Travel to Egypt is on many people’s bucket list, and for good reason.

There is history, there are pyramids, there are sarcophagi, there are camels, and the very hottest attraction is the yet to be completed Grand Egyptian Museum, an archeological museum telling the story of a unique civilization with hundreds of thousands of artifacts.

BUT....there is also an under reported underbelly of dangerous crime activity, risk of terrorist attacks, and tourist scams.

Hygiene at many public sites is also a concern, with many visitors becoming ill after eating while on popular Nile River cruises or at the tempting side of the road food vendors and even at popular  tourist restaurants.

If you are interested in all things Egyptian, and you want to travel in a safe environment, enjoy incredible food and wine, shop for the latest in fashion and artifacts, go to Italy!!!

Italy you say? What does that have to do with my “ Egypt bucket list”?

Well, as a matter of fact, Torino, in the northern region of PIemonte,

has the most ancient museum dedicated to Egyptian culture in the world. It is the second largest Egyptian Museum in the world, after the one in Cairo.

I have visited it several times and have always left the museum  amazed at the incredible number of artifacts, sarcofagi, mummies, jewels, dehydrated food items all found in ancient Egyptian tombs and brought over into Italy.

The Museo delle Antichità Egizie in Torino, is the only museum other than the Cairo Museum that is dedicated solely to Egyptian art and culture. Many international scholars, since the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs Jean-François Champollion, who came to Turin in 1824, spent much time pouring over the collections. It was Champollion who famously wrote, “The road to Memphis and Thebes passes through Turin”.The collections that make up today’s Museum, were enlarged by the excavations conducted in Egypt by the Museum’s archaeological mission between 1900 and 1935 (a period when finds were divided between the excavators and Egypt). Italy was the major recipient of this arrangement.

Italy, (PIemonte to be exact) is where you can find the Egyptian Museum, truffles, wine, chocolate, hazelnuts, the museum of motion pictures, an incredible automobile museum, fantastic food, elegant coffee bars, in one compact, elegant city: TORINO or TURIN as it referred to by the English speaking.

In the surrounding areas you can enjoy the Museum of fragrances when you can create your own personal scent, you can participate in the “Vermouth Experience” , go truffle hunting, experience a grappa tasting, and much much more!!

I will return there again in 2019 and encourage all my readers to do the same!