Rare treasure offers priceless insights

In the Pharaonic section, items from the old, middle and new kingdoms are on display, including an alabaster statue of King Mankaure (or Menkaure), the builder of the third pyramid on the Giza Plateau, a head of a sandstone statue of Ikhnaton and a head of a painted limestone statue of Queen Hatshepsut.

“We have a distinguished part in this section, which is a model of a tomb with a real mummy inside. This part attracts adults and children, Egyptians and foreigners, alike, because mummification remains an unknown secret lying with ancient Egyptians,” said Rasha Ali, the Pharaonic section’s curator.

“Ancient Egyptians believed in body mummification after death to preserve it for use in the afterlife. This is why they placed a mask on the mummy’s head to help the soul recognize it according to their belief.”

The museum also features the sunken city of Cleopatra, the queen of Greek Macedonian descent who drove the merging of Pharaonic and Greek cultures in ancient Egypt.

Lina Mohamed, a college student of sculpture, said that it was her first time at the museum and would recommend it.

“I liked most how the hall designs suited the exhibited artifacts. The Pharaonic section in the basement is dim-lit to go with the atmosphere of tombs, the Greco-Roman section has light walls to go with the marble and granite statues and the third floor was medium lit to suit the objects of pottery, textile and coins,” she said.