The Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt
For many people, The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is the Holy Grail of museums. Over 150,000 relics from ancient Egypt are packed into this scruffy, salmon-colored giant, including some of the most precious artifacts known to man. To put the enormity of the museum's collection into perspective, consider this: if you spent one minute looking at each piece, you'd be there around-the-clock for nine months.
I don’t have nine months to spare, but I did manage to spend two days exploring the museum. Here are the things I admired most:
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Granite statue of Chephren, builder of the second pyramid at Giza.
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Falcon god Horus provides protection (and a little love).
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This beauty is a whopping 4,500 years old.
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Wooden statue of Ka-Aper.
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Also around 4,500 years old, this statue is carved out of a single piece of sycamore.
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He's kind of an intense fellow.
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Museum patrons. It's fun to check out the work of local art students.
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Big white people tend to move in herds.
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The museum's atmosphere can't be beat.
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Mummy of woman with portrait, 2nd century A.D.
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Greco-Roman mummies included beautifully detailed portraits of the deceased.
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These are the world’s first known portraits.
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Engraved granite stela. This single slab of stone is around 10m (30ft) high.
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One side sings his the praises of King Arhenaphis III .
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The other side mentions Israel, the only reference to Israelites in known Egyptian texts.
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Akhenaten, the "heretic king".
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Artistic styles changed dramatically during Akhenaten's rule. His statues have curving, feminine hips - and fat Mick Jagger lips.
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Akhenaten established ancient Egypt’s first and last monotheistic faith. After he died, priests attempted to obliterate all record of him.
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Haphazard collections. The museum's collection is notoriously disorganized. Labeling is scarce, frequently non-existent.
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Some rooms seem to be just storage space for piles of random artifacts.
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But the chaos is part of the charm – you feel like an explorer as you investigate hidden corners of neglected rooms.
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The scribe Mitri.
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This wooden statue is 4,400 years old.
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(Poor Mitri - writing's hard work)
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Granite sarcophagus of Thiharpto, scribe and priest of Min.
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These texts are from the Book of Hades.
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(Everybody likes monkey hieroglyphics.)
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Royal Mummy Room. Photography is not allowed in the royal mummy room, which might be a good thing - photos from this joint could scar children for life.
Around fifteen of Egypt's most famous leaders are on display in this quiet, climate-controlled room. Their wrappings have been removed, their faces and hands exposed.
Brittle black skin clings tightly to the bone. Bits of skull and bone are visible in areas. Hair and nails are largely intact.
Judging from his skeletal structure, Ramesses II had an enormous beak. His perfect teeth may have offset the effect. Straight, reddish hair covers the crown of his head.
Two queens (Nedjemet & Henuttawi) were provided with thick heads of fake braided hair and painted white shells for eyes. The site of these bright eyes gazing out of twisted, sunken faces is incredibly disturbing.
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Gold mask of Tutankhamun, the "boy king". This mask was placed over the head of the mummy.
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Hieroglyphics on the back of the mask.
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Tutankhamun's treasures were found undisturbed in 1922. His tomb was relatively modest in size, as was his historical legacy. The splendor of his treasure is likely just a shadow of the wealth looted from more important pharaohs' tombs.
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