At the outskirts of Cairo, “a colossal complex rises from the desert-an imposing site high over the decades, built with an unimaginable cost, from precisely cut stone blocks and brought from local careers,” writes The New York Times. The report is not about pyramids, but about the new Great Egyptian museum, which is to be officially inaugurated on July 3.
Most of the museum has already been open to visitors. Specifically, 11 of the 12 main exhibition galleries, together with the extensive entrance room and a large scale sprinkled with dozens of artifacts, can already be visited.
The biggest attraction of the museum-the galleries dedicated to Tutankhaman, who will exhibit over 5,000 objects from the tomb of the child-is still closed. For the moment, Tutankhamon's gold funeral mask, one of the most emblematic archaeological artifacts in the world, is still exposed to the old Egyptian museum in Tahrir Square.
Also, inaccessible is a separate annex in which two royal boats will be displayed near the Great Pyramid, in 1954. Even so, the images inside the open portions of the Great Egyptian museum are “overwhelming”, according to The New York Times.
Stretching 120 acres, it is promoted as the largest archaeological museum in the world and will exhibit up to 100,000 artifacts after the galleries with Tutankhamun's treasures will be opened. It is meant to replace the Museum of Antiquities of the colonial era located in the center of Cairo, offering a more modern and high-tech presentation of the pharaonic past of the nation.
The great Egyptian museum will be the largest archeology museum in the world
This project, in progress of over two decades, has been postponed several times for various causes: political changes, economic crises and the Covid-19 Pandemic. The museum was finally partially opened in October last year after an investment that has risen to a billion dollars.
“It will be a spectacular event, which highlights the rich historical and tourist potential of Egypt,” said Ahmed Ghoneim, Museum CEO, in an interview in March.
According to him, the inauguration should extend over several days, with events throughout the country, and the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, already invited his American counterpart Donald Trump and King VI.
“It will be the largest archaeological museum in the world dedicated to a single civilization, namely the civilization of the pharaohs,” said the head of the Egyptian state.
The museum will have a panoramic view of Giza's pyramids
Irish Roisin Heneghan, co -founder of Heneghan Peng Architects, the cabinet originating for the museum, said the project was strongly influenced by the “landscape of Egypt”, which contributed to the creation of a “rich civilization”.
“From different places in the museum you will have a panoramic view of the pyramids and this reminds you where all these things happened,” she added.
From the colossal statues of the pharaohs to objects in everyday life in ancient Egypt, Gem will give visitors a true journey through 7,000 years of history.
“This museum stretched on 50 hectares is, in the light of the surface, the largest in the world: twice the size of the Louvre, twice and a half more than the British Museum,” said Ahmed Ghoneim.
At the entrance to the edifice, the imposing statue of Pharaoh Rameses II, 11 meters high, tronates in the Great Atrium where there is also a six-storey staircase.
Climbing its steps, visitors pass a succession of statues of pharaohs and gods, as well as sarcophagi, before reaching a large room with windows that offer a spectacular view over the Pyramids in Giza.
The museum will host the largest treasures of Egypt
Among the strengths are the treasures of Queen Hetepheres, the mother of Pharaoh Kheops, the builder of the Great Pyramid. Her delicate carved throne, once hidden in a poorly lit room of the former Egyptian museum in Cairo, built in 1902, is now well highlighted.
“It is much better organized (than the old museum-n.red.) And much better illuminated. The architecture is impressive,” said Leon Wolmarans, a South African tourist interviewed by the AFP agency after visiting the museum last month.
Among the most anticipated exhibits are the treasures of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, including his legendary gold mask, which will occupy a place of honor in a gallery that is dedicated to him.
Another song expected with enthusiasm, the cedar wood boat, 44 meters long, buried next to the big pyramid around 2,500 BC, has not yet been revealed for visitors.
A second boat, still in restoration, will provide a unique immersive experience: visitors will be able to follow the conservatives to work in the next three years, following the process of real -time conservation.
