Port Said Museum - Egyptology

Port Said Museum - Egyptology

About Port said:

The city of Port said is one of the three cities located on the Suez Canal together with the two cities of Ismailia and Suez. Port said was established in the year 1860 and it was called in the beginning; “The General City of the Canal”.

The history of Port said was always associated with the history of the whole nation and the people of the city were always reacting towards the national events. 

 This fact is clearly reflected in the tripartite aggression of France, Britain, and Israel on the city of Port said and how the inhabitants of the city protected it bravely against the armies and the forces of these countries.

In the beginning of 1976 Ports aid was declared to become a free tax zone and this attracted a lot of tourists to visit the city as many large touristic ships visit Port said to spend a day in the city before going on with their journey to the ports of the Mediterranean Sea.

The location of Port said

The city of Port said is located in the Northern edge of the Suez Canal with Mediterranean Sea to its North, the governorate of Ismailia to its South, the area of North Sinai to the East, and the governorate of Damietta to its West.

The geographical location of Port said has always played a major role in the history of the city and the whole region as it is located in the intersection of the trading routs between the East and the West.  

The Surface Area and the Climate of Port said

The surface area of Port said is estimated to be 1350 square kilometers and the city consists mainly of five large neighborhoods; Port Fouad, El Shareq, El Arab, El Dawahy, and El Zohour which was established lately in the year 2000.

The climate of Port said, the same as many cities and ports situated on the Mediterranean Sea, is moderate all year long but it might get a little cold and rainy in the winter.

The Old Lighthouse of Port said

The Old Lighthouse of Port said is considered to be among the most important attractions of the city as it was among the first buildings to be constructed with concrete in the whole world.

The lighthouse was constructed in 1869 in the reign of Khedive Ismail to guide the ships passing through the Suez Canal which was opened in the same year.

The Old Lighthouse of Port said has an octagonal shape and a height of 56 meters. The lighthouse has a large ball at its top that was used to determine the power and the direction of the wind.

The Military Museum of Port said

The Port said Museum was opened for public in the year 1964, 8 years after the victory the people of Port said had in the 23rd of December 1956 against the armies of three great countries ; France, Britain, and Israeli.

The surface area of the Port said Museum is 7500 square meters and it is located about 300 meters away from the Shohada’ or the Martyrs Square and the building of the governorate of Port Said.

The Port Said National Museum consists of a one floor building and it hosts some of the spoils the Egyptian forces were able to gather from the Israelis in the War of the 6th of October.

The Portsaid Museum also hosts a large collection of military tools, equipments, Israeli tanks, canons, guns, and some parts and sections of military aircrafts.

The Museum is divided into three halls. The first hall is called the “All Time” hall and it includes different types and forms of weapons and military equipments that date back to ancient Egypt and the Pharaonic times.

The item that catches the eyes of the visitor as soon as he enters the second hall of the Port said which is specified for the displays of the Tripartite Aggression on Port said after the former Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser declared the nationalization of the Suez Canal.

The first item the guests view in the hall of the Tripartite Aggression on Port said is the front page of Al Ahram newspaper number 25437 dated the 27th of July 1956.

The headline of the front page reads “the president announces, in the name of the nation, that we have regained our money and rights”.

The Rest of the front page of Al Ahram covers the news of the nationalization of the Suez Canal and the forming of the Board of Directors of the Authority of the Suez Canal.

The next item located in this hall is a plate announcing the presidential decree of nationalizing the Suez Canal and other plates from France and Britain to the Egyptian and Israeli forces in order to stop their fighting and clashes together

On the right hand side of the hall, there is a diorama of the battles of resistance of the people of Port said in the area of Al Gamil.  There is a model of the speech of the president Mohamed Abdel Nasser in El Azhar Mosque, some colored portrays of some scenes of the battle, and then at the end some of the belongings of the British officer Meir House like his pistol, cap, camera, watch, and pipe.  

Above this collection of Meir House, there is a portrait representing the scene of how Meir House was kidnapped, then some weapons and equipments, and a photo of the former governor of Portsaid as he was one of the champions of this battle.

In the middle of this hall, there is a small model of El Borlos naval battle and the photos of some martyrs who died in the battle. There are also some examples of the publications that were spread to encourage the people to revolt against the British occupation.

The National Museum of Port said 

The National Museum of Port said is situated in a distinctive location in the intersection of the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.

The Museum hosts more than 9000 displays dating back to the Pharaonic, Greco Roman, Coptic, and Islamic periods of the Egyptian history.

The 23rd of July Street and the Palestine Street, situated in front of the Ferdinand de Lesseps touristic path, were established over a surface area of around 13000 square meters.

The Museum was founded in 1963 and the construction work of the museum was halted from the year 1967 until the year 1973 because of the series of wars Egypt had with Israel as the museum was hit with two military missiles in 1967.  At the very end, the museum was opened for public visits in 1986.

The Museum originally consisted of a large museum garden and a two floors building that display a large number of displays dating back to different periods of the Egyptian history.

Since the opening of the museum in 1986, many people from all over Egypt have visited the museum in its working hours from 9 till 3 in the morning in the winter and from 9 till 10 at night in the summer because of its many remarkable interesting displays.

The Crisis of the National Museum of Port said

The crisis of the National Museum of Port said has started when many cracks and fissures appeared on the walls of the building of the museum which threatened the safety of the valuable displays. 

Although it was restored three times with a budget of 75 million Egyptian pounds, the experts noted that rebuilding the museum from the very beginning would be a better idea. This was why the museum was destroyed in 2009 and the displays were all put in storage rooms and since that date the construction work of the new museum never began.

The officials of the governorate of Port said have denied the rumors that said that the land where the new National Museum of Port said was sold to some investors but until today the building work of the new museum was never started.

The officials of Port said have demanded that the museum should be rebuilt quickly to be added to the few other touristic attractions of the city like the military museum. They have added moreover that the closure of the National Museum of Port said is considered to be a disaster especially with its marvelous location near the port of the city that welcomes thousands of tourists every week.

The Suez Canal Authority Building

The Suez Canal Authority Building is one of the historical buildings of Port said and it was constructed in 1895 as the first construction to be erected on the shores of Port said.

The building was used as the headquarters of the Suez Canal in the city of Port said to monitor the traffic of the ships passing in the canal.

The building was bought by the British authorities during the World War I to become the base of the British army in the Middle East before the British occupation left Egypt in 1956.

HOURS OF OPERATION:

Sat-Thurs: 9AM-4PM

(sometimes closed at lunch)

Fri: 9-11AM, 1-4PM

TICKET COST:

There is 50% reduction for bearers of International Student ID Card!

LOCATION:

Corner of Palestine St. and 23 July St., Port Said

DIRECTIONS:

BY TAXI: ask for "met-haf boor sayyid"

NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED.

CONTACT INFO: Phone: (066) 237 419

CONTACT INFO: Phone: (064) 322749

NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED

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Ismalia Museum - Egyptology

Ismalia Museum - Egyptology

The Ismailia Museum opened in 1932 in a building constructed in a style inspired by the Greco-Roman architecture of Egypt. The collection includes approximately 4,000 objects from the Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman eras, including such outstanding pieces as a large and beautifully preserved Roman floor mosaic dating to the 3rd century BC. A beautiful garden serves as an open-air gallery for statuary and stelae. Labels are in Arabic and English.

HOURS OF OPERATION:

Open daily, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM

9:00 AM-3:00 PM during Ramadan

TICKET COST:

Student rates available to bearers of a valid student ID from an Egyptian university or an International Student ID Card (ISIC)

LOCATION:

Salah Salem St., Al-Afareng, Ismailia

DIRECTIONS:

BY TAXI: ask for "met-haf al-ismailia"

The museum is wheelchair-accessible.

CONTACT INFO: Phone: (064) 322749

NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED !

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El Wadi El Gadid Museum - Egyptology

The Museum of El Wadi El Gadid

About Al Wadi El Gadid 

The governorate of Al Wadi El Gedid, or the New Valley, lies in the South Western section of Egypt in the west bank of the River Nile situated inside the Western Desert of land of the Pharaohs.

Five governorates are located in the Eastern borders of Al Wadi El Gedid; El Minya, Asyut, Sohag, and Aswan. Marsa Matrouh and the Bahariya Oasis lie to its North, Libya to its West, and Sudan to its South.

The surface area of the governorate of El Wadi El Gadid is huge is it is around 485,000 square kilometer, which is around 48% of the total surface area of Egypt and 67% of the total surface area of the Western Desert.

The surface area of El Wadi El Gadid consists mainly of three depressions located 200 to 300 kilometers away from the River Nile and three oasis occupies this area; El Kharga, El Dakhla, and El Farafra.

The administrational capital of the governorate of El Wadi El Gedid is the city of El Kharga, located 600 kilometers to the South of Cairo and 222 kilometers to the south of Asyut.

Situated 198 kilometers to the west from El Kharga, there is the city of Mut, the capital of Al Dakhla, and 300 kilometers away from Mut, there is the city of El Farafra.

A historical background

During the Pharaonic era, the two depressions of El Dakhla and El Kharga compromised one administrational unit and it was called “Thana” in Abydos in the governorate of Sohag and this region had one ruler.

The significance of El Wadi El Gedid in the ancient times was due to being the first defensive line of Egypt against the attacks of the Nubians from the South and the Libyans from the East.

This was why the Pharaohs and kings of ancient Egypt made sure that El Wadi El Gedid was stable and that its inhabitants enjoyed good living conditions.

The ruins and establishments of the Pharaohs in the governorate of El Wadi El Gedid still remain in the historical site of Balat and the Temple of Hibis in the Kharga Oasis.

Many excavation works are taking place in the governorate of El Wadi El Gedid discovering more and more of the secrets and antiquities of ancient Egypt.

The scientific discoveries and researches that were carried out in the governorate of Al Wadi El Gedid proved that this area of Egypt has greatly flourished during the reign of the 6th dynasty in 2420 BC.

When Cambyses of Persia conquered Egypt in the 6th century BC, he sent a huge army from Thebes to the Siwa Oasis to destroy the Temple of Amun.  The soldiers of Cambyses left Thebes and went in the direction to the Siwa Oasis and when they reached the Kharga Oasis, they rested there for a few days.

Afterwards, the army of Cambyses left El Kharga but none of them was able to reach Siwa or even return to the Kharga Oasis in a mystery that scientists are still searching for its reason until today.

This was why the Persian Emperor of Egypt, Dara, the successor of Cambyses, constructed the temple of Hibis to please the people of El Kharga and erase any bad memories that Cambyses has left.

During the Ptolemaic period in Egypt, they gave special attention to the area of El Wadi El Gedid and the agriculture of the region greatly developed during this period. They have also constructed remarkable structure like the temple of Ghweita located to the South of El Kharga today.

When the Romans came to govern Egypt, they made use of the fertile lands of the area of El Wadi El Gedid and they benefited from the water wells there to increase the area of the cultivated lands.  The commercial activities also flourished a lot during this period in the trading routs between Egypt, Nubia, and Sudan.

When Christianity was spread in Egypt and the Roman Emperors who were ruling the country started prosecuting the Egyptian Copts in the 3rd and the 4th centuries AD, they resorted to the area of El Wadi El Gedid in the Western Desert, cultivated the land there, and lived safely in this section of Egypt.

The most impressive historical site that the Copts have left in the Western Desert in the governorate of El Wadi El Gedid was the historical necropolis of El Bagwat the belongs to the 5th and 6th centuries.

The Museum of El Wadi El Gadid

The Supreme Council of Antiquities has established the Museum of El Wadi El Gedid implementing the policies of the council to spread many museums all over Egypt displaying the historical treasures of the country.

The Museum of El Wadi El Gadid consists of three floors, a ground floor and two upper floors. The ground floor has a large foyer that is opened on the second and third floors. The main foyer has two halls to the right and the left hands sides that host the most important displays of the museum.

The most remarkable displays of El Wadi El Gedid Museum includes some plaster masks that date back to the Greco Roman period, some statues of the Sphinx, and a statue of the god Horus, the falcon god.

The Displays of the Pharaonic Period

Due to the importance that El Wadi El Gedid has held during the Pharaonic period of the Egyptian history, the Museum of El Wadi El Gedid has some of the most remarkable displays dating back to that period.

This Pharaonic displays of El Wadi El Gedid Museum includes a collection of knives and scarpers that date to the pre dynastic period and a large collection of containers and vessels with several sizes, shapes, and uses, and they all date back to the period of the Old Kingdom.

There is also a notable collection of red pottery that was famous during the Old Kingdom period in El Wadi El Gedid in general and in El Kharga in particular.

Some portraits and motifs that were gathered from many Pharaonic Temples and historical sites from all around El Wadi El Gedid like from the Temple of Hibis, the Temple of Nadura, and the Temple of Ghweita.

The Pharaonic displays of El Wadi El Gedid include wonderful graffiti that were brought from historical sites from all around the governorate especially the one made of Mortar portraying the life in an oasis in the ancient times that is featured with its dark red color.

The Displays of the Greco Roman Period

The Romans, the same as many other dynasties that ruled over Egypt in several eras of time, have given special attention to El Wadi El Gedid, being one of the important gates and defensive lines of the land of the Nile.

The displays of the Greco Roman period of El Wadi El Gedid Museum include a wonderful collection of masks, pieces of coffins, and some examples of cartonnages.  There are also some complete coffins that are richly decorated with colored ornaments and different shapes.

There are many containers, vessels, and cups made out of pottery from different sizes and shapes and date back to the Roman period, a collection of jewelry made out of gems, precious stones, and a selection of statues of gods and goddesses that were made out of wood.

The same as the Pharaonic displays of El Wadi El Gedid Museum, the Greco Roman collection also contains some notable wall paintings and carvings especially the notable one portraying the god Amun, the king of the kings of gods in ancient Egypt.

The Displays of the Coptic and Islamic Periods

Due to the fact that the Egyptian Copts have resorted to the area of El Wadi El Gedid after the injustice they have been exposed to by the Roman Emperors in the early Christian days in Egypt and because of the Moslems, when they took control of Egypt, gave special attention to the region of Southern Egypt and specifically to El Wadi El Gedid, the Coptic and the Islamic collection of the museum is interesting and noteworthy.

The Coptic collection of El Wadi El Gedid Museum includes a large number of Coptic icons, copper and bronze crosses, colored portrays of the Christ, the Virgin Mary, and many other Christian saints, a number of wooden objects, and some rare Coptic manuscripts.

On the other hand the Islamic collection has many distinctive lamps that were used to light up the mosques in the old days, Quran inscriptions written on wood and paper, a large collection of pottery and containers, and some collections of weapons that were used during the Islamic period.

The Museum of El Wadi El Gedid is among the most important highlights of the governorate and it illustrates the history of the whole region. Visiting the museum is highly recommended for any tourists who love arts and the Egyptian history.

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Beni Seuf Monuments Museums - Egyptology

Beni Seuf Museums

The Beni Suef Museum houses artifacts related to the history of the region, an important agricultural center known especially for textile production. Artifacts from nearby pharaonic sites such as Abusir and Heracleopolis Magna (Ihnasya el-Medina) are housed on the first floor, while the second floor is devoted to displays of Coptic and Islamic period objects from the area.

HOURS OF OPERATION:
Open daily, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM

TICKET COST:
Student rates available to bearers of a valid student ID from an Egyptian University or an International Student ID Card (ISIC)

LOCATION:
Next to the governorate building, Beni Suef

DIRECTIONS:

BY TAXI: ask for "met-haf beni suef"

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Tanta Museum - Egyptology

The City of Tanta, it's attractions and Museum

About the History of Tanta

The name Tanta is ancient name that was known in Egypt since thousands of years. The Pharaohs have called this area Tanaso in the ancient Egyptian history and it was one of the towns of the fifth province of ancient Egypt.

In the 4th century BC, the Greeks have called the city “Tanitad”, and then in the Roman period, it was called “Tanthna” and a council of senates were assigned to rule the city. In the Byzantine era, the city was called “Tow” and after the Moslems opened Egypt in 641 AD, the name of the city has changed to become “Tantada”. 

During the early Islamic the importance of the city was diminished and it was transformed from being a whole town to become a suburbia, or a village that hosted a little number of small houses and huts that were constructed out of brick stones.  

During the 10th century AD, the Khedive and the ruler of Egypt at the time, Al Mostanser,  who belonged to the Fatimid dynasty, applied major changes to the different provinces and boroughs of Egypt. Upper Egypt, at the time, was only divided into large regions, each region consisted of two duchies, and each duchy consisted of states or a number of provinces.

Khedive Al Mostanser eliminated the two regions in Upper Egypt and he made the whole area consist of only one region with that consisted of a number of provinces with the “Tantaweya” province among them.

The Fatimid has taken the new Tantaweya as a base for them and the province had a ruler who controlled all the security and administrational matters. Since that period, Tanta has started capturing the attention of the rulers of Egypt.

When the Ayyubids, the dynasty that was founded by the famous Arabian army leader, Saladin El Ayouby, ruled over Egypt, Tanta became a large village with a surface area that exceeded 100 acres.

The Delta of the River Nile was re-divided in the reign of Al Sultan Al Ashraf in 1375 AD to consist of 11 provinces, with a new province that had the name Gharbeya, or the Western province, a name that still officially exist until today with the same capital, El Mahla El Kobra.

The city of Tantaweya was called “Tant” in the beginning and then Tanta and it followed the ruling system and administration of El Gharbeya Province.

Tanta in the beginning of the 15th century, had a an official employee who was assigned by the Sultan  that used to supervise everything in the town like public morals, religion, education, commercial activities, and he used to try to improve the living conditions of the people living in town.

Unfortunately, the living conditions of Tanta worsened again during the period of the Ottomans in Egypt and the cultivated lands of the town became less and so was the population of Tanta which decreased due to the harsh living conditions.

During the French occupation of Egypt in 1789 the administrational borders of some of the provinces of the Delta were modified as some provinces were canceled and others were joined together like Tanta that was added to El Menofeya Governorate.

When Mohamed Ali, the founder of modern Egypt, came to rule over the country in the beginning of the 19th century, he had another administrational modification and the Nile Delta had 6 provinces and Tanta became a part of Al Gharbeya Governorate once again/

Afterwards in 1836, Abbas Touson Pasha, the grandson of Mohamed Ali, became the first governor of El Gharbeya and since that date the city and the governorate have tremendously thrived.

The importance of Tanta even increased when the first railway to be ever established in Egypt in 1854 passed through the town coming from Cairo and going to Alexandria.

Moreover, telegraph and telephone wires reached Tanta in reign of Khedive Mohamed Tawfik in 1888 to add more and more facilities to the inhabitants of Tanta and Al Gharbeya.

When Gamal Abdel Nasser, the former Egyptian president, became the ruler of Egypt, all the provinces and directorates were canceled and replaced by governorates. However, Tanta remained the capital of Al Gharbeya Governorate until today.

Tanta was famous in the old days of the great gates of the city that used to close at night to protect the inhabitants of the city against any outer attacks and the gates of Tanta were like the famous gates of Cairo that remained until today.

About the City of Tanta Today

Tanta is the capital of the Governorate of Gharbeya and it is situated 92 kilometers to the North of Cairo, the Egyptian capital. Tanta is located in the middle of the Nile Delta and this was why the Arabs named it “Tantda” in the beginning of the Islamic ruing in Egypt.

Tanta is considered to be the most civilized and urbanized city after Cairo, the capital, Alexandria, the second capital of Egypt and the jewel of the Mediterranean Sea as many people prefer to call it.

Moreover, Tanta is considered to be the third largest city in the Nile Delta according to the size of the surface area of the city, after Al Mansoura and El Mahla El Kobra. 

The Mosque of Al Sayed El Badawy

The most important monument and the major landmark of the city of Tanta is the famous mosque of Al Sayed El Badawy, a relative to El Hussein, the grandson of the prophet Mohamed, who was buried in Egypt.

Al Sayed El Badawy was born in beginning of the 13th century from an Alaouite family in Morocco in the reign of El Mowahed king, El Nasser Mohamed.

After having the finest education, Al Sayed El Badawy left Egypt and went to live in Mecca with his father and after 20 years, his father passed away in Mecca in 1230 AD.

Al Sayed came back to Egypt in 1240 AD and he lived in Tanta where he spent the rest of his life teaching Islam and the Islamic thoughts to the people of Tanta and the whole Nile Delta in Egypt.    

The Mosque of Al Sayed El Badawy was founded in the beginning as a small prayer area that was situated near the tomb of Al Sayed El Badawy in Tantathat was founded by Sultan Seif El Dine Qaitbey in 1483

However, the mosque that we view today was actually constructed by Ali Bek El Kebir in 1769 and the mosque is featured with its marvelous design, and its three domes that overlooks the three mausoleums located in the mosque.

The Mosque of Al Sayed El Badawy was renewed twice during the reign of Abbas I, the Khedive of Egypt, the first was in 1836 while the second time was in 1848.

Many rulers of Egypt took care of the restoration and renewal works of the museum including Khedive Ismail, Khedive Abbas Helmi II, King Fouad, and then the presidents of Egypt after the revolution of 1952.

Al Sayed El Badawy has a great festival to celebrate his birthday that is held around the most and all over the city of Tanta once every year with so many people from all over Egypt coming to attend this wonderful Islamic celebration.  

The Museum of Tanta

Due to the historical significance of the Governorate of El Gharbeya and its fundamental role in the Egyptian history throughout different periods of history, this was why the Egyptian authorities decided to establish a museum in the city of Tanta, the capital of El Gharbeya in 1913 as one of the oldest museums of Egypt. 

The former town hall of Tanta was chosen to host the displays of the Tanta Museum of Antiquities that was officially opened in 1913. However, the museum was quickly closed and then reopened once again in 1935 and then it was closed for the second time and then reopened again in the 29th of October 1990.

Many people are wondering why the Tanta Museum was closed again although the building of the museum was renewed in the year 2000 and many painting and plumbing works in the museum were completed. 

The Tanta Museum of Antiquities consists of five large floors, with the first four floors specified for displaying the collection of the museum while the fifth floor hosts the administration offices, a storage room, and a conference hall. 

The first floor of the Tanta Museum hosts a large collection of Pharaonic displays, the second floor displays some exhibits dating back to the Greco Roman period, the third floor was specified for the Coptic and Islamic displays, the forth has a large library and a conference hall, and the fifth and last floor has administration offices.  

Furthermore, the same as many other museums and historical sites around Egypt, the Tanta Museum is waiting for some governmental official to rescue this important structure from neglect and oblivion to become an important visit for many Egyptians and some tourists who visit Tanta.

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Malawi Monuments Museum - Egyptology

Menia  - Malawi Museum

Malawi Monuments Museum

Thw Malawi Monuments Museum houses a collection of artifacts from the nearby sites of Tuna al-Gebel and Hermopolis. Among the objects on display are a number of animal mummies and statues associated with the worship of the god Thoth.

HOURS OF OPERATION:

Sat-Tues & Thur: 9AM-2PM

Fri: 9AM-noon

TICKET COST:

Student rates available to bearers of a valid student ID from an Egyptian university or an International Student ID Card (ISIC)

LOCATION:

El-Galaa St., Malawi

DIRECTIONS:

BY TAXI: ask for "met-haf malawi"

CONTACT INFO: Phone: (086) 632061

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