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The
museum's ground floor follows the history of ancient Egypt. Upon
entering through the security check in the building, one looks toward
the atrium and the rear of the building with many items on view - from
sarcophagi and boats to enormous statues.
Just in front of these you will find an Object of the Month
on display. Behind it are some of the most important items from the
time of the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt some 5,000 years ago,
including the famous slate palette of king Narmer - one of the first
documents of Egyptian history. Also on show are small masterpieces of
sculpture - keep in mind that these are some 50 centuries old. This is
an area that should not be missed!

The
photographs shown here feature the atrium area and the area to the
right of the entrance. From the entrance area itself, turn left and you
will find an amazing diversity of small statues from the Old Kingdom -
they depict individuals, families, and people at work.

Continuing
around the building in a clockwise direction takes you forward in time
as you duck into the different rooms. At the far end of the building you
will be confronted by material from the time of the heretic pharaoh,
Akhenaten.

Keep moving and eventually you will have reached the Graeco-Roman period and walked through more than 3,000 years of history!

Upstairs

on the first floor (i.e.second level) are thousands of smaller items

from the span of Egyptian history. Of course, everybody wants to see the

treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb - these occupy a large area along

almost two side of the upper floor. Chariots, gloves, jewellery, the

famous mask - many of the antiquities from his tomb are displayed here.

Tutankhamun's

tomb contained four gilded shrines nested one inside the other. All

four of these shrines are on display in the museum. They are lined up in

order of decreasing size. The innermost of these covered a stone

sarcophagus which remains in the tomb.

Inside

the stone sarcophagus were three coffins - the innermost being made of

110 kilograms of solid gold. Inside that lay the pharaoh himself wearing

the famous gold mask (at right). Tutankhamun remains in his tomb to this day.

Two of his three coffins are on display in the same room as the mask,
along with stunning jewellery. This room alone can occupy one for a
considerable time. The room has been remodelled recently with better
presentation.
Obviously,
there are usually crowds, although often these lessen toward the end of
the day. It is therefore a good idea to leave the Tutankhamun exhibits
until later, unless one is short of time.

Apart
from the Tutankhamun exhibits upstairs, there are countless coffins,
amulets, ushabtis, household items, etc. Some of the Middle Kingdom tomb
models of armies, boats and landowners surveying their livestock
shouldn't be missed. The human figures almost seem alive! Also upstairs
is the Mummy Room where you can come face to face with some of the great
rulers of ancient Egypt.

However,
a word of advice - don't try to see everything. If you do, you will not
remember anything! If you have a chance to go at least twice, perhaps
do an overall survey and then concentrate on what pleases you most on
the next visit.

Some
of the museum's exhibits can be seen by using the links below. They are
given in no particular order so that one may stumble across some of the
wonders of the museum.