When Karl documented his visit to Cairo in 1901 he referenced going to see the Egyptian Museum — at that time, it was located across the Nile and about a mile outside of Cairo. “The Egyptian Museum, which contains statues, pottery and mummies of the Pharaohs nearly 5000 years old. One cannot see nearly all the old objects in a day, so many are there of them. Just now the museum is in the place of Ghiza but will soon be removed to the city proper, when the new building, not in the course of erection, at a cost of £150,000 is completed.”

Karl's visit 122 years ago, where he explored an older museum in Giza and timed his experience just ahead of the inauguration of the brand-new museum in Cairo, carries a significant layer of irony. I, too, had the chance to explore the "new museum" in Cairo, but my excitement was deftly dampened as the promised Egyptian museum in Giza, initiated years earlier, faced substantial delays.

The Egyptian Museum, originally established in 1835 near the Ezbekieh Garden and later relocated to the Cairo Citadel, has a complex history. In 1855, Archduke Maximilian of Austria received all artifacts from the Egyptian government, now housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. A new museum was established in Boulaq in 1858, but suffered damage in 1878 due to Nile River flooding, then finally found a home in a former royal palace in the Giza district of Cairo in 1891. This collection, the one Karl visited, was later moved to the current Egyptian Museum in Cairo in 1902.

While Karl explored the Royal Palace collection, I roamed the halls of the museum, constructed between 1897 and 1901 in tandem with his visit but not officially opened during his stay. The monumental task of relocating the extensive array of artifacts from the Giza Palace to this new building required the use of 5,000 boxes.

The Egyptian Museum I visited, opened on 15 November 1902 with 36,000 artifacts, displayed according to their historical sequence.The rooms were built to resemble the chapels at the Edfu Temple in Upper Egypt.

The current Egyptian Museum in Cairo, also known as the Museum of Cairo, is slated to be replaced by the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). Initiated in 2002 with an estimated cost of $500 million, the final price tag for the GEM has exceeded $1 billion due to delays and changes. Positioned outside Cairo, a 45-minute drive in Giza next to the Pyramids, the GEM is poised to become one of the world's largest and most modern museums. Upon completion, it will house over 100,000 ancient artifacts, including 4,549 from the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

Originally slated for completion in 2013, the GEM's opening has been promised each year since. When planning my journey following Karl to Egypt, the GEM was scheduled to open in 2022, seemingly reinforced by the "Pharaoh’s Golden Parade" in April 2021.

Recall, dear reader, the elaborate event when the Royal ancient mummies left the Cairo Egyptian Museum for their new home. This multimillion-dollar spectacle saw 22 mummies—18 kings and four queens—traversing the city in chronological order of their reigns. Encased in containers with a nitrogen atmosphere, transported in vehicles fitted with special shock-absorbers, and surrounded by a motorcade, including replica horse-drawn war chariots, the mummies traveled on roads repaved for a smooth journey. [https://youtu.be/IegmrsDbxk4]

Given the significant "emptying" of artifacts from the museum in Cairo, I was confident the GEM would open as scheduled a few months before my visit in February 2023. Yet, despite monthly promises on the website, the opening was continuously delayed. As of today's post, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities "anticipates" the opening to be in the spring of 2024.

So, as I explored the existing Egyptian Museum in Cairo, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to the anticipated grandeur of the GEM. While not diminishing its impressiveness, the current museum seemed overshadowed, similar to Karl's likely perception of the Palace collection compared to the new museum he anticipated. It appeared as though, post-mummy transfer, the remaining artifacts were consigned to a space lacking the same fanfare, care for preservation, and prestige. This contemplation prompted reflections on Egyptian artifact exhibited globally, a topic I'll delve into next week. For now, let me share some images from inside the museum.