Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

Welcome to Egypt!



Hahah... gotcha!

I was in fact... in the USA.
This museum, I included it as one of my preferred place of interest list in San Jose.

The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, architecturally inspired by the Temple of Amon at Karnak, it houses the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts on exhibit in western North America.




Cool isn't it!

Egyptian artifacts in San Jose. The exhibits there include objects from pre dynastic times through Egypt's early Islamic era.

Including MUMMIES!

See? Real mummies!




There's one place in the museum which I like the most, similar movie scene that of The Mummy/The Mummy Returns. But it's kind of eerie if you go in alone. The photo was with flash, the actual brightness in that cave is very low, so if you have weak nerves, you might not want to go in. Probably you'll scare yourself if somebody is coming from the other direction.



The entrance/exit of the cave. Go in for some adventure.



I really felt like been to Egypt for that 2 hrs inside the museum. Actually 2 hrs for a museum visit is pretty rush for me.. Especially when this museum provides such a comprehensive audio tour! Yes, you can actually download the audio clips into your portable MP3 device before visiting. The narration will guide you through the 4 galleries and load you with bunch of informations on the artifacts. Taking an audio tour in the museum is some kind of fun, and for this museum it's FOC, unlike some other museums where you need to rent or buy. You can download the audio tour here.


Some of the artifacts that I like. I think they're cute.










And oh, the miniature building of Abu Simbel, Temple of Rameses the Great, 19th Dynasty 1250 B.C.




The famous Nefertiti Bust.



Who is Nefertiti?
She's the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Due to the bust, Nefertiti has become one of the most famous women from the ancient world as well as an icon of female beauty. I came to know this name after watching The Mummy Returns, where there's one plot that Rachel Weisz played the role of Princess Nefertiri (similar but not Nefertiti).

I've always been awestrucked by Egyptology since small, and this museum visit at least fulfilled a little part of my dream to see a real mummy. Finally I've seen one, and was so close to it.

Due to limited time, I only manage to take a quick walk around the garden surrounding the museum and planetarium. What a waste... Here's a snapshot on the Egyptian game called SENET. Nice place.




Now, the information you should have before visiting:
Museum Location
1660 Park Avenue
San Jose CA 95191