Egypt 4: Grand Egyptian Museum

We were very lucky that the Grand Egyptian Museum had opened a few months before we arrived.  The GEM is amazing and doesn't seem at all like what I think of when I think of "museum."  For one thing it feels about the size of a covered sports stadium.  

The GEM was intended to see about 1500 visitors a day. On the first day they welcomed 5000 people by 10 AM and had to close to more.  Now you need to make reservations.  

 

This is an ancient obelisk you can walk under to see its base.

 

 

The Main Staircase in GEM. There are exhibits all the way up it.

A kneeling statue of Pharoah Hatshepsut, the most powerful woman in Egyptian history.

    

Sekhmet, goddess of war and healing.

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Nubian archers from the tomb of Pharoah Mesehti.

The picture below shows one of the  boats buried in ditches around  Khufu's Great Pyramid.  No one is sure whether it was a standard boat, one used only to carry the pharoah's coffin, or purely symbolic/decorative.

Next: Tutankhamun