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The Best Museums
The Aswan Museum: This tiny museum on the southern end of Elephantine Island in Aswan lost most of its best pieces to the new Nubian Museum and, hence, doesn't receive many visitors now. But its 19th-century building, the residence of the architect of the Aswan Dam, Sir William Wilcocks, is a museum itself and deserves a visit.
Egyptian Museum (Cairo): With a history that goes back to the very beginning of the archaeological exploration of Europe, the collection of antiquities held by the Egyptian Museum is one of the richest and most varied in the world. From Tutankhamun's tomb to the Fayum portraits, there is no way to come to Egypt and miss this one.
Luxor Museum: It may be smaller than the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, but the Luxor Museum is better lit, better organized, and better documented. Housing an impressive display of ancient Egyptian artifacts, it's not something that you should miss if you're in town.
Mummification Museum (Luxor): It sounds lurid, and it is, but it's also well laid out and holds some impressive items. Kids will particularly enjoy the displays of mummies and the tools used to embalm them.
The Museum at St. Catherine's Monastery: This monastery's collection of ancient manuscripts is second in size only to the Vatican's. A few of these are on display, as well as some impressive early icons, truly jaw-dropping golden reliquaries, and examples of devotional embroidery.
Nubian Museum (Aswan): This is a long-overdue monument to the land of Nubia, flooded by the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the early 1970s. The museum tries to re-create the lost culture and leads the visitor through the history of the land all the way to its rather abrupt modern truncation.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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