Egyptian museum gaining public recognition for role in city’s history

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — Ever heard of Alexandria National Museum in Egypt? It’s little known, even to Egyptians, but the rare treasure contains about 1,800 priceless Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Islamic and Coptic artifacts that narrate the story of the Mediterranean historical city of Alexandria north of capital Cairo.

Located in the busy Horreya Street in downtown, the museum looks like a secluded but elegantly-designed three-story white palace. The building once belonged to a wealthy Lebanese-born wood merchant who sold it to the consulate of the United States in 1954 before Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities bought it in 1996 to turn it into a museum.

Alexandria National Museum was opened to the public in 2003, hosting artifacts of historical events from the Pharaonic dynasties, passing through the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine and Islamic periods until the beginning of Mohammed Ali’s era as Egypt’s ruler and finally the Egyptian anti-British 1952 revolution.

The main floor hosts Greco-Roman artifacts, while the basement contains ancient Egyptian Pharaonic antiquities and the upper floor exhibits Islamic, Coptic and artifacts from the modernage.

“The oldest antiquities we have here are those of the Old Kingdom of the Pharaonic

Ancient Egyptians believed in body mummification after death to preserve it for use in the afterlife.”

Pharaonic section curator at the Alexandria National Museum

Rasha Ali, era, dating back 5,000 to 6,000 years,” said Ahmed Tawfik, the museum’s manager. “Most of Alexandria artifacts are Greek and Roman, so we brought the Pharaonic artifacts from various museums in Cairo and Upper Egypt.”

He added that the frequency of visitors to the museum has increased over the past couple of years.

A group of visitors who were touring the museum said they were impressed not just by the exhibits but by the facility’s layout.

Happy visitors

“I am very happy with the way of exhibition used in the museum. The movement inside the museum is also so smooth that it makes a visitor tour it all without getting lost or missing anything,” said Ola Mahmoud, an assistant professor at a college of applied arts.