The Egyptian Museum in Cairo

The Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Tahrir Square at Downtown Cairo, Egypt. The idea of starting The Museum dates back to 1835AD, when Muhammad Ali Pasha issued a command to establish an antiquities Department under the control of Riffa al-Tahtawi to stop the looting of Egyptianantiquities and so prevent them from being sent to European Cities by Foreign Consuls assigned in Egypt. In 1858 AD, Khedive Saeed made an order to the Egyptian Antiquities Authority to protect Egyptian antiquities from theift and so positioned Mr. August Marietta as the first head, Mariette established a Programme to Document and Record all Discoveries, excavations and many artifacts. Unfortunately the Museum was subjected to Flood Damage and so was no longer suitable, so in 1890 The Museum was transferred to one of the Palaces of King Ismail in Giza. The Egyptian Museum includes more than 150,000 artifacts, the most important being the archeological collections which were discovered in the Tombs of the Kings and Royal entourage of the Middle Family in Dashur in 1894. Now in the Present Day of course the Grand Egyptian Museum is the new home of many collections including that of King Tutankhamun. The Egyptian Museum which is located on the edge of the Tahrir Square in Cairo is difficult to miss on any Tour of Cairo. After opening in 1902, it was especially constructed to host the antiquities of Ancient Egyptian archeological History in the World. The address of the Egyptian Museum is Tahrir Square at Downtown Cairo, which the Egyptian People refer to Downtown as Wust al-Balad, or in another meaning The Heart of the City, reason it is called this is because the Downtown Section is the part of The City that is full of Life and activities. Cairo which is sometimes referred to as The City that never Sleeps in Egypt, and so for Downtown . Not only is it the Heart of Cairo but also the Core of every day Life, activities and facilities, and the hub for a variety of Cultures. Downtown is also well known for Midan Talaat Harb and Midan Tahrir. Contents and Items on Display in The Museum. The Egyptian Museum which is in Cairo hosts more than One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Artifacts, which includes the contents of Tutankhamun’s Tomb and most of the Mummies that have been discovered since the Nineteenth Century. The exhibits inside the Museum spread from the start of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Eygpt which was approx.. 2700 BC throughout the Greco-Roman Period. The construction consists of two Floors . On the Ground Floor you can follow the History of Egypt from the Old Kingdom through to the Greco-Roman Period by exiting left at the entrance and curving around the Museum. This gives a good background for most of the Ancient History of Egypt. In the upstairs section of the Museum it is arranged by Theme with a large part of the Area taken up with the exhibits of Tutankhamun’s Tomb, which includes his well known Funerary Mask. You will also find upstairs the Room which is dedicated to the esquisite jewelery which was found in the Royal Tombs of Tanis. One other highlight of the Museum, The Royal Mummy Room, will require a separate purchase of a Ticket. Inside you will be able to view some of the Mummies of Egypt’s most famous Pharaohs, which includes, Set I, Ramesses II, and Egypt’s only Queen who was Hatchepsut. It can be quite daunting as the Museum has so much to offer, also it suffers from the fact that most of the contents have not been properly relabeled or reorganized since they were first arranged in their Cases which is over a Century ago, so the result became that some parts provide little context for the Artifacts and labels are displayed in a variety of Languages, English, Greek, French German and Arabic. The difficulty in maneuvering around the exhibits is a common complaint by Visitors, so best to have a Guide accompany you. Also known as the Museum of Ancient Egyptian Civilization The Egyptian Museum hosts some of the World’s most important collections of Ancient Artifacts. Inside the Walls of the Great, Old Pink Colored Construction which is located in Downtown Maidan Al-Tahrir, the priceless Treasures of King Tutankhamun and other Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, along with the belongings, mummies, jewelry and Food Bowls of the Ancient Egyptians who were buried with the Kings to use in the After Life which the Ancient Egyptians believed in. More than 100,000 Ancient Objects The Egyptian Museum in Cairo hosts a great and a Vast Collection of Artifacts, which includes, Mummies, Coffins, Stones Ancient belongings and even Food types that used to be buried with the Kings before death to use in the After Life. As a part of the Ancient Egyptian beleifs and Religion , Ancient Egyptans used to bury the deceased with all of their belongings as they believed that they would use their clothes and Food when they journey onto the After Life. An engrossing reality is that the Kings were not only buried with their material belongings but also with their Servants. The Museum’s Collections are flourishing very quickly as archeologists make new discoveries all of the time. As an example Tutankhamun’s Vast Tomb and the striking discoveries which were made inside it, and the Tomb belongings of Tanis, which were both found after the opening of the Museum. The Museum now has more than 100,000 Ancient Objects inside it’s Walls. Some Objects were removed to the New Grand Egyptian Museum, whilst most of them are still in the Main Museum in Tharir , although the Museum in Tharir will still remain the Major spot FOR THE Ancient Egyptian Heritage, even after the opening of the Grand Museum. Mohammed Ali, who was the Controller of Egypt at the time, which was in 1835, completely banned the export of Ancient Antiquities in order to protect the Countr’s Heritage. Security at The Museum. In respect of Security issues until the Year 1996, the Museum’s security was just having to lock the door at night, however this just was not enough as Theives were being able to let themselves enter, as a result of this the Museum’s Authorotries applied Alarms and Detectors for the security issues along with making the Lighting System better for the entire Museum. Through the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, the Museum was attacked by Villans, and some of the Artifacts were stolen, however at the time Civilians moved quickly and reacted to prevent any further thefts, by forming a Human Chain around the Construction in Tahrir Square to secure it, so managed to protect the Museum. The Displays of The Old Kingdom In Ancient Egyptian History The Old Kingdom, also known as The Pyramids Builders Period, was a very essential Period that left us so many remarkable Artifacts and Objects, so that is the reason why it has a vast Section in the Museum. Some of the most Major achievements of the period are the Pyramids of Giza, the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, the Pyramids of Dashur and the Pyramids of Abu Sir. As a section of The Old Kingdom there is a Statue of King Khafre which is made out of Alabaster, which is on display in the second section of the Ground Floor of The Museum. The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities also hosts a Vast collection of small Statues of Servants carrying out their every day duties and responsibilities, as an insight of everyday Life at that time. The Displays of The Middle Kingdom. The Museum hosts ten of the most exceptional Statues which dates back to The Middle Kingdom, the ten Statues which describes King Senosert I, who belongs to the Twelth Dynasty are all made out of Limestone. The Middle Kingdom Period began in Egypt following the fall of The Old Kingdom and was not a good period of the Ancient Egyptian History in every way possible. However at the start of the Twelth Dynasty , the Living conditions of the Ancient Egyptians were seriously improved , and even the Arts Industries and Artifacts witnessed a big Improvement. Egypt went through a transitional Period once more when the Living conditions turned sour, as the Nobles fought amongst themselves, with so much corruption and chaos this lead to the Hykses conquering the Country. However King Ahmose was able to beat the Hyksos and return back it’s freedom to Egypt, after which Ahmose discovered the Eighteenth Dynasty, which was the first Dynasty of The New Kingdom.