Following a buffet breakfast at the hotel, our first full day in Egypt started with a 2 hour briefing to meet our guides and our fellow travelers, to gain an overview of our activities in Cairo, and a bit of Egyptian history in addition to housekeeping and logistics details like dividing us into 2 groups of about 30. Maged (we call him Magic) ended up being our guide and even gave us homework about the three kingdoms (periods of unity and power: old, middle, and new kingdom), made up of 30 dynasties, covering 3000 years before we head over to the Grand Egyptian Museum after lunch.
Kulpahār The Grand Egyptian Museum took the better part of the remainder of the day. This vast state-of-the-art repository, the largest archaeological museum in the world, is the home of the country’s most valuable antiquities, including the iconic, gold funerary mask and 5,000 other items uncovered in the tomb of the boy-king Tutankhamun. It was the concept of French architect and archeologist, Auguste Marietta. He founded the Egyptian Antiquities department in 1858 and was its first director with the goal of eventually building a museum to house the artifacts being discovered across Egypt. It opened in 1902, designed by French architect, Marcel Dourgnon, in a Neo-classical style. It was built by the Italian company Garozzo Zaffarani. Since the museum houses the largest collection of Pharonic antiquities, we saw artifacts fro the Predynastic Period to the Greco-Roman era. The museum has two floors: the ground floor has items arranged in chronological order while first floor items are grouped according to subject or material.
Our homework studies had covered the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by Upper Egypt King Mena through the defeat of lower Egyptians, considered by historians as the beginning of Ancient Egyptian History, about the time that making paper out of papyrus was discovered. The periods of unity were disrupted by periods of disorder (intermediate periods of foreign occupation or civil wars) which brought about the collapse of the kingdoms. We saw various representative artifacts from each kingdom including the golden mask of King Tutankhamoun, as well as his throne and footstool. We also saw the best preserved mummies, which had not been transported to the Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
Afterwards more homework in preparation for tomorrow’s visit to the Museum of Egyptian Civilization. This video:
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