Colossus of Ramesses II at the Grand Egyptian Museum (while still under construction)
After over twelve years of construction and delays, the Grand Egyptian Museum will finally open to the public.
On Wednesday, October 16th, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) opened twelve main galleries as part of a long-awaited partial opening. Civil unrest and the pandemic pushed the museum’s opening back several years, so the GEM’s opening may be one of the most highly-anticipated events in the world of antiquities. The GEM expected around 4,000 people to visit upon opening the select galleries, all of whom will be greeted by a 3,200-year-old colossus of the pharaoh Ramesses II in the main atrium. Most exciting for museum guests is the grand staircase, lined with ancient statues, which ascends to the rear of the building to reveal a view of the Great Pyramid. The new museum is so large and comprehensive in its presentation of Egyptian archaeology that Egyptologist Zahi Hawass estimates it would take a two-hour visit to see around 20% of its contents. When the GEM is fully opened, it will span half a million square meters, showcasing 100,000 items from across 700,000 years of human history. The most precious of the collection will be the entirety of Tutankhamun’s tomb, including the famous gold burial mask. Unfortunately, the Tutankhamun artifacts will not be part of the partial opening, as the collection remains in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum. Regardless, the GEM is set to become the largest archaeological museum in the world.
As far back as 1992, Egyptian authorities have been trying to build a major museum away from Cairo’s city center. They were concerned that the busy, densely populated environment might dissuade some tourists from visiting some cultural centers, namely the Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square. The GEM is the centerpiece in a concerted effort to attract tourism to Egypt while simultaneously directing it away from Cairo. A new airport, Sphinx International, opened just last year, allowing easier access to Giza. Also, easyJet will soon offer flights between London Gatwick and Luxor twice a week. These efforts allow greater access to Giza and many other popular archaeological sites, such as the Valley of the Kings. Despite daily life in Egypt being relatively unaffected by the region’s current turmoil, foreign tourists may be hesitant to travel there, hence the ongoing efforts by the Egyptian government to bolster the country’s tourism sector.
The GEM’s deputy director, Al-Tayeb Abbas, stated that this is just a soft opening: “We are testing ourselves for the grand opening”. This trial run will allow museum administrators to remedy any issues they may face when operating at full capacity. Even with some parts still closed, the GEM can easily accommodate 15 million visitors every year, a figure that could potentially rival the Louvre, the British Museum, and the Met as one of the most-visited museums in the world. The full opening is scheduled for early 2025. With this potential, the GEM’s opening is an event to look forward to, free from the problems the museum has previously faced.