Virtual and guided video Tours
Thursday، 30 April 2020 - 03:35 AM
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities is launching, in collaboration with its partners from scientific and archaeological institutes, a series of Virtual and guided video Tours of a number of museums and archaeological sites around Egypt.
This initiative comes within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to enable people worldwide to explore and enjoy the ancient Egyptian civilization during their home confinement, within the precautionary measures taken to fight Coronavirus (Covid19) outbreak.
The tours will be available on the Ministry’s official website and Social Media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Experience Egypt), under the slogan: “Experience Egypt from Home. Stay Home. Stay Safe.”
A wooden door with silver plating
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2517332825193579
Egypt, Muhammad Ali Dynasty 13th century AH / 19th century AD
This door is one of the masterpieces from the Ottoman era, and counts among the largest silver-plated doors in the whole world. It bears the name of the artist who made it, Yahudah Aslan.
This door was brought in to the Museum of Islamic Art from the Mosque of al-Sayyidah Zaynab. It is a vivid testimony of Muslim tolerance towards adherents of other faiths, as well as the perfection reached by non-Muslim artisans in incorporating Islamic motifs in their artifacts
Thanks to Gihan Nabil learning center of the Grand Egyptian Museum and the tour guide Dina Ezz Aldin for volenteering and Media Hub for the production.
The Funerary Complex of King Unas.
The tonight’s tour is for the Funerary Complex of King Unas (c.2375–2345 BC) , the last king of the Fifth Dynasty. It contains all the components of the royal funerary complex of the Old Kingdom. It includes the valley temple, mortuary temple, the causeway connecting them, and the pyramid itself. The entrance to the pyramid is located on its north side. A descending corridor leads to a hall, then to a horizontal gallery ending in an antechamber with three small magazines on its left. On the right is the burial chamber, which contains the oldest known Pyramid Texts. These are religious inscriptions that helped the deceased king in his resurrection and guide him to reach the sun god Ra in the sky.
https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=o5Ex5Xo7UkE
The Step Pyramid Complex of Djoser
The complex is surrounded by a 1,645meter long external stone wall ten meters high. It includes ten architectural elements: the entry courtyard, the entrance colonnade composed of forty columns in two rows, the South Court, the 60meter high Step Pyramid, the South Tomb, the Sed Festival court and its chapels, the Pavilion of the South and the Pavilion of the North, and the Northern Temple. The South Court and the Sed Festival court, with its chapels, acted as the setting in which the king could celebrate this important royal ceremony that aimed at rejuvenating the king and regenerating his power.
This virtual Tour is made in cooperation between the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities and Virtual Mid East.
https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=zBpDdPqxTKz
The Tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep in Saqqara (The tomb of the Two Brothers).
The final resting place of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep is also known as the “Tomb of the Two Brothers”. They were officials during the Fifth Dynasty (c.2494–2345 BC), as well as priests in the sun temple of King Nyuserra (c.2445–2421 BC) in Abu Ghurab. They were the king’s hairdressers and the supervisors of his manicurists. The tomb consists of two parts, one a free-standing structure made of limestone, and the other cut into the rock.
Although they are often referred as brothers, it is more likely that Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep were close friends who decided to build a common tomb for themselves and their families. The most recent research suggests they were, in fact, not only brothers, but identical twins. The tomb was discovered in 1965. The tomb contains beautiful depictions of various scenes of everyday life, but the most famous is its unique scene that shows the two men standing close to each other and embracing, in a scene that had never been seen before in the tombs of Saqqara.
The entrance into the tomb is adorned with two columns on which the names and titles of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep are inscribed. It leads to a set of chambers with an open courtyard, which contains many scenes of everyday life including farming, hunting, the slaughtering of animals, jewelry making, and sculpting.
This virtual Tour is made in cooperation between the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities and NAV3D.
A tomb of Mehu in Saqqara
Enjoy the virtual tour for a tomb of Mehu in Saqqara.
Tomb of Mehu, Chief Justice and Vizier
Dynasty 6, reign of King Teti (c.2345–2323 BC)
During the reign of Teti in the early part of the Old Kingdom’s 6th Dynasty, Mehu was "Chief Justic and Vizier". He was married to Iku, whose titles included "King's daughter of His Body". His two other wives were Nebt and Nefertkawes. Mehu was buried in a tomb at Saqqara, discovered by an Egyptian archaeologist named Zaki Saad, north of the Unas causeway and east of the Mastaba of Princess Idut.
The tomb of Mehu is illustrating daily life, including harvesting, fishing with nets, freight ships, sailing boats, metalworking, and scenes of offerings and gardening. It also contains scenes of baking, brewing and preparing birds for a meal. One of the beautiful scenes is the trapping of birds with nets, mending the nets and preparing food for the birds and reliefs depicting birds in their nests.
At the western end of the long corridor above the doorway are scenes depicting people picking fruit, offerings such as a bull, an oryx and gazelles, as well as baskets full of fruit. From here, a short passage leads into an "offering" room where many more offerings are depicted, as well as scenes of musicians, including four harpists, dancers and clappers.
This virtual Tour is made in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities and NAV3D company.
The Coptic Museum
The Coptic Museum houses the world’s largest collection of Egyptian Christian objects. Marcus Simaika Pasha, who had a great passion for Coptology, was the first to propose that a museum be built for Coptic art. He suggested the idea to Pope Cyril V in 1908, who welcomed the idea, and allocated a room in the Hanging Church as a space in which to collect objects that represent Coptic art.
Pope Cyril also allocated a piece of land near the Hanging Church on which to establish the museum. This ideal spot allowed visitors to see the churches in the area and familiarise themselves with Coptic architecture, and then to learn about Coptic art by visiting the museum.
The Coptic Museum was inaugurated on 14 Mach 1910 after examples of Coptic art had been collected from across the country. Many of these objects had been purchased, but many others were generously gifted by churches, monasteries, and wealthy Copts, who were all excited by the idea of a Coptic Museum.
In 1931, the idea to build a new wing to the museum to expand the available space was proposed. Artist Ragheb Ayad designed a new façade to the building with the same layout and using the same decorative elements as those for al-Aqmar Mosque, which resemble those used in Coptic art. The Coptic Museum came under the jurisdiction of the Egyptian government’s Department of Antiquities, and the Egyptian Museum’s collection of Christian artifacts were moved to the Coptic Museum. The new wing was inaugurated in 1947.
https://mpembed.com/show/?m=yMMHWqMJZbY&mpu=497
A tomb of Wahti in Saqqara.
This Tour is made by the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities in cooperation with NAV3D company.
The Triad of Menkaure.
This statue, described as a triad because it depicts three figures, shows two deities on either side of King Menkaure (c.2532–2503 BC), the builder of the third pyramid in Giza, who is also known as Mykerinos. He is depicted young and in perfect shape, embodying the ideal of male form during the Old Kingdom. On his right-hand side is a female figure with a sun disk on her head between cow horns. This is Hathor, the goddess of love, music, and motherhood. With her youth and graceful proportions, she represents the ideal of female beauty during this period. On the king’s left-hand side is a short male deity. The standard on his head identifies him as a personification of province of the city of Thebes (modern Luxor). This statue is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian art. The composition is symmetrical without being identical, and each individual figure is elegant, yet powerful. The attention to anatomical detail and the mastery of its execution are evident in the king’s clavicle, knees, and forearms, and in the rendering of Hathor’s tight-fitting dress. This statue is one of a series commissioned by Menkaure, in which he represents himself in the company of Hathor and a deity personifying one of Egypt’s provinces.
Vase in the Shape of a Trussed Goose
This curious 65-centimetre tall alabaster vase is shaped like a trussed goose with its feathers plucked. Its wings and legs can be clearly seen on the its sides, whereas its curled neck and head creatively form its rim. It was discovered in 1935 in one of the underground galleries beneath the Step Pyramid of King Djoser (c.2667–2648 BC) in Saqqara. The shape of the vase suggests that it may have been used to store goose oil, or perhaps even dried up goose for consumption in the afterlife. It is one of many stone vases and fragments of vases discovered in the Step Pyramid’s substructure. Many of these were discovered in the same and in other galleries as the trussed goose vase bear names of kings. Interestingly, even though Djoser was a king of the Third Dynasty, these are the names of kings from the preceding Second Dynasty (c.2890–2686 BC). It is believed that Djoser wished to keep his predecessors’ possessions safe by collecting them and storing them in his house for eternity—his tomb. In doing so, he thus forever associated himself with his ancestors.
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)
This Tour is made by the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities in coopération with the ministry of state for information
The GEM will be the largest museum in the world dedicated to ancient Egyptian culture. We are preserving and displaying our important national heritage with state-of-the-art conservation laboratories, along with educational facilities, temporary exhibition halls, a children’s museum, a conference centre, restaurants, cafes, shops and large gardens for everyone to enjoy.
The theme is Kingship, and the Tutankhamun Galleries will contain over 5000 objects from his royal tomb, many never seen in public before. The Main Galleries show material from the Prehistoric to the Roman periods, while our entrance areas focus on Kingship and Power. All our exhibitions will be contextualised for the visitor, with stories, texts, digital interactives and media displays.
The Tomb of Ramses VI
This Tour is made by the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities in coopération with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
This tomb was begun by King Ramesses V (c.1147–1143 BC) of the Twentieth Dynasty. Although it is uncertain whether he was ultimately buried here, it is clear that his uncle Ramesses VI (c.1143–1136 BC) enlarged the tomb and used it for his burial. The huts of the workmen who built this tomb were built directly on top of the ground that concealed the staircase that led into the tomb of Tutankhamun. In other words, it is thanks to the tomb of Ramesses VI that Tutankhamun’s was discovered in 1922 with all of its world-famous treasures inside it.
The exquisitely painted wall reliefs of KV9 are very well preserved. The tomb’s decorative programme consists of various funerary texts to help the king in his successful transition to the afterlife, including the Book of Gates, Book of Caverns, the Amduat, and the Book of the Dead. All ceilings are decorated with astronomical scenes and texts. The ceiling of the burial chamber is decorated with a striking scene that depicts the sky goddess Nut arched over the earth. The sun disk is depicted in front of her mouth, which she is about to swallow. This is a mythological representation of sunset. Twelve sun disks can then be seen inside the extended length of Nut’s body, representing the sun god’s daily twelve-hour journey through the underworld at night, before his rebirth in the east, young, renewed, and full of life. Through this text, just like the sun god, the king could achieve a glorious rebirth in the eastern horizon at dawn
Kom al-Shuqafa catacombs in Alexandria.
The Kom al-Shuqafa catacombs in Alexandria are among the most striking, beautiful, and best-preserved monuments from Egypt’s Roman Period (30 BC–AD 395). A spiral staircase leads around 20 meters below ground, where sarcophagi decorated with relief garlands of vine leaves, bunches of grapes, and Medusa heads can be seen, as well as loculi (rectangular burial niches carved into the walls used for burials), and small square niches in the walls, where urns containing cremated remains were once placed. It is also here that some of the best examples of the mixing of Egyptian and Greco-Roman culture can be seen. The main chamber is decorated with reliefs depicting purely ancient Egyptian scenes, but executed in a Classical art style: funerary rituals are being conducted on the corpse of the god Osiris by the jackal-headed Anubis, who, however, is depicted wearing Classical clothing, as are the falcon-headed Horus and ibis-headed Thoth on either side of him. Flanking the doorway inside the chamber is a figure of Anubis, but he stands in a naturalistic Classical pose, dressed like a Roman legionary. Outside the chamber, on either side of the doorway, is a depiction of the Agathodaimon, a serpent protective deity. He guards the chamber, coiled around the scepter of the Greek god Hermes known as the caduceus, while wearing the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
This Tour is made by the Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities in coopération with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
Egyptian Museum in Tahrir.
Today will show the Gold Collar of Psusennes I. This collar was discovered around the neck of the mummy of King Psusennes I (c.1039–991 BC), one of the kings of Egypt’s Twenty-first Dynasty. This collar is one of the three Shebyu collars of pharaoh Psusennes I. This intricate collar is made almost entirely of gold, and consists of fourteen gold chains each of which terminates in a lotus flower bead, out of the other end of which two such chains emerge each of which in turn divides into a further two chains. The top of the collar consists of five concentric rows made up of thousands of thin gold disks strung side-by-side. The central clasp bears two of Psusennes I’s names.
Tomb of Kheti
Enjoy the virtual tour for the beautifully painted tomb of Kheti in the rock-hewn Necropolis of Beni Hasan in Minya Governorate.
Beni Hasan is the modern name of an ancient Egyptian site around 20 kilometres south of al-Minya. It is a necropolis that formed in and around a hillside, in the upper parts of which were carved around 40 large tombs that date from the Sixth Dynasty (c.2345–2181 BC), toward the end of the Old Kingdom, to the Twelfth Dynasty (c.1985–1795 BC), during the height of the Middle Kingdom. This is where the powerful administrators of the Oryx Nome (meaning “governorate”) and their descendants were buried. The best-preserved tombs here are those of Khnumhotep II, Amenemhat, Baqet III, and Kheti, the walls of which bear beautifully decorated colourful scenes. Many other tombs, including from the Late Period (664–332 BC) through the Ptolemaic (332–30 BC), and into the Roman Period (30 BC onward) dot the landscape.
Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo,
The Ben Ezra Synagogue is situated in Mare Girgis street in the Religious Compound of Old Cairo, near the Coptic museum and the Church of Saint Sergius and Bacchus. It was originally a church known as the al-Shamma’in Church, which the Coptic Orthodox Church sold in 882 AD to the Jewish community. The synagogue is named after Abraham ibn ‘Ezra, the Jewish religious scholar and philosopher. It is said that Ben Ezra Synagogue marks the site upon which Moses prayed for the plague that afflicted the ancient Egyptians to be lifted.
The synagogue is built in the basilical style, meaning that it is composed of three halls, the middle being the largest and tallest. This central hall is surmounted by an octagonal dome. The sanctuary is on the east wall of the synagogue, which is also where the Torah case, made of wood inlaid with pearl and ivory, is located. A few steps lead up to the marble pulpit, which lies at the center of the synagogue.
The upper level is reserved for women and overlooks the prayer area. On its north side is the geniza, which was sealed and could only reached through an aperture in its roof. Every synagogue keeps a geniza, a repository for old documents mentioning the name of God. Since it was impermissible to throw away texts or documents bearing the name of God, these documents were all kept in genizas. Ben Ezra Synagogue’s geniza was discovered in 1896, and its contents were moved to the University of Cambridge.
Mosque, Madrasa and Khanqa of Sultan Barquq
Enjoy a virtual tour in the Mosque, Madrasa and Khanqa of Sultan Barquq, an architectural marvel, with its many exquisite architectural and decorative elements.
Inaugurated in 1386 AD, it lies in the middle of one of the world’s largest architectural heritage complexes, in the famous al-Mu’izz street. It was constructed during the reign of King Zahir Abu Sa’id Barquq.
The Red Monastery
The Red Monastery in Sohag Governorate is considered as one of the most important and beautiful monasteries. It was founded by Saint Bishoy in the beginning of the fourth century AD. It is known as the Red Monastery because of the red bricks that make up most of its masonry.
Tomb of Queen Meresankh III
Queen Meresankh III was the granddaughter of King Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, and wife of either Khafre or Menkaure. Her unique underground chapel preserves beautifully carved and painted scenes of the queen and her royal family, as well as servants, artisans, and funerary priests. The scenes also depict the sort of rich burial goods that would have been placed in Meresankh’s tomb: statues and fine furniture; boxes containing food, clothing, and jewelry; even a representation of the black granite sarcophagus that was actually found in situ in her burial chamber.
https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=d42fuVA21To
Menna Tomb
It explored the Menna Tomb in Theban Necropolis, considered as one of the most beautiful tombs of the nobles on Luxor’s West Bank. It dates back to the 18th Dynasty.
The Tomb of Menna (TT69) is one of the most visited and best preserved of the small 18th Dynasty elite tombs in the Theban necropolis.
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