Sharm El-Sheikh Museum almost ready for partial opening

CAIRO - 30 July 2020: Sharm El-Sheikh Museum is currently acting like a beehive, where the archaeologists and restorers of the Supreme Council of Antiquities are working in full swing to complete the museum exhibition in accordance with the display scenario previously decided.

The Sharm El-Sheikh Museum showcases the different aspects of Egyptian civilization by displaying a selection of artifacts that have been carefully chosen from the stores in El-Manial Palace, Kom Oshim Museum, Saqqara Museum, Suez Museum, Ismailia Museum, Greco-Roman Museum, Alexandria Museum and the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, as well as stores of the city of Luxor and Al-Ashmunin in Minya.

Hisham Samir, the assistant minister for engineering affairs, indicated that all construction and lighting work has been completed, and the alarm systems, security protection and fire extinguishers have been tested.

Moamen Othman, head of the Museums Sector, explained that the museum has received nearly 5,500 artifacts so far. According to Othman, displaying the artifacts will be done in various ways, either in show cases or outside.

Othman further explained that the artifacts will be displayed in three halls, namely the Grand Hall, the Hathoric Hall and the graveyard area which will be opened soon, and that the vehicles of Dahshur are being prepared for display by the specialized restorers of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

He clarified that the path of the visit was also determined in a way that suits the museum's display of the artifacts, and currently work is done to complete the explanatory cards, banners and display screens.

Mahmoud Mabrouk, the minister’s adviser for museum displayscenarios, said that the museum's Grand Hall shows the human and wildlife in ancient Egypt by displaying a number of paintings representing the ancient Egyptian family in various historical stages.

Mabrouk stated that the Grand Hall also includes a group of statues of the Sphinx, and a statue of a man next to his little daughter, in addition to a number of sacred animals in ancient Egypt, such as cats and scarabs of various shapes and sizes, which were discovered in 2019 in the Saqqara Archeological Area. 

As for the Hathoric Hall, Moamen Othman said that it was named after the ancient Egyptian deity Hathor as it houses a large number of the goddess's belongings, along with some statues of Thutmose I, Hatshepsut, Nectanebo, Ramses II and Ramses III.

He added that the cemetery area is a simulation of a complete ancient cemetery with all its details and artifacts. It contains an imaginary door dating back to the Old Kingdom, the inner and outer sarcophagi of the priestess of Isis, a number of Ushabti statues and canopic vessels, a statue of Osiris, a papyrus from the “Book of the Dead” and a special material used for covering the body of the deceased.