What can be seen in the Cairo Egyptian Museum? Egyptian Museum in Cairo Cairo Egyptian museums works.

In our travels, we rarely visit museums, but sometimes we do. There are interesting things in the world historical museums with incredible exhibits that tell the stories of cities and countries, people and events. Cairo egyptian museum- one of them. I confess that if we had gone to Cairo on our own, we would not have visited it. Before the trip, I knew nothing about the museum and its collections and only knew that it was forbidden to take pictures there, there were long lines to get in, and that it was worth allocating almost a whole day to visit it. But circumstances developed in such a way that the Cairo Egyptian Museum became the main attraction on a par with the pyramids. All the photos below are taken by me, but before writing this note, I knew only a few of the exhibits. Therefore, we had to do a lot of work not only to show you the museum's collection, but also to tell you about what we saw. So I'll be a little guide for my favorite readers :)

Second day excursion program"Cairo 2 days" from the tour operator. March 15, 2018, Egypt, Cairo. Previous and this trip.
01.

The second day began at 7 am with the dining room of the Cataract Hotel in Cairo. After that, the group met with the guide, boarded the bus, and we went to meet the first attraction - the museum. On the bus we were met by a new guide - Ahmed - he will conduct all the excursions. Now it is his turn to entertain tourists with stories about the construction of the pyramids, and our main guide Mohammed at that time was only engaged in organizational issues. Ahmed gave the name to our group of 20 people and 3 small children "Aladdin", at this word we will have to run to the guide if he needs his attention. His Russian was worse and, despite the fact that my mother and I moved closer, it was more difficult to understand his speech. Yes, and about the pyramids, Ahmed told long-established tales and did not even hint at a new discovery - another way how pyramids could be built, to which scientists are now more inclined, but so far this option is in the process of searching for evidence.

At 8:45 our bus drove up to the gates of the museum, and we went out to a large and noisy area from the crowds of tourists, which met us with a small Sphinx. I thought that there was only one Sphinx in Egypt, but it turned out that there are quite a lot of such statues and monuments.
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Cairo Museum was opened in 1902. This is the world's largest repository of ancient Egyptian art - about 160 thousand exhibits, collected in more than 100 rooms.
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The museum was still closed to the public, but the queue of those wishing to get there stretched for more than 50 meters and in 4 rows. Ahmed said we have 15 minutes to walk around the grounds while he and Mohammed arrange entry tickets and audio guides. According to the guide, all the monuments standing on the streets are authentic and original, and they can be viewed completely free of charge.
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We walked up to public toilet. The smell was felt from afar. The toilet is ugly and I would not say that it was clean, although the cleaners were washing the floors when we entered there. It seems that the Egyptians believe that, than more water on the floor, the cleaner it is. And I was afraid to get my white slippers dirty)) The cleaning lady tore off the toilet paper with her bare hands, leaving the mop and bucket before that. I did not use the paper, although I do not consider myself squeamish. When leaving, I decided not to even wash my hands in order to quickly leave the smelly room, but a large cleaning lady (like there are three of me) blocked the road and pointed to the washbasin. Warden, damn it)) Okay, I washed my hands, wiped it on my pants and I want to go out, and this Egyptian woman holds out her hand with the words "mani-mani." The guide seemed to say that the toilet was free, but this lady clearly did not want to let me out. I took out 5 pounds, which I put in a separate pocket for such purposes, and gave it to her. She smiled, was very happy and let me out. And then mom comes out of the booth and the African woman comes to her. "No," I say, "she's with me." The cleaner waved her hand and let her through.

After this adventure, we returned to the group, where the guide distributed tickets and audio guides to everyone. With the help of such a walkie-talkie player, Ahmed will be able to convey useful information to us in a very noisy museum and collect us with the code word "Aladdin" if anyone gets lost.

Price entrance ticket to the museum was 120 Egyptian pounds and was included in the program of excursions to Cairo. Although I now remember that on one of the tourist sites in Egypt, I saw a price of 60 pounds and even with an inscription for tourists, hmm ... If you want to take pictures inside, then you need a separate ticket for 50 pounds (3 dollars) and the guide will take care of to purchase it for you. Also, before the tour, the guide recommended buying a CD with photos and videos from the museum.
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A little more in line, checking tickets, scanning things and going through the scanning gates for people, and we are inside.
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In the first hall, which is also the main one, we stopped at just one stand, although the hall is very large and with a considerable number of exhibits. It seems that Ahmed was talking about the writing of the Egyptians, but it was impossible to understand, let alone get closer.
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Because I was distracted by other exhibits.
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Stone sarcophagus.
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A colossal statue of Pharaoh Amenhotep III with his wife Queen Tiye and their daughter Henutane in the main hall of the museum. The reign of Amenhotep III is regarded as one of the greatest periods the rise of ancient Egyptian civilization. On the one hand, he revered the traditional Egyptian gods and built luxurious temples for them, on the other hand, it was in his era, when royal self-deification reached unprecedented proportions, that the roots of the coming Amarna reform (worship of one god Amon) lie.
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Behind these great statues we climbed the stairs to the second floor. The guide, well done, took us in the direction where the rest of the tourist groups did not go, so there were few people so far.

Sculptural dyad of Amun and Mut from Karnak. Found in the temple of Amun in Karnak, which was the main national sanctuary of the country for almost two and a half millennia. The head of the queen, made of hard, excellent crystalline limestone, was only one of more than a hundred fragments of a grandiose dyad depicting the god Amun and his wife, the goddess Mut. The initial height of the monument was 4.15 m. with it, most of the inscriptions that were once on the monument were also lost. In the image of Amon, Horemheb was depicted - the last king of the XVIII dynasty, before the accession - a famous military leader of the era of Akhenaten's reign. In the guise of Mut - his official wife Mutnodzhemet - queen difficult fate, not only more noble by birth than her husband, but also belonged to the highest nobility: her older sister, apparently, was Nefertiti herself.
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This slab was found in a royal tomb of the 18th Dynasty, period 1356-1340. BC. It depicts Pharaoh Akhenaten, son of Amenhotep III. His wife was Nefertiti. And it is believed that Akhenaten was the father of Tutankhamun, although all his images were only with his wife and daughters. The plot on the plate: the pharaoh with his family makes offerings to the Aten. Aton is represented by the solar disk and the rays of the sun, ending in palms.
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Akhenaten led his people to a single god - Aten - the Sun, abolishing the polytheism that reigned in the country. He can be considered the first person in world history, about which her worship of the One God is documented. But after the death of the pharaoh, the priests quickly regained their influence and tried to destroy all traces of the obstinate ruler. I was very surprised when I learned that the personality of Akhenaten became the prototype for the image of the fictional pharaoh from the book by Boleslav Prus "Pharaoh", which has long been standing in a prominent place in my bookcase, sparkling with gilded letters. Will have to read :)

Akhenaten's defiled royal coffin. The body of the pharaoh was not found in the tomb. His sarcophagus was destroyed but restored by archaeologists.
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After Akhenaten's hall, we again went downstairs. The guide had to lead us in circles, as other groups were already gathering near some of the exhibits. And again the Sphinx. I remembered that the guide was talking about a woman of the pharaoh, like Hatshepsut, and this is a sphinx with her image. But then there will be another exhibit dedicated to her, which we saw, already heading for the exit, and the guide did not pay our attention to it.
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Another empty room.
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And again we went up to the second floor. Some halls were deserted, without people, although I'm sure they also keep a lot of interesting things. If it wasn't for the group, I would definitely have wandered here.
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View of the main hall and the main entrance from the second floor.
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Some of the faces of our group led by Uncle Murat ... except for the cat of course))
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But it's not a cat, it's Anubis. The statue of Anubis is depicted as a recumbent jackal and was attached to the roof of Tutankhamen's burial chamber.

Element of the burial chamber. The image of this statue is considered to belong to the Great wife of King Tutankhamun - Ankhesenamun - the Egyptian queen of the XVIII dynasty, sister and main wife Tutankhamun, the third daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti. She was born around 1354 or 1353 BC. e.
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Stretcher for the pharaoh.
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Pharaoh's bed.
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Pharaoh's toilet.
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This hall is completely dedicated to one pharaoh - Tutankhamun. Involuntary admiration is caused by his gilded throne, decorated with precious stones. On the back there is an image of the pharaoh and his young wife.
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Image on one of the side walls of the chest. The guide said that many people order this picture to hang at home, but I'm a bad listener)) Tutankhamun is also depicted here.
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What wonderful slippers, indeed, a work of art. Tutankhamen was buried in them.
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There were also two separate halls with the things of Tutankhamun found during excavations. We were given 15 minutes of free time to study them. These were mainly golden figurines, dishes and jewelry. And the most famous exhibit is the pharaoh's funeral mask, which is on display in the museum for public viewing, but it is forbidden to photograph it (probably because it is gold), although you can easily find photos on the Internet. Some have tried to take pictures with their cell phones and many succeed. I was not lucky with two German old women who, when they saw that I was pointing my smartphone towards the mask, raised such a cry that everyone turned around, and not just the one looking - fascists, damn it, I should have photographed them))

Wooden bust of the boy king Tutankhamen, found in his tomb. He ascended the throne at the age of 9-10 in 1333 BC. This is a very intriguing artifact. Notice the difference between the torso and the head? Apparently, this is a mannequin of a young pharaoh used for tailoring. It seems strange that it was buried with the pharaoh. Now he is looking at all the tourists passing by, who are clearly much better off than standing in this glass box))
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But such a statue, its copy, stood in our Hilton hotel. By the way, a couple of them were found in the small entrance room of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings. They look like sentries and have been identified as statues of "Ka" or representations of his soul or spirit. Both figures are wearing a kilt with very serious ripples.
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We were given 15 minutes of free time to once again go around the hall of Tutankhamun and visit the hall of animal mummies. Maybe there was a hall of royal mummies somewhere here? All of us went first to the hall of animal mummies, and then just waited not far from the guide. Or did I just overhear something? Although the guide showed us the mummy of a human fetus, which, in order to see it, had to be illuminated with a flashlight, and photography with a flash is prohibited. Maybe it was the hall of mummies? Although no, I read that out of respect for the dead, excursions are not allowed here. But at least let down and say "go there" guide could. Now I'm looking at the layout of the halls. The Hall of Animal Mummies No. 53 and the Hall of Royal Mummies No. 56 (not even marked on some maps) are located on opposite sides, not at all nearby. Why don't museums give out cards?

In general, we ended up in the hall of mummified animals and birds from various necropolises in Egypt. They testify to the prevalence of animalistic cults at the end of the pagan era, when their adherents embalmed everything from bulls to mice and fish.
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Just a fun item
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After we walked around the second floor and looked at the first. It looks like one of the exhibits is being restored in this room. Interesting, this is something new...
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Another room. The guide tells about the decorations belonging to some Egyptian queen. I don't remember us going here.
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Hall with stone sarcophagi. We haven't been here either.
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The meeting point with the guide is the atrium overlooking the main entrance.
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Hall number 48, dedicated to Tuya and Iuya, is also located here.
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Funeral masks of Tuya and Iuya. Tuyi and her husband Yuyi were buried in the Valley of the Kings. They were awarded this unprecedented honor because they were the parents of the Great Royal wife of Amenhotep III Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and also because they held high positions under Akhenaten. Tuya's funeral mask is made of canvas, plaster, gold, alabaster and vitreous alloy. Its height is 40 cm. Initially, the mask was covered with a black cover, which can be seen on the wig. The funeral mask of Yuya is made of carton and gilding.
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Then we very quickly rushed past the rows of sarcophagi.
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And went down to the first level again.
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Fragment of a wall with reliefs. But in this photo I captured our group with children. There are two of them here, but in general one family had three small children. Explain why such kids are taken on such excursions. I did not understand much from what I saw there, but what they will understand and remember. And the adults themselves will remember at least something from this trip, in addition to changing diapers, calming the roaring children and constantly feeding and entertaining them.
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One of the many relief drawings depicts a similar offering of food to the pharaoh. And if you turn on the fantasy, you can generally imagine such an Egyptian menu for lunch)) For example, the first man on the right carries a pot, below there are some elements and birds - that means chicken soup; the second one carries the dish, and the fish is drawn below - it means fried fish, etc.))
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This exhibit is called "Seated Scribe" and refers to famous works art of ancient Egypt. Literacy was available to few in Ancient Egypt. In general, the statue of the scribe adheres to canonical forms, but the author decided to separate the arms and torso from the stone block. The facial features are also given personal characteristics. The gaze of the scribe is directed into the distance. He meditates. He holds a papyrus in his left hand, and a writing stick in his right. The statue was found in Saqqara in 1893 during archaeological excavations. It is made from limestone. Height - 51 cm. Dates from the first half of the Fifth Dynasty (mid-XXV century BC).
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And this statue is remarkable in its own eyes. They are like a living person. The eyes are made of alabaster, crystal, black stone with a copper rim that imitates eyeliner. This is a statue of the priest Kaaper (village headman). Made from sycamore (one of the species of the ficus genus). Wooden statues were common in the Old Kingdom. The material is more malleable than stone, but less durable. Therefore, few wooden statues of that time have survived to our time.
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Diorite statue of Khafre (Chephren). This is the fourth pharaoh of Egypt from the IV dynasty, the builder of the second largest pyramid in Giza, to which we will soon go. In addition, the construction of the Great Sphinx is attributed to him (hence, his face was the prototype depicted on the Sphinx).
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But most of all I liked that Egyptian schoolchildren come to this museum to make sketches of the exhibits. And we met them very often and a lot. This is how you should go to the museum, otherwise everyone is photographed on smartphones)) Although you can’t show so much, and to sketch the main thing, one day will not be enough)
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The girl makes a sketch of the statue of Nyuserre and Neferirkare, the caretaker of the pyramids, whose name was Ti. This is a copy of a statue found in 1865 in Saqqara.
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Sometimes not only the exhibits of museums are interesting, but also the museums themselves, bearing the spirit of history in their stone walls.
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Solid sphinxes.
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The guide walked around this exhibit and did not comment. But I found on the Internet that this is the head of a statue of Queen Hatshepsut, a female pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt from the 18th dynasty. She is considered one of the most famous Egyptian rulers along with Tutankhamun, Ramesses II and Cleopatra VII. This statue head was found at Deir el-Bahri in a temple that Hatshepsut built during her reign. Hatshepsut appears as the god Osiris with a beard and a crown. The face of the statue is painted red. This color was only used on male statues. It is assumed that the head was decorated with a double crown White of Upper and Red of Lower Egypt. A little higher we stopped near the sphinx with her face.
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That's all. A cursory acquaintance with the history of Egypt and the raising of memories from school textbooks has ended. The guide took us through malls at the exit of the museum without stopping, took our audio guides from us, and we got back on the bus for a further trip to the next attraction.
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While writing the article, I found information about the cost of the ticket, and yes, the entrance costs 60 pounds for visitors, and 120 pounds is the cost of entering the hall of the royal mummies. And this was definitely not in the program. The Egyptians, damn it, in a word, are liars whom the world has not yet seen. I also didn’t like the one-sided communication with the guide via the audio guide: the sound hissed, the rumble in the museum was still heard through the headphones, and the guide deliberately chattered so that despite his seemingly good Russian, it was impossible to make out anything. Imagine yourself when all these unfamiliar names and dates described above are put into your ears without stopping against the background of general noise, you only hear "Aladdin", "Tutankhamen" and that's all))

It took us a little more than an hour and a half to visit the museum, at 11:00 we were on our way to the pyramids. This is so little for such a rich collection. It is not even possible to bypass more than 100 halls. It is believed that it will take several years to see all the exhibits of the Cairo Museum. With a tour and a guide, you will do it much faster, but you will come out more consciously on your own when there is time not only to photograph the exhibit, but also to read the signs and consider the details. I was able to realize where I was and what I saw only now, when I started choosing photos and searching for descriptions for them. I hope my note will help someone to get acquainted with the museum in advance and not make my mistakes.

Ancient civilizations beckon people with their secrets and mysteries. One of the places of attraction is Egypt. Amazing story of this country, ancient myths and unique artifacts are of interest to both scientists and the most ordinary people.

Many historical relics are stored in the Cairo Egyptian Museum. Today, more than a hundred thousand unique items belonging to different eras and representing historical and cultural value are stored in the halls and storerooms of the museum.

When was it created?

Unfortunately, for a long time there was no record of archaeological finds. Ancient tombs were ravaged by ordinary citizens who did not realize the value of the items found there. These items were sold for next to nothing in Europe or simply thrown away. There were also organized expeditions of archaeologists who carried out excavations and simply took out everything they found without asking permission from the authorities.

It was only in the 19th century that a special commission was created to account for valuables and provide conditions for their storage. The first systematized collection of valuables was collected by O. Mariette in mid-nineteenth century. This collection was kept in one of the districts of Cairo Bulak. However, after a severe flood, most of the collection was lost. It was then that it was decided to build a large museum to preserve the collection of antiquities there.

To do this, according to the project of the French architect M. Dunon, a two-storey neoclassical building was built. The discovery took place in 1902.

Collections

Collecting exhibits, which the Cairo Museum of Egyptian Antiquities is rightly proud of today, began back in the thirties of the 19th century. In our time, all finds that have historical value come to this museum.

Almost all parts of the exposition are devoted to the era of the reign of the pharaohs. At the same time, the exhibits are systematized in chronological order. But since there are more than a hundred rooms in the museum, viewing the entire exhibition will take a lot of time.

On the ground floor of the building are collected items related to the times ancient kingdom. Here you can see statues of pharaohs and princess Nofret. In addition, the halls display an extensive collection of vessels and figurines.

The second floor is given over to special halls, which contain artifacts found in the burial of Tutankhamun, and a unique hall of mummies. The peculiarity of this hall is that it maintains the temperature and humidity corresponding to the conditions in the Valley of the Kings. This is necessary for the preservation of mummies. After all, the exhibits are very ancient. For example, the monkey mummy from the Cairo Museum is estimated to be over 4,500 years old.

What to pay attention to?

In the exposition, any exhibit is of undoubted interest, but it is impossible to see everything in one visit. Therefore, it is worthwhile to draw up a program of inspection of the most interesting relics in advance.

For example, a sculptural group recovered from the tomb of Pharaoh Menkuar is very interesting. The group depicts the pharaoh himself, surrounded by goddesses. The age of the sculpture is surprising, it was created around the third millennium BC.

It is worth looking at the images of the famous Queen Nefertiti and her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten. A separate room has been allocated for these exhibits.

IN separate room Items recovered from the tomb of Queen Hetepheres are also presented. It is this queen, who was the mother of Cheops, who owns the famous Egyptian chair in the Cairo Museum. The chair is made of wood, decorated with inlay. Also, visitors can admire the queen's jewelry and other household items. In the same hall there are granite sphinxes and sarcophagi made of black and red stone.

The real pearl of the collection are the treasures found in the tomb of Emperor Tutankhamen. This tomb was miraculously preserved intact, archaeologists were studying it, so almost all the artifacts were preserved.

Priceless artifacts are stored in twelve halls of the museum. But the most famous of them, of course, is golden mask Tutankhamen. This skilfully executed copy of the young ruler's face is made of pure gold and precious stones.

Here you can see the golden sarcophagus of the pharaoh. This is a rather massive structure, decorated with inlays. The collection also includes numerous jewelry made of precious metals and stones (precious and semi-precious).

The pharaoh's furniture was also found in the tomb, for example, the pharaoh's throne, the back of which is decorated with elaborate carvings.

Mysteries of ancient civilizations

Among the exhibits found, there are those that are of great interest to riddle lovers.

For example, a bird from Saqqara may not attract much attention at first, since it is not made of gold, but of wood, and it is not particularly attractive in appearance. But it turns out that this model can glide in the air for hours. That is, this is a preserved copy of the model of an ancient aircraft created before our era!

It is impossible to describe all the artifacts of the Cairo Museum in one article. Moreover, everyone knows that it is much better to see everything for yourself once than to read or hear information from other people a hundred times.

Helpful information

Cairo is the capital of the country, but it does not stand on the sea, so tourists rarely stay in the city, preferring to visit the resort areas on the coast. However, almost all hotels offer organized excursions to Cairo with a visit to the museum. The distance from the most popular resorts is about 500 kilometers. You can get to the capital either by air or by bus, which is much cheaper. As a rule, a tourist group leaves by bus in the evening to arrive in Cairo in the early morning and spend time with benefit.

The museum is located in the central part of the city on Tahrir Square, opening hours are from 9 to 19, there are no days off.

A ticket to enter the museum will cost $10 applied. Payment must be made in local currency. If you want to visit the hall of mummies, then you should stock up on Egyptian pounds, the entrance to the hall is paid, and there is no exchange office on the territory of the museum.

When visiting for the first time, it is better to use the services of a guide, as it is rather difficult to understand the exposition on your own. Guided tours of the museum are held on different languages, finding a Russian-speaking guide is not a problem.

According to tourists, the excursion service in the museum is very well organized. Despite the fact that the museum is visited by many tourists every day, there is no crowd. The guides work very well together, moving their group from exhibit to exhibit so as not to create congestion.

At the entrance to the museum, tourists can receive a receiver with headphones, so the guide's explanations will be perfectly audible, even if you are a little behind the group. The guides in the Cairo museum are well trained, they do not just tell the memorized text, but really know the subject and can answer questions.

It is forbidden to make video and photography in the museum. Equipment brought with you can be left in the storage room. However, some tourists manage to take photos of exhibits on mobile phone cameras. Only the hall of mummies is allowed to enter only after mobile phone will be disabled (you do not need to hand over the phone to the storage room).

The history of Egypt goes into such an ancient past that many artifacts were hidden by the sands and time, and their discovery continues to this day. The emergence of the Cairo Egyptian Museum, which tells about the millennia of the development of ancient Egyptian civilization, was inevitable. Today, the Cairo Egyptian Museum is the world's largest museum of Egyptian antiquities, with a collection of more than 160,000 exhibits covering 5,000 years of Egyptian history.

Museum of Egyptian Civilization - history of creation

Numerous local "black diggers" barbarously plundered famous tombs for centuries. In the 19th century, they were joined by treasure hunters and outright adventurers who rushed to Egypt from all over Europe. The artifacts they exported created a rush in Europe for objects of ancient Egyptian culture. This contributed to the organization of numerous scientific archaeological expeditions, which led to the discovery of a large number of previously unknown tombs and burials. Many of the treasures found were shipped to Europe, where they replenished both the collections of museums and the interiors of palaces. However, most of the discovered artifacts still remained with the Egyptian government.

Auguste Mariette (sitting on the left) and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (sitting on the right) in front of the Sphinx at Giza 1871
Sphinx at the Great Pyramids at Giza. Beginning of excavation of the foundation of the Sphinx 1900s

First Collection - Azbakeya Museum

One of the reasons for the creation of the Egyptian Museum was the observation carried out by the French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion. During one of his visits to the country, he found the monument described 30 years ago in a ruined state. The viceroy of the state, Mohammed Ali, heeded the Frenchman's warnings and initiated a collection of unique exhibits by creating the Egyptian Antiquities Service, which was supposed to put an end to looting in archaeological sites and save priceless finds.

In 1835, the Egyptian government built the building of the predecessor of the Cairo Museum - the Azbakeya Museum, located in the Azbakeya Gardens, the main attraction of which is the Cathedral of St. Mark of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Later museum exhibits moved to the famous Saladin's Fortress.

However, the first Cairo Museum did not last long - in 1855, the Archduke Maximilian I of Austria received all the exhibits exhibited at that time as a gift from Abbas Pasha. Since then, they have been kept in the Vienna Museum of Art and History. The unpreparedness of the Egyptian society to create such an institution affected, the museum was perceived as a government treasury, from which it was possible to take jewelry at any time for gifts and payment by the state for the services rendered to it.

New Collection - Bulak Museum

In 1858, on the territory of the former warehouse in the harbor of Bulak (now one of the districts of Cairo), Francois Auguste Ferdinand Mariet, the famous Egyptologist who carried out a considerable number of excavations, created a new Department of Antiquities of the Egyptian government and laid the foundation for a new museum collection. The building of the Egyptian Museum was located on the very bank of the Nile, and already in 1878 it became clear that it was big mistake. During the flood, the river overflowed its banks, causing serious damage to the already considerable congregation by that time.

Fortunately, at that time the significance of the exhibits was already very soberly assessed - they were promptly transported to the former Royal Palace in Giza, where historical treasures were kept until moving to the new building of the Cairo Museum.

The construction of a new building of the Cairo Egyptian Museum began in 1900, and already in 1902 a new house appeared for the ancient treasures - a two-story building in the center of the capital, on Tahrir Square, in which the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities is located to this day. Initially, it was planned to house about 12 thousand exhibits in the museum building, but today 107 halls present 160 thousand exhibits of the prehistoric and Roman periods, most of the collection represents the era of the pharaohs.

The Egyptian Museum experienced another test relatively recently - in 2011, when the unstable political situation in the country resulted in a real revolution, during which cultural institutions also suffered. The building of the Cairo Egyptian Museum was left without protection and was broken into, two mummies stored in it were destroyed, and several artifacts were damaged. Caring residents of Cairo organized a human chain to protect the museum from marauders, later the army joined them. But about 50 exhibits were stolen, about half of them have not been found so far. Among the damaged objects in the Cairo Museum are a statue of King Tutankhamen made of cedar wood covered with gold, a statue of King Amenhotep IV, several ushebti figurines, figurines from the era of the kings of Nubia, and a child's mummy, which were restored by 2013.

Cairo Egyptian Museum - sphinx at the entrance

Exposition of the Cairo Egyptian Museum

Exhibits of the Cairo Museum can be seen even on the way to the building: in the garden, very close, there are busts of the world's great Egyptologists. Here guests of the Egyptian Museum are met by the famous Auguste Mariette, the founder and first head of the museum. Among his achievements is the discovery of the temple of the Sphinx. Around the monument to Mariette, another 23 statues were erected in honor of other researchers who left their mark on the study of Ancient Egypt. Among them is a bust of the famous Russian Egyptologist V. S. Golenishchev, installed in 2006.

The part of the Egyptian Museum accessible to tourists is divided into two floors: on the ground floor, the exhibits are presented in chronological order, while the objects on the second floor are grouped by burial or category. Tourist portal site

Cairo Egyptian Museum - Sphinx of Hatshepsut
Cairo Egyptian Museum - collection of papyri

Cairo Museum - First Floor Collection

On the ground floor you can get acquainted with the extensive collections of papyri and coins that were in circulation in ancient world. Most of the papyri are presented in the form of small fragments, due to the fact that over several thousand years they have had time to decompose. At the same time, you can see in the Cairo Museum not only papyri with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs - documents in Greek, Latin, and Arabic are presented here. The coins are also different times and states. Among them are silver, copper and gold exhibits from Egypt, as well as countries that traded with it or occupied the territory. ancient state in different eras.

In addition, exhibits of the so-called New Kingdom are collected on the ground floor of the Cairo Museum. This period, in which the civilization of Ancient Egypt reached its heights, fell on the period 1550 - 1069 BC. These artifacts are usually larger than the items created in the ancient ages. For example, here you can see the statue of Pharaoh Horus, which is made rather unusually - the statue is tilted, symbolizing posthumous wanderings.

Other original exhibits include a statue of Thutmose III made of slate, a statue of the goddess Hathor depicted as a cow emerging from a thicket of papyrus. Unusual is the granite statue of the god Khoneu, whose face is supposed to have been copied from the young Tutankhamun. In the Cairo Egyptian National Museum you can see a large number of sphinxes (yes, the one that is far from the only one) - the lion-headed Hatshepsut and representatives of her family are extensively represented in one of the halls. Tourist portal site

Cairo Egyptian Museum - figurines Cairo Egyptian Museum - mummies

Second floor collection

On the second floor of the Cairo Museum, many unusual things are presented - Book of the Dead, satirical papyrus, many mummies, and even chariots. But the most interesting is the collection of items related to the burial utensils of Tutankhamen.

The set of funerary objects of the young pharaoh (he died at the age of 19) has more than 1,700 exhibits, exhibited in more than ten halls. It is interesting that this pharaoh ruled for only nine years, his pyramid was far from the largest ... But after getting acquainted with the items that the young ruler took with him on his afterlife journey, all other exhibits on the second floor of Cairo national museum appear dull and insignificant.

Sarcophagi, golden arks, jewelry, golden statues of Tutankhamun depicting a young man hunting, a gilded throne and even a set for playing senet - these and many other objects will require more than one hour from a visitor to the Egyptian Museum. Separately, it is worth mentioning the hall where the golden mask of Tutankhamen, consisting of 11 kilograms of pure gold, is presented. Tourist portal site

Cairo Egyptian Museum - Tutankhamun's mask
Exhibition of exhibits of the Cairo Museum in Germany

The vaults of the Cairo Museum are regularly replenished - and this, oddly enough, is one of the main problems. The fact is that the main building is already too “saturated”. In order not to store precious objects where they are unlikely to ever be touched by the visitor's eye, Egypt is trying to develop provincial museums, transferring to them part of the exhibits of the Cairo Egyptian National Museum. In addition, objects from here can be regularly seen at exhibitions in different countries ah world.

But the main expected event of the near future for the Egyptian museum community will be the opening of a new one - the Great Egyptian Museum, which has been under construction since 2013, 2 kilometers from the Pyramids on the Giza plateau. The new museum will be located in a huge complex with a total area of ​​92.000 m2, together with a shopping center, most of the building will be underground. On the roof of the building it is planned to place an observation deck overlooking the great pyramids. Inside, there will be a statue of Ramses II (whose age is 3,200 years), 11 meters high and weighing 83 tons. The museum will contain more than 100 thousand exhibits. The main exposition is planned to be dedicated to Tutankhamun. The construction of the museum is estimated at $500 million. Egyptian authorities expect 15,000 people to visit the museum daily. Tourist portal site

Opening hours and cost of visiting:

Opening hours:
Open daily, from 9:00 to 19:00.
9:00 am to 5:00 pm during Ramadan

Price:
General entrance:
Egyptians: 4LE
Foreign guests: 60 LE

Hall of Royal Mummies:
Egyptians: LE 10
Foreign guests: 100 LE

Centennial Gallery:
Egyptians: 2LE
Foreign guests: 10 LE

The audio guide is available in English, French and Arabic and is available from the kiosk in the lobby (LE 20).

How to get there:
Address: Tahrir Square, Meret Basha, Ismailia, Qasr an Nile, Cairo Governorate 11516
By metro: Sadat station, follow the signs: Egyptian Museum, exit the metro and walk straight along the street.
By car or taxi: ask for "al-met-haf al-masri" ("al-met-haf al-masri")
By bus: ask for "abdel minem-ryad"

The complex, founded in 1885, has the highest concentration of archaeological exhibits in the world. This museum has over 100,000 artifacts from all periods. Egyptian history. Wherever you look, you will see something interesting. To view all the treasures of this fantastic place it will take several years! Since most people come to Cairo for only a few days, it is better to focus on the most popular and important exhibits for Egyptian history.

Egyptian Museum in Cairo - video

Cairo Museum - photo

For those who are impressed by the pyramids, or here is the original Pharaoh Djoser statues. There is also a small ivory figurine depicting the 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 the corner of the first floor are several stone fragments that were found right 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 Akhetatone probably wants to see the hall in which they are images of Pharaoh Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Egyptologists believe that creating a new religion, Akhenaten wanted to be depicted in male and female form 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 ruled for 66 years). You may want to look him in the eye hall of royal mummies It's an indescribable feeling.

Almost everyone who comes to Egypt visits, and the Cairo Museum has a special department for them. Everyone wants to see treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb. Almost half of the second floor of the Egyptian Museum is given over 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 the back of which the pharaoh is depicted with his young wife, who was his half-sister; you can also see gold amulets and sarcophagi made of pure gold, as well as small (38 cm) gold sarcophagi, in which the insides of the pharaoh were kept. And, probably, the main treasure of Tutankhamun is a golden death mask that covered the mummy's face. Made of pure gold, the mask, decorated with azure brought from the territory of present-day 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.

The cost of tickets for visiting is 60 Egyptian pounds. For a visit to 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 - the first (red) line, Urabi station.

Cairo Egyptian Museum on the map

Room 1. Art of Ancient Egypt.

The collection of Egyptian originals came to the museum from St. Petersburg academician Vladimir Semyonovich Golenishchev. V.S. Golenishchev was a scientist, archaeologist, he traveled to Egypt with an expedition from State Hermitage and acted as supervisor of the work. In parallel, he collected a collection for himself. The St. Petersburg collection was collected during excavations, so its items are accurately dated, attributed and tied to one or another tomb. And for himself, V.S. Golenishchev bought items on the "black market". Therefore, they were neither attributed nor dated. Later, scientists determined the age of the monuments and belonging to a particular tomb in parallel with other similar artifacts.

In 1909, Golenishchev went bankrupt and was forced to sell his collection. But, despite the lucrative offers from different countries, the scientist wanted his collection to remain in Russia, so he sold it to the imperial treasury for a smaller amount. Moreover, the first half of the amount was paid to him immediately, the second was promised to be paid later, and they never paid the scientist, as is usual in Russia.

They decided to send the collection to Moscow, because the Hermitage already had a collection of Egyptian art. As a result, the Moscow collection turned out to be even better than the one exhibited in the Hermitage. It is smaller in number of items, but their quality is much higher. After all, V.S. Golenishchev tried to ensure that every epoch, every phenomenon in Egyptian culture, was represented by some kind of object. That is why the collection of Egyptian antiquities in the Pushkin Museum, although smaller, is better than the Hermitage collection. It is currently the best collection of Egyptian art in Russia. And it became the first collection of originals in the museum.

Hall No. 1, where the monuments of Ancient Egypt are now exhibited, was specially rebuilt for the collection of V.S. Golenishchev. His collection came to the museum when it was still under construction.

The ceiling is supported by ancient Egyptian-style columns imitating bundles of papyrus. The whole architecture of the hall goes back to one of the halls of the ancient Egyptian temple. To imagine the atmosphere of the ancient sanctuary, Roman Ivanovich Klein traveled to Egypt, visited and examined the temples. In particular, he drew attention to the temple of Amun in Luxor and was primarily guided by it. The windows were curtained because the hall of the Egyptian temple did not allow for natural light. Above, on the ceiling, there is a repeatedly repeated image of a bird with outstretched wings, this is the image of the sky goddess Nut.


The ceiling is also painted under the starry sky.

One of the halls of the Egyptian temple actually reproduced nature on the banks of the Nile, a mountain of royal papyri.
I.V. Tsvetaev specifically asked R.I. Klein to make a hall in this style so that the visitor not only looked at individual objects, but also felt the atmosphere of Ancient Egypt. In addition, the museum was originally planned as an educational one and its purpose was to give students an idea not only about painting, sculpture and small plastic arts, but also about architecture.

About the collection. The re-exposition in the hall took place several years ago, in 2012. Some monuments ended up in the funds, while others, on the contrary, were put up. Currently, about a third of the existing collection is represented, that is, most of the Egyptian antiquities are in storerooms.

MONUMENTS
Sarcophagus and mummy of Hor-Kha. It is curious that this mummy cannot be photographed in any way, x-rays are never obtained. The mummy "does not want" to reveal its secrets. This is the mummy of the priest Khor-Kha, he died in the 2nd millennium BC.

The mummy is in a horizontal display case to the right of the entrance to the hall

How did the Egyptians embalm a mummy? There are many recipes and all of them, in fact, come down to the same technology: an incision was made in the side of a dead body. The ego was made by a specially trained person, who was called a "paraschist" (ripper). The body of a deceased person was considered sacred and therefore, on the one hand, the paraschist was hired by the relatives of the deceased and paid him money for making an incision on his side. On the other hand, as soon as the paraschist made an incision, he ran away as fast as he could. The people who hired him were now running after him and throwing stones at him for committing such sacrilege.

Then, through the incision, the insides were taken out, which were washed, placed in special vessels filled with embalming substances. Such vessels are in the collection of the museum, they are located in a vertical display case behind the mummy of Khor-Kha, in the corner, almost opposite the entrance to the hall).


All cavities in the body were also filled with embalming agents. The body was placed in "natron" - a kind of soda. Natron pulled all the moisture out of the body and the process of mummification began. The body was dried up, so it could no longer decay. He was wrapped in linen bandages and placed in a sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus of the priest Hor-Ha is not the best and not the most beautiful in the collection. The best is Mahu's sarcophagus.

Sarcophagus of Mahu.

It repeats the shape of a mummy, the tomb narrows towards the feet. A mask was always placed on the sarcophagus, which was supposed to indicate the face of the deceased. It is to designate, not to depict. Because regardless of who was buried - an old man, a girl, a woman, a young or old person - the mask was always the same. The face of the mask was painted with wide-open eyes, underlined with black or dark blue paint.

The Egyptians believed that when the soul reconnects with the body, it must enter the sarcophagus through the eyes. For this, the body was preserved, mummified.

Mahu's sarcophagus is a brilliant example of ancient Egyptian art. It is made of wood, this material was highly valued in ancient Egypt, there was not much wood. The black color of the sarcophagus emphasizes the radiance of the gilding. The gilding, the subtlety of the details indicates that this is a sarcophagus of a very rich man, made by the best craftsmen.

Undoubtedly, the best Egyptian craftsmen also made wooden statues of Amenhotep and his wife Rannai. These figures, on the one hand, connect the traditions of Egyptian art.

Amenhotep and his wife, the "singer of Amun", Rannai, are the priests of the temple of the sun god.

The Egyptians have always depicted people in a frozen posture of wide stride with straight legs. It's not quite lifelike, because while walking, the knees bend. Here the legs are straight, the arms are extended along the body and pressed to it. Left hand Rannai is bent at the elbow and also pressed to the body. The rule here is combined with a very subtle psychologism. The figure of a man is tall, he is broad-shouldered. He walks confidently, his head held high and open. He is a priest, so he does not wear a wig and his hair does not darken his face, it is brightly lit. He turns his head slightly to the left. He seems to resist the rule that the person portrayed had to look straight ahead. The figure of his wife is thin, fragile, she minces her feet finely in her narrow dress, in contrast to her husband's wide step. Her face is slightly lowered, a shadow from her hair falls on her face. On the right side, the hair was not preserved, but they were also there. A dreamy, enigmatic expression appears on the woman's face. This is how the Egyptians imagined perfect man And perfect woman. A man is strong and determined, a woman is fragile, thin, mysterious. And this is the beauty of Egyptian art. On the one hand, it has strict rules, on the other hand, within these rules there can be a very subtle and refined psychological characteristic.

In addition to wood, the Egyptians were very fond of ivory, and even more - stone.
Cosmetic spoon. The masterpiece of the museum is a small bone spoon, it is known all over the world. This is the finest work of ivory. The spoon is intended for cosmetics.

It is a box for storing cosmetics, it can be opened. The box is made in the form of a floating girl with a lotus flower in her hands. In addition to painted and unpainted ivory, beech wood was used here; the girl’s wig was made from this material. Such a thin, elegant thing may have been used in the everyday life of rich people, or perhaps it was ritual. It comes, of course, from the tomb.

A feature of ancient Egyptian culture in the form in which it has come down to us is that objects do not come from houses or from palaces, but from tombs. This is the best that the Egyptians wanted to take with them to the afterlife.

It also represents the Middle Kingdom era in Egyptian art. The name suggests that this is the middle of the existence of the ancient Egyptian kingdom - the 2nd millennium BC. At this time, special attention in Egyptian art is paid to portrait images.

The sculptures of Amenemhat III are interesting in that quite a lot of them have been preserved.

The pharaoh ruled long enough, he founded the Fayum oasis in Egypt. He has been depicted on numerous occasions different ages, its image can be found in different museums- in Berlin, in the Hermitage. From his portraits, one can observe how the appearance of the pharaoh changed with age. In the Pushkin Museum, Amenemhat III is presented not as an old man, but not as a young man either. If you look closely, you can see bags under the eyes, heavy, hanging eyelids, wrinkled lips, that is, the pharaoh is far from being young. But his head is attached to the body of a young and strong youth, since the pharaoh in ancient Egypt was considered a god and the personification of Egypt and always had to be portrayed as strong and young. Therefore, here, on the one hand, there is portrait image, and on the other hand, the deification of the pharaoh, represented in the body of a young and strong youth, who is no different from the gods.

On this conversation about Egyptian art can be completed, we saw the masterpieces of the hall. If you have time, you can show relief of the head of the treasury Isi. ( Relief. Limestone. Middle of the 3rd millennium BC e.)

There are several relief images of the treasurer of Pharaoh Isi. It should be emphasized that the Egyptians used strict rules when depicting a person. The shoulders of a person are turned to the front, the head has a complex turn. In fact, it is absolutely impossible to roll the eye the way it is depicted. The person looks directly at us, that is, the eye is depicted in front, while the head is turned in profile. Such an image showed that the depicted person was alive, that he was capable of movement.

When the Egyptians depicted a mummy, not a living body, then in the compositions dedicated to the burial, the mummy was depicted either strictly in front or strictly in profile. The complex image of Treasurer Isi emphasized that the person was alive, which is why they collected different points vision. What is considered unrealistic for us, from their point of view, was perfect realism, an indication that this is a living person.