The magnificent building, which now houses the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, was designed by French architect Marcel Durnion. It contains the largest collection of Egyptian art in the world. A huge interest in ancient Egypt arose among Europeans at the turn of the XVII and XVIII centuries and was due to at least three factors: the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt in 1798, the discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799, and the publication in France in 1809-1816 of the most complete scientific work "Description of Egypt." Europeans who visited this country exported entire collections of Egyptian antiquities, many of which made up the core of the exhibits that are currently in many museums in Europe. To stop the uncontrolled export of historical values in 1834, at the direction of Pasha Muhammad Ali, a museum was founded, where all the exhibits were cataloged. Soon after, the collection was moved to the Citadel in Cairo. Unfortunately, the entire originally collected collection was donated by the Archbishop of Austria to Maximilian, and is currently in Vienna. In 1858, one of the directors of the Louvre, Auguste Mariet, arrived in Egypt to guide the excavation. In a small town near Cairo , a new collection was assembled, which laid the foundation for the Cairo Egyptian Museum. In 1902, the collection was moved to a building that today adorns one of Cairo's central squares, Tahrir. The Egyptian Museum has a rich collection of dynastic cultural treasures. More than one hundred halls and galleries host about 150 thousand exhibits. It would take several days or even weeks to inspect the entire collection. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the most interesting. At the entrance you will see giant sculptures depicting Amenhotep and his wife Tia. Contrary to tradition, her figure is the same size as
The magnificent building, which now houses the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, was designed by French architect Marcel Durnion. It contains the largest collection of Egyptian art in the world. A huge interest in ancient Egypt arose among Europeans at the turn of the XVII and XVIII centuries and was due to at least three factors: