Egyptian Museum and the weekend

I went to the Egyptian Museum on Saturday, which contains the largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the world. It's located right in Tahrir Square, Downtown. Admission was only 30 L.E. for students.

The exterior of the museum, which was built in the late 19th century


The museum itself appears small on the outside, but the amount of material that it contains is pretty astounding. There are about 160,000 items included in the register. Most museums that I have been to display their artifacts in glass cases in white studio-type rooms, with painstaking attention to layout and labeling. This was not the case at the Egyptian Museum.

The museum itself consists of two floors with massive hallways and alcoves. Most of the artifacts are simply strewn about the hallways with sparse labeling. The few artifacts that are labeled usually retain the tags from the 19th century, typed in French (and sometimes English) via typewriter. Most of the Arabic labels were handwritten. The signs around the museum look like they have been there since the early 20th century. Only some of the artifacts are behind glass cases.

The number of artifacts in the museum was overwhelming in fact. I spent three hours there and I feel I could have spent another three just to get an idea of what was on display. The bottom floor mostly contained statues, sarcophagi, mini-pyramids, busts, friezes, reliefs, and columns. The upper floor was the more interesting one, with jewelry, small statues, coffins, thrones, chariots, parchment, mummified animals, the Tutankhamen display, and of course the royal mummy room.

The mummy room cost an additional 60 L.E. for students, but it was worth it. This and the Tutankhamen display were the only part of the museum where it seemed as if they were more serious about preservation and display. The Ramses II mummy was not in the museum when I went, but his successors were on display, along with a bunch of other kings, queens, and priests. It's pretty amazing to see these in person.

There were a lot of tour groups within the museum, including a huge number of French groups. I also saw a significant number of Germans and British.

Pictures aren't permitted in the museum, but one of the police officers let me snap a few photos, for a small bribe of course. He was delighted that I knew a little bit of Arabic, so we talked for a few minutes. I could barely understand what he was saying, so I think he was Sa'idi. Sa'idi Arabic is spoken south of Cairo, like in Luxor and Aswan, and sounds nothing like Egyptian Arabic. The Sa'idis also tend to have a darker skin color than other Egyptians. I believe a lot of the police officers and soldiers in Cairo are Sa'idi because they are conscripted to serve to Cairo. My bowab, Omar, is also Sa'idi.

The balcony of the second floor of the museum.



One of the thousands of displays. Notice the old labels.


The museum is definitely worth a second visit, to be able to inspect some of the exhibits more closely.

Statues outside the museum


The Cairo Opera House. I haven't been there yet, but it's along my walk home from the museum.


That night when I returned to Doqqi, I decided to go get a coffee a few blocks from my apartment. Before I got there, a man stopped me and started a conversation with me. I had been in this situation before. I figured he wanted me to visit his shop and make me buy something. I wanted to practice my Arabic so I played along.

Surprisingly he didn't ask me to buy anything. He said that if I ever wanted to go to Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada, or Sharm el Sheikh that he could arrange for me a place to stay at a good rate. He gave me his number and told me about a few good sights to see. We talked for about thirty minutes, half in English, half in Arabic. I probably won't actually go to him if I decide to visit those cities, but he seemed genuine enough.

I went to St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Downtown for the second time this past Sunday. It's right off the Muhammed Naguib subway stop, so it's much easier than going to Zamalek or Maadi. The church was built for the French community in the 19th century, and is quite impressive inside. It is run by Franciscan monks.

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Bank Misr Street, Downtown




There was a bombing last night in Cairo, in the Islamic section of Cairo at Khan al-Khalili market. That's on the other side of the Nile from Doqqi and Giza, where I was at the time. I have only been to the edge of the Islamic section once before, and I felt extremely out of place as a Westerner there, as nearly everyone there was dressed in tunics and other traditional garments. However, as I understand the bazaar and the mosques are frequently packed with tourists. I was thinking about going to Islamic Cairo next weekend, but I'm reconsidering as of now.

The atmosphere in the city seems the same as the day before. It didn't seem as if the incident caused a big stir, but I don't understand every conversation that I hear.