The Museum of Egyptian Civilization is one of Egypt’s most crucial new tourist attractions. Even though time has passed, everyone remembered the fantastic sights of the Royal Mummies Parade on April 3, 2021. The mummies of the essential pharaohs and queens of ancient Egypt were shown on the streets of Cairo as they were moved from the Egyptian Museum to their new home in the Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
But what’s the point of this new Museum? What does it offer, and how does it fit in with the other prominent museums in the capital and Giza nearby? This post briefly discusses it so you can decide if you want to add it to your egypt travel plans.
What is the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC)?
It is one of the most prominent museums in the world that shows egypt history, keeps it safe, researches it, and tells people about it. It is the first Museum about the most ancient civilizations.
The items in the Museum came from other museums in Egypt, such as the Cairo Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art, the Coptic Museum, and the Museum of the Royal Jewels in Alexandria.
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Where is the Egyptian National Museum?
It is in the city of Fustat, Egypt’s first Arab capital. Fustat is in Old Cairo and looks out over the “Ain Al Sira” hot spring.
Ticket prices for the National Museum of Civilization are divided as follows: 200 LE for foreigners. 100 LE for foreign students. 60 LE for Egyptian citizens. 30 LE for Egyptian students.
Who built the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization?
At the request of the Egyptian government in 1982, UNESCO pushed for the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization to be built in Cairo. In 1999, they looked for a good place near the Fustat, and the current location was chosen.
In 2002, when President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak was in power, the first stone was laid for one of the country’s largest and most important museums of ancient artifacts.
The director of the American University in Cairo, French Ricciardone, gave 5,000 objects to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in 2017.
In February of the same year, only part of the National Museum opened: a 1000-meter-long temporary exhibition hall with a show called “Egyptian Handicrafts and Industries Through the Ages.” This show was meant to show how Egyptian crafts have changed (ceramics, weaving, carpentry, ornaments).
This exhibition has about 420 artifacts, models from different museums, and big screens showing documentaries. The Egyptian Museum brought 22 mummies of 18 pharaohs and four queens to the Museum on April 3, 2021.
Construction of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
An Egyptian architect who won a competition for architects worldwide came up with the plan for the Museum. There are 23,236 square meters in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
The Museum has over 50,000 artifacts showing how Egyptian culture has changed since prehistoric times. The group is split into two parts, one based on a theme and the other on time.
The collection includes things from prehistoric, archaic, pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, medieval, Islamic, modern, and current times.
Thematically, the collection shows how society, the Nile, writing, culture, material, religion, thought of state and society, and the room of the Mummies all changed over time.
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What is the collection of this Museum like? What are its main attractions?
It tells about all the parts of these people’s history. So, it starts at the beginning of this civilization, in the so-called pre-dynastic and archaic period, and goes up to the present day.
So, from the Middle Ages to the present day, you can find pieces and objects from the Pharaonic period and other critical times in history, like the Roman, Coptic, and Arabic.
But the Museum arranges its rooms by when they were made and what they are about. In this way, the most interesting rooms are the ones that are all about the royal mummies that went through Cairo in April 2021.
This is true of the kings Seqenenra Taa (XVII Dynasty), Ahmose I (XVII Dynasty), or Ramses II (XIX Dynasty), as well as the queen-pharaoh Hatshepsut and other rulers like Ahmose-Nefertari and Tiye.
Some of the most important pieces are also in the Central Hall, with sculptures of important people like Akhenaten, ancient Egyptian tombs, and furniture from old mosques.
Since the Museum of Egyptian Civilization is still adding to its collections, its rooms and collections will likely grow or change. And this Museum, the nearby Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza, and the way both promote themselves have made one thing clear: the country has entered a new phase in which its historical heritage has become a great show that draws more and more tourists from all over the world.
The rooms of the Museum:
- The permanent (main) hall houses numerous unique exhibits. Its goal is to improve Egyptian civilization and traditional folk culture from the time of the Pharaohs and the Greco-Romans to the present day.
- The hall displays 22 mummies of ancient kings and queens. Hatshepsut, Ramses II, Thutmose III, and Tiy are some of the most famous mummies.
- In modern Cairo, there are temporary exhibition halls and shows.
What are the Royal Mummies that were transferred to the Museum?
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo is sending its mummies to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat.
On April 3, a big 21st-century event occurs when the Royal Mummies are moved from the Egyptian Museum to Tahrir Square. The Royal Mummies were shown in a small room in the old Museum.
Still, they are shown with their coffins in a modern space in boxes that are better for the mummies in terms of temperature and humidity.
There are four mummies of queens and 18 mummies of kings. The mummies were kept away from their original graves in the tomb of Deir Al Bahari (DB 320) near the Temple of Hatshepsut and Amenhotep II (KV 35) in the Valley of the Kings.
Mummies that were discovered in the Deir Al Bahari;
- The Mummy of Seqenenra ruled from 1558 to 1555 BC. It is the last of the XVII dynasty.
- The Mummy of Amosis I ruled Egypt from 1549 to 1524 BC. C. He was the liberator of Egypt from the Hyksos.
- The Mummy of Amenhotep I ruled Egypt from 1525 to 1504 BC. His tomb (KV 39) was discovered in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy of Tutmosis I ruled from 1506 to 1493 BC. His tomb (KV 38) is in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy of Tutmosis II ruled Egypt from 1493 to 1479 BC. C. His tomb (KV 20) is in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy of Tuthmosis III ruled the country from 1479 to 1425 C. The number of his tomb in the Valley of the Kings is KV 34.
- The Mummy of Seti I ruled from 1294 to 1279. His tomb (KV 17) in the Valley of the Kings was discovered in 1817.
- The Mummy of Ramses II ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 BC. C. His tomb is KV 7 in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy of Ramses III ruled from 1186 to 1154. His tomb (KV3) is located in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy of Ramses IX ruled Egypt from 1129 to 1111 C. His original tomb is (KV 6) in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy of Ahmose-Meritamón is the daughter of King Seqenenra (of the seventeenth dynasty).
- The Mummy of Ahmose-Nefertari is the wife of Amosis I. Her tomb is TT 359 in Deir el Madina.
- The Mummy of Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt from 1490 to 1468 as a mighty pharaoh, his tomb in the Valley of the Kings KV 20.
Mummies that were discovered in the tomb of Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings;
- The Mummy of Amenhotep II ruled Egypt from 1427 to 1401 BC. His tomb is KV35 in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy of Tutmosis IV ruled from 1401 to 1391 BC. His mummy was originally in his tomb (KV 43).
- The Mummy of Amenhotep III ruled Egypt from 1390 to 1353 BC. C. His tomb is WV22 in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy of Meren-Ptah was ruled from 1213 to 1203 BC. C. was the fourth pharaoh of the XIX dynasty and the son of Ramses II.
- The Mummy of Seti II ruled from 1200 to 1294 BC. His tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings (KV 15).
- The Mummy of Ramses IV ruled from 1155 to 1149 BC. His tomb is tomb KV 2 in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy of Ramses V, who ruled from 1149 to 1145 BC. C. The tomb of Ramses V is KV 9 in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy Ramses VI ruled the country from 1143 to 1136 BC. His tomb is KV 9 in the Valley of the Kings.
- The Mummy of Tiy is the wife of Amenhotep III, and she was believed to be buried in the Amarna tomb or WV 22 in the Valley of the Monkeys.
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Is the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) the same as the Grand Egyptian Museum?
It is important not to confuse this Museum with the Great Egyptian Museum, near the Pyramids of Giza and thought to be the most critical archaeological Museum in the world.
Instead, in 2017 the Museum of Egyptian Civilization was opened. Since then, it has been adding things from other museums to its collection, like when the famous Pharaonic mummies came from another museum.
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
Is the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization worth visiting?
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) is worth a visit. If you are looking for things to do in Cairo, you don’t have to look further than this Museum. NMEC was my favorite of all the museums I went to.
What is inside the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization?
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization has a temporary exhibition hall that shows Egyptian crafts and up to 400 artifacts from different times. The hall is 1000 square meters and displays the four main crafts of the decadent Egyptian culture: wood, textiles, pottery, and ornaments.
