The official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum took place on Saturday in Giza, marking the opening of the world’s largest archaeological museum — a cultural landmark that recounts more than 7,000 years of history.
The inauguration took place under the presidency of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in the presence of heads of state and dignitaries. They included Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Crown Prince of Oman, Prince Sayed Thayazin bin Haitham al-Said.
The Prime Minister was also in Cairo, accompanied by his wife Mareva.
The leaders, accompanied by Egypt’s first lady Edishar Mohamed Amer, were photographed in front of the museum’s distinctive glass facade. Impressive aerial shots showed the grandeur of the new complex, which dominates the edge of the desert, with the Pyramids of Giza in the background.
“We are writing a new chapter of the history of the present and the future, in the name of this ancient homeland,” said the head of state from the large courtyard of the museum dedicated to the Pharaonic culture, where the authorities organized a spectacular spectacle.
The opening of the museum is the completion of a project that took almost three decades to implement. The initial concept was presented in 1992, while construction work began in 2005, however, experiencing successive delays due to financial difficulties, political instability after the 2011 uprising and the pandemic.
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) aspires to be a benchmark for world cultural heritage, bringing together tens of thousands of exhibits from all periods of Egyptian history, just a few hundred meters from the last surviving wonder of the ancient world.
The largest archaeological museum ever built
With an area of 500,000 square meters, the Great Egyptian Museum is today considered the largest archaeological museum dedicated to a single culture. Its 100,000 exhibits cover seven millennia of Egyptian history, from the prehistoric period to the Greek and Roman eras.
At the museum’s entrance, visitors are greeted by the 11-meter-tall colossal statue of Pharaoh Ramses II, which was moved from Cairo’s Ramses Square in 2006. A 16-meter floating obelisk dedicated to the same pharaoh and a 4,500-year-old wooden burial boat that belonged to King Cheops are some of the museum’s central exhibits.
The central atrium features a monumental staircase with statues of ancient Egyptian rulers, leading up to a large window with a panoramic view of the Pyramids of Giza.
Tutankhamun’s collection on full display
One of the main attractions is the complete display of the treasures from the tomb of the young King Tutankhamen. For the first time since its discovery by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922, the entire collection of more than 5,000 objects is on display together. The exhibit includes the pharaoh’s golden funerary mask, ornate throne, chariots, jewelry and ceremonial weapons.
Egyptian museum conservators have restored hundreds of Tutankhamun’s artifacts, some made from fragile materials such as cloth and leather, and are showing them to the public for the first time in more than a century.
Architectural vision and design
Designed by Dublin-based Heneghan Peng Architects, the Grand Egyptian Museum combines innovative design with a visual reference to ancient Egypt. The pyramidal entrance, alabaster facades inscribed with hieroglyphs and vast exhibition halls convey both the scale and symbolism of the museum.
Inside, advanced lighting, air conditioning and virtual reality installations redefine the way ancient artefacts are displayed. Most of the galleries had been partially opened to the public in previous years, allowing Egyptologists and visitors to preview the scale and ambition of the museum.
