I’m in Egypt in the middle of July, it’s close to a hundred degrees fahrenheit, and I’m staring into the eyes of a crocodile. Luckily, this particular crocodile has been dead for thousands of years, and is surrounded by an exhibition case inside the brand-new, eagerly anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum. After over a decade of delays, the museum is finally opening to the public this weekend. Once it does, this jaw-dropping space will be the largest archaeology museum in the world, tracing the history of ancient Egyptian civilisation.
The mummified reptile in front of me is one of 15,000 fascinating cultural artefacts that have been on display over the last year during GEM’s soft opening. Once the museum officially opens this Saturday, visitors will also be able to experience the institution’s main attraction: the Tutankhamun galleries, containing 5,000 objects discovered in the famous pharaoh’s tomb in 1922, including his iconic gold funerary mask. Another yet-to-open wing will contain two of King Khufu’s solar boats, found near the Pyramids. (Did I mention the building’s massive windows with panoramic views of said Pyramids?)
Designed by Heneghan Peng Architects, the Grand Egyptian Museum was originally slated to open in 2013 but has been delayed several times since, for reasons ranging from political upheaval and regional conflict to changing budgets and the pandemic. Its mission is both precise and sweeping: to document Egypt’s immense history from the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt around 3100 BC, up until the Romans overthrew Cleopatra. The galleries are divided by defining eras of Egyptian civilisation: Predynastic, the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, the Late Kingdom, Ptolemaic Egypt and the Roman period.
As I first approached the museum on the outskirts of Cairo, the first thing I noticed was the triangle motif repeated across its exterior. Designed to symbolise its ancient neighbours, around 250,000 triangular stone pieces make up the museum’s north façade, and there’s a pyramid-shaped entrance surrounded by shining gold hieroglyphics in the centre. Inside, a soaring central atrium is dominated by a 36-foot-high, 83-ton statue of Ramses II. The 3,200-year-old statue was previously located near a train station in central Cairo. (Fun fact: A tiny opening in the ceiling allows a beam of light to shine directly on the statue on Ramses’s birthday). A collection of on-site restaurants and shops line the atrium’s right side, offering elevated lunch options and high-quality souvenirs.
Alongside that towering statue, the museum’s central space features a sweeping staircase that carries visitors up to the start of the exhibition spaces, dotted with dramatically lit ancient statues that offer a glimpse of what’s to come. It’s hard not to be dizzied by the immensity of the history housed in this building – the museum is the size of 93 football fields and, once fully open, will display over 100,000 artefacts. While the first galleries you encounter are focused on Egypt’s ancient past, the open concept space offers a glimpse of the many galleries (and centuries) you’ll soon be travelling through.
‘It’s not a museum, it’s a cultural hub,’ says Ahmed Youssel, CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Authority. ‘You don’t see history. You live history, you experience history. That’s the idea. When we build new museums, we have this concept of virtual reality, augmented reality – electronic things everywhere.’
There are plenty of ‘electronic things’ in the museum’s galleries, which cleverly complement the museum’s ancient artefacts rather than distract from them. Ancient Egyptian society and religious beliefs are brought to life through cutting-edge video installations and soundscapes, while immersive animations explore larger concepts like pyramid building and papyrus making.
Elsewhere, canopic jars, miniature boats, golden idols and sarcophagi provide tactile glimpses into the country’s storied past. Famous historical moments, like the reign of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut and Akhenaten’s religious revolution, are given more detailed explorations through large dedicated sections, while the lives of common Egyptians are illuminated through ancient everyday objects.
I’ve no doubt, walking through the galleries, that the GEM will be worth the wait. The museum’s proximity to the Pyramids makes it accessible to visitors, of course, but also positions it as a natural extension to any pilgrimage to the ancient wonder. It also bolsters Cairo’s already outstanding cultural offering. The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square has handed over some of its collection to the GEM, namely Tutankhamun’s treasures, but still houses its own impressive stock of Pharaonic antiquities; while the Museum of Egyptian Civilization offers the indelible experience of seeing the mummies of ancient Pharaohs. But no other attraction provides such a comprehensive look at the full history of one of the world’s most famous civilizations. You just may have to visit a few times in order to really take everything in – crocs and all.
The Grand Egyptian Museum opens in Cairo on November 1.
Will Gleason visited the Grand Egyptian Museum as a guest of the Egyptian Tourism Authority. Our reviews and recommendations have been editorially independent since 1968. For more, see our editorial guidelines.
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