Grand Egyptian Museum opens after $1.2bn project with Tutankhamun as special inhabitant

The Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and draws in millions of tourists every year.

Now, lovers of Egypt and history will have yet another reason to visit the location and its surroundings – the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

The museum, the world’s largest archaeological collection, displays around 100,000 artefacts from Ancient Egypt, the Ancient Greek and Roman eras, and pre-dynastic times.

Building the museum was not an easy task.

The project was first proposed in 1992 but its construction only began in 2005, meaning that it has taken approximately two decades to finish the museum.

According to estimates, the finalisation of the museum’s construction has taken nearly as long as the completion of the Great Pyramid.

The costly project was first hit by a financial crisis in 2011, itself prompted by the Arab Spring, a series of pro-democracy protests which led to years of chaos.

The Covid-19 pandemic and various regional wars then delayed the project even further.

Now, with construction finally finished, it is expected that the museum will attract up to 8 million visitors a year and provide the country with an economic boost to offset the $1.2 billion cost of the project.

Ahmed Seddik, a guide and aspiring Egyptologist based at the pyramids on the Giza Plateau, said: “We hope the Grand Egyptian Museum will usher in a new golden age of Egyptology and cultural tourism.”

Tutankhamun displayed like never before

Tutankhamun is one of the most well-known ancient Egyptian kings and one of the few who have been worshipped as a deity despite only having been eight or nine years old when he ascended to the throne.

One of the main attractions of the museum is the full set of contents from the intact tomb of Tutankhamun, including his gold mask, chariot, and throne, which have never been displayed together since they were discovered by Egyptologist Howard Carter.

Dr Tarek Tawfik, the president of the International Association of Egyptologists and former head of the Grand Egyptian Museum, talked about the thought process behind the showcase.

“I had to think how can we show him in a different way, because since the discovery of the tomb in 1922, about 1,800 pieces from a total of over 5,500 that were inside the tomb were on display,” he said.

“I had the idea of displaying the complete tomb, which means nothing remains in storage, nothing remains in other museums, and you get to have the complete experience, the way Howard Carter had it over a hundred years ago.”

The museum was already partially open and has welcomed tourists for years, but now that it is fully finished, the excitement amongst tourists as well as the people who are and have been working on this huge project is growing.

“I’ve been organising so many tours to the museum even though it was partially open,” Seddik explained.

“Now it will be at the pinnacle of its glory. When the Tutankhamun collection opens, then you can imagine the whole world will come back, because this is an iconic pharoah, the most famous king of all antiquity.”

A British tourist, who had previously seen Tutankhamun exhibits on display at another museum, added: “The old museum was pretty chaotic, and it was a bit confusing.

“Hopefully, the Grand Museum will be a lot easier to take in and I think you will just get more out of it.”

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Many things to see and learn

Given its gigantic size spanning approximately 500,000 square metres – roughly the size of 70 football pitches – the museum can fit a large number of different displays, allowing visitors to fully immerse themselves in the experience and be transported back into the past.

Adding to that feeling is the museum’s exterior, which is covered in hieroglyphs and translucent alabaster cut into triangles with a pyramid-shaped entrance.

One new display centres on a 4,500-year-old funerary boat of Khufu, one of the oldest and best-preserved vessels from antiquity.

Another spectacular exhibit is the 11m-high statue of the pharaoh Ramesses II, who is widely considered to have been one of Ancient Egypt’s most successful warriors.

Also displayed is a 16m-long, 3,200-year-old suspended obelisk of the pharaoh.

There are other statues of various ancient kings and queens on display too, all connected to each other and accessible via a giant staircase.

At the same time, visitors can enjoy a perfect view of the Giza pyramids through a huge window when ascending to one of the top floors.

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