September 11th, 2004 – Egyptian Museum – Meet my tour group
It was only a short walk to the Egyptian Museum from my hotel. Along the way I was lured into some shopping at a perfume shop and papyrus shop. Crossing the busy street right in front of the Museum was more than interesting and a little dangerous. As I stood at the streets edge gathering up nerve to cross I was confronted by a few locals to come into their shops and do even more shopping. After buying some oils in one shop and then some more papyrus paintings in another, I thought it was time to cross this busy street before all my money was gone.
Egyptian museum
Finally I was across the street and then straight into the Museum gates to get away from more local merchants selling a little bit of everything. Entrance to the museum was 20 pounds and no Cameras were allowed inside. Cameras had to be checked in before going through security and were held there until you came back out. The only exhibit extra inside for viewing was the Mummy Room and it was an extra 40 pounds. A very large museum and I was glad to have spent this extra day looking around.
In front of museum
I ended up having lunch at a small restaurant just beside the museum costing me 25 pounds.
View from museum
I had a good view of the city surrounding the museum, it's located in the heart of Cairo. They are extremely strict with taking photos and camera's in general. There was no cameras allowed inside and security was high.
Walking back to the hotel
I cross the busy street in front of the museum and head back to the hotel. I meet up with a tour group that was booked before I came to Egypt. The company is called Explorer and for the next 14 days we will be exploring the temples of middle Egypt accompanied by knowledgable tour guides.