Egypt unveils the world's largest museum dedicated to its ancient civilization

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CAIRO (AP) — Egypt was inaugurating the long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum on Saturday, the world’s largest museum dedicated to its ancient civilization — a megaproject also aimed at boosting the country’s tourism industry and troubled economy.

Two decades in the making and located near the Giza Pyramids on the edge of Cairo, the museum showcases over 50,000 artifacts detailing life in ancient Egypt.

World leaders, including monarchs, heads of states and governments, were to attend the grand opening ceremony in the Egyptian capital, according to a statement from the presidency, which touted the museum as “an exceptional event in the history of human culture and civilization.”

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi wrote on social media that the museum will bring "together the genius of ancient Egyptians and the creativity of modern Egyptians, enhancing the world culture and art with a new landmark that will attract all those who cherish civilization and knowledge.”

The museum is one of several megaprojects championed by el-Sissi since he took office in 2014, embarking on massive investments in infrastructure with the aim of reviving an economy weakened by decades of stagnation and battered by the unrest that followed the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

Preparations for the grand reveal have been shrouded in secrecy.

A stage was built in the museum courtyard where an orchestra and musicians would later preform what the Egyptian media described as a “global symphony of humanity.”

Security around Cairo was tightened ahead of the opening ceremony, with the government announcing Saturday would be a public holiday. The museum, which has been open for limited visits over the past few years, was closed for the final, two-week preparations.

The government has revamped the area around the museum and the nearby Giza Plateau that holds the pyramids and the Sphinx. Roads were paved and a metro station is being constructed outside the museum gates to improve access. An airport, Sphinx International Airport, has also opened west of Cairo — 40 minutes from the museum.

The $1 billion facility had faced multiple delays, with construction beginning in 2005 but interrupted due to political instability.

The museum, known as GEM, boasts a towering, triangular glass façade imitating the nearby pyramids, with 24,000 square meters (258,000 square feet) of permanent exhibition space.

It opens to a granite colossus of Ramses the Great, one of ancient Egypt's most powerful pharaohs who reigned for around 60 years, from 1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C., and is credited with expanding ancient Egypt’s reach as far as modern Syria to the east and modern Sudan to the south. The statue greets visitors once they step inside the museum’s angular atrium.

From the atrium, a grand six-story staircase lined with ancient statues leads up to the main galleries and a view of the pyramids. A bridge links the museum to the pyramids, allowing tourists to move between them either on foot or via electric vehicles, according to museum officials.

The museum’s 12 main galleries, which opened last year, exhibit antiquities spanning from prehistoric times to the Roman era, organized by era and by themes.

Two halls are dedicated to the 5,000 artifacts from the collection of King Tutankhamun — a boy pharaoh who ruled from 1361 B.C. to 1352 B.C. — that will be displayed in its entirely for the first time since British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s tomb in 1922 in the southern city of Luxor.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s most renowned archaeologist and former minister of antiquities, said the Tutankhamun collection is the museum's masterpiece.

“Why this museum is so important, and everyone is waiting for the opening?” he told The Associated Press. “Because of Tutankhamun.”

The collection includes the boy pharaoh’s three funeral beds and six chariots, his golden throne, his gold-covered sarcophagus and his burial mask, made of gold, quartzite, lapis lazuli and colored glass.

The government’s hopes the museum will draw more tourists who will stay for a while and provide the foreign currency needed to shore up Egypt's battered economy. The state-run Al-Ahram daily said the museum is expected to attract 5 million visitors annually.

The tourism sector has suffered during years of political turmoil and violence following the 2011 Arab Spring uprising. In recent years, the sector has started to recover after the coronavirus pandemic and amid Russia’s war on Ukraine — both countries are major sources of tourists visiting Egypt.

A record number of about 15.7 million tourists visited Egypt in 2024, contributing about 8% of the country's GDP, according to official figures. Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy has said that overall, Egypt expects about 18 million tourists this year, with authorities hoping for 30 million visitors annually by 2032.

This will translate into more jobs and pump foreign currency into the economy, said Walid el-Batouty, a tour guide.

“It will be boost the economy of Egypt tremendously not just the hotels and the museum itself,” he said. Whenever a tourist rides a cab or even just buys a bottle of water, "that is pumping money” into Egypt's coffers, he added.

The museum will open to the public starting Nov. 4 — the anniversary of Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb, authorties said.

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Associated Press journalist Ahmed Hatem in Cairo contributed to this report.