A treasure trove of the ancient world - literally! (Egyptian Museum)

Member Name: Neenawneenaw

Product:	Egyptian Museum
Date:	17/03/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fabulous array of ancient Egyptian artifacts, in the centre of Cairo

Disadvantages: Poor information, some areas very crowded

The Egyptian Museum is located in the heart of downtown Cairo. As such, its surroundings are pretty polluted and traffic-ridden. Apparently this is having a seriously detrimental effect on the artifacts, so that a bigger modern museum better able to withstand the Cairo smog is apparently planned for the outskirts of Cairo near the pyramids - but don't hold your breath. I was told it would be at least 10 years and could be much longer.

It's a shame the museum is suffering so, because what's inside is truly spectactular. You could literally spend days in there without getting bored. Sadly I only had a couple of hours so I'm sure I just skimmed the highlights that every tourist sees, but what highlights!

Most spectacular are the contents of Tutankhamun's tomb - chariots, coffins within coffins, and rooms within rooms (4 of them like chinese dolls, but essentially huge crates made of gold!) Perhaps the truly astonishing thing is that Tut was a pretty minor pharaoh, dying too young to do much of note. He's so celebrated because his is the only pharaoh's tomb found intact, treasure and all - just imagine what must have been in Ramses the Great's burial chamber before it was nicked!

The museum holds a myriad of treasures from ancient Egypts Old, Middle and New Kingdom periods. A word of warning though: exhibits are in general poorly labelled with little or no explanation in any language, so a guide or a good book are essential to get the most from your trip.

Rather gruesome but intriguing is the mummy room (for which you need to pay extra for a separate ticket inside the museum), housing mummies transported from the Valley of the Kings to be preserved in the national museum.

Other practical points: no cameras allowed inside the museum. If you have one on you you'll have to queue to deposit it in a kiosk for the duration (unless like me you have a guide who can get around the bag search - it's not what you know it's who you know) so I was free to hold onto my camera as long as I didn't take it out of my bag!
Also, some of the more popular exhibits are constantly surrounded by big tour groups getting the spiel from their guide so it can be difficult to get a look in -but why not go for some lesser-known gems instead - there's no shortage!

Summary: Don't miss this amazing museum if you're in Cairo