Hurghada's antiquities museum displays Nile boat models and a carved river scene
The Nile group includes a boat model in local wood such as acacia, a painted boat with fishermen and their net, and a stone plaque carved with fish, a crocodile and river plants.
5 November 2026
Three of the objects on display at the Hurghada Antiquities Museum deal with the Nile's place in ancient Egyptian life, from trade and fishing to burial rites:
- a wooden boat model built from local timber such as acacia, and sometimes cedar
- a painted wooden boat carrying fishermen at work with a traditional net, along with sticks and curved pieces of wood
- a carved stone plaque showing fish, a crocodile and Nile plants, with a fishing boat along its upper part
The river was the main route between northern and southern Egypt, used to move goods and to trade between the regions along its banks. Fish from it were a staple of the ancient Egyptian diet.
The display also links the Nile to funerary belief. The dead were carried from the east bank, associated with life, to the west bank, where tombs and funerary temples stood.
The museum opened on 29 February 2020 as the first museum established by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in partnership with the private sector. Its exhibition area covers about 1,800 square metres over two floors, with 11 corridors and 41 display cases, and the collection runs from prehistory to the era of Muhammad Ali.
Other pieces on show include a statue of Queen Meritamun of the Nineteenth Dynasty and three royal objects of Thutmose III. The site also has a Roman theatre.