After 12 years of delays, it seems that the hotly anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum, perched opposite the pyramids of Giza just outside Cairo, has finally opened its doors to visitors.
Well, sort of. The museum is still yet to entirely, officially open – today instead marks the start of a trial run, with 12 of the building’s halls welcoming visitors. So our roundup of the best museum openings for this year was almost right.
Several factors have led to delays in the museum’s opening. First, there’s the cost (work on the museum has amounted to almost $1 billion or £768 million), then there’s the political instability in the country and then, of course, there’s the delays caused by the pandemic.
The opening date has been postponed multiple times (it was originally slated for 2012!) and we still don’t know exactly when the place will be fully open to the public.
What we do know is what to expect. The museum will be home to a staggering 100,000 objects including artefacts from the tomb of King Tutankhamun, dating as far back as 700,000 BC. Each hall contains objects and art classified by dynasty, and the main galleries journey from the Old Kingdom (2649-2130 BC) all the way to the Third Intermediate Period (1070-664 BC), according to Al Jazeera.
Once it’s fully open, this will be the largest archaeological museum in the world, with the site measuring 500,000 square metres, or around 120 acres. The trial is in place to suss out any operation hiccups that might occur, such as which areas in the museum could be prone to overcrowding. Stay tuned for the official opening date.
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