I LOVED learning about the Egyptians growing up! It was definietly some of my favourite history while in primary school. All of it fascinated me; the pyramids, the papyrus, the beetles etc! Plus, I always wanted to go to Egypt. I still do! A few months ago My parents had gone to see the Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh final exhibition when it first came to London. They said it was well worth a visit!
I decided to see if I could get tickets while I was there over Christmas. I had plans to be in London the evening of the 2nd January and checked the website for availability that lunchtime. They had plenty of tickets available and I booked for the 1pm-1:30pm slot!
This is meant to be the last tour of the exhibition. The Grand Egyptian Museum is being built in Cairo, Egypt to house the artifacts. This is supposedly their last go around before being on display their permanently. The exhibition is in London until May and after that I am not sure. In 2021 it will be in Sydney, Australia for six months. It will arrive home, in Cairo, in 2022 and mark the centenary discovery of the young Pharaohs tomb in 1922 by British Archeologist Howard Carter.
In 1972 there was an exhibition at the British museum and 1.6 million people visited. In 2007 the exhibition visited London again, this time at the O2 and with a record 1.7 million visitors. Today’s exhibition, which opened in November 2019, has an additional 50 artifacts compared to 2007 plus 60 of the artifacts have never left Egypt before! It is definitely worth a look if you are interested in archeology especially the Egyptians.
I took the train up to Vauxhall and then the underground from there to Chelsea. The Saatchi Gallery is not far from the tube station! Once you get there you line up to get in (even if you have tickets). It didn’t take too long but it was a zoo in the 1stsection where you get your audio guide (extra). I think you save £1 on the audio guide if you book online.
You start the tour with a short video. After that you get to meander through the different galleries. I would recommend waiting for the crowd to die down a bit when you enter the first gallery after the video. That gives you a little bit more space and lets you get right up to the glass cases with the artifacts.
If you happen to be in London and haven’t booked tickets you can always stop by the gallery and see if they have slots available for that day! Make sure to go before 3rdMay!
After the exhibition I was off to Carnaby Street to see the Christmas lights. A little late I know but it is one of my favorites. Then I was heading to Wiltons for Dinner and a show! Check back to see how the evening was!
Buffy xx
