We visited the Great Egyptian Museum

The gigantic showcase designed to preserve and exhibit the treasures of ancient Egypt to the world is finally wide open (at 80%). Since October 16, everyone can come and admire this new wonder of the contemporary world. Led by the company «Les Voyages de Pharaon», we were able to join the first visitors.

110,000 pieces, many of them monumental. The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) lives up to its name: it's a giant. Already classified as the world's largest museum devoted to a single civilization, it is impressive inside and out. By the turn of the century, the world's leading architectural firms had submitted their designs (over 1,500 in all). In the end, it was an Irish firm that came out on top, imagining the GEM as a solar projection of the pyramids facing it. The financial crisis, the Arab Spring, the COVID crisis - the project took twenty years to complete! In the end, the museum took as long to build as the Great Pyramid of Cheops.

Welcomed by Ramses II

Once you've crossed the entrance porch, you're taken aback by the sheer size of the reception hall, which features the immense granite colossus of Ramses II, who for over 3,000 years watched over the entrance to the great temple of Ptah, some ten kilometers south of Cairo. It was time to honor the architectural marvels of ancient Egypt, and the goal was achieved. Granite, marble, limestone, alabaster - the designers used the same stones that adorned the temples and religious sites desired by the pharons. The ground floor opens onto the museum's commercial area and a wide, monumental staircase that climbs to the upper floor. As you climb the stairs, you're struck by the gigantic statues of gods, queens and pharaohs, porticoes and columns from temples. Higher up, monumental statues of couples and triads illustrate the relationship between pharaohs and gods, such as the one showing Ramses II between Ptah and Sekhmet. The climb ends with the sarcophagi of queens and kings.

Frescoes in motion

The sense of wonder continues upstairs, where everything is designed to evoke the grandeur of ancient Egypt. Not least thanks to a glassed-in area facing the Great Pyramids. And then there are the collections, arranged by theme. Not in small rooms, but in twelve large areas barely separated from one another. The lighting effects and scenography further enhance the clear, airy presentation of the finds. They illustrate the history of Egypt from prehistoric times to the Greco-Roman period. Sometimes with ultra-contemporary surprises, such as this fresco which moves via projections to give a better understanding of daily life in the Nile Valley 3 or 4,000 years ago.

And Tutankhamen's treasure?

The vast majority of the pieces come from the exhibition rooms and reserves of the former Tahrir Square Museum. Many of the exhibits have never been shown before, which adds to the interest of the visit. Needless to say, a few hours won't be enough to discover everything, but it will be enough to penetrate the history of the great Egypt of antiquity.

The authorities are planning to transfer the last section - the famous 4,500-coin treasure of Tutankhamen - in 2025. If the final mobility works - the metro and a final road bridge under construction - are completed, it's a safe bet that the official inauguration will take place at the same time.

But don't miss out on a visit to the century-old museum, which has preserved many of its finest pieces. Renovation is under discussion, but not yet scheduled.