An Egyptian museum housing over 50,000 ancient artifacts that took two decades and $1 billion to build opened on Saturday just outside Cairo.
Dignitaries from around the world were present for the Grand Egyptian Museum’s debut. The 258,000-square-foot museum is located on the Giza Plateau, a stone’s throw from the three pyramids and the Sphinx.
Ground broke on the museum in 2005.
Tourists view the statue of Pharaoh Ramses II at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, on May 23, 2025. AP
Statues are lined up inside a display at the Grand Egyptian Museum. AFP via Getty ImagesThe museum boasts the entire contents of the intact tomb of King Tutankhamun, displayed as it was found by British Egyptologist Howard Carter in 1922.
Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s most renowned archaeologist and its former minister of antiquities, said the Tutankhamun collection is the masterpiece of the museum.
“Why this museum is so important, and everyone is waiting for the opening?” he said. “Because of Tutankhamun.”
The collection includes the boy pharaoh’s three funeral beds and six chariots along with his golden throne, his gold-covered sarcophagus and his burial mask, made of gold, quartzite, lapis lazuli and colored glass.
The museum, which was opened for limited visits in recent years, has been closed for the past two weeks. AFP via Getty Images
The museum is one of the megaprojects championed by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi since he took office in 2014. REUTERSThe museum is one of several megaprojects President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has championed since taking office in 2014, including the brand new Sphinx International Airport in Kerdasa.
In an effort to boost local tourism, which has yet to recover from the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, el-Sissi has invested millions in repairing the infrastructure in and around the Giza Pyramids, including the roadways and trains.
The museum was opened for limited visits in recent years, but closed again two weeks ago — as preparations for the grand opening continued.
A horse-drawn carriage rides past the Grand Egyptian Museum on Oct. 22, 2025. REUTERS
The museum, known as GEM, boasts a towering, triangular glass façade imitating the nearby pyramids, with 258,000 square feet of permanent exhibition space. AFP via Getty Images
Tourists look at exhibits inside the museum on June 2, 2025. REUTERSThe museum features a towering, triangular glass façade, a grand six-story staircase lined with ancient statues, and a bridge linking it to the pyramids — allowing tourists to move between both either on foot or via electric vehicles, museum officials said.
The museum’s 12 main galleries exhibit antiquities spanning from prehistoric times to the Roman era.
A record number of about 15.7 million tourists visited Egypt in 2024, representing about 8% of the country’s economy, according to official figures.
An archaeologist works on a wooden sarcophagus in the Wood Laboratory at the museum. REUTERS
Two halls are dedicated to the 5,000 artifacts from the collection of King Tutankhamun. REUTERS
The Grand Egyptian Museum will be connected to the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids by a new tourist walkway. REUTERSThe government aims to attract 30 million visitors annually by 2032.
The museum will be open to the public starting on Tuesday.
With Post Wires
