Alexandria National Museum (ANM) is located on Al-Horeya Street in the center of Alexandria. It is one of the most important museums in the Alexandria governorate.
History of the Alexandria National Museum (ANM)
This building was the home of a prominent businessman in the timber trade, who was Asaad Basily. This palace was a famous place for the meeting of many public figures such as the former Prime Minister of Egypt Ismail Sidky Pasha and Ali Maher Pasha.
Al-Basily built this palace in 1928 in Italian style, as it was designed by a French engineer. The building distinguishes by its bright white color. It is surrounded by a beautiful garden full of rare trees. The museum building is considered a unique architectural masterpiece. Its area is 3480 m.
Al-Basily lived in this palace until 1953 AD. Then it has been sold to the US Embassy for 53 thousand pounds. In 1997 AD, the Supreme Council of Antiquities bought it for 12 million Egyptian pounds and turned it into a museum in September 2003.
Design of the Alexandria National Museum (ANM)
Alexandria National Museum displays more than 1,800 objects. The museum (ANM) consists of 3 floors:
The first floor: It contains the monuments of ancient Egypt, like statues of the kings and gods of ancient Egypt, such as Akhenaten and Hatshepsut. Also, there are replicates of the tombs of the Valley of the Kings in Luxor and their contents as canopic jars.
The second floor: It displays the monuments of the Greco-Roman period, as statues of Greek women, the statue of the god Serapis, and a statue of Emperor Hadrian.
The third floor: It exhibits the monuments of the Coptic period, such as icons, clothes decorated with the cross, and elements of daily life made of bronze, copper, and silver. Also, it displays the monuments of Islamic civilization as 162 coins and candle holders.
In the museum, there is a section displaying the jewelry of the family of Mohammed Ali Pasha.
The most important section of the museum is the section that displays the objects found under the sea in Alexandria as a basalt statue of the goddess Isis and the bust of Alexander the Great.
