Two / Too Touristy? Tahrir Square and the Egyptian Museum

We met D&P at the metro at 9am (after managing to pick up the only taxi driver who didn't know where Maadi Metro is and nearly took us over the bridge to the Cornich!) as we wanted to get to the museum early on, but I wasn't 100% convinced that although the guide book says it opens at 9am we know what things are like!
The metro journey was fine and we got out at Sadat. I'd changed trains here last weekend without a problem, but we didn't know how things would be leaving the station as it comes up right in the middle of Tahrir Square. And.... things were fine!

We got out of the Metro and started to wander around. There were definitly more people that I would have expected on a Friday morning pre-Jan 25 (!) but it wasn't busy busy yet at all. Everyone was welcoming and friendly; saying hello and asking us to look at their stalls. We bought some stickers from the first guy we saw (2LE bargin) as they had the head of the army on them which we thought was fun. Around one corner we see some placards and work out that a pro-tourism rally must be taking place later today. A few people are filming and they then come and speak to us. They are completing a university project on tourism/revolution and inerview Scott and then me about our thoughts! We say generic non-commital answers about politics, but when it comes to tourism we say that we think it is very safe, an excellent time to visit Egypt and are encouraging everyone to come out.

Scotty being interviewed - media whore!

Placards ready for the pro-tourism rally later that day

Tahrir Square, Friday 4th March c9.40am

We then walk around the square and buy more t-shirts that we really need! But there are some good designs and some good prices (25LE for a standard print and then 35LE for one on nicer stretchy material - which the guy reckons will fit Scott, but only just fits me!). We then take a few photos with our mug which we have been carrying around waiting for a good moment to snap since we got back in Janaury with it! Quite fitting maybe that we won it for our short film that ended "We don't know how things are going to turn out in the next few months here".

Us with our UKN mug (and revolutionary newspaper) with the Mogamma building and tented Tahrir Square in the background

Us with the UKN mug and the Egyptian Museum and a burnt out NDP building in the background

It was amazing to see the sites that we knew, but had been seeing change on TV news reports for the last month. Then to be there and see them ourselves. There were the tents in the centre of the roundabout and then the impeccable KFC frontage that must have been boarded up during all of this. On the eastern side of thesquare there is a semi-permanent stage and sound system set up and it's from these buildings that many of the camera shots were from. The burnt out NDP building was the most significant view for me. As we go to buy tickets for the museum we see how dangerously close these two buildings are.

In to the museum and we must have been in the first dozen people to come through the doors that day. The huge halls were empty! It really felt like it had been opened just for us. We headed up to the Tutankhamun exhibits which take up half of the top floor of the museum. They are just stunning. So many shabtis that they hardly fit in the cabinets. A few artifacts have information type-writered up and stuck in with them, but most are just numbered and put in the case. They've tried to maximise natural light here so that you can see the artifacts, but actually we know that's not great for them. There's just so much stuff that we can see why people describe it as a warehouse.

We get to the Tut Room which houses his mask. We can see through the glass as we enter that it is just going to be us and two army guards in the room. Wow! It's kind of funny to see the army and the swat team just walking around - sometimes feels like we're in a computer game or Night At The Museum! But here we are on our own now with Tut's mask. P says that when he came before the closest he could get was 2 people away. Now we can just stop and stare and look from all angles.
When we've had our fill we walk passed the Russian-doll-esque ever increasing caskets and vaults that Tut was housed in on our way to the mummy room. It's an extra tickets to get in to the mummy room, but well worth it. Especially when we are again the only people in there. You can see whey it costs more as this is done properly as everything is temperature controlled. I'm glad to have the guide book as it points a few things out to look for (injuries on one mummy caused in a final battle, over stuffing on another during mummification and signs of small pox on another). Usefully, the book also tells us that there is a second mummy room on the other side of the museum - otherwise we would have never of found it!

Downstairs and we walk though huge blocks of stone that have been ripped from temples (far more and larger in size than those at the British Museum, so I don't feel so bad!). When we leave the exit takes us through a gift shop. This is always my favourite part of any cultural activity, but it's great news here, as before their shop was truely rubbish and now it's dead fancy with all the standard stuff tourists want to buy (pencils, postcards, rubbers, magnets etc). We buy some postcards and a magnet to add to our collection, but we leave the cushion covers that despit being exactly like the ones we buy in the Khan for 25-35LE cost 150LE here!

As we are leaving the museum there are now more people coming in and generally around. We notice that rather than tourists, most are Egyptian families and most of these are either sporting flag face-paint, or other revolutionary memorabelia. It's great to think that this is a day out for Egyptians now; museum in the morning and Liberation Square in the afternoon.

Back out of the museum we head into a busier Tahrir Square so taht D&P can grab the metro and we can go to find a taxi. To get in to the square now we have to go through two lines of civillians. The first are checking ID (luckily we have our passports with us) and the second look in our bags and pat us down. It's very organised and everyone respects this. The people are streaming into the square now as it is nearly time for prayers. There are also loads more stalls up and running and a general "carnival" atmosphere. It's great and we wish we could stay for longer; just to walk around, buy some more things and speak to people. We decide though that we will come back soon. It's not been a huge effort to get up and out on a Friday morning and it is good to take advantage of things when they are so quiet. So maybe we will go to the museum again, but we are definitely up for visiting Tahrir again.

Looking towards the sqaure's entrance from Qars El Nil bridge and you can just about see the two lines of civilian security (one checking ID and one patting people down)