Museum of Egyptian Antiquities

We awoke to the alarm at 6:30 and got our showers before packing our bags for the bus ride back to Cairo. We put the checked bags outside the rooms at the Hilton Alexandria Corniche for the porters at 7:30 and went to the lower dining area for breakfast. Again, the front desk said that “my colleague” (Michael League) would pick the bags up.  We had more Egyptian and Lebanese favorites like feteer meshaltet (layered phyllo with butter) with alternating bites of salty feta cheese and sweet cane molasses. We also had pita bread with tahini, yogurt and cheeses. We had local guava and tangerine juice and hot tea to drink.

We were on the bus before 8:30 then Mary remembered that she had left some clothes in the closet of our ninth floor room of the Alexandria Hilton Corniche. She ran up and quickly retrieved her items, and we started back south toward Cairo for our visit to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities.

We made a quick stop along the way at an oasis where many in our group purchased coffee and several bought snacks to share on the bus. One of the most popular was the feteer meshaltet, a pizza shaped pie that was layers of buttered phyllo. Someone else bought baklava and kataifi which were very good. We all have been enjoying the Lebanese pastries made with phyllo, honey, nuts and semolina.

Horse carts still travel in modern Cairo

Lunch was at a very elegant restaurant on the fourth floor of a Cairo building in the Cairo business district. Like several other meals in Northern Egypt, this was a Lebanese lunch. The appetizer was a selection of cold salads and fresh pita breads. The main course was moussaka over white rice and dessert was “the three sisters” of Lebanese pastry.

Mask of Yuya

Our bus released us outside the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, while Eman and our bodyguard got the tickets and camera permits for us. The museum is very much an “old school” museum with lots of artifacts crammed into a small space, with poorly labeled displays and with inadequare lighting. It reminded us of the museums we visited in the US as children. Of course, all of this will change in a few months when the new Grand Egyptian Museum opens in Giza.

We were amazed at the immaculate state of preservation of artifacts that were nearly 5000 years old. Schist carvings going back to 3000 BC were as polished as if they had just been produced in a modern factory. Our guide, Eman, did a great job of explaining the history of each item including things like the symbolism of position of hands. We saw examples of some of the first know hieroglyphics and statues of many pharaohs, kings and queens, as well as, servants and common people. The volume and significance of items displayed in that space was staggering.

Sarcophagus

Photographs were not permitted in three rooms: the King Tut room, the room with King Tut’s jewelry and the mummy room. The King Tut room contained each of the chambers that were taken from his tomb. Some were constructed of ebony with turquoise and ivory inlays; others were covered with layers of gold. The nesting caskets were like Russian babushka dolls with one ornate casket inside another. Many of the headdresses and other artifacts were also on display. The jewelry room had countless items ranging from necklaces and rings to ornate serpent crowns.

Mary with sarcophagus

The mummy room included twelve preserved remains of pharaohs, kings or high officials. The mummy that attracted the most attention was that of the pharaoh that is thought to be Ramses II, the pharaoh in power at the time that Moses led the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. The preservation was remarkable especially considering that these mummies are thousands of years old. The skins were blackened from the application of preserving oils, but the hair and facial features were remaining.

Cat on a panel at the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities

It was apparent that a major change was underway because many items were being prepared for removal from the museum to the new Grand Egyptian Museum scheduled to open in late 2020. This modern museum is directly across from the Steigenberger Hotel where we stayed in Giza. The new museum will be a little over a mile from the pyramids at Giza.  Not only does the new museum have many more square feet of display space, but it will include technology to immerse visitors in the history and culture of Egypt, ancient and modern. Egyptians officials hope to someday recover important artifacts, like the Rosetta Stone and treasures from tombs that are in London, Berlin and other cities, to put on display at the new museum. To support the state-of-the-art museum, a new airport is under construction near Giza that will eliminate the lengthy drive through terrible traffic from the existing airport in Heliopolis. A Chinese type bullet train is planned from New Cairo to the existing city center, and upgrades to the highway system are being planned.

The new Grand Egyptian Museum will sit on 120 acres, will have nearly 500,000 square feet of display space and can accommodate up to 15,000 visitors per day.  The $800 million anticipated construct cost of the museum is not only borne by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture.  Many nations including the US, Canada, Great Britain and France are providing funds to preserve and display ancient artifacts that are important to all of humanity.

View of Cairo across the Nile River

We took our coach to the Cairo Intercontinental Semiramis Hotel on the Nile River. Our sixth floor room had a great view of the Nile River. Because our hotel is in the embassy district security was very strict. We were not permitted to bring our binoculars onto the hotel property, so we left them with Emam, the bus driver. Whenever we entered the hotel, we had to go through multiple security checks.

Our rooms were very nice with comfortable beds, bathrooms that included ample showers and a bidet, and then, of course, the great Nile view from our balcony. We knew that we would be comfortable for our two nights here.

To get out before dinner, the four of us thought we would go for a walk along the Nile River. Joining us were Marcia and Jean from California and Bill and Nichole from Montreal. We walked to a bridge across the river then crossed and came back to the hotel in a loop. We all enjoyed the company and conversation as we worked up an appetite.

Sunset at Cairo

Dinner at the hotel buffet was very good. We had selections of Egyptian and Mediterranean dishes followed by the popular middle eastern desserts. The four of us ate with Bill and Nichole then our guide, Eman, joined us. We were looking forward to the trips for Sunday, so we made our way upstairs to visit with Mark and Cindy for a while then to go to bed.