The Tutankhamun galleries
The complete collection for the first time: mask, coffins, throne and chariots.
Amr F.Nagy — Public domain · Habib M'henni — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Habib M'henni — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Holger Uwe Schmitt — CC BY-SA 4.0
The largest museum in the world devoted to a single civilisation, standing two kilometres from the Giza pyramids so that the pyramids are visible from inside through its glass front. This is the museum to which the entire Tutankhamun treasure moved from Tahrir — more than five thousand objects shown together for the first time, never having been displayed complete before. The gold mask, the coffins, the throne and the chariots are all here. A visit begins in the Grand Hall where the colossal statue of Ramesses II stands, moved from Ramses Square in central Cairo, and then climbs the Grand Staircase, a broad stair lined with royal statues that ends at a window looking directly at the pyramids. The sequence is deliberate: you ascend among the kings and are then confronted with what they built. The main galleries run chronologically and thematically across the whole of Egyptian history, in a modern display of international standard labelled in Arabic and English. The Khufu solar boat — the wooden vessel buried beside the Great Pyramid — is also shown here, moved from its old building. The scale is enormous and a visit takes no less than three hours, four or more for anyone who wants time with Tutankhamun. Tickets are booked online and it is very busy in season — book early and go as it opens.
The complete collection for the first time: mask, coffins, throne and chariots.
Royal statues lining the climb, ending at a window onto the pyramids.
The wooden vessel buried beside the Great Pyramid, now displayed here.
Fayoum Desert Road, Giza, near the pyramids
It is possible since they are only two kilometres apart, but the day becomes very long and tiring: the pyramids alone are a half-day in the sun and the museum at least three hours. Better to do the pyramids early and the museum, air-conditioned, in the afternoon — or split them over two days if you can.
Yes, though less than before. Tutankhamun has moved entirely, but Tahrir still holds the Narmer Palette, the Tanis treasure, the Amarna hall and a vast collection that did not move. The Grand Museum comes first without question on a single day; Tahrir is for a second day, or for anyone who loves an old museum for its own character.
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