Our afternoon was spent at the amazing GEM which officially opened last weekend to much fanfare.
What can I say about this museum? First, it is the largest archeological museum in the world and holds over 100,000 artifacts.
Upon entering the Grand Hall, a 36’ statue of Ramesses II holds court among the many visitors.
Walking past Ramesses II, our next site was of the Ptolemaic King and Queen statues. These statues are about 16’ tall and made of pink granite.
As we rode the escalator to the right of the Grand Stairs, we viewed the many beautiful statues. The Grand Stairs runs approximately 6 floors.
At the top of the stairs and in our case escalator, the view was sensational of the pyramids.
Bob took us for a quick tour around the museum. This was his first visit and we could see he was visibly in awe. A statue – Metri a scribe – was from 4000 years ago. Scribes were very respected and they were responsible for reading and writing. Metri has very life-like eyes.
The statue of King Amenhotep II and some of the jewelry from that time.
But the highlight of the museum is the King Tutankhamun exhibits. After visiting his tomb it was hard to believe over 5000 artifacts were discovered there. The famous mask was beautiful and displayed in an enclosed case.
King Tut ruled from 1336 to 1327 BC. The entire collection was presented under one roof for the first time. The following are a few of the thousands of pieces in the museum.
Two of King Tut’s twin daughters are on display but no photos were allowed.
It was an amazing museum with so much to see. Although it took many years to open, it is something Egypt should be proud of for centuries to come.
The museum had many venues to take a break and eat. Bruce and I had a little something.
In the Glass Hall, we came upon another statue of Ramesses II.
As we walked back to our bus, one more look at the pyramids.
Our tickets were $14 per person. And it was well worth the trip.
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