In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, the solid gold mask of King Tutankhamun is seen in its glass case, in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. The 111-year-old museum, a treasure trove of pharaonic antiquities, has long been one of the centerpieces of tourism to Egypt. But the constant instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak has dried up tourism to the country, slashing a key source of revenue. Moreover, political backbiting and attempts to stop corruption have had a knock-on effect of bringing a de facto ban on sending antiquities on tours to museums abroad, cutting off what was once a major source of funding for the museum. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Egypt-Museum Troubles
In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, an ancient Egyptian statue is seen on display inside its glass case in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. The 111-year-old museum, a treasure trove of pharaonic antiquities, has long been one of the centerpieces of tourism to Egypt. But the constant instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak has dried up tourism to the country, slashing a key source of revenue. Moreover, political backbiting and attempts to stop corruption have had a knock-on effect of bringing a de facto ban on sending antiquities on tours to museums abroad, cutting off what was once a major source of funding for the museum. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Egypt-Museum Troubles
In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, ancient Egyptian antiquities are seen on display in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. The 111-year-old museum, a treasure trove of pharaonic antiquities, has long been one of the centerpieces of tourism to Egypt. But the constant instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak has dried up tourism to the country, slashing a key source of revenue. Moreover, political backbiting and attempts to stop corruption have had a knock-on effect of bringing a de facto ban on sending antiquities on tours to museums abroad, cutting off what was once a major source of funding for the museum. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Egypt-Museum Troubles
In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, a tourist visits the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. The 111-year-old museum, a treasure trove of pharaonic antiquities, has long been one of the centerpieces of tourism to Egypt. But the constant instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak has dried up tourism to the country, slashing a key source of revenue. Moreover, political backbiting and attempts to stop corruption have had a knock-on effect of bringing a de facto ban on sending antiquities on tours to museums abroad, cutting off what was once a major source of funding for the museum. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Egypt-Museum Troubles
In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, an associate curator waits for visitors in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. The 111-year-old museum, a treasure trove of pharaonic antiquities, has long been one of the centerpieces of tourism to Egypt. But the constant instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak has dried up tourism to the country, slashing a key source of revenue. Moreover, political backbiting and attempts to stop corruption have had a knock-on effect of bringing a de facto ban on sending antiquities on tours to museums abroad, cutting off what was once a major source of funding for the museum. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Egypt-Museum Troubles
In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, an ancient Egyptian damaged statue is seen on display in its glass case inside the damaged and restored room in the Egyptian museum near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. After the Jan. 25, 2011 revolution, thieves broken into the Egyptian museum, stealing antiquities. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Egypt-Museum Troubles
In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, a restored collar is seen on display with lights reflected on its glass case inside the damaged and restored room in the Egyptian museum near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. After the Jan. 25, 2011 revolution, thieves broken into the Egyptian museum, stealing and detaching jewelry. This is one of many collars that was returned to the museum completely dismantled. The restorers have restrung all the dismantled collars. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Egypt-Museum Troubles
In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, The mummy of Egypt’s famed King Tutankhamun’s grandmother is seen in its glass case in the Egyptian Museum near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. The 111-year-old museum, a treasure trove of pharaonic antiquities, has long been one of the centerpieces of tourism to Egypt. But the constant instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak has dried up tourism to the country, slashing a key source of revenue. Moreover, political backbiting and attempts to stop corruption have had a knock-on effect of bringing a de facto ban on sending antiquities on tours to museums abroad, cutting off what was once a major source of funding for the museum. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Egypt-Museum Troubles
In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, an ancient Egyptian statue is seen on display inside its glass case in the Egyptian museum near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. The 111-year-old museum, a treasure trove of pharaonic antiquities, has long been one of the centerpieces of tourism to Egypt. But the constant instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak has dried up tourism to the country, slashing a key source of revenue. Moreover, political backbiting and attempts to stop corruption have had a knock-on effect of bringing a de facto ban on sending antiquities on tours to museums abroad, cutting off what was once a major source of funding for the museum. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Egypt-Museum Troubles
In this Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 photo, the solid gold mask of King Tutankhamun is seen in its glass case, as tourists visit the Egyptian museum near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt. The 111-year-old museum, a treasure trove of pharaonic antiquities, has long been one of the centerpieces of tourism to Egypt. But the constant instability since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak has dried up tourism to the country, slashing a key source of revenue. Moreover, political backbiting and attempts to stop corruption have had a knock-on effect of bringing a de facto ban on sending antiquities on tours to museums abroad, cutting off what was once a major source of funding for the museum. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
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CAIRO (AP) — Inside the Egyptian Museum, there are 200,000 items showing the splendor of the country’s history — and few tourists to see them.
The palatial, 111-year-old salmon-colored building near Cairo’s downtown sits near Tahrir Square, the site of many of the protests in Egypt’s continued political instability. That’s driven away tourists from the museum.
On a recent visit to the museum by an Associated Press photographer, there were few foreign visitors. There were none at its most prized exhibits of mummies and King Tut’s treasures. Instead, the artifacts sat in the shadows and the dust of the museum, some identified only by handwritten notecards randomly in Arabic, English and French.
Here is a gallery of images of the Egyptian Museum and the artifacts within it from AP photographer Nariman El-Mofty.
