The story of the Grand Egyptian Museum’s official opening is nearly as enigmatic as the building of the ancient 4,600-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza. Since the first block was laid for the building’s foundation in 2002, the official opening date of Cairo’s long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has been repeatedly delayed.
The museum, which allegedly cost $1 billion dollars, funded largely through Japanese loans and contributions from the Egyptian government, was first proposed by Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s longtime authoritarian president who announced plans for the museum in 1992. It has experienced numerous setbacks, including the coronavirus pandemic, the Arab Spring, wars in Gaza and Sudan, funding and logistical challenges and now a new war in the Middle East between Israel and Iran. It was due to open on July 3 and has now been delayed until later this year, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, until a “suitable time” during the fourth quarter of 2025.
During a press conference on June 14, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the official opening was postponed due to “current regional developments”—loosely referring to the then-escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. (A tense ceasefire was agreed on June 24 after the U.S. intervened.)
“We believed it would be appropriate to delay this big event so that it can maintain the appropriate global momentum,” he said.
Inside the Grand Egyptian Museum during its trial run, 2024. Photo: Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images.
GEM was due to close to the public on June 15 as preparations were underway for the grand opening, which was slated to take place over three days.
When it does officially open, the institution will showcase over 100,000 artifacts, making it the largest archaeological museum in the world. Designed by Irish firm Heneghan Peng Architects, it spans 50 hectares and is twice the size of both the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. A partial opening in October 2024 revealed 11 of its 12 galleries to the public. Madbouly said GEM would continue to receive visitors through to the formal opening later this year.
At the heart of the museum is its crown jewel: the Tutankhamun galleries, featuring more than 5,398 objects from King Tutankhamun’s tomb as well as a separate annex showcasing two royal boats discovered near the Great Pyramid in 1954.
Fascination with King Tut, known as the “boy king” who ascended the throne around 1332 B.C.E. at the age of 9, has not abated since 1922 when British archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter discovered the pharaoh’s tomb and its thousands of treasures in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, Egypt. Many of the artifacts will be exhibited for the first time together since their discovery; these include the young pharaoh’s death mask, his ceremonial chair made with ivory, ebony, gold and faience, a gilded coffin, cosmetic box, and a royal diadem.
An exhibition hall of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt. Photo: Wang Dongzhen / Xinhua via Getty Images.
A Grand Ode to Ancient Egypt
“You are inside the largest museum in the world dedicated to the ancient Egyptian civilization,” said Ahmed Ghoneim, CEO of GEM from his office inside the museum. “Displaying it in a very up-to-date top-notch way is putting Egypt on top of everything and making sure that we are the leaders in this regard, not only by having the monuments and the antiquities, but by being able to display them in the right way in the largest museum in the world dedicated to one civilization.”
Upon entering the museum, visitors will be suddenly struck by a colossal 3,200-year-old statue of Ramses II that greets guests in the entrance hall from his stance of 30 feet and large sculptural mass weighing 83 tons. The statue’s commanding presence, depicting one of Egypt’s most important pharaohs, is illuminated throughout the day by the sun’s rays.
The Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt. Photo: Fareed Kotb / Anadolu via Getty Images.
To reach the galleries, visitors must ascend the Grand Staircase, which is lined with hundreds of coffins, sarcophagi and statues depicting Egyptian kings and queens, seemingly guiding guests not just into the galleries but back thousands of years.
The experience continues with an awe-inspiring view of the Giza Pyramid Complex from atop the stairs by the massive floor-to-ceiling windows—a design element clearly intended to strike a connection between the new museum and the Great Pyramid.
The galleries, explained Ghoneim, are laid out so that visitors can opt to view them thematically in a vertical manner or chronologically, by proceeding horizontally. The focus, he emphasized, is on “the experience” and not just imparting knowledge through wall labels.
The galleries are divided into four rows, further split into a different historical period. The first comprises artifacts dating to 70,000 B.C.E. The second presents the Middle Kingdom, with artifacts dating to between 2034 to 1550 B.C.E. Highlights include a tablet recalling the wars waged by King Kamose against the Hyksos—a Semitic people which controlled parts of Egypt around 1664 to 1555 B.C.E. The third showcases the New Kingdom, considered the pinnacle of Egyptian power, spanning from c. 1550 to 1070 B.C.E., during which some of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs such as Ramses II and Hatshepsut ruled. Also included are various statues of the cat-headed Sekhmet, the goddess of war and a monumental statue of the god Ptah, known as the creator god and patron of artisans and architects.
An exhibition hall of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt. Photo: Wang Dongzhen / Xinhua via Getty Images.
The last and fourth row highlights artifacts dating to the Greco-Roman period of ancient Egypt, dating between c. 332 to 395 B.C.E., displaying monumental Roman figurative sculptures such as several Roman Palmyrene busts and female heads, likely Ptolemaic queens, idealizing the human form and striving for realistic representation.
As visitors journey through the galleries, they grasp a sense of the continuum of history, how the cultural exchange fostered in ancient Egypt can still be felt today. What’s being celebrated is the rich multicultural society of ancient Egypt as it interacted with neighboring cultures like the Nubians, Libyans and later, the Greeks and Romans.
GEM has plans to be more than a museum. Until the last few decades, the study of Egyptology was largely conducted by foreign archaeologists.
“The idea is not only to display antiquities but to act as a scientific hub,” explained Ghoneim. “We have up-to-date labs for restoration to ensure that the museum is a place to do research for Egyptologists and archaeologists. Instead of going abroad to do research, we are trying to have this role at GEM.”
An exhibition hall of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt. Photo: Wang Dongzhen / Xinhua via Getty Images.
A Place for Culture or Mass Tourism?
While the museum has made headlines for the grand size of its collection and repeated delays, it has also generated criticism, predominantly from local Egyptians.
Inside the entrance of GEM is an array of high-end retail outlets selling fine jewelry, handbags, and oriental carpets, alongside the museum’s own boutique and several restaurants such as Zooba, Egypt’s popular street food chain. Why the shopping mall-like experience, locals have wondered, inside a museum dedicated to ancient Egyptian antiquities?
“I would imagine the masses find the expansiveness of the building impressive, which generates a lot of pride in the local population. However, Egyptians are good critics of the overwhelming ‘touristification’—from [ticket] pricing to transportation to luxury shopping of this heritage,” said a Cairo-based art professional on condition on anonymity. “The desire of the state to exploit the potential for upgrading mass tourism in this country is glaringly apparent. Whether the museum connects with the contemporary Egyptian public has yet to be seen. I’m waiting to hear from serious Egyptologists whether it has been a worthwhile billion-dollar endeavor or whether it’s just more self-stereotyping by politicians and the Egyptian army dictating how Egyptian heritage should be commodified and consumed, rather than by historians or cultural connectors.”
The Grand Egyptian Museum in the vicinity of the Giza Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Photo: Ahmed Gomaa / Xinhua via Getty Images.
Ghoneim emphasized the museum “cares about the visitor’s experience. We have a commercial area, restaurants, shops dedicated to heritage items to ensure that the full experience is there.”
Since tensions have escalated in the Middle East, numerous embassies have issued travel warnings to the region. The enthusiastic momentum and anticipation of the official opening is now over.
“There is now another dip in the roller coaster ride of tourism which will hit the Egyptian art scene hard,” the art professional added. “Regardless if the museum opens or not, people will be too scared to come to Egypt.”
Credit: Artnet
