In the shadow of the great pyramids of Giza, Egypt has unveiled a new state-of-the-art museum that is the largest in the world and packed with artefacts spanning 7,000 years of human history.
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) cost £910 million to build and has taken some 33 years from its first proposals to its public opening scheduled for November 4.
But with exhibits including the entire contents of pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb, including the boy king’s majestic gold mask, it is surely worth the wait.
What artefacts are inside the GEM?
It will house 50,000 artefacts from pre-dynastic times through to the Greeks and Romans.
Attractions include a monumental 83-ton, 3,200-year-old colossus of Ramesses II that is 11 metres tall, moved from a site near the Cairo railway station in 2006 in preparation for the museum.
It also houses a 4,500-year-old boat belonging to Khufu, the pharaoh who is widely credited with building the pyramids, which is one of the oldest and best-preserved of its kind from ancient times.
But arguably the most famous and storied piece of Egyptian history, Tutunkhamun’s tomb, will be star of the show.
The full collection of artefacts found in the tomb have been reunited and displayed together for the first time since its discovery by British architect Howard Carter in 1922.
The find, made in the Valley of the Kings, revealed over 5,000 objects that had remained untouched for more than 3,000 years.
In the GEM, visitors can see the famous gold death mask, the nested coffins, and the everyday items from chariots and jewellery to food containers and linen.
Where is the Grand Egyptian Museum?
GEM is located just a mile from the pyramids, about 30 minutes from central Cairo.
It is equally gigantic, covering an area of 470,000 sq metres, about the size of 66 football pitches.
It is expected to bring in 5 million visitors a year, in what authorities hope will be a major boost to Egypt’s struggling economy.
That would put it on a similar level as Paris’s Louvre, which brought in 8.7 million people last year and the British Museum, which had 6.5 million visitors.
“It’s going to have a huge impact” on the economy, said Egyptian businessman Sir Mohamed Mansour, who is a member of GEM’s board of trustees, speaking to The Associated Press.
When will it be open and how to book tickets?
GEM will open its doors to the public on November 4, after more than three decades of planning and construction.
Having been proposed in 1992, construction eventually started in 2005, but was frequently delayed by crises including the 2011 Arab Spring and the Covid-19 pandemic.
A glittering ceremony on Friday night marked the occasion, complete with a drone light show over the Giza pyramids, while the government even heralded the grand opening with a public holiday on Saturday.
Tickets are available through the museum’s official website, visit-gem.com, with general admission priced at around EGP 600 (about £10) for foreign visitors.
The museum will operate year-round, offering guided tours, educational workshops, and evening events set against the backdrop of the pyramids.
Demand is expected to be high in the opening months, and officials are urging tourists to book in advance.
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