The Egyptian Museum in Giza, Museums in Cairo, Egypt
Facts and history of the construction of the most important archaeological museums in Cairo to discover the history of the Pharaonic civilization “Ancient Egypt History“, the price of a ticket, working hours, and more.
The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square is one of the largest and most famous museums in the world, not just in Egypt, to tell us the secrets of Ancient Egypt civilization. It is also located specifically in the heart of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and more specifically in the northern part of Tahrir Square.
The Egyptian Museum Facts
From the inside of Tahrir Square, Egypt, and what are the stages it has gone through so far. An explanation of the ancient Pharaonic artifacts and Pharaonic Egyptian Antiquities in the museum, in addition to ticket prices, daily working hours, development stages, and the interior and exterior design of the Egyptian Museum to start your visit to the most beautiful archaeological tourist attractions in Egypt.
The current Egyptian Museum is located next to Tahrir Square on the northern side. It was initially located in Azbakeya Garden in 1835 AD, and then the Egyptian Monuments were moved to a special exhibition hall in the Citadel of Saladin “Salah Al-Din Al-Ayyubi“.
The idea of building a large museum that would include all the ancient Egyptian antiquities that were discovered in the Egypt Archaeological Sites began when the French archaeologist Auguste Maribet thought of building a museum on the Nile River in the Bulaq area.
However, Egypt was exposed to floods, so the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Egyptian government at the time decided to move the antiquities to a special hall in the palace of Khedive Ismail Pasha in Giza Governorate..
In 1920 AD, the Egyptian Museum was opened during the reign of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II in Tahrir Square under the supervision of Egyptologists and archaeologist Gaston Maspero..
The Egyptian Museum contains more than 190 thousand Pharaonic artifacts in addition to artifacts from the Roman and Greek eras and some small pieces from the rest of the eras in the ancient Egyptian state..
The museum was established in 1902 AD and is located next to the Nile Hilton Hotel. It includes a huge collection of ancient Egyptian Pharaonic antiquities in addition to artifacts from the Greek era, the Greek-Roman era Kingdom era, and the Ptolemaic Kingdom.
The Pharaonic artifacts are displayed on the first floor, which is divided into halls, each containing artifacts of the Egyptian Pharaohs kings and queens of Pharaonic Egypt “Female Pharaohs“.
Halls 22, 42, and 47 contain everything related to the Pharaonic family in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, starting from the reign of King Djoser of the Third Dynasty of Egypt.
Halls 22 and 26 contain everything related to the Middle Pharaonic families in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, starting from the reign of King Mentuhotep I of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt.
Halls 3 and 12 contain everything related to the Pharaonic families in The New Kingdom of Egypt, starting from the reign of King Ahmose I of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt..
The collection of King Tutankhamun, which was discovered in the Tomb of Tutankhamun | KV62 in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, was transferred by Howard Carter to a special hall in the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Egyptian Museum Design:
The French architect Marcel Dornon created the general design and internal structure of all the rooms and exhibition halls of the museum in 1897 AD. Then Khedive Abbas Hilmi II laid the foundation stone for the construction of the museum on April 1, 1897 AD.
The Egyptian government was interested in contracting with professional archaeologists and engineers to supervise the construction of the museum, such as the German engineer Hermann Grabow, and the museum was officially opened on November 15, 1903 AD..
The transfer of all the Pharaonic artifacts from Khedive Ismail’s palace began under the supervision of the Italian archaeological engineer Alessandro Barazanti. 5,000 wooden carts were used to transport the artifacts from Giza to the new museum in Tahrir Square..
The transfer of all artifacts was completed on July 13, 1902 AD..
It is interesting that the body of the French archaeologist Auguste Maribet was buried in the museum garden in accordance with his will, as he expressed his great love to be buried next to the museum and the ancient Egyptian antiquities..
The artifacts were initially classified randomly inside the museum’s exhibition halls, where the huge statues were displayed on the ground floor, and the Mummy of the pharaohs, artifacts of Funerary Equipment furniture, and the pharaonic coffin “Ancient Egyptian Coffins” were displayed on the first floor, according to the date of the artifact..
Over time, the museum became a huge storehouse and was considered by international cultural institutions as the largest museum in the world containing archaeological pieces, as it was documented as a global archaeological museum in 1983 AD..
Stages of development of the ancient Egyptian museum:
The real beginning of the development of the museum was in 2006 during the era of President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak, where a cultural center and an administrative annex were built next to the museum.
Then in 2012, an initiative was launched to restore the Egyptian Museum with huge funding from the German Foreign Ministry and the International Environmental Quality Association under the supervision of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Culture..
The eastern and northern wings were restored, and all internal restoration and maintenance works and development of display methods were completed in 2016 during the era of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi..
The techniques used in installing the museum’s glass were adopted to prevent the entry of ultraviolet rays to protect the artifacts from damage, in addition to restoring all corners of the museum as they were with the same colors and attention to restoring all the decorations and engravings on the wall..
Among the technologies developed in the museum are the complete ventilation and air conditioning system, in addition to the internal and external lighting system..
The development phase of the Grand Museum was completed in November 2018 during the era of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and the unique artifacts of King Tutankhamun and the artifacts of King Yuya and Tuba were displayed on the upper floor of the museum..
The development of the final stages of the museum was supervised by the Director of the Turin Museum, the Louvre Museum, the United Museum and the Berlin Museum to ensure the highest international quality for the largest archaeological museums around the world..
Categories of artifacts in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir:
Ancient prehistory of the pharaonic dynasty:
The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir includes artifacts of pottery, hunting tools, decorations, and everything that the ancient Egyptian needed in his daily life, indicating the development of Industry in ancient Egypt and Sculpture in Ancient Egypt in the Predynastic Period in the Naqada III civilization, starting from the era of the Dynasty 00 and the Dynasty 0.
The era of the founding of the ancient Egyptian state:
Distinctive artifacts of the pharaohs of the First Dynasty of Egypt and Second Dynasty of Egypt, such as (archaeological vessels, ornamental and hunting tools, the statue of King Khasekhemwy, the chapel of King Narmer)).
Old Kingdom Era:
See the Pharaonic statues in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir and artifacts such as (the statue of King Zoser from the Third Egyptian Dynasty, the statue of King Khafre, the statue of King Menkaure from the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt) .
In addition to the statue of the Sheikh of the Country and his Tomb of Qar (G 7101) and the dwarf Seneb and the statue of king Pepi I Meryre from the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt and the statue of King king Merenre in addition to a group of coffins and mummies and an archaeological collection of Queen Hetepheres I, the wife of King Sneferu and many statues of ancient Egyptians and murals that depict the life of ancient Egyptians and Social Structure in Ancient Egypt and the extent of the development of Architecture in ancient Egypt.
Middle Pharaonic era:
It includes a statue of King Mentuhotep II, statues of King Senusret I of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt, a statue of King Amenemhat III, a group of coffins and artifacts from the Twelfth Dynasty, in addition to a group of daily tools such as Clothing in ancient Egypt and small pyramids..
The era of the modern pharaonic state:
It is considered one of the most important and beautiful Pharaonic artifacts that tourists are interested in visiting in the Grand Egyptian Museum, including the statue of Queen Hatshepsut, King Thutmose III, and the statue of King Ramses II from the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt.
In the corner you will see the ancient war chariots that were used in wars in the era of the Pharaohs to discover the extent of the development of the Military of ancient Egypt, in addition to the rare Ancient Egyptian Papyrus that tell the secrets of the lives of the kings and ancient Egyptians..
You will also see in the same corner of the ancient Egyptian museum from the New Kingdom era a collection of statues of King Akhenaton, a statue of King Amenhotep III, a statue of his wife Queen Tiye, in addition to the Israel Stele, a collection of amulets, ushabti statues, scarabs, ancient tools used in Agriculture in Ancient Egypt, and Ancient Egyptian Literature.
Mummies are displayed in a special hall for kings to learn about the secrets of Mummification in ancient Egypt, Medicine in ancient Egypt, and how the body is preserved until now..
Late Egyptian Kingdom:
It includes distinctive artifacts from the Twenty-first Egyptian Dynasty and the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt, the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt, and is called the Tanis Treasures, in addition to viewing the statue of God Amun, the most famous ancient Egyptian deities – Ancient Egyptian gods and Goddesses in the Ancient Egyptian religion, the statue of God Montu, and a statue of the God Taweret.
In the same corner you will find the stela of king Piye from the Twenty-fifth Egyptian Dynasty, the most famous of the Black Pharaohs of the Late Period, and the Canopus Decision Stele, in addition to a group of ancient Nubian artifacts that were recently transferred from the Nubian Museum in the tourist city of Aswan..
Stages of theft of antiquities from the ancient Egyptian museum:
The first incident occurred in 2004 during the reign of President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, when 38 rare artifacts were stolen, and the thief has not been found yet..
The second incident occurred in 2011, when unknown individuals broke into the museum during the January 25 Revolution. Over time, the thief was arrested and parts of the missing artifacts were recovered. It was announced that there were 29 artifacts still missing..
Working hours at the Ancient Egyptian Museum:
A private multi-storey parking lot is available next to the museum for private cars. Or reach it via the metro, Sadat station..
Museum working hours:
From 09:00 am to 07:00 pm all days of the week except Friday, on Friday from 09:00 am to 11:00 am then it closes during Friday prayer times then it opens at 01:30 pm to 07:00 pm.
Notice:
The electronic guide device is rented from inside the museum only for 25 Egyptian pounds per device by the museum administration..
Free photography is allowed on certain days according to the statement of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Culture, while the price of personal photography with your mobile phone is 50 Egyptian pounds, whether for Egyptians or tourists of all nationalities..
Mobile photography or cameras are prohibited in the Royal Mummies Hall and the Golden Mask Hall to preserve the artifacts..
The use of cameras and flash is strictly prohibited inside the Egyptian Museum to preserve the life of the artifacts from damage..
You can get your tickets directly from the ticket window at the front of the museum. The window closes at 4:30 pm..
The establishment and construction of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir
The establishment of this large archaeological museum dates back to the year 1835 specifically, and its location at that time was of course in the Azbakeya Garden area, where it contained at that time only a very large number of the most important and diverse of those antiquities..
Then, the museum was moved, along with its other contents, to the second exhibition hall located in the Citadel of Saladin..
Until the idea came to open the Grand Museum, which would display a very large collection of the most important Pharaonic antiquities on the banks of the Nile in the Bulaq area..
But when those antiquities were later exposed to a great danger, which was the flooding of the Nile waters, they were then moved to a special annex for them only in the area of Khedive Ismail’s Palace in Giza..
Then came the Egyptologist Gaston Maspero, who was able to open this museum in 1902, during the reign of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II. It is the new museum building located in its current location in the heart of Cairo..
The archaeological importance of the Egyptian Museum
In fact, the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir is considered one of the first museums established in the entire world, which was founded at that time to be a large public museum, unlike all the other museums that preceded it..
The museum also includes, to date, more than 180 thousand artifacts from different eras and periods, the most important of which were the archaeological collections that had been found in a number of tombs belonging to kings and the royal entourage in different eras, but the most important of which was for the Middle Dynasty in Dahshur in 1894..
The museum also includes, in its free time, the largest and most important archaeological collection in the entire world, expressing all of these archaeological stages in ancient Egyptian history..
What are the moons included in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir?
prehistoric times
This group includes many different types of pottery artifacts, as well as a number of decorative tools, a number of hunting tools, and all the requirements of daily life that represented the product of ancient Egyptians before they learned how to write..
Traces of the founding era
These eras include artifacts from both the First and Second Dynasties of ancient Egypt, such as the artifacts of Narmer’s slate, the statue of Khasekhemwy, and a number of other important designs of vessels and tools..
Old Kingdom
The antiquities of that family include a large group of the most important of those antiquities, the most important of which was the statue of King Zoser and the statues of King Khafre and Menkaure, along with the statue of the town chief, the dwarf Seneb, and the famous king Piye I..
A large number of the most important tul of large coffins and statues belonging to individuals in those places and an endless collection of murals and the archaeological collection dating back to Queen Hetepheres.
Middle Kingdom
This archaeological collection includes many of the most important archaeological pieces that the whole world comes to see, the most important of which is the statue of King Mentuhotep II and a very large number and group of statues belonging to some of the kings of the 12th Dynasty, such as King Senusret I, King Amenemhat III, and others..
Many of the most important of these statues belong to individuals of that era, along with their coffins, jewelry, and many tools that they used in daily life.
What is the price of a ticket to visit the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir for Egyptians?
The ticket fee for the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir for adults is: 30 Egyptian pounds.
The ticket fee for the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir is: 10 Egyptian pounds.
The ticket fees for the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir at night for Egyptians are 30 and 15 for students..
What is the price of a ticket to visit the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir for foreigners?
The ticket fee for visiting the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir for foreigners is: 200 Egyptian pounds.
If the visitor is a foreign student, the entrance fee is: 100 Egyptian pounds.
Comprehensive ticket to the Egyptian Museum for foreigners 300.
Comprehensive ticket to the Egyptian Museum for foreign students 150.
As for the ticket fees for the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir at night, they are 240 for foreigners and 120 for students..
Note: Facts and secrets of the history will be added soon…
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