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Egyptian Museum

history Maturity 7-9 Next article →

The Egyptian Museum is a very special place in Cairo, Egypt.

The Egyptian Museum in the 1950's
The Egyptian Museum in the 1950's

It is a national history museum that holds many treasures. This museum has the largest collection of Egyptian items in the whole world. Inside, there are more than 170,000 different objects to see.

Wikimedia 2016 -16
Wikimedia 2016 -16

It is one of the largest museums in Africa. It was also the very first national museum in the Middle East. People visit from everywhere to see these ancient things.

The museum is organized so that visitors can learn in order. The items are grouped by different themes to make sense. Large stone statues are kept on the ground floor. This helps because they are very heavy and big. Funerary items are kept on the first floor. These are objects used in ancient burial traditions. The items are shown in chronological order. This means you see them in the order they were made.

ساحة المتحف المصري
ساحة المتحف المصري

This museum has a long and busy history. The first museum started in 1835 near a garden. Later, Auguste Mariette helped start a museum in Boulaq in 1858. That building was damaged by a Nile flood in 1878. Because of the flood, leaders wanted a safer, permanent home. In 1889, the items moved to a palace in Giza. Finally, the museum moved to its current home in 1902.

Auguste Mariette photography
Auguste Mariette photography

Moving the collection to the new building was a huge job.

Wikimedia 2016 -14
Wikimedia 2016 -14

Workers used 5,000 wooden carts to move things. They also used two trains for the largest items. They made about nineteen round trips between Giza and Cairo. One shipment alone had 48 stone coffins. These coffins weighed more than 1,000 tons in total! The new building was designed by the architect Marcel Dourgnon. It opened officially on November 15, 1902.

You can find many famous things inside the walls. There are treasures from King Tutankhamun, like his golden throne chair.

Egyptian Museum 000 (47)
Egyptian Museum 000 (47)

There are also statues of famous rulers like Hatshepsut and Ramesses II. The museum even has a very large library. This library has over 50,000 books and volumes. It holds maps, paintings, and old photographs too. It is a wonderful place to learn about the past.

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🖼️ Images & Media (13)
CH-NB Photoglob-Wehrli EAD-WEHR-32043-B.tiff
The Egyptian Museum in the 1950's.tif
File:Az Egyiptomi Múzeum kertje.JPG
Az Egyiptomi Múzeum kertje.JPG
File:Wikimedia 2016 -16.jpg
Wikimedia 2016 -16.jpg
File:The Pharaoh Tutankhamun destroying his enemies.jpg
The Pharaoh Tutankhamun destroying his enemies.jpg
File:Egyptian Museum 000 (47).jpg
Egyptian Museum 000 (47).jpg
File:Egyptian Revolution, Jan 29th. NDP building still burning.jpg
Egyptian Revolution, Jan 29th. NDP...
File:Wikimedia 2016 -14.jpg
Wikimedia 2016 -14.jpg
File:Egyptisch museum kaartje.jpg
Egyptisch museum kaartje.jpg
File:Auguste Mariette photography.jpg
Auguste Mariette photography.jpg
File:Gaston Maspero.jpg
Gaston Maspero.jpg
File:ساحة المتحف المصري.jpg
ساحة المتحف المصري.jpg

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