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Egypt officially opens Grand Egyptian Museum
(MENAFN) Egypt officially inaugurated the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) near the Pyramids of Giza on Saturday, marking the opening of what is being called the world’s largest archaeological museum after more than two decades of construction and repeated delays.
Spanning approximately 50 hectares and costing around $1 billion, the museum houses roughly 100,000 artifacts covering seven millennia of Egypt’s history, from the pre-dynastic era to periods of Greek and Roman rule.
“We are writing a new chapter of the history of the present and the future in the story of this ancient nation,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said during the opening ceremony.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly described GEM as “a gift from Egypt to the whole world from a country whose history goes back more than 7,000 years.”
The opening event featured an elaborate performance combining dancers, lasers, music, drones, and fireworks. International dignitaries in attendance included Spain’s King Felipe VI, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Among the museum’s major attractions are the complete collection of Tutankhamun’s treasures and an enormous statue of Ramesses II weighing over 80 tons, displayed for the first time.
The project was first announced in the early 1990s, but construction only began in 2005 under then-President Hosni Mubarak. The process faced multiple delays due to political upheaval, the Covid-19 pandemic, and regional conflicts. GEM was designed by Irish architecture firm Heneghan Peng Architects and strategically located near the Pyramids to bridge modern Egypt with its ancient heritage.
Since October 2024, the museum has operated in a trial phase, allowing limited public access to selected galleries prior to the official launch.
In a related development, Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry announced in August that it had repatriated 13 ancient artifacts from the UK and Germany as part of ongoing efforts to recover smuggled items. The recovered objects include a mummy’s skull and hand, an ankh and baboon-shaped amulets, a bronze Osiris crown, and a beaded funerary mask.
Spanning approximately 50 hectares and costing around $1 billion, the museum houses roughly 100,000 artifacts covering seven millennia of Egypt’s history, from the pre-dynastic era to periods of Greek and Roman rule.
“We are writing a new chapter of the history of the present and the future in the story of this ancient nation,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said during the opening ceremony.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly described GEM as “a gift from Egypt to the whole world from a country whose history goes back more than 7,000 years.”
The opening event featured an elaborate performance combining dancers, lasers, music, drones, and fireworks. International dignitaries in attendance included Spain’s King Felipe VI, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Among the museum’s major attractions are the complete collection of Tutankhamun’s treasures and an enormous statue of Ramesses II weighing over 80 tons, displayed for the first time.
The project was first announced in the early 1990s, but construction only began in 2005 under then-President Hosni Mubarak. The process faced multiple delays due to political upheaval, the Covid-19 pandemic, and regional conflicts. GEM was designed by Irish architecture firm Heneghan Peng Architects and strategically located near the Pyramids to bridge modern Egypt with its ancient heritage.
Since October 2024, the museum has operated in a trial phase, allowing limited public access to selected galleries prior to the official launch.
In a related development, Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry announced in August that it had repatriated 13 ancient artifacts from the UK and Germany as part of ongoing efforts to recover smuggled items. The recovered objects include a mummy’s skull and hand, an ankh and baboon-shaped amulets, a bronze Osiris crown, and a beaded funerary mask.
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