In the last two decades much has been written on the pyramids, anchored not with archaeological evidence, but instead with wishful thinking and un-evidenced, fanciful imagination. This scholarly error has resulted in a general public that believes the pyramids, Khufu’s in particular, are mysterious, magical monuments that appear overnight and with no architectural or cultural evolution. This could not be further from the truth; the Egyptian pyramid is the result of centuries of development, experiment and adaptation to various evolving cultural manifestations.

For thousands of years in the Predynastic Period the dead were buried in shallow oval pits, sometimes surrounded by their personal belongings and covered with sand. The first significant development came when the Egyptians altered the shape of their burial pits from oval to rectangular and roofed the pit with timber (Edwards 20). While no remains of a superstructure has been found, it probably consisted of sand, which could have easily blown away revealing tomb goods to any potential grave robbers (Edwards 21). In the beginning of the dynastic period the kings of Egypt overcame this issue by constructing a mud-brick superstructure over their burial pit (Edwards 21) which is known today as a mastaba, named so for their resemblance to the brick benches outside houses in modern Egyptian villages (Fakhry 3).

The tombs of Egypt’s earliest historical kings are found in Upper Egypt at Abydos and date ca. 3200 B.C.E (Fakhry 3). The introduction of mastabas coincided with an increase in the amount of highly valuable and increasingly elaborate equipment being buried with the king (Edwards 27), and serve as an evolutionary missing-link between the unrefined burial practices of the Predynastic Period and those of an emerging, solidified Egyptian state.

The mastabas of high officials who served in the court of the various kings of the First Dynasty were found by W.B. Emery at Saqqara north during his excavations there between 1935 -1956 (Edwards 21). While Emery initially believed these early mastabas belonged to the kings of the First Dynasty, more recent work at the site has resulted in their reattribution to high officials. Regardless of their ownership, the mastaba previously believed to belong to King Hor-Aha serves as an excellent example of the evolutionary progress made between more recent predynastic burial pits and the early pyramids. Excepting the brick superstructure which housed 27 cells for storage of funerary goods (Edwards 21), the tomb is simply an enlarged version of the later predynastic burial pits.

For many years, the Sound and Light Show at Giza opened with, "You have come tonight to the most fabulous and celebrated place in the world. Here on the Plateau of Giza stands forever the mightiest of human achievements. No traveler, emperor, merchant or poet has trodden on these sands and not gasped in awe".

Though there are many outstanding ancient monuments in Egypt that survive to this day, one in particular is best known and the most closely associated by the general public with ancient Egypt. It is, of course, the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), the largest in Egypt, located on the Giza Plateau just outside Cairo. Its name was "Khufu's Horizon" In fact, even if people have very little knowledge of Egypt, they will frequently not only know of this monument, but will also have any number of opinions about how and when it was built, as well as its function. Arguably, it is the best known manmade structure in the world, and for good reason.

Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Khufu's Pyramid is the first, and only survivor. It is indeed impressive, originally standing some 146.59 (481 feet) high and covering about thirteen acres of land , though in the last hundred or so years, modern marvels (the Empire State Building, built in 1930, is over three times as tall though situated on only two acres of land) probably make it seem less impressive to visitors than to those who, for thousands of years, came to visit the pyramid prior to our modern era. In reality, modern scholars for the most part probably find this pyramid less interesting than many other ancient structures in Egypt, mostly because it is not decorated with reliefs and inscriptions (though parts of its subsidiary structures were), and is otherwise, except for some parts of its  internal structure, a fairly typical pyramid complex. Other pyramids are almost as large, and many pyramids are really more enigmatic. Khufu's pyramid was not the first, nor was it even the first true pyramid. Other pharaohs, such as Sneferu, Khufu's father, had moved probably as much stone, building three different pyramids himself.

The museum was first built in 1892 as a small building located on Horreya Road. In 1895 it was transferred to the present site near Gamal Abdul Nasser Road. It started with eleven galleries, and has been gradually enlarged in later renovation stages. The 25th gallery was inaugurated in 1984. It contains a very big variety of coins from different countries, chronologically arranged, and dating back from 630 BC to the Ottoman period in the 19th century. The collection, which covers the period from the 3rd century BC to the 7th century AD, is a fascinating record of civilization in the process of change as religions merged and society evolved.

In Alexandria, Graeco-Roman and Pharaonic religions mingled in the cult of Serapis; the shift from pagan religions to Christianity can also be seen in the exhibits which include mummies, Hellenistic statues, busts of Roman emperors, Tangara figurines, and early Christian antiquities.

Museum Description

The museum contains hundreds of precious antiques. We will describe the most valuable ones or the best areas in the museum. Honestly, I have been to that museum more than five times and I still would love to go again.

In Room 6 we can find The Apis Bull, found to the west of Pompey's Pillar. The statue was set up in the reign of Hadrian (AD 117-138). This bull represents the most successful imposition of Greek realism upon an Egyptian image. The Serapis Head is sculptured with fine white marble. It was found near the Pompey's Pillar. It was one of the Ptolemies' gods. This god was a blend of Osiris and Apis. A visitor can see fine mosaics, an Alexandrine specialty, including one of a ship sailing, done with colored pebbles set in cement. This is the earliest type of mosaic made.

Room 7: The two headless sphinxes, carved under Amenhemhet IV (12th Dynasty), are spectacular. The two headless black basalt statues of Isis in the niches flanking the doorway show us a clear example of Isis Knot.

Room 8: This room is devoted to mummies and sarcophagi. A visitor can see the difference between the gilded and painted cartonnage of the pharaonic mummies and the ornate diamond bandage of the Ptolemaic ones.

Room 9: This room is mainly dedicated to show pieces of a shrine in the Fayoum dedicated to the Crocodile-god, Pnepheros.

Room 11: Contains some of the most interesting statues, in which Egyptian scenes and techniques are portrayed with Greek influences. We can see image of divine serpents " The Agathadaimon Stelae" and their worshippers. Limestone fragments from a temple at Athribis (Benha) are along the north wall of the room. The god Tutu faces Horus and Athribis with a broken inscription of Greek between them.

Room 12: Contains statues of Graeco-Roman period. A colossal red granite head of Ptolemy IV, was found at Abuqir, wearing the double crown of Egypt. The mosaic of Medusa, once a pavement, originally showed Medusa's entire body. The most spectacular piece is the colossal white marble statue of Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD), which was discovered under the Sayed Darwish Theater. In the same room, we can see a marble statue of Isis as a goddess of the Nile reclining against a sphinx. Her left hand holds a vessel for the Holy Water and the eight children climbing over her represent the eight cubits the Nile rises for a perfect flood.

Room 14: is filled with portrait heads of famous Romans: Hadrian, Vespasian, and Augustus.

Room 16: Contains some of the finest Hellenistic statuary available. The torso of Aphrodite is magnificent . At the end of the hall are a couple of male torsos, a female, and a seated male, which belonged to a group of statues carved for a pediment for a palace near the eastern harbor.

Room 17: Contains some of the best Sarcophagi found. The most unique one shows Ariadne asleep on the island of Naxos. The god of sleep (Hypnos) stands by her head, and behind him lies the boat that brought her from Crete. Her husband, Dionysisu, stands in front of her with his retinue. The rest of the facade shows a drunken Hercules being helped homeward.

Room 18: The funerary amphora from Chatby. It dates to the end of the fourth century BC. It still has its artificial wreath of green leaves and golden berries around its neck. Another display is a unique collection of clay Tanagra ( an ancient city in the northern part of Greece) figures. This collection spans the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD. It provides information about women's fashions, hairstyles, hats and dresses in the ancient world.

Room 21: This room contains plenty of pottery and some statues. The statue that stands out in this hall is a Hercules statue with a club in his left hand and his lion-skin coat in his right.

Room 22: This hall is dedicated to colored glassware. Early in Egypt's history, the people learned how to make glass. It is a chance to see the early discovery of the fusion of soda and sand. At the end of the hall is a beautiful bronze head of Hadrian (76-138 AD).

Room 2:Contains many architectural elements from early Christian buildings, the central basket capital is a typical Coptic art.

Room 3: This room has magnificent collection of metal, silver and gold. The silver torso of Aphrodite dates from the 2nd century. There is a varied collection of ancient jewelry with different magnificent colors.

Room 4: Devoted to Coptic textiles from some of the finest weavers in the Christian world.

Room 5: An amazing ancient model of a water cooling system.

Room 1: In this room, we can see the beautiful alabaster Good Shepherd. Its large eyes and flat, regular of the robe is a development from the Coptic style. Part of the hall displays artifacts from the Monastery of St. Menas, west of Alexandria.

The Sculpture Garden: The garden of the museum is full of spectacular statues and artifacts.

The museum is located in the Zizinia neighborhood. It was once the palace of Fatma el-Zahara and is an architectural masterpiece. Its halls contain many rare paintings, statues and decorations. An inestimable collection of jewels of the Mohamed Ali Dynasty (19th century) is also exhibited.