Egypt - Museums

With the history of Egypt being so, so old there are now 3 museums devoted to housing all the artifacts, sculptures and information that has been gathered over the years, and they are still trying to gather answers to some of the mysteries, and secrets, that the ancient Egyptians left behind.  It would take weeks to properly look at the displays on offer so here a few highlights of what we saw.

Now known as the Old Museum in Cairo, a lot of the most popular artifacts have been moved to the GEM (Grand Egyptian Museum) but there are still some very interesting pieces eg:  Rosetta Stone replica.  The inscriptions on this stone took years to interpret but once the code was cracked, it unlocked so many answers to life in Egypt, thanks to Napolean Bonaparte and his fascination with Egyptology, who was instrumental in getting it interpreted.

One of the more interesting exhibitions was the one devoted to mummies Thuya and Yuya who lived in about 1400 BC.  Their tomb was discovered in 1904 and due to some high quality mummification, their bodies were in very good condition.  A few bits of their furniture were also found and was considered the richest tomb discovered in the Valley of the Kings before Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Speaking of which, around 1320 BC the young king of Egypt, Tutankhamun, was buried in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor.  He had an unexpected death at the prime age of 19 years and was hastily buried.  In 1922 his tomb was discovered, thanks to a young boy who found the steps to it.  It took 10 years for a British archeological team to clear his tomb and conserve all its contents, which are now all on display in the museum but will soon be moved to the GEM. 

Late last year, part of the GEM opened to the public and when it is fully finished, it will be the largest museum in the world devoted to one culture.  WOW!  What a well laid out museum and beautifully designed (by an Irish company who won the tender) that captures the essence of Egyptology.  The public wanders up 4 areas devoted to: 1 Royal Image; 2 Divine Houses; 3 Gods and Kings; 4 Eternal Life.  Once you reach the top of these sections, you are lead to a view of the Pyramids of Giza (photo above) and then it is divided into 3 areas – Society, Royalty and Religion throughout the timeline of Egypt (see photo below).  

It was a great day to wander around an air-conditioned museum and the temperature has finally hit 40 degrees but the mind is boggling with all this fascinating information regarding Egyptian history over the past 3-4 millenniums!

This was my favourite statue of King Khufu's (one who built the big pyramid) grandparents King Huni and Queen Meresankh I.  NB:  Queen is higher than the king as she was the one who actually 'ruled the roost' and had the king right under her thumb!  You can find this in the old museum.