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Home to the famous Royal Mummies Hall, and the one museum that tells the whole story of Egypt — from prehistory to today. In Fustat, Old Cairo.موطنُ قاعة المومياوات الملكية الشهيرة، والمتحف الوحيد الذي يروي قصّة مصر كاملةً — من ما قبل التاريخ إلى اليوم. في الفسطاط، مصر القديمة.
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, known as the NMEC, is one of Cairo's essential sights — and the only place in the world to see Egypt's royal mummies. Set beside a lake in the ancient district of Fustat, it is the first museum to tell the entire story of Egyptian civilisation, from the Stone Age through the pharaohs, the Greeks and Romans, Coptic and Islamic Egypt, all the way to the present day. Its crowning glory is the extraordinary Royal Mummies Hall.
المتحف القومي للحضارة المصرية، المعروف بالـNMEC، من معالم القاهرة الأساسية — والمكان الوحيد في العالم لرؤية مومياوات مصر الملكية. يقع بجوار بحيرةٍ في حيّ الفسطاط العريق، وهو أول متحفٍ يروي قصّة الحضارة المصرية كاملةً، من العصر الحجري عبر الفراعنة واليونان والرومان ومصر القبطية والإسلامية، حتى يومنا هذا. وتاجُ مجده قاعة المومياوات الملكية المذهلة.
The Royal Mummies Hall · قاعة المومياوات الملكية
The resting place of Egypt’s kings and queens.مثوى ملوك مصر وملكاتها.
The heart of the NMEC is its Royal Mummies Hall, home to 22 royal mummies — including the great pharaohs Ramses II, Seti I, and Queen Hatshepsut. They arrived here in April 2021 in the spectacular "Pharaohs' Golden Parade," carried across Cairo from the old Egyptian Museum in a procession watched around the world. The hall is dimly lit and hushed, designed to evoke the Valley of the Kings where many of these rulers were first buried, and visitors move through it with quiet reverence. Photography is not allowed, in respect for the dead. This — not the Grand Egyptian Museum — is the mummies' permanent home.
All of Egyptian Civilization · كل الحضارة المصرية
From the first tools to modern Egypt.من أول الأدوات إلى مصر الحديثة.
What sets the NMEC apart is its sweep. Rather than focusing on a single era, it traces the whole arc of Egyptian civilisation — prehistoric, Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, Islamic, and modern — through galleries arranged by great themes such as the Dawn of Civilisation, the Nile, Writing, Society, Beliefs, and Material Culture. There is even a remarkable Textile Gallery of around 600 pieces. By showing daily life — farming, cooking, music, crafts — alongside kings and gods, it gives visitors a uniquely complete sense of how Egyptians have lived across thousands of years.
A Modern Landmark in Old Cairo · معلمٌ حديث في مصر القديمة
History layered upon history.تاريخٌ فوق تاريخ.
The museum stands in Fustat, Egypt's first Islamic capital, overlooking the serene Ain el-Sira Lake — a fitting setting for a museum about the layering of civilisations. Its sleek modern architecture, all clean lines and bright halls, contrasts beautifully with the ancient treasures inside. The location places it within easy reach of Coptic Cairo and the historic Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, making it easy to combine several layers of Cairo's history in a single visit.
Visiting · الزيارة
A perfect first stop in Cairo.محطّةٌ أولى مثالية في القاهرة.
Most visitors spend about two to three hours at the NMEC, and many guides suggest making it an early stop in any Egypt trip, since its clear timeline sets up everything else you will see. It is open daily, with tickets available online, and is reached easily by taxi or the metro (Mar Girgis station). Remember that no photography is allowed in the Mummies Hall. The NMEC and the Grand Egyptian Museum complement each other perfectly: the GEM dazzles with Tutankhamun and pharaonic grandeur, while the NMEC offers the royal mummies and the full human story of Egypt.
Quick Facts · حقائق سريعة
Sources include the NMEC, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and travel guides (current as of 2026). Some figures are approximate.