Egypt Museums information, list, tours and online booking
Egypt Museums indeed are a must-to-do while you are in Egypt. Located close to the center of the city, the Alexandria National Museum nicely sums up the history of Alexandria in the three floors of the now renovated Italianate style Al-Saad Bassili Pasha Palace. On your trip to this aged city wander through the beautiful palace and see the artifacts from the four main ages of Egypt: Ancient, Greco-Roman, Coptic, and Islamic, there is also an array of more modern items such as royal jewels and an interesting collection of antique coins. Learn about the interesting history of Alexandria as you explore the different chambers which are color coordinated to the period of their displays, and don’t forget to get a camera permit at the door as there are some wonderful photo opportunities.
Displaying a great collection of art and artifacts that date back to the origins and legacy of ancient Alexandria, the Graeco Roman Museum has a neo-classical façade and the inscription-MOYXEION, which simply means museum in Greek. With 27 exhibits that showcase Hellenic statues, busts of Roman emperors, sarcophagi , mummies, Tangara figurines and early Christian artifacts, the museum captures over 2000 years of Graeco-Roman history in Egypt. The beautiful architecture of the Aswan Nubian Museum alone is worth seeing. But don’t forget to take a walk inside this partly open-air museum where you’ll find yourself wandering between a prehistoric cave with painted rock-art, ancient Egyptian statues, obelisks and columns and even a complete Nubian house.
More information about Egypt Museums:
Due to the quantities of material recovered from tombs, temples and settlements, UNESCO was encouraged in the 1980’s to plan a new Nubian museum in Aswan where the objects could be stored and exhibited. The total area of the museum and its surroundings is 50,000 square meters. Visit the Bawiti Museum – also know as the Antiquities Inspectorate Museum – in Bahariya Oasis to see the famous Graeco-Roman mummies and their gold painted sarcophagi. Discovered in 1996, the mummies are a part of a vast necropolis believed to contain more than 10,000 mummies. The mummies are decorated with ornate masks and jewelry. Note the life-like curly hair and eyelashes of some of the mummies. No Egypt tour is going to be completed without a visit to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
With over 120,000 artifacts, the museum houses an unbelievable exhibit depicting ancient Egypt’s glorious reign. Mummies, sarcophagi, pottery, jewelry and of course King Tutankhamen’s treasures, it’s all there. The boy-king’s death-mask – discovered in its tomb – is made of solid gold and it has been described as the most beautiful object ever made. Ancient Egyptians used to bury a “solar barge” near the tomb of their pharaoh because they believed that their ruler needed transportation in the afterlife. In 1954, the parts of a cedar-wood barge were found in five pits near the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The barge was restored and assembled out of 1200 pieces of wood and it is displayed, since then, in a glass museum near the Great Pyramid in Giza. It is called the Solar Boat Museum.
Further details:
Get an overview of the history of the oases of Kharga and Dakhla, visit the Al-Kharga Museum of Antiquities. Displaying a great collection of prehistoric, Ancient Egypt, Graeco-Roman and Islamic objects and artifacts, the museum brings back to life the human culture that thrived in the deserts of Egypt. Look for the collection of Roman wooden panels that served as “notebooks” used to record everyday formalities
Located in Luxor, the Mummification Museum presents the ancient Egyptian art of mummification and displays related artifacts and mummies. Here you’ll learn about the mummification techniques specialized to embalm many animal species, such as crocodiles, cats and fish. Mummified animals are unique to the collection of this museum. You’ll also see mummification tools, embalming materials, Canoptic jars, amulets and coffins. There are also ancient tablets that record the funeral journey from death to burial. The museum is divided into the Hall of Artifacts, Lecture Hall, Video Room and the cafeteria.
