Down in historic Fustat, beside the Ain el-Sira lake, NMEC is the calm, modern counterpoint to the crowded Tahrir museum, and its centrepiece is unforgettable. The Royal Mummies Hall is a deliberately dim, hushed, underground gallery where twenty-two kings and queens, among them Ramesses II, Seti I, and the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, lie in individual climate-controlled cases, arranged almost like a crypt. They arrived here in the 2021 Pharaohs' Golden Parade, a televised procession across Cairo that captivated the country. Photography is banned in the hall, which only deepens the reverent hush; you stand face to face with the actual features of rulers who lived three thousand years ago. The upper main gallery takes a thematic rather than chronological approach, tracing Egyptian civilization through crafts, writing, textiles and belief. It is spacious, beautifully lit and rarely crowded, an easy two to three hours and a genuinely moving experience.
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