Trixie Navarre

I believe that I made it into Cairo’s grand and distinguished Egyptian Museum of Antiquities just in time. I had ventured into this century old museum in the Fall of 2019, but after miraculously crossing the street from the Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir. If you have tried to cross that road, and did it in one piece then you understand what I mean by “miraculously”.

In the coming summer of 2021, those busy roads of Tahir Square will be ‘slightly’ less busy considering the entire museum’s collection will be moving to Giza, a few miles from the Pyramids. While I was in Giza, I had seen the exterior of the new Grand Egyptian Museum, and it was spectacular. I cannot wait until I travel back to Egypt and visit this new museum, although I am glad that I had the chance to visit the original one in Cairo. Additionally, with the pandemic world shut down and the precarious year of 2020- I made it just in time.

The original historic Egyptian Museum in all its salmon pink splendor, was built in the turn of the 20th century in 1901. It housed the largest collection of its kind in the region, and contained about 120,000 artifacts and antiquities. Most of them were displayed, while a significant amount were in storage. While walking through the museum I felt that they had a much larger collection, only that there were so many items that I had seen.

The museum was much bigger than you would expect from the front exterior view. There were two stories of multiple rooms, and stately halls that were filled with an endless amount of Egyptian artifacts. The interior was old, but beautiful with arched walkways and tall columns. There were grand staircases that lead you to an additional floor full of artifacts.

There were also special exhibits that with tears of your tickets in certain locations, would grant you access to viewing extraordinary artifacts like the Royal Mummies.

I cannot imagine how many people from all over the globe walked those halls for almost 120 years, and viewed the same treasures that I did. This old museum has seen a lot in the last two centuries from appointing Wafaa El Saddik as the first female director general in 2004, and then being raided during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. This Museum of Antiquities will seem very strange once its halls are emptied of its artifacts and visitors, and it will no longer be one of Cairo’s significant tourist sites.

Artifacts getting ready for the big move.

As of today, it looks as if it will be several more months until the new awe-inspiring Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza will open. According to their website, the planned opening will be in mid-year 2021. I cannot wait until it opens, and when I can travel to Egypt again. This will be something rather magnificent.

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Until that day arrives, a photo journal of the Old Egyptian Museum in Cairo and many of its wonders– Enjoy!

These were just a few of my favorite artifacts and antiquities from the old museum in Cairo. I took more photos but not of everything, there were so many treasures. It will be a wonderous site when the new museum opens in Giza, and everything will be displayed in their new home.

For more information please visit their official website, Grand Egyptian Museum

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Farewell to you, beautiful old museum and to all of the memories that you housed for the millions who visited you. I feel lucky to have visited you just in time!

🌎 Thank you for visiting my website and NEVER STOP EXPLORING!

📸 All photos are taken by me and are my intellectual property – Trixie Navarre