Egyptian Museum, Cairo

No cameras were allowed and we took nothing with us so we didn’t have a problem with security or cloak rooms. However that does mean that we have no photos for this blog – sorry about that. If you’re interested you could try www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg

We were surprised by the crowds but then it is winter and peak tourist season and the Museum does have a world wide reputation we’re told.

The exhibits ranged in size from tiny jewellery to huge statues, columns and steles. So huge in fact I wondered how on earth they got them into the museum….

We stood in front of
• Tutankhamun's spectacular gold mask (he lived from 1,336 to 1327 BC) and
• Lots of the 5,000 odd treasures found in his tomb
• A 3m high 1,300BC stele which refers to the defeat of Israel – apparently the only mention of Israel found in Egypt so far.
• A 3,800 year old wooden boat.
• Some treasures older than 2,500 BC.

We think the ancients had a sense of humour – we found several jars with female figures looking like cranky mothers exasperated by having to deal with children’s untidy rooms ….. well that’s Fay’s take on them.

We also found metal lamps on stands with simple crosses built into the structure of the lamps.

And for the practicality of embalming process – a grisly find was a two and a half metre long embalming table which was sloped down to a drain hole and basin for collecting body fluids.

As Australians with such a short European history and where a 200 year old building is an historic rarity we found this a truly amazing historical experience and one which, no doubt, will be repeated many times over the next week.