JOÃO RELVAS/LUSA
Family photograph of heads of state during the official inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), in Giza, Egypt
The construction, which began in 2005, cost more than a billion euros. The size of 70 football fields, it opens doors to a “new golden age for Egyptology”. THEThere is still a lot to do, such as recovering the famous Rosetta Stone.
Very close to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt officially inaugurated what aims to be one of the cultural high points of the modern era.
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), described as the largest archaeological museum in the worldhouses around 100,000 artefacts covering around seven millennia of the country’s history, from pre-dynastic times to the Greek and Roman eras. Renowned Egyptologists argue that its creation strengthens the demand for the return of important Egyptian antiquities that are found in other countries – including the famous Rosetta Stone, displayed in the British Museum.
One of the main attractions of GEM will be all intact contents of young King Tutankhamun’s tombdisplayed together for the first time since its discovery by British Egyptologist Howard Carter. Among the pieces are the spectacular Tutankhamun, his throne and his chariots.
“I had to think about how we could show it in a different way, since, since the discovery of the tomb in 1922, only around 1,800 pieces, out of a total of more than 5,500 that were inside it, have been exposed”, says Tarek Tawfik, president of the International Association of Egyptologists and former director of GEM, cited by . “I had the idea of displaying the complete tomb, which means nothing remains in storage, nothing remains in other museums, and the visitor can have the complete experience, the same way Howard Carter had it over a hundred years ago.”
With an approximate cost of 1.2 billion dollars (1.1 billion euros), the vast museum complex is expected to attract up to 8 million visitors per year, giving a major boost to Egyptian tourism, which has been affected by regional crises.
“We hope that the Grand Egyptian Museum will usher in a new golden era for Egyptology and cultural tourism,” says Ahmed Seddik, a guide and aspiring Egyptologist who works near the pyramids on the Giza Plateau. “We hope that the Grand Egyptian Museum will usher in a new golden era for Egyptology and cultural tourism,” he says.
In addition to the Tutankhamun exhibition and a new display of the spectacular Cheops funerary boat4,500 years old – one of the oldest and best-preserved vessels from antiquity –, most of the archaeological site’s galleries have been open to the public since last year.
“I have organized countless guided tours of the museum, even when it was partially open,” continues Ahmed. “Now he will be at the height of his glory. When the Tutankhamun collection opens, imagine the return of the entire world, as he is an iconic pharaoh, the most famous king of all antiquity.”
“Unmissable”
“It’s unmissable,” says Spanish tourist Raúl, who awaits the full opening to the public on November 4th. “We’re looking forward to looking at all the Egyptian artefacts,” says Sam, from London, who is taking a trip to Egypt. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“We’re excited to go and see all the Egyptian artefacts,” says Sam, from London, who is on a tour of Egypt. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Another British tourist says that she had already seen Tutankhamun’s pieces on display at the neoclassical Egyptian Museum, in the busy Tahrir Square.
“The old museum was quite chaotic and a little confusing”, he comments. “I hope the Grand Museum will be much easier to appreciate and I think the visit will be much more beneficial.”
The new museum is colossalwith 500 thousand square meters (5.4 million square feet) – the equivalent of around 70 football fields. The exterior is covered in hieroglyphs and translucent alabaster cut into triangles, with a pyramid-shaped entrance.
Among the GEM’s main attractions are a 3,200-year-old, 16-meter-long suspended obelisk of the mighty pharaoh and his imposing 11-meter-high statue. The statue was moved from near the Cairo railway station in 2006, in a complex operation to prepare for the new institution.
A gigantic staircase is flanked by statues of other ancient kings and queens and, on an upper floor, a Huge window offers a perfectly framed view of the pyramids of Giza.
The museum was first proposed in 1992, during the government of President Hosni Mubarak, and construction began in 2005. It is estimated that its completion took almost the same time as that of the Great Pyramid.
The project was affected by financial crises, the 2011 Arab Spring – which deposed Mubarak and led to years of turmoil –, the Covid-19 pandemic and regional wars.
“It was my dream. I’m very happy to see this museum finally open,” Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, told the BBC. The veteran archaeologist says this demonstrates that Egyptians are as competent as foreign Egyptologists when it comes to excavations, preserving monuments and curating museums.
“Now I want two things: first, for museums to stop buying stolen artifacts and, second, I need three objects to be returned: the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum, the Zodiac from the Louvre and the Bust of Nefertiti from Berlin.”
Hawass has created online petitions – which have already attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures – calling for the three items to be repatriated. The Rosetta Stone, discovered in 1799, was the key to deciphering hieroglyphics. It was found by the French army and confiscated by the British as war treasure.
