Dive into Cairo: Unraveling Secrets of Royal Mummies and Grand Bazaar
Author: Julius Vazquez | Last updated: October 27, 2023
In January 2023, I went to Egypt for 9 days. I spent 3 days in Cairo. As my third and last day in Cairo unfolded concluding my 9-day Egyptian adventure, I was keen to explore the unvisited gems of this historic city following the suggestions of my fellow travelers:
- Abdeen Palace Museum to see the regal splendor of the Palace and its rich display of Egypt’s royal artifacts collection
- Khan el-Khalili (Grand Bazaar) to navigate the lively alleys around the most famous Bazaar in Egypt and relished a refreshing time at El Fishawy Cafe for their signature mint tea and turkish coffee
- The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) to be mesmerized by the famous Royal Mummies’ Hall and the tale of Egypt’s history woven through its extraordinary artifacts
Eager for more travel tales? Begin with my Day 1 visit to the ancient sites of Dahshur & Saqqara’s, or leap right into the awe of Day 2’s journey through The Great Pyramids of Giza and the treasures of The Egyptian Museum. Then get ready to join me as I set off for the next chapter of my adventure in Amman, Jordan!
Abdeen Palace Museum
My first stop was the Abdeen Palace Museum, which previously served as the residence of the Egyptian royal family and currently serves as the official office for the President of Egypt. Although the Palace houses 7 different museums, one museum was closed due to renovation.
To purchase tickets for the museum, I went inside a parking across the street from the Abdeen Palace Museum. I purchased one entry ticket for 100EP and an additional ticket to take photos for 10EP. If you do not purchase a photo ticket, the museum associates will confiscate your phone before you enter and store it in a locker so you can only pick it up after you leave.
When I entered the lobby of the museum, there was a map displaying the suggested route through the exhibits. Near the map, there were several fascinating artifacts on display, including a golden cannon. After walking past the lobby, I walked into a vast courtyard reminiscent of a presidential palace, which was adorned with rows of cannons, cannon balls, and statues.
Royal Hunting Hall Museum
The first museum I explored was the Royal Hunting Hall, which showcased an array of very impressive hunting weapons, ranging from bows and arrows to beautifully decorated guns.
Arms Museum
The second museum and largest museum I visited was the Arms Museum, which was filled with decorative rifles, pistols, swords, armor, and shields. The armors were across many different time periods and several different styles. My favorite item was the large bronze statue of Mohammed Ali Pasha, ruler of Egypt in the early 1800s. Surrounding the statue were his favorite sons and grandsons, along with elaborate displays showcasing his achievements during his rule in Egypt.
Private Acquisition, Medals, and Decorations Museum
The third museum I visited was the Private Acquisition, Medals, and Decorations Museum, which showcased arms, instruments, silverware, porcelain boxes, pens, radios, jewelry boxes, and many more everyday items. One artifact that I enjoyed was the Sword of Justice and Coronation, which boasted a grip made of gold and ordained with several precious and semi-precious stones. There was a mirror positioned underneath the sword, which allowed me to view its majesticness from all angles. The sword was once owned by Russian emperors during the 17th century and was later acquired by King Farouk from a European auction in 1947 for a sum of 11,000 English pounds.
Presidency Museum
The fourth museum I visited was the Presidency Museum, which showcases the museum’s magnum opus artifacts that the president received as gifts from other countries. Every artifact was perfect in its own right with the most precious metals used and the finest workmanship. Some of my favorites were a golden model of a palm tree from the Emirates and a golden Koi statue with other statues and a medallion.
Historical Documents Museum
The fifth museum I visited was the Historical Documents Museum, which housed a collection of historical and colorful documents, religious text, books, and letters.
Silverware Museum
The sixth and final museum I visited was the Silverware Museum, which housed some extremely impressive silverware with the extremely beautiful decorations! Each item was so finely detailed from plates to table tops to tea cups and so much more.
Overall, I spent 2 hours exploring the Abdeen Palace Museum and highly recommend visiting this museum to view the impressive Egyptian royal artifact collection!
Khan el-Khalili (Grand Bazaar)
My next destination for the day was visiting the Khan el-Khalili. I ordered an Uber and instead of dropping me off at the main entrance of the Khan el-Khalili, he dropped me off at Bab al-Futuh. I was very confused at first on where to go, but after walking down the road, I realized that the Uber driver was trying to give me the full experience by traversing through Cairo’s oldest door and arriving at the Grand Bazaar on my own. There were so many shops to look at along the way to the Grand Bazaar and it only added 30 mins to my trip.
Over the last 8-days of my Egyptian adventure taught me much, especially how to joy strolling through Khan el-Khalili’s quaint and bustling alleyways. I enjoyed walking into the shops and speaking with the friendly and sometimes persistent vendors, offering everything from snacks to souvenirs. I even got the hang of negotiating – like when I haggled down to 50EP for four plastic magnets. While some might aim for 30EP, I felt victorious with my deal, learning that sometimes, the experience is worth more than the discount.
El Fishawy Cafe – Famous coffee shop
The highlight for me in the Grand Bazaar was visiting the famous coffee shop, El Fishawy Cafe. It proved harder than expected to find since I was not very familiar with the Great Bazaar and Google maps wasn’t working for me; however, I asked some of the locals in the shops to point me in the right direction and I eventually found my way! The seating area is lined with a steel stool, a golden table at the top of the stool, and wooden seats or cushioned seats on the side. There are also copper chandeliers and colorful glass lights in the interior and exterior of the cafe.
Luckily the cafe was not too crowded, so I was able to find a seat right away. The servers were very quick in taking my order. Since there was no menu available, the server assumed that I would likely want to try their signature mint tea and Turkish coffee.
While waiting for my drinks to arrive, I gazed into the Grand Bazaar and noticed my surroundings were bustling with people singing and playing drums in the background. There were vendors constantly coming up to me trying to sell scarves, bracelets, silver necklaces, and henna tattoos, though I didn’t feel intimidated as I had become accustomed to such commotion during my time in Egypt.
The mint tea came out on a gold plate that fit perfectly on top of the table. There was a small blue teapot with a tea glass containing mint and a silver bowl with sugar. As I poured the tea into my glass, I realized the teapot had the exact amount of tea to fill the glass. It was a really nice touch to see the precision in the way they served the tea. The mint tea was delicious! It tasted extremely fresh and had a great natural mint tea flavor. Drinking the tea was helpful for my throat as it alleviated my coughing.
The cafe was a bit sneaky too; the server tried to serve me water when I specifically told them I wasn’t interested in purchasing water. Once they put the water on the table, I asked them to take it away. I heard from other travelers that it’s their way to charge a little bit of extra money.
The Turkish coffee came out shortly after the mint tea arrived. The Turkish coffee has been served since 1797 and was originally served to the owner’s friends after sunset. However, Turkish coffee became so popular that the owner eventually opened up a shop which is the El Fishawy Cafe. I found the Turkish coffee to be easy to drink and not too hot or burnt. In fact, it was the first time I could drink a Turkish coffee immediately after it was served.
I really enjoyed my experience here and the total cost was only 80EP. I spent around 40 minutes drinking the mint tea and Turkish coffee, and taking in the whole environment
Overall, I spent around 2 hours exploring the Khan el-Khalili. I really enjoyed exploring the most famous Grand Bazaar in Cairo. Having already become more familiar with Egyptian culture and understanding what prices are reasonable for souvernior items, it made bargaining and walking through the bazaar much more enjoyable!
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC)
My final stop for the day and for my whole Egypt trip was The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) also called the Museum of Civilization. The museum is known for housing a collection of 22 mummified kings and queens, which represents some of the greatest Pharaohs in Egypt. The tour guides and people in my tour group highly recommend this museum, so I couldn’t miss out.
Outside of the museum, there was a large plaza surrounded by structures that reminded me of lighting the Olympic flame. When I got close to the front there was a large sign with the museum’s name and a fountain.
Once inside the museum, I bought a ticket for 240EP and went to the exhibit through a large metallic tunnel with windows. After crossing the tunnel, I entered the smaller exhibit located on the left-hand side called “The Egyptian Textile Hall.” In this exhibit, I was fascinated by the evolution of Egyptian textiles beautiful displaced across different time periods. Alongside, there was a detailed depiction of the mummification process. It reminded me of lessons from school, I found the tangible, museum presentation far more engaging than the textbooks I read.
Next, I went to the Main Hall where I was immediately drawn to the large circular section known as “the core.” Within the circle, at the bottom of the open area there were projections showing different patterns and along the wall there were projections of the Royal Mummies. At the top of the building, there was an upside down pyramid, which was truly a sight to behold. The Main exhibit hall shows the evolution of Egyptian civilization featuring statues, jewelry, scrolls, and many other types of artifacts ranging from the ancient Egyptian times to Roman Greco to modern times.
One of my favorite artifacts was the golden Coffin of Nedjemankh that housed an important priest with a very interesting backstory on how the coffin was obtained. The coffin was looted in 2011 during the Arab Spring and was eventually smuggled to a Parisian art dealer who sold it to The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) for ~$4M in 2017. The art dealer created an elaborate backstory with falsified papers on how they obtained the coffin dating back to the 1930s; however, The Met realized the provenance papers were forged and returned the coffin to Egypt in 2019.
Royal Mummies’ Hall Exhibit
My last stop was visiting The Royal Mummies’ Hall exhibit, where you cannot take pictures inside. For each of the mummies, there is a plaque describing the mummified pharaoh, the original mummified body, and their sarcophagus. It was fascinating to see how the mummies have survived thousands of years where many of the greatest Pharaohs were housed like Hatshepsut, Thurmose II, and Ramses II. I really appreciated The Royal Mummies exhibit as it provided a unique opportunity to see the evolution of the mummification process and learn about the lives of the famous Pharaohs.
I had a great time seeing the mummies and spent two hours walking through the exhibits. I could have used more time, but I needed to rush back to the hotel to get to the airport to head to my next destination, Amman, Jordan!
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