The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities is considerd to be one of the oldest, most famous, and largest museums in the world. With so many exhibits put on display in the Egyptian museum, and even double the number of exhibits kept in storage rooms, the guests would take days to view everything in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. The Egyptian Museum of Antiquties has a long history that dates back to the year 1825 when Mohamed Ali Pasha, the ruler of Egypt at the time, issued a decree to establish a museum for the antiquities of Egypt and the first location of the museum was in front of the Azabakeya Lake, between the squares of Opera and Atabba today.
The Ruler of Egypt at this period didn’t really realize the real value of the antiquities and ancient historical finds of Egypt and they started giving them to the European tourists who visited Egypt at this period of time in the middle of the 19th century.
At the end, the rest of the antiquities that were kept near the Azabakeya Lake were taken to an abandoned room in the citadel. When the Austrian Archduke, Maximilian, visited the citadel and was fond of the belongings of this room.
Situated in front of the main entrance of the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, there is a small artificial lake that has some of the lotus and the papyrus plants, the most important plants for the ancient Egyptians.
The Egyptian Museum of Antiquties consists o two floors; the ground floor that hosts the heavier displays like coffins, huge statues, and stone carvings.
The displays of this floor were organized according to the historical periods which are the Old Kingdom, the Intermediate Period, the New Kingdom, the Late Period, the Greco Roman Period, and the antiquities of the Nubia.
The upper floor of the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities hosts the lighter displays that include gadgets and tools, funerary objects, smaller statues, papyrus papers, wooden coffins, jewelry, and most importantly, the displays of the Tut Ankh Amun tomb. Among the most important displays that the guests of the Egyptian Museum should view during their visit is the Narmer Plate or the Plate of the King Menes.The Narmer Plate is a large plate made out stone and it is the only remaining evidence that King Narmer or Menes was able to unify the two regions of Egypt, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt in one unified kingdom, beginning the dynastic era of the Egyptian history.
Old Kingdom Display
The displays of the Old Kingdom in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities are located to the left hand side of the entrance door and they are among the most remarkable among the whole displays of the museum.
The Old Kingdom, or the Pyramids builders period, is a section of the ancient Egyptian history that starts with dfdgd and ends with sdfretet. The most important ahcievments of this period is the Pyramids of Giza, the step Pyramid of Saqqara, the Pyramids of Dahshur, and the Pyramids of Abu Sir.
The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities hosts ten notable statues that date back to the Middle Kingdom. The ten statues portray the king Senosert I, a king that belongs to the 12th dynasty and they are all made out of limestone.
There are also three other statues of Senosert portrayed as a the god Osiris and they were found near the El Lisht, an area near El Fayoum and the Pyramid of Meidum to the South of Cairo.
Middle Kingdom Display
The Middle Kingdom period started in Egypt with the fall of the Old Kingdom and it was, according to historical records and researches, a relatively negative period of the ancient Egyptian history.
New Kingdom Display
The 18th dynasty which is the first dynasty of the New Kingdom is considered among the greatest dynasties that ruled over Egypt and the most important rulers of this period are Queen Hatshepsut, King Amenhotep, Ikhnaton, and King Tut Ankh Amun. The 18th dynasty which is the first dynasty of the New Kingdom is considered among the greatest dynasties that ruled over Egypt and the most important rulers of this period are Queen Hatshepsut, King Amenhotep, Ikhnaton, and King Tut Ankh Amun.
