National Museum of Egyptian Civilization | |
Native Name: | المتحف القومي للحضارة المصرية |
Established: | 3 April 2021 |
Location: | Fustat, Old Cairo, Cairo, Egypt |
Type: | History museum |
Collection: | 50,000 items |
Website: | nmec.gov.eg |
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) is a large museum located in Old Cairo, a district of Cairo, Egypt. Partially opened in 2017, the museum was officially inaugurated on 3 April 2021 by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, with the moving of 22 mummies, including 18 kings and four queens, from the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo, in an event termed the Pharaohs' Golden Parade.[1] The museum displays a collection of 50,000 artifacts, presenting the Egyptian civilization from prehistoric times to the present day.
The permanent collection is divided into two separate regions; one chronological and the other is thematic. The chronological areas are the following: Archaic, Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, Medieval, Islamic, modern and contemporary. The thematic areas are the following: Dawn of Civilization, The Nile, Writing, State and Society, Material Culture, Beliefs and Thinking and the Gallery of Royal Mummies. UNESCO provided technical help to the museum.[2]
The collections will be taken from other Egyptian museums such as the Egyptian Museum, the Coptic Museum, the Museum of Islamic Art, the Manial Palace and Museum in Cairo, and the Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria.[3]
In late 2017, Zahi Hawass reported that Francis Ricciardone, the president of the American University in Cairo, donated 5,000 of its artifacts to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.[4]
The museum hosted the final draw of the 2021 World Men's Handball Championship.