The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, in the heart of Cairo, is one of the largest archaeological museums around the world. It includes the largest collection of ancient Egypt’s antiquities, as it contains more than 136,000 Pharaonic antiquities, in addition to hundreds of thousands of antiquities in its stores. On June 29, 1835 AD, an order Muhammad Ali Pasha established the Antiquities Authority and the Egyptian Museum, and assigned their management to Youssef Dia Effendi, under the supervision of Refaa al-Tahtawy.
The story of the museum's founding began with the great global interest in Egyptian antiquities after deciphering the Rosetta Stone by the French scientist Champollion. , and assigned their management to Youssef Zia Effendi, under the supervision of Refa'a Al-Tahtawi.
After the death of Muhammad Ali, the theft of antiquities returned again, and his successors followed the gifting approach, so the museum’s holdings dwindled. In 1858 AD, “Mariette” was appointed as the first warden to occupy the antiquities, i.e. what currently corresponds to the head of the Antiquities Department. Choosing the Bulaq area to establish a museum of Egyptian antiquities and transfer to it the antiquities that were found during his excavations, "such as the traces of the tomb of Ahhotep."
In 1863, Khedive Ismail approved the project to establish a museum of Egyptian antiquities, but the project was not implemented, but rather gave Mariette a place in front of the Antikhana House in Bulaq to expand his museum. In 1881 AD, and in the same year, Mariette died and was succeeded by "Maspero" as director of antiquities and the museum.
In the year 1890 AD, when the collections of the Bulaq Museum increased, they were transferred to the Saray of Giza, and when the scientist “De Morgan” came as head of the interest and the museum, he re-arranged these collections in the new museum, which was known as the Giza Museum, and in the period from 1897-1899 AD, Laurier came as Morgan’s successor, But Maspero returned again to run the department and the museum from 1899 - 1914, and in 1902 he transferred the antiquities to the current building of the museum "in Tahrir Square." One of his most active assistants in his second period of work was the Egyptian scientist Ahmed Pasha Kamal, who was the first to specialize in antiquities. Ancient Egyptian and worked for many years in the museum.
The first Egyptian director of the museum was Mahmoud Hamza, who was appointed in 1950. The museum had a brief guide written by Maspero dating back to 1883, but he made a large guide for the new museum, which has been printed and repeated from 1915 until now.
And about the architectural design of the museum, the current Egyptian Museum was designed by the French engineer Marcel Dorono in 1900, in a manner commensurate with the ancient and classical antiquities, but it does not compete with the ancient Egyptian architecture that still exists, and the museum also contains spacious interior halls and high walls, and natural light enters through the glass panels. On the ceiling and from the windows on the ground floor.
Currently, it is being developed in cooperation with the European Union, and the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently included the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir on the preliminary list of World Heritage sites, to which the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities uploaded its preliminary file. In February 2021, according to the criteria established for the registration of World Heritage sites.
Regarding the development, Archaeological Sabah Abdel-Razzaq, Director General of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, said that the development work inside the museum is still continuing on a regular basis, until it is completed during the current year, and all development work is going on simultaneously, so the museum display scenario is implemented, the museum is provided with guiding panels, and the development of Lots of seating for visitors.
Sabah Abdel Razek explained, in exclusive statements to "The Seventh Day", that paved corridors have been allocated for people with special needs, to ease their concern inside the museum, and all these works are carried out without any obstacles at all, and under the regular supervision of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and using the latest scientific methods.
The Director General of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir indicated that new explanation cards are being made, to facilitate visitors to know the history of the artifacts displayed inside the museum, in addition to continuing to develop the museum's floors to return it as it was at the time of its opening before.
Fri, Sep. 24, 2021
