Highlights of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo

Zahi Hawass

• Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781649034533
• eBook ISBN:
  9781649035042
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: History of Ancient Art
• Index: History

A superbly illustrated full-color selection of 200 of the museum's most beautiful and important objects

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) is the first museum of its kind in Egypt, or anywhere in the Arab world. A breathtaking repository of art history, its displays offer vivid glimpses into key periods of Egyptian history, from ancient times to the present. These highlight over three thousand artifacts, each thoughtfully selected to illuminate both the tangible and intangible aspects of Egypt's rich heritage.

This guide to the museum offers visitors and readers alike with a carefully curated selection of key objects from each of the museum's three exhibition galleries—the Core Exhibition Gallery, the Egyptian Textile Gallery, and the Royal Mummies Gallery. There is also a plan of the museum at the front of the guide.

Beginning with an overview of Egyptian history, spanning prehistoric through to ancient, Greco-Roman, Coptic, Islamic, and modern times, the guide takes the visitor through the Core Exhibition Gallery, which includes sculptures, tombs, tools, boats, cosmetics, and musical instruments, as well as jewelry, mosaics, metalwork, and wooden objects, ordered chronologically through time. This is followed by an itinerary through the Egyptian Textile Gallery, and is completed with a stunning tour of all twenty mummies of Egypt's great pharaohs currently on display in the Royal Mummies Gallery.

With over 200 color photographs, and including previously unpublished objects, this compact guide to one of Egypt's leading museums is both a beautifully illustrated introduction to a formidable civilization and a practical companion for any visitor to the museum.