We had visited this museum last in 2010 and much has changed in the last 14 years. On the plus side, there are fewer cases and displays. Earlier there were so many that it was almost impossible to maneuver around all of them. Secondly there were much fewer people, perhaps 80% fewer. Our guide mentioned the lack of geographic literacy,, perhaps folks confuse Giza with Gaza? Perhaps they don't understand the distance between the two regions. Some things are just the same, old displays with marginal lighting. The glare and/or dirt on the glass was so bad at times that a picture was impossible. Another hold over was the lack of information. Many times there was no information at all, other times it seemed like a note card was left as an afterthought. There is a huge new museum being built the GEM, Grand Egyptian Museum. Perhaps after that is launched this museum can get reimagined
In we go!
Built in 1902 it is holding up as well as could be expected
Grand ladies
We got a lesson on identifying the status of a statue
Crown and beard means pharaoh
If the beard is curved it is a god
The pharaoh also holds the papyrus laws of the pharaoh
Sandel gap in his foot
Long row of sarcophagi
They seemed to be realistically portraying the dead
A dance lesson on the left?
Boats
Great black granite
Looking up to the second floor
Same one but seen from the second floor
More sarcophagi
The whole crew is here
Anubis on guard
A unique looking sarcophagus
This one has a detailed inscription
Here the deceased's soul is hovering over her like a bird. Isis and Nephthys are there as well as the canopic jars under the deceased
Egypt was conquered many times and the new rulers were absorbed into the Egyptian culture. Here is a Greek pharaoh, the Ptolemy's
Here is a Nubian
A wooden sarcophagus
Tiny workers were added to the burial. 365 workers, 36 supervisors and one big boss to co-ordiante them all
Painted on the inside
More afterlife help
And a boat to take relaxing cruises on
An old time eye exam?
The stomach, lungs, liver and intestines were kept in the canopic jars
Like Russian dolls
Some of the amulets found in the wrappings
The dome above us
No data on this, a wig, a hat of bees???
Rooster moasic
100 years before Tut's tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings another tomb was found intact, it was Yuya and Thuya
Yuya was the husband and Thuya was the wife
they had an intact chariot, one of the oldest ever discovered
Ergonomic beds, the head and feet should be above the heart
The Hippo god helps during childbirth
Bey is the god of beer and good times
The middle layer of the three layers
Gold!
Yara's sarcophagus
The inlay is great
The liver, lungs, intestines and stomach
Little items to go with the organs
Ra, Ra, he's the god
Yuya and Thuya themselves
The earliest messages were written on rocks and shards of broken pottery
That was before they invented Papyrus
This is the earliest scroll listing the steps of getting tot he after life
Some beautiful scrolls have survived
Crocodile rocks
Nice pony tail
The dogs pull the boat that the scarab rides while he is pushing up the sun at sunrise
Behold the mighty dung beetle
Tut's gilded wooden inner layer, after the human shaped coffins and before the stone sarcophagus
A Nubian guard for Tut
His throne
Inside these gates are the Tutankhamun items
The second sarcophagi, no pictures!
The solid gold innermost sarcophagus. the largest single chunk of gold ever recovered in Egypt, 220 pounds, no pictures allowed
The eyes do not look like this anymore, maybe that is why we were not allowed pictures
Even the sandles had gold
His clothes would be fitted using this model
The back of the throne has cobras for protection
Ant the mighty falcon
Lions in the front
Egypt has 82 gold mines
His enemies to rest his feet upon
The canopic jars
All the important organs are here but the heart was left with the mummy
The jars were held in this box
Anubis
The protector of the dead
Dog or Jackal? It is still being debated
Scarab seals
Jewelry
Amulets to wrap in with the mummy
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A charm bracelet
Evidence of the erasing of the status of Pharaoh for Hatshepsut
Chip off the cobra symbol
Remove her name
On our free time we wandered
Different facial features
For different statues
More stores being told
A pharaoh as a sypnix
Either a elongated head or a big crown
What a great experience
Reflected in the glass box
Four levels of reflections
A small bronze piece
And a bigger one
Alabaster
A false door
Great patina
Goose goose
A scribe and his son giving offerings
Duck duck
Bread maker
A butcher cutting up a goose on the left and a sandal maker on the right
Brewing the beer
Dying the fabrics
Grinding the grain
The only image of Khufu ever found
Three fantastic sculptures
Done three times over
With different inscriptions over the rightmost woman
A table to share drinks over
The tip of a pyramid?
Big honking statues. These were brought in first and then the building was built around them
Lion with sun on top
Scars from her knee replacement
The grand hall
Love the hands
Out we go!
That was a fast three hours
