Egyptian Pyramids 8 Day Tour - Cairo Egyptian Museum

Egyptian Pyramids 8 Day Tour - Cairo Egyptian Museum

Our Day 2 was a very full day as each day to come would be as well.  First thing in the morning, with our bags packed and loaded in the van, we headed to the infamous Egyptian Museum of Antiquities (Egyptian Museum) established in 1902.  The museum has two floors with multiple rooms full of wonderful antiquities. The historical artifacts range from the Narmer Palette, dating around 3100 BC, through to the Graeco-Roman Fayoum Portrtos of the 2nd Century AD. Impressive is the Colussus of Amenhotep II and Queen Tiye and the King Tutankhamun galleries.  The museum also has a room full of animal mummies with lots of large crocodiles!

Colussus of Amenhotep II and Queen Tiye

On the ground floor are artifacts from the New Kingdom, the time period between 1550 and 1069 BC. These artifacts are generally larger than items created in earlier centuries. Those items include statues, tables, and coffins (sarcophagi), it also contains 42 rooms, upon entering through the security check in the building, one looks toward the atrium and the rear of the building with many items on view from sarcophagi and boats to enormous statues.
On the first floor there are artifacts from the final two dynasties of Egypt, including items from the tombs of the Pharaohs Thutmosis III, Thutmosis IV, Amenophis II, Hatshepsut, and the courtier Maiherpri, as well as many artifacts from the Valley of the Kings, in particular the material from the intact tombs of Tutankhamun and Psusennes I. Two special rooms contain a number of mummies of kings and other royal family members of the New Kingdom.

Various Animal Mummies

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...

During the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and the 2013 Protests, many museums and tombs were raided and valuable artifacts were broken and stolen. In 2011, in particular, the Malawi National Museum, located in El Minya, was heavily ransacked and partially burned and took 3 years to reopen. The Egyptian Museum had mummies and other valuables stolen during these two time periods. The Egyptian Museum was protected by the people and army of Egypt during the riots which reduced the loss of artifacts.

 

*Note: These photos were taken from the web except the one photo with me in front of the Museum.  Therefore I assume no credit for any of these photos nor for the quality of the photos. I have solely added the photos for the purpose of sharing the exquisite artifacts and social climate of Egypt. The floor plan is copied from my Eyewitness Travel Egypt book.