An exhibition more than 3000 years in the making is now in Sydney.

I am a big fan of museums (if you couldn’t already tell from the headline of this article). 

Museums are my safe place where I can walk around for hours learning about the history of different parts of our world. 

As a city girl I’m lucky enough to live close to The Australian Museum in Sydney so I shamelessly spend a lot of my time there. 

When I found out that the Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition was making its way to Sydney I immediately messaged my manager and asked for an extended lunch break because I was about to be busy. 

If you think I’m coming across a bit intense, firstly, you’re probably right. Secondly – let me put into context just how absolutely insane it is that we have this exhibition at our doorstep. 

Only ten cities in the entire world are hosting this exhibition. Some of the artefacts displayed have also left Egypt for the first time ever! People fly interstate to be able to attend (and I would’ve been one of those people if the exhibition wasn’t hosted here). 

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The exhibition displays over 180 Egyptian artefacts and treasures and includes a multi-sensory experience. You can choose to opt in for a guided audio tour, as well as experience the virtual reality (VR) adventure and tour of Abu Simbel and the Tomb of Queen Nefertari. 

The VR experience is incredible I hear, it was SO popular and fully booked on the day I planned to go, but would recommend snagging yourself a spot in advance if you're keen.

Due to the popularity of the exhibition, I opted to visit mid-week and thank goodness I did. The best thing about museum visits outside of the weekend (if you can manage it), is that it truly feels like you're visiting at a time with other super-engaged enthusiasts. Despite the volume of people passing through, it was all very respectful with plenty of space and movement. 

Image: Supplied.

I’d recommend getting to the museum 15-20 minutes before your session to give you enough time to have your tickets scanned and be as close to the front of your session queue as possible. I also used this time to read up more on what to expect before you head into the exhibition, which honestly just made me more excited to get in there. 

What's it about?

Okay, a brief history lesson. The exhibition revolves around Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, a ruler during the Nineteenth Dynasty. He ruled for nearly 67 years (1279–1213 BC), had over 100 children and passed away in his early 90s, making him the second longest ruler of Egypt in history.

Image: Supplied.

He was known as Ramses the Great and has been celebrated throughout history for being one of the most powerful pharaohs in Egypt, largely stemming from his battle victories (although his victory at the Battle of Kadesh has been debated) as well as his eye for architecture, building, transforming and restoring many capitals, temples, monuments and statues.    

Image: Supplied.

The exhibition also includes glimpses of what everyday life was like in Egypt 3000 years ago with other pharaohs, queens and gods. From mummified animals, to the (extremely heavy) jewellery, to workers using limestone to create tools, to my favourite: the lives of Egyptian women. Although little is known about women during this period of time, surviving legal texts revealed that, in theory, Egyptian women were equal to men under law.

What to expect

Image: Supplied.

It’s recommended that the entire tour of the exhibition will take at least 45 minutes, but I suggest you give yourself the full hour and a half to take in everything, especially if you opt into the audio guided tour. (Reminder: from the popularity of the exhibition, it takes more time than usual to view everything.) This is a once in a lifetime opportunity so it’s important to mentally capture as much as possible. You’re allowed to take photos, just remember to keep the flash off. 

The walkthrough of the exhibition is laid out beautifully with explainers and digital storytelling that helped deepen my understanding of every single artefact to see.

Image: Supplied.

There was also an interactive element, where a button shows you how sunlight lit the back of statues in the Abu Simbel temple on two set days every year (and still does). Every little detail like this enhanced my appreciation of ancient history and left me in awe of the intelligence, strength and creativity of ancient Egyptians (seriously, I actually had to sit in silence with my thoughts for 20 minutes afterwards). 

One of the final artefacts viewed is the highly anticipated sarcophagus of Ramses II made from cedar. Sydney is the second overseas city to host the coffin making it a rare and honourable viewing experience. I promise you the photos do not do it justice (but I tried my best). 

The Coffin of Ramses II. Image: Supplied.

One of my favourite things about this experience is that there wasn’t a single person in there who wasn’t appreciative of what they were seeing, from children to large tour groups. The exhibition was so breathtaking for all of us that you could hear a pin drop.

The collective understanding that you’re experiencing something extraordinary with strangers is such a rewarding experience that usually goes unnoticed AND it makes the exhibition all the more enjoyable and memorable after you've left. 

If my crazy fan-girling explanation didn’t make it clear enough, I highly recommend carving out time to attend this exhibition. I suggest you take someone with you so you can say things like, “Did you know for ancient Egyptians the act of waking up in the morning is a form of rebirth?”

Take a friend, sibling or coworker as an early Christmas present but mainly so you can discuss everything you just experienced straight after because you will definitely want to talk about it ASAP.

Book your tickets to Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs, exclusive to the Australian Museum in Sydney for a limited time only.

Feature Image: Supplied.