Museum of Egyptian Antiquities:Cairo, Egypt
Exploring Ancient Egypt’s empty tombs and monuments will leave just about anyone hungry to gaze upon the relics that were found inside. Which is why a visit to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities (aka the Egyptian Museum) is a must. Housing an unparalleled collection of treasures that are arranged chronologically from the Old to the Middle to the New Kingdoms (which date from 2700–2200 b.c., 2100–1800 b.c., and 1600–1200 b.c., respectively), it is so vast that if you allowed just one minute to examine each of its 136,000 pharaonic artifacts, it would take 9 months to see it all. Many visitors focus on the breathtaking mummified remains of 27 pharaohs and their queens, along with the 1,700 objects unearthed in 1922 from the small tomb of the relatively insignificant (but now iconic) Pharaoh Tutankhamun (King Tut). An astounding 40,000 other items remain crated in the basement, evidence of the chronic space shortage that has plagued Egypt’s greatest museum since its 1858 founding. A visit here is overwhelming, to say the least. Catch your breath with a stroll to nearby Tahrir Square, where thousands of Egyptians gathered peacefully during the 2011 revolution.
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| Museum Of Egyptian Antiques |
The Ministry of Culture broke ground in 2002 on the $500 million, 120-acre Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM for short) in Giza, barely a mile from the pyramids (see p. 378). The complex, designed by Heneghan Peng Architects, will include restoration laboratories and a giant, sloping alabaster wall that glimmers in the desert sunlight. The 3,200-year-old, 36-foot-high Statue of Ramses II was moved to the site in 2006. The museum will also be a new home to many of the King Tut objects. Sections of the GEM may open as early as 2013.
Museum of Egyptian Antiquities:
Tel 20/2-579-6974;www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg. Grand Egyptian Museum: www.gem.gov.eg.
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