museums, Alexandria

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Alexandria was a Greco-Roman city and the museum is now home to many artifacts and relics of these days gone by.

The attached 3 photographs depict a few of the items that feature in the roman section of the Alexandria National Museum.

1. Statues – Carved from one piece of stone, this well proportioned carving depicts a lady resting on a day bed. Her hair is “perfect” and her flowing gown gives me the idea that she was some type of Roman Royalty.

2. Artifacts of war – A helmet with mesh protecting the back of the neck, ears and the head must have been very heavy to wear.

3. Mosaics – Although this specimen is broken, the picture in the middle of this mosaic is striking. Two different colored eyes are staring at the snake that seems to coming from his right ear.

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Statue of the purification priest.

This statue of a purification priest, dated to approx 2500 B.C. is carved from timber.
It possesses the most amazing eyes that seem to be popping right out of his head…as if he has just found out that there is no after life!

The priest is represented with one foot in front of the other and he has a dagger in one hand and a staff in the other.

At the Alexandria National Museum there is an excellent carving of the head of Hatshepsut, great female pharaoh of Egypt.

After she married her half brother, Thutmose II, she began to plan how she rule Egypt.

When Thutmose II eventually died, his son (Thutmose III,) was the actual heir to the throne. Hatshepsut wrangled her way in and she was appointed regent because Thutmose III was considered too young to rule As a result Hatshepsut and Thutmose III ruled jointly until Hatshepsut declared herself pharaoh a few years later.

She spent her remaining days dressing like a man and wearing a “stick on” beard of the Pharaoh!,

Although this sandstone statue is broken, the statue of the Falcon God Horus was once wearing the crown of both Upper and Lower Egypt.

The myth is that Osrisis was a King who is best known for teaching the Egyptians how to live, and more importantly, how to grow corn. In fact, he is said to have told all Egyptians to worship corn.

Horus’s Uncle Seth murdered his brother and cut the body up, scattering his body parts all over Egypt. Osrisis’s wife, Isis, collected all of the body parts and put them all back together forming the very first mummy in Egypt. Isis the used her magic to bring the mummy back to life and they conceived a son, Horus.

Osrisis then joined the underworld and became judge of the dead while Horus went on to avenge his father by fighting the fierce battle with Seth.

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President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated the Alexandria National Museum in 2003.

Located in a beautiful ex palace, (Al-Saad Bassili Pasha Palace) which later became the US Embassy before being sold to the Egyptian government, this is quite a small museum….but it is air-conditioned!

The artifacts and displays here represent the ages of the Time of the Pharaohs through to the Roman and Coptic periods.

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The Alexandria National Museum is one of the city's latest initiatives to improve its tourist image and capitalize on the millions of visitors that visit Egypt's ancient sites. But unlike Luxor's little great museum and the overwhelming Egyptian Museum in Cairo, this one empasizes Alexandria's Hellenic heritage with a sprinkiling of exhibits from the Pharaonic, Ottoman and Islamic periods.

Sort of reflecting its ambition to be one of the leading museums in Egypt, the museum is housed in grand style - in a beautifully renovated palace, the Al-Saad Bassili Pasha Palace (formerly owned by a wealthy merchant). The palace itself is surrounded by sprawling gardens.

Beyond these grand surroundings, the exhibits are done well with dramatic lighting (in many cases) and professional labeling. My favorite exhibits were the sculptured heads of Akhenaten (in the picture) and the mosaic tiles from the Hellenic period. The classical Greek sculptures were also a treat.

Entrance fee as of May 2007: EGP 30

This relatively new museum contains treasures from Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, and Islamic times. It is housed in an elegant building. At the time of our visit, the Greco-Roman museum was closed, so this was a good place to see. Photos are allowed inside, however a flash cannot be used. Chronologically, the oldest exhibits are in the basement, and as the timeline continues, you go higher up into the building.

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Courier New
If you are a big fan of ancient Egypt
and ancient Cultures like roman and Greek

a must see place
is the roman and Greek museum

my love to the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt
is the cause that made me recommend this subject

when u see Isis and Venus statues ... you will know why :) !
the link i ve post down is from my blog

the photos isnt mine is from other site

http://www.delange.org/Greek_Roman_Museum/EP6.htm
Thank You