The Cairo Egyptian Museum is a treasure trove of ancient history. What can you see at the Cairo Egyptian Museum? Memphis Open Air Museum

Two people to whom the world owes its creation Cairo Museum, which preserved the works of the great masters of antiquity, have never been encountered. One of them - Muhammad Ali, the ruler of Egypt in the first half of the 19th century, an Albanian by birth, who learned to read and write at a fairly mature age, in 1835 by decree prohibited the export of ancient monuments from the country without special permission from the government. The other one is French Auguste Mariette, who in 1850 arrived by steamship in Alexandria with the intention of acquiring Coptic and Syriac church manuscripts, not knowing that shortly before this the Coptic patriarch had banned the export of these rarities from the country.

Egypt was conquered by Marietta, the magnetism of ancient images completely took possession of him, and he began excavations at Saqqara. Unexpected discoveries absorbed him so much that Mariette forgets about the original purpose of his trip, but he is well aware that all the artifacts obtained with such difficulty must be preserved for his contemporaries and descendants. To do this, you need to control the ongoing excavations and find a place to store and display what you found. This is how the ones that exist to this day were born Egyptian Antiquities Service and Cairo Museum , which Mariette took charge of in 1858.

The first museum building was located in the quarter Bulak, on the banks of the Nile, in the house where Mariette settled with his family. There he opened four halls of the exhibition of Egyptian antiquities. The number of valuable finds, including gold jewelry, was constantly growing. A new building was needed to accommodate them, but, as always, financial difficulties arose. Despite the enormous efforts of Mariett, who had a selfless love for Egypt, his determination and diplomacy, it was not possible to resolve this issue, and the old building was threatened by the annual floods of the Nile. Mariette won the love and respect of the rulers of Egypt, he was invited to solemn ceremony opening of the Suez Canal, wrote the story that formed the basis of the libretto of the famous opera “Aida”, was awarded the title “Pasha”, but until his death he never saw the new building.

Mariette died in 1881, the sarcophagus with his body was buried in the garden of the Bulak Museum. Ten years later, the collection will move to Giza, to the old residence of Khedive Ismail, the Marietta sarcophagus will follow there, and only in 1902 will his dream of creation of a museum in the center of the capital - Cairo. The building was built on El-Tahrir Square according to the design of a French architect. In the garden of the new museum, Mariette will find his final refuge; above his marble sarcophagus, located on the left side of the entrance, will rise his full-length bronze statue, in traditional Egyptian costume. late XIX century, wearing an Ottoman fez on his head. Around are busts of the world's largest Egyptologists, among them a sculptural portrait of the outstanding Russian scientist of the early twentieth century, V. S. Golenishchev. The garden also displays finds from Marietta - the sphinx of Thutmose III made of red granite, the obelisk of Ramesses II and other works of monumental art. A huge lobby, about a hundred halls located on two floors, one hundred and fifty thousand exhibits and thirty thousand items in storerooms covering five thousand-year history Ancient Egypt - that's what the Cairo Museum is all about.

His collection is unique. Moving from room to room, the visitor makes an unforgettable journey into a mysterious world ancient civilization, the cradle of human culture, amazing with the abundance and splendor of its man-made deeds. The exhibits are arranged thematically and chronologically. On the ground floor there are masterpieces of stone sculpture made of limestone, basalt, granite from pre-dynastic to Greek-Roman times. Among them is the famous statue of pharaoh Khafre, builder of the second largest pyramid at Giza, made of dark green diorite with light veins, sculptural composition Pharaoh Mikerin, shown surrounded by goddesses.

A separate room is dedicated to the treasures of Queen Hetepheres, the mother of Pharaoh Cheops, who built the most famous pyramid. Among them are an armchair, a huge bed, a stretcher covered with gold leaf, a box decorated with inlaid stones in the shape of butterfly wings, with twenty silver bracelets. Here are massive sarcophagi of different eras made of red and black granite, boats of the pharaohs made of valuable wood, granite sphinxes of the pharaohs. In a separate room are the colossi of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten and the statues of his wife Nefertiti, whose fame and beauty can only be rivaled by Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. This is not a complete list of what a visitor can see on the first floor of the exhibition.

The undoubted masterpiece of the collection is the treasures of Tutankhamun, which became a sensation at the beginning of the 20th century. It’s not even the abundance of gold that is striking, although Tutankhamun’s mask alone weighs eleven kilograms, but highest quality jewelry work with precious metal, precious stones and the most valuable wood species. Tutankhamun's jewelry, including wide gold necklaces inlaid with turquoise, lapis lazuli and coral, massive earrings, and pectorals with mythological subjects, has no equal. The furniture is made with special grace; even the huge gold-upholstered arks, inside of which the sarcophagus was placed, delight in the subtlety of their execution. The scene on the back of Tutankhamun’s chair is full of lyricism, showing the loving couple of young rulers of a huge country.

The abundance of unique objects of art, exuding the amazing energy of images, has given rise to many mysteries, fantasies and legends since the opening of the tomb. X-ray analysis of Tutankhamun's mummy, carried out very recently, showed an undoubted relationship with the reformer pharaoh Akhenaten, who was his father. The cause of Tutankhamun's death was also established - a fall from a chariot during a hunt, which resulted in an open fracture of the kneecap and an outbreak of the malaria virus in the body. Even with high level The development of ancient Egyptian medicine failed to save the pharaoh; he died at the age of 18.

Those who, after viewing Tutankhamun’s collection, decide to go into the next room, where the treasures of the pharaohs from the XXI Egyptian dynasty (XI-X centuries BC) to Roman times are kept, another miracle awaits. If Tutankhamun's collection was destined to travel halfway around the world, delighting people different ages and nationalities, the gold and silver items found in Tanis are much less known. The most impressive are the treasures from the burial of Pharaoh Psusennes I, who reigned from 1045-994 BC. e. And his associates. Among the masterpieces of jewelry are wide necklaces with pendants and pectorals made of gold, inlaid with carnelian, lapis lazuli, green feldspar, and jasper.

Priceless are the bowls made of silver and electrum in the shape of a flower or with floral motifs found in the tomb of Unjedbauenged, the commander of Psusennes I, vessels for ritual libations, gold figurines of goddesses, and gold funeral masks of the pharaohs. Two unique sarcophagi are made of silver, which was especially valued in Egypt, for the pharaoh, according to the testimony of the rulers of neighboring countries, had as much gold as the sand under his feet, but only a few silver items. One sarcophagus, 185 centimeters long, belongs to Psusennes I. The pharaoh's mask is decorated with gold, adding volume and grace to his face. In the other, Pharaoh Shoshenq II rested. The length of his sarcophagus is 190 centimeters, in place funeral mask- the head of a divine falcon.

In the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. On the walls of the pyramids of the pharaohs the words were inscribed: “O Pharaoh, you did not leave dead, you left alive.” The author of this text did not even suspect what kind of continuation of life awaited the owners of the pyramids and tombs. And although the names of those who built, sculpted and created for their pharaohs have disappeared in the whirlpool of history, the spirit of Ancient Egypt hovers within the walls of the Cairo Museum. Here you can feel the great spiritual power of ancient civilization, love for your country, a phenomenon that is unlike any other culture of the state.

The Egyptian Museum is located in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. This is a truly extraordinary place, which houses numerous exhibits that tell us about the history and art of Egypt. different eras. These museum treasures can surprise anyone and will interest even those people who have never been interested in the history of Egypt.

The Egyptian Museum preserves not just exhibits, but time and history. After all, some manuscripts and scrolls, household items and art objects are already more than five thousand years old! You can also find preserved mummies of pharaohs, sarcophagi of priests, and treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamun, which were buried along with the ruler.

One of the most famous exhibits is death mask Tutankhamun. Also not unknown are the sculptures of Amenhotep III and Tiya, his wife, which are impossible to pass by. Unusual figurines, sculptures, paintings and jewelry that were worn in Ancient Egypt... A lot of mysterious things await visitors to the Egyptian Museum: the purpose of many artifacts is still unknown, and the effects of some of them are considered beneficial to the human body.

The Egyptian Museum, the custodian of many ancient exhibits, has an atmosphere of antiquity and mystery. Its visitors have the opportunity to deeply immerse themselves in the history and culture of Egypt from different eras.

War Museum

The Egyptian National Military Museum is located in the Cairo Citadel - a fortified area from which almost the entire city is visible. The museum is located in the palace of Muhammad Ali. The museum's collection reflects all stages of the development and formation of the Egyptian army, as well as periods military history countries.

Among the exhibits of the military museum are: different kinds weapons, including military trophies, portraits of famous commanders. The collection of Soviet tanks is of interest. An extensive exhibition is dedicated to the war with Israel.

Also, museum visitors may be interested in mannequins dressed in military uniforms of different historical periods, banners, insignia, various vehicles used by the Egyptian army.

Imhotep Museum

The museum includes six galleries in which exhibits revealing the history of Saqqara are on display for the public to see. In front of the entrance there is a statue of Djoser containing inscriptions - the names and titles of Imhotep. The museum's exposition contains a variety of medical instruments, statues of deities and ceramic dishes - all of this was discovered as a result of many years of archaeological research.

In addition, visitors to this museum are given the opportunity to examine the tomb, which was specially designed to provide a more complete picture of the tombs that make up the necropolis.

Helwan Wax Museum

The Helwan Wax Museum is located in the suburbs of Cairo, near the Ain Helwan metro station. This small public museum features wax sculptures that showcase important figures from Egyptian history and an idealized traditional Egyptian culture.

Here you can see the figures of Salah El-Din al-Ayyubi (Saladin), King of England Richard the Lionheart, Amr ibn al-Ass, Cleopatra, President Gamal Abdel Nasser and many other historical figures.

The museum was founded by the famous Egyptian painter and sculptor Bikar Hussein.

Coptic Museum

The Coptic Museum in Cairo is dedicated to the culture and history of the Copts, the Christian Egyptians. It houses the world's largest collection of Coptic art. The museum was founded in 1910. Its founder, Markus Simaika Pasha, was one of the leaders of the Coptic Community Council. The basis of the museum was his personal collection.

The interior of the museum contains elements common to Coptic and Muslim cultures. The museum's holdings contain about 16 thousand exhibits; the permanent exhibition includes 1,200 examples of Coptic art: wood and stone carvings, icons, frescoes, fragments of fabrics decorated with embroidery and gold embroidery, coins. The Coptic Museum has a separate room dedicated to ancient Christian monasteries.

Of particular interest to both tourists and researchers is the collection of works of Coptic writing - about 6 thousand manuscripts on papyrus. The pride of the museum is the world’s only complete copy of the Psalms of David, dating back to the 6th century, as well as 13 papyrus sheets of the so-called “Gospel of Judas,” found in the 1970s and illegally exported outside Egypt.

Guyer-Anderson Museum

The Guyer-Anderson Museum is located in the southern part of the old Muslim district of Cairo, next to the Tulun Mosque. The museum consists of 2 buildings connected by a gallery - Beit al-Qiritilya and Beit Amna Bent Salim. One of the buildings was built in 1540, the second in 1631. In 1934, the houses were sold to the government, which, in turn, handed them over to the English military doctor, Major Guyer-Anderson.

The Englishman restored both houses, preserving the medieval interior and housing a rich collection of works of art, antiques, clothing and trinkets from different historical eras.

In the halls of the museum you can see antique furniture, Arabic costumes, carpets, glassware and crystal. Visitors are presented with statues of Queen Nefertiti and the goddess Bastet, a wooden ceiling decorated with scenes from the Koran, and a marble fountain in the living room. Nothing has been changed in Guyer-Anderson’s office since his death; photographs of the Englishman’s relatives still hang on the walls of the office.

One of the Bond episodes, “The Spy Who Loved Me,” was filmed in the interiors of the museum.

Ahmed Shawqi Qarmat Ibn Hani Museum

The Ahmed Shawqi Museum is an unconventional museum that, instead of the usual sculptures and other artifacts, houses 713 manuscripts, which include drafts of poems and other works of the great Arab poet. Also in the museum you can find an impressive collection of paintings, photographs of the poet and his family, his awards and other valuable gifts. The house-museum of the emir (prince) of the Arabic poem contains the poet's bedroom and study. The museum opened to the general public on June 17, 1977.

Ahmed named his house "Karmet Ibn Hani", which translates as "Ibn Hani's Vineyard". Ahmed's influence on Arabic literature was so great that his house became especially revered and protected National Museum. Shawqi was a follower of al-Barudi, who in his panegyric poems exalted the Prophet Muhammad and praised past glory Egypt. For his angry poems against the British protectorate, he was expelled from the country by the British authorities.

Museum of Islamic Art

The collection of the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo includes several tens of thousands of exhibits illustrating all periods of the development of Muslim art. Samples not only from Egypt, but also from other Islamic countries are exhibited here: Iran, Armenia, Turkey.

Museum visitors can see here marble fountains, carved mashrabiya lattices, Persian carpets, and examples of Arabic calligraphy. The museum exhibits fabrics, Arab weapons, silver, glass and wood items, gold and bronze jewelry, and metal utensils. There are also examples of wood carvings with images of people prohibited by Islam.

In one of the halls of the museum numerous copies of the Koran are exhibited. Also here you can see a hall of Islamic ceramics, a mosaic panel with views of Mecca and the Kaaba, and a huge papyrus from the 8th century.

On the territory of the Museum of Islamic Art there is also a souvenir shop, a cafe, a lecture hall, and a library. There are conditions for visitors with disabilities. Photography in the museum is only permitted without flash.

Abdin Palace Museum

The Abdin Palace Museum is located in a former royal palace, modeled after the residences of European monarchs. This is one of the most luxurious palaces in the world, with 500 rooms. In the 80s of the 20th century, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered the opening of a museum in the palace building.

The lower floors, where the Museum of Arms and the Royal family museum, Presidential Gift Museum and others. The upper floors, where the royal family lived, are intended to accommodate foreign guests.

The rich collection of the Museum of Weapons with unique exhibits, such as, for example, a sword, deserves special attention Russian emperors in a gold scabbard with decorations made of enamel and precious stones.

A separate hall of the museum is occupied by awards from the rulers of Egypt. Here you can also see a collection of silver and unique porcelain, rare paintings and exceptional jewelry, crowns of the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom, and busts of rulers.

The Abdin Palace building is used for ceremonies and receptions of heads of state.

Egyptian Geological Museum

The Egyptian Geological Museum, opened in 1904, is part of the national geological research center.

The exhibition demonstrates the geological history of the country, its flora and animal world. The museum has representatives of large scientific interest collections of invertebrate and vertebrate fossils, minerals, ores, rocks, and meteorites. The exhibits are housed in thematic halls of three galleries.

The museum has specialized laboratories for research in the fields of mineralogy, paleontology and petrology. It also has its own library, available to scientists and the public. The library collection includes over 10,000 publications, maps, and chronicles.

Cairo Perfume Museum

The Cairo Perfume Museum is located in the capital of Egypt. In that unique museum collected large collection fragrances that allow us to trace the thousand-year history of perfume production in the territory of this ancient and mysterious country.

The banks of the Nile have long been a place where oil plants were grown, the extracts of which were used by craftsmen to produce unique aromas. It is known for certain that at the court of the Egyptian pharaohs there were perfumers who supplied unique perfumes for the crowned rulers.

The vessels made by hand by highly skilled jewelers deserve special attention. Precious stones and metals were used in the manufacture of vessels, which allowed perfumes to retain their original qualities for a long time.

Traditionally, only natural materials - oils, herbal extracts and spices - were used to produce perfumes in Egypt. The museum will also tell you about ancient technologies for producing aromas and offer you the opportunity to taste some of them.

Suhaimi House Museum

Bayt al-Suhaimi, or simply "House of Suhaimi", is old house times Ottoman Empire, now turned into a museum.

The house was built in 1648 in an expensive part of Cairo. A little over a century later, the building was bought by the family of Sheikh Ahmed al-Suhaimi. His family lived here for several generations, gradually expanding the space of the house by absorbing neighboring buildings.

Traditionally, the walls of the house surround a patio with a small garden. The interior of the premises has remained almost untouched since ancient times. Marble floors, wooden furniture and painted ceilings bear witness to years gone by.

The museum equipped here gives a complete picture of the life of a wealthy urban family in the Middle Ages and of purely everyday adaptations for a full life in a radical climate.

Children's Museum

The Cairo Children's Museum opened in 2011 as part of the country's collaboration with the British Museum. This is the largest museum for children in Africa and the Arab world. It is located in the Heliopolis forest park.

The museum was created on the initiative of Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of the former president of the country. On the 2nd floor of the museum there is a statue of her, which was donated by British museum in recognition of Suzanne Mubarak's contribution to the care of children in Egypt. Nearby there is an appeal to children, encouraging them to enrich their own knowledge.

The museum's exhibition illustrates the history of Egypt from ancient times: clothing, weaving and spinning processes, irrigation systems, ancient shipbuilding, the internal structure of the pyramids, deciphering hieroglyphs with the Rosetta Stone.

In the hall dedicated to the Red Sea, visitors can learn about marine flora and fauna, read a description of the available environmental problems. The hall dedicated to the inhabitants of the desert tells about the ways of adaptation of plants and animals to harsh natural conditions. The museum also has halls such as crafts, information, and the human structure.

Mahmud Mukhtar Museum

The Mahmoud Mukhtar Museum, dedicated to the outstanding Egyptian sculptor, is located in Cairo, on the island of Gezira. The original museum building, decorated with bronze, stone, basalt, marble and granite, was designed by the Egyptian architect Ramses Osyu Wassef.

The museum opened in 1962. In 2003, large-scale restoration work was carried out here.

The museum's exhibition presents 85 sculptures of Mukhtar, materials that introduce visitors to his life and brilliant work, which had a significant impact on the art of the country.

The building also houses the mausoleum of the famous master, where he was buried.

Umm Kulthum Museum

The Umm Kulthum Museum is housed in the Monastirli Palace, built in 1851, located on the banks of the Nile. The small museum is dedicated to the famous Egyptian singer and actress, who became famous for her magnificent performance of beautiful Arabic songs and was awarded the highest award from the King of Egypt.

The exhibition displays personal belongings, souvenirs, and clothes of the singer. For example, here you can see her sparkling concert dress, signed glasses with the diva's autograph. The museum has a multimedia room where visitors are invited to listen to her songs and watch a short documentary about the singer’s biography - from the time when little Fatima performed for the audience dressed as a Bedouin boy, to the magnificent funeral of Umm Kulthum with the participation of the leaders Arab countries and 4 million Cairo residents.

Egyptian Geographical Society Museum

The Egyptian National Geographic Society Museum includes a small historical library, a meeting room and the ethnographic museum itself. This is not the most famous museum in Cairo, but it is no less interesting than the others.

The museum's collection includes exhibits from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Here you can see a reconstruction of the life and customs of the indigenous population of Egypt. The recreated hairdressing salon and the bridal carriage deserve attention. Sometimes the museum hosts historical reconstructions scenes from the life of the aborigines, visitors are treated to national dishes which are prepared right there.

One of the halls of the museum contains exhibits brought from expeditions across the African continent: spears and shields of warriors of local tribes, elephant tusks, a stuffed crocodile.

In the library you can see old maps, data from Egyptian censuses that took place in the 20th century, and photographs of the Egyptian desert.

Railway Museum

The Railway Museum in Cairo was founded in 1933. His collection includes about 700 exhibits. The building of this small museum is located near the Central Railway Station of Cairo.

The museum exhibition has 5 sections. The first covers transport before the era of steam engines, from the chariots of the pharaohs to water transport.

The second, most important section is dedicated to the trains themselves: from the very first trains to the most modern ones. There are models of steam engines, locomotives and carriages, some of them life-size.

There are also genuine parts of steam locomotives here. Tourists are invited to view Muhammad Ali Pasha's personal train, which looks as if it has just left the depot and is ready to hit the road.

In the other two sections of the museum you can see models of railway bridges and stations from all over Egypt. The last section of the exhibition is dedicated to airplanes - from the inventions of the Wright brothers to the present day. The museum also contains statistics on the development of the transport network in Egypt, photographs, maps and documents.

Egyptian Textile Museum

The Egyptian Textile Museum is the first dedicated museum in the Middle East and the third textile museum in the world. Here are presented samples of all fabrics that have been made in Egypt since ancient times that have survived to this day: flax, in the processing of which the ancient Egyptians were very skillful, fine wool, samples of embroidery and gold embroidery.

Here you can see funerary clothes from the tombs of the pharaohs, Coptic embroideries, dyed fabrics of royal robes, loincloths and shirts, and Muslim prayer rugs. The museum also displays the tools of spinners and seamstresses, and weaving machines.

The museum's exhibition provides insight not only into the ancient Egyptian textile industry, but also into the history of costume.

The museum has 2 floors and maintains a special microclimate necessary for the preservation of fabrics and products made from them. The exhibition was first opened to the public in 2010.

Memphis Open Air Museum

Memphis - oldest city Egypt, a major administrative center of antiquity. In the 3rd millennium BC, the capital of the Old Kingdom was located here. Now on this site there is a kind of museum under open air.

Excavations are still ongoing in Memphis, but they are hampered by the close occurrence of groundwater and the fact that part of the territory of the ancient city is located under private palm groves. Almost no entire buildings in the city have survived - the city has survived to this day completely covered with silt.

In Memphis you can see the famous colossus of Pharaoh Ramses II, reaching 10 meters in height, a large alabaster table where sacred bulls were embalmed, dedicated to god Apis, an alabaster sphinx weighing 10 tons.

You can also see granite tombstones, remains of ancient temples and granite statues of pharaohs.

The museum is open daily, entrance fee is charged.

Ethnographical museum

IN Ethnographic Museum Cairo presents traditions and everyday life city ​​and Egypt. The museum's exhibition consists of four categories, shown in separate exhibition halls.

The first hall houses exhibits representing authentic crafts, industrial products, works of craftsmen made of wood, iron, copper, glass, leather and other materials.

The second hall displays ancient African ethnographic relics. Here you can see weapons, musical instruments and equipment of dervishes from Bahr el-Ghazali, Darfur, Abyssinia, Northern Uganda and Somali lands.

The third room has a large collection of items that are associated with the customs and traditions of Egypt - wedding ceremonies, circumcision, public baths, smoking and others. The most valuable of them are colored glass from ancient Islamic buildings and interlaced stucco.

The fourth hall tells about the Suez Canal. The most notable object here is a diorama depicting the imperial ship at the opening of the canal in 1869.

Museum "Panorama of the October War"

The Panorama of the October War Museum, built in 1989, is located in the Heliopolis area of ​​Cairo. It recounts the events of Egypt's great victory over Israel in 1973.

The museum is a circular building, the central place of which is occupied by panoramic paintings depicting military events between the Egyptian and Israeli armed forces.

The entire panorama consists of three separate shows, each lasting about 20 minutes: the first begins with documentary film"Path to Victory", the second show is a small theatrical performance, and the third is a circular 3D diorama of the battle scene on a rotating platform, including many special effects: from columns of smoke to a swarm of planes flying directly into the auditorium.

Egyptian Museum of Modern Art

Museum contemporary art It's easy to find in Cairo - it's located right opposite the Cairo Opera. It opened again quite recently - in 2005, which was preceded by a long reconstruction. It contains works by Egyptian artists from the 20th and 21st centuries.

The museum's most significant exhibition, “Art Today,” is located on the ground floor. Works by 95 artists from 1975 to the present day are exhibited here.

The most notable exhibits of the museum are the bronze statue of the sculptor Mahmoud Mukhtar “Bride of the Nile”, the paintings “City” by Mahmoud Said and “Date” by Rahgeb Ayad.

For museum visitors there is a café and a souvenir shop with postcards and posters, located on the top floor of the three-story museum building.

Sights of Cairo

The famous Cairo Museum, built in the neoclassical style, is located, which is based on exhibits collected by its first director, a Frenchman by nationality, Auguste Mariette. It was he who opened this treasury in 1858, and at first it was located in a completely different building, and already in 1902 the current one was built.

The Cairo Museum, which has numerous exhibits, occupies one hundred halls. Approximately one hundred thousand rarities located in chronological order, exhibited in it. Visitors find themselves in the history of one of the most ancient civilizations on earth, spanning more than three thousand years.

At the very entrance they are greeted by huge sculptures of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Tia, his wife, who, contrary to tradition, has the same size as the statue of her husband.

The Cairo National Museum is considered the largest repository of ancient Egyptian art. His pearl is the one on display on the second floor. It was found in 1922 in the famous Valley of the Kings, located near Luxor. This find is considered an archaeological masterpiece, a sensation of the 20th century, because the tomb of this pharaoh is the only tomb that was not plundered and appeared before people in its original form.

The transportation of the treasures of the tomb to the Cairo Museum lasted about five years, there were so many of them: the total number of all items was more than three and a half thousand, including jewelry, household utensils and jewelry.
In several halls in which the treasures of the tomb are displayed, there are four wooden gilded arks, in which in ancient times the stone sarcophagus of Pharaoh Tutankhamun was kept, and is now located in the Valley of the Kings. The Cairo Museum exhibits three sarcophagi, one of which, made of pure cast gold, weighs 110 kilograms. There, visitors can see the young ruler, which, made of the same precious metal, accurately reproduces the face of Tutankhamun.

Another priceless treasure that the Cairo Museum exhibits is the gilded throne, decorated with a scattering of precious stones, on which this pharaoh once sat. There are snakes on the armrests, and lion heads on the sides of the seat. On the back of this throne is a figure of Tutankhamun himself and his beloved wife. In the same collection, half-decayed sandals and a shirt are on display - what the young pharaoh was wearing.

More recently, the Egyptian, or Cairo, Museum opened a hall containing the mummies of other kings. Thanks to a specially created microclimate, you can see Ramses II, Seti I, Thutmose II here - a total of 11 pharaohs.

The most “expensive” section of the museum are works of art that have come down to us from the so-called Amarna time, when Egypt was ruled by the “heretic pharaoh” Amenhotep IV, the father of Tutankhamun. It was he who renounced many of the gods of his ancestors and officially introduced the cult of Aten in the country. Thanks to his aesthetic requirements, a new, previously unprecedented artistic movement was born, which, in contrast to the restrained ancient Egyptian canonical art, is very similar to a kind of expressionism.

In general, the basis of the Cairo Museum is the “Antiquities Service” organized by the Egyptian government, which in every possible way prevented the chaos that reigned in the place. However, the Cairo Museum owes its real birth to its first director, the Egyptologist Mariette, who came to Cairo from the Louvre to acquire papyri. In love with this country, Auguste Mariette stayed here, devoting his life to creating a museum that would collect all the treasures found on ancient land.

His ashes rest there, in the courtyard of the museum.

The complex, founded in 1885, has the highest concentration of archaeological artifacts in the world. This museum houses more than 100 thousand artifacts dating back to all periods of Egyptian history. Wherever you look, you will see something interesting. It will take several years to explore all the treasures of this fantastic place! Since most people come to Cairo for only a few days, it is better to focus your attention on the most popular and important exhibits for Egyptian history.

Egyptian Museum in Cairo - video

Cairo Museum - photo

For those who were impressed by the pyramids, or here is the original statues of Pharaoh Djoser. There is also a small ivory figurine depicting Pharaoh Cheops (the only image of the pharaoh that has survived to this day) - the creator of the Great Pyramid of Giza. And the beautiful statue of his son Khafre is one of the masterpieces of ancient Egyptian sculpture. He is protected by the god Horus in the form of a hawk. Hidden in a corner of the first floor are several stone fragments that were found directly under the head of the Great Sphinx. These are parts of the ceremonial beard and king cobra that once adorned the statue.

Those who have visited ancient city Akhetaton probably wants to see the hall in which they are images of Pharaoh Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Egyptologists believe that when creating a new religion, Akhenaten wanted to be depicted in male and female guise at the same time, as the supreme creator.

Remember the Pharaoh who pursued Moses and his people in the Sinai desert? This is Ramses the Great. There are quite a few statues of him in the Cairo Egyptian Museum (he reigned for 66 years). You might want to look him in the eye hall of the royal mummies- this is an indescribable feeling.

Almost everyone who comes to Egypt visits, and the Cairo Museum has a special section for them. Everybody wants to watch treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb. Almost half of the second floor of the Egyptian Museum is devoted to the exhibition of these priceless artifacts. There are more than 1,700 exhibits occupying 12 halls! Here you can see a beautiful statue of Tutankhamun standing on the back of a panther; a magnificent throne made of wood, inlaid with gold and precious stones, on back side which depicts the pharaoh with his young wife, who was his half-sister; You can also see golden amulets and sarcophagi made of pure gold, as well as small (38-centimeter) golden sarcophagi in which the pharaoh’s entrails were stored. And, probably, the main treasure of Tutankhamun is the golden death mask that covered the mummy’s face. The mask, made of pure gold and decorated with azure brought from what is now Afghanistan, is one of the main treasures of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Cairo Museum - opening hours, ticket prices

You can visit the Cairo Museum daily from 9:00 to 17:00.

Tickets to visit cost 60 Egyptian pounds. To visit the hall with mummies you need to pay an additional fee of about 10 dollars.

Cairo Museum - how to get there, address

Address: Al Ismaileyah, Qasr an Nile, Cairo Governorate.

The Egyptian Museum is located in the center of Cairo. You can get to it by metro - first (red) line, Urabi station.

Cairo Egyptian Museum on the map

Egyptian Museum in Cairo (Cairo, Egypt) - exhibitions, opening hours, address, phone numbers, official website.

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One of the most interesting places In Cairo, the Egyptian Museum, located in Tahrir Square, is rightfully considered. A huge number of Egyptian antiquities of great interest are collected here. It is very difficult to see more than 150 thousand exhibits in one day, but it is worth the try. By the way, the building of the Egyptian Museum is also far from small and has more than 100 halls.

In 1835, the country's government was forced to create the "Egyptian Antiquities Service" because at that time the looting of pharaonic tombs had reached an unprecedented level. Many local residents lived exclusively by trading antiquities on the black market. Archaeologists often could not do anything, since robbers were vigilantly watching all new excavations. In addition, valuable exhibits were freely exported from the country, since there was no official ban on export.

This emergency shocked the French scientist Auguste Mariette. In 1850, he came to Cairo with one goal: to stop the theft of historical values ​​by any means possible. He managed to found the Egyptian Museum in Bulak, which was then moved to Giza. Mariette was so devoted to his profession and Egypt that he even died in this country. In 1902, all the museum's exhibits were transported to Cairo, to a building built by the architect Marcel Dunon. In the courtyard of the museum there is a monument to the famous Egyptologist, and his ashes are enclosed in a granite sarcophagus.

For the sake of preserving Egyptian antiquities, the French scientist Auguste Mariette refused a well-paid job at the Louvre and went to Cairo.

Today, the Egyptian Museum houses unique exhibits that are about five thousand years old. Here visitors can see eleven mummies of pharaohs, sarcophagi, objects of art and everyday life, and many other things from the life of the ancient Egyptians. Without a doubt, all exhibitions deserve close attention. But there are, of course, those that are especially popular among visitors. The tomb of Tutankhamun, found in 1922, is of great interest. Tutankhamun's burial was the only one that was not damaged by robbers. Archaeologists have found a lot of valuable things and treasures that belonged to the pharaoh. Many of them can now be seen in the Egyptian Museum. For example, three sarcophagi are stored here, one of which is made entirely of gold and weighs 110 kg.

In the hall of the Egyptian Museum, where the mummies of the pharaohs are kept, a special microclimate has been created.

The exhibition of items dating back to the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten is also interesting. Amenhotep IV went down in Egyptian history thanks to his reforms. He ordered his people to worship only one god - the Sun-Aten, and not many gods, as was the case during the reign of his ancestors. In honor of the sun, he even took himself a new name - Akhenaten. After his death, the priests hastened to return to the old principles of life as quickly as possible and ordered the destruction of everything connected with Akhenaten. That is why very few monuments dating back to this period of time remain.

Address: Meret Basha, Qasr an Nile, Cairo