from its original place Boulak to Giza in 19th century. At present, it is located at Tahrir Square. It was opened for public in 1902.
Sections in Egyptian Museum Cairo
There are in total 7 sections in the Egyptian Museum. There are two floors where museum’s antiquities are placed. First section is a storehouse of Tutankhamen’s treasures. A number of beautiful artifacts that were used by the king are a part of this section. There are a number of decorative closets, chests, necklaces and other jewelry. In addition to this, there are several vases and bracelets that add to the charm of the section. The number of total artifacts exceeds 3000. The mummy of Tutankhamen is wrapped in clothes with the golden mask of the king placed above the body.
Another section contains the burial remains of other pharaohs like Ramses and Amentohep. The Royal Mummy Room has huge collection of 27 mummies. This room was closed in early eighties, but was later reopened. The artifacts of the old kingdom section houses decorative jars, vessels, caskets and some jewelry. In addition to it, statues of Neith and Kai are also placed here.A disc from the tomb of Hemaka depicts the pictures of wild animals.
A larger portion of middle kingdom section is attributed to statues of various pharaohs. Statutes of Khufu, Kaemked, and Pepi 2nd are the most famous ones. Another beautiful statue shows the family of Neferherenptah. A model showing preparation of bread and beer gives an insight into the lives of common people at that time. The new kingdom section has a collection of various antiquities like earrings, a jewel chest, and vases in the form of a goat. A prominent feature of this portion of the museum is that it has several funerary masks and objects of Pharaohs.
Egyptian Museum Books and Collections
Egyptian Museum of Cairo has over one hundred thousand antiquities. A library was established in the year 1902. There are books on many languages like Dutch, Arabic, and English, etc. There are books on varied branched like mathematics, history and art. Reading is allowed inside library but only people doing research work are allowed to borrow the books. Dozens of books, magazines and journals are added daily to the library.
Museum is also a vast collection of coins and papyrus. Most of these coins are made up of bronze, silver and gold. The languages used for writing are Hieroglyphic, Arabic, and Latin. The coins have helped the researchers to know about the great civilization of Egypt. There is also a bookshop right at the entrance that can provide tour books and magazines.
About Visiting Egyptian Museum Cairo
The right wing of the Museum has a cafeteria for the visitors. The museum remains open between 9.00 am to 7.00 pm. The morning hours attracts more crowds, so it is advisable to plan the visit in the evening. Cameras are not allowed inside. The ticket casts between EGP 60 to EGP 100. The visitors can get a handful of knowledge and an insight into the history of Egyptian Civilization.
More Facts About Egyptian Museum
The Museum, currently, the largest in Africa, is a house to more than hundred thousand antique Egyptian items that make it unique in itself. It houses a large collection of what you call “Pharaonic antiquties”. The Museum got attacked by some protesters in 2011; this led to the damage and a number of antiquities were stolen. Later, a few of these stolen art pieces were recovered and restored.
Grand Egyptian Museum
Yet another magnificent museum is about to create history when in 2023, Grand Egyptian Museum (which was under construction till now) in Giza, Egypt would be open for public. This piece of jewel would create history as it would have the privilege of being the largest archeological complex in the entire world. A large number of ancient antiquities (more than 18,000) would be on display which would also include famous king Tutankhamen’s collection. It would be situated only 2 kilometers from the Giza pyramid complex.
Fun Facts About Grand Egyptian Museum
- It is interesting to note that the design for this museum was selected in a competition in 2002 and the winner of this worldwide architectural competition was Heneghan Peng Architects, an Irish architectural firm. The construction began after 3 years but the journey was not smooth as the building suffered major setbacks of all kinds. However, after political picture in Egypt gained some stability, the construction too started smoothly. Prior to the competition, the foundation stone of the museum was laid down by Hosni Mubarak, the President of Egypt at that time. This was just 2 days before the competition took place.
- When it would open, it will house not only the treasures from pre-historic times of Egypt but also the subsequent eras of Egyptian civilization would find a place here. Apart from king Tutankhamen’s treasure, this grand museum would keep on display the artifacts related to the presence of Roman and Greek empires in Egypt throughout ancient history.
- In 2006, the museum was bejeweled with the famous Statue of Ramesses II, which was later kept in the atrium of the museum. Thus statue was shifted from Ramses Square (a railway station in Cairo) to museum’s atrium and named after pharaoh Ramses II.
Source: Archdaily.com - The entire project is being built at a cost of $550 million USD more than half of which was financed from a Japanese Bank called Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The remaining part is to be funded by the government of Egypt along with several donations.
- The approximate total objects to be displayed in the museum is 50,000 out of which 18,000 would the artifacts. Of these 18,000, about 5000 artifacts would be kept in the Tutankhamen galleries while the rest would be the part of other galleries. A number of objects have also been shifted from other galleries of Egypt.
Grand Egyptian Museum Opening
The expected Grand Egyptian Museum Opening is late 2023 though the exact date is not yet decided. Earlier, the museum was slated to open in 2018, but the date was pushed back to late 2020. But due to Covid-19 pandemic, the date was again shifted to 2021. As per the latest information, the opening in 2023 would finally open the doors to one of the most spectacular museums on earth. For knowing the exact date in advance and sale of tickets, you can sign up here.
Pre-opening guided tours would be available to those who sign up on this website, These pre-tours would let visitors view the Great Hall, the Glass Hall, gardens, and a conference center. A food court would also be available to these tourists. Before the Grand Egyptian Museum is officially opened, however, no one would be allowed to visit the inside galleries.
When open, the entry would be free for people with special needs and children below 4 years, The expected price for the Egyptian people visiting the museum would be around 2-5 USD (50-175 Egyptian Dollars).
About 5 million tourists are expected to visit the museum. The expected opening hours are 9 am and 6 pm.
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