Egypt: Cairo – The Egyptian Museum

Our tour of Cairo continued with a visit to the Egyptian Museum, a stop I had particularly been looking forward to. The museum is situated near Tahrir Square, right in the centre of the city. It’s a slightly older building by modern standards, with a bit of a faded charm, but it remains one of the most important museums in the world for anyone even remotely interested in ancient history.

Our guide, was clearly in his element here. He gave us a steady stream of background as we made our way inside, explaining that the museum had been established in the 19th century and now houses more than 120,000 artefacts. That figure sounded almost too large to take in, but once inside, it quickly became clear just how vast the collection is. There are sculptures, coffins, pottery, jewellery, and all manner of everyday items from different periods of ancient Egyptian civilisation—everything from the earliest dynasties through to the Greco-Roman era.

Despite its age and slightly cramped layout, the museum still manages to convey a powerful sense of how advanced and complex ancient Egyptian society really was. There are entire rooms full of statues—some towering over you at several metres high, others smaller and more intricate. Some of the sarcophagi are extraordinarily detailed, with carved inscriptions and painted faces that have survived thousands of years in surprisingly good condition.

At one point, our gude explained that the museum used to house the royal mummies as well, including several of the most famous pharaohs. These have since been transferred to a newer facility, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, which has a specially designed Royal Mummies Hall. According to Amir, there are 20 royal mummies on display there now—18 kings and 2 queens, including well-known names like Ramesses II, Hatshepsut, and Seti I. It’s a shame we didn’t have time to visit that museum on this trip, but it sounds like it’s worth a return one day.

The real highlight of the Egyptian Museum, though, is the section dedicated to Tutankhamun. Even though most people have seen photographs of the famous golden mask and other treasures, nothing quite compares to seeing them in person. The craftsmanship, considering the age of the items, is remarkable. The gold mask is, understandably, the centrepiece, but the other items in the collection are just as impressive—jewellery, ceremonial weapons, a chariot, even a pair of gloves. The room is dimly lit and kept fairly quiet, which adds to the atmosphere. Sadly, photography isn’t allowed in this section, which is fair enough, but I would’ve liked to have something to look back on. As it is, I’ll have to rely on memory and the occasional postcard.

We heard that because the museum has so many items, only a small percentage can actually be displayed at any given time. Many of the exhibits are packed quite close together, and the labels can sometimes be a bit sparse, but it’s still an extraordinary place. Apparently, this is one of the reasons the new Grand Egyptian Museum has been built out near the Giza Plateau. That facility is designed to offer more space and modern displays, and it’s also meant to house a large portion of the Tutankhamun collection in due course. It wasn’t fully open during our visit, but we passed near the site on the way to the pyramids, and from a distance, it looks enormous.

All in all, our time at the Egyptian Museum was well spent. There’s far more to see than you can absorb in a single visit, and it’s the kind of place where each room offers something completely different. If you have any interest in ancient Egypt, it’s a place you really shouldn’t miss—even if, like me, you end up wishing you could take a few discreet photos for the album.