Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), whose construction continues in the Giza area, keeps all lovers of ancient Egypt excited and looking forward. After many delays, it is now expected that the long-awaited opening will take place at the end of 2020, although a specific date has not yet been set. But most likely the opening will be during the last quarter of 2020
It is not unusual for the works in this museum to generate so much interest. With its almost 100,000 m2 of exhibition space and spectacular views of the pyramids of Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum will be the largest archaeological museum in the world.
In this article, you will discover many facts about the Grand Egyptian Museum, including the opening date, ticket prices, and the most important antiques and treasures of the museum.
In addition to the grand exhibition space, which is said to house more than 50,000 antiquities (some sources speak of up to 160,000 pieces), the new museum has sophisticated laboratories that are already fully operational and whose work is essential for the museum to become a reality. In addition, there are research centers, conference rooms, classrooms, an auditorium, archive and storage areas, etc.
The New Egyptian Museum will also offer its visitors rest areas, restaurants, cafes, shops, 3D cinema and extensive gardens of pharaonic inspiration. A children’s museum is even being created where the youngest visitors will be able to get closer to the world of ancient Egypt through replicas and adapted technological resources.
The New Egyptian Museum building
The impressive building designed by Heneghan Peng has a main facade about 800 m long and its height reaches 40 m in some points. It is a geometric structure, where triangular forms prevail, evoking the nearby pyramids.
Another of the museum’s great attractions will be a huge staircase, which ascends by a difference in the level of about 25 m. and in which great antiques are being installed. This spectacular construction will function as a monumental distributor and will allow access to the exhibition rooms organized in a succession of different levels. And, as a culmination, an extraordinary opening that frames the views over the pyramids of Giza.
As far as the organization of antiquities is concerned, an eminently chronological criterion is being followed. Thus, visitors to the GEM will be able to travel through the millennia of Pharaonic history, moving from prehistoric times to the Greco-Roman era. At the same time, each great chronological area will be subdivided into thematic sections: society, beliefs, the funerary world…
The most important pieces that the museum will include are the statue of King Ramses II in the lobby and the statues of King Thutmose III and Amenophis III. The land alone occupies some 50 hectares
There will also be twelve 12 exhibition halls, built on 18,000 square meters, just to showcase the treasures of ancient Egyptian civilization.
One of the most relevant attractions of the new museum will be the treasure of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun discovered in the Valley of the Kings in 1922. Today a good number of these pieces have already been moved from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to the modern restoration laboratories in Giza, where they are being prepared for future display.
However, not all the objects discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb could be exhibited in the old Cairo museum, which will allow the new GEM facilities in which 12,000 m are dedicated to Tutankhamun, So that the more than 5000 pieces of the famous treasure will be able to be exposed and admired by the public, and in addition, they will be organized following the order with which they were discovered by the archaeologist Howard Carter.
Grand Egyptian Museum opening date
Delay the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum until 2021
on Saturday, April,4,2020 the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities has received orders from the Council of Ministers to the postponement of the opening of the Great Egyptian Museum and other major national projects planned for this year, such as the New Administrative Capital, until 2021 Because of the emergency of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Egypt. updated ” 05/04/2020 ”
Grand Egyptian Museum tickets prices
The tickets prices to the Grand Egyptian museum were confirmed by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities on July 30th, 2019
Tickets for foreigners: (prices are in Egyptian pounds)
- 200 L.E for the main hall
- 400 L.E for Tut Ankh Amun hall
- 500 L.E for an all-inclusive ticket
Prices for foreign “students”:
- 100 L.E for the main hall
- 200 L.E for Tut Ankh Amun hall
- 250 L.E for an all-inclusive ticket
How can I book a tour to the Grand Egyptian Museum?
Simply you can contact us at Cleopatra Egypt Tours and we will organize your tour to the Grand Egyptian Museum as we offer the best trips around Egypt. [ TripAdvisor Reviews ]
The Great Egyptian Museum highlights
- The Great Egyptian Museum, which is located two kilometers away from the Pyramids of Giza, Two rooms dedicated to Tutankhamun are particularly noteworthy, housing more than 5,000 objects, making up the largest collection since the Pharaoh’s tomb was discovered in 1922.
- The rest of the rooms, in turn, will display works ranging from Prehistory and the Pre-Dynastic Period to the Late Roman Period. The museum complex occupies an area of more than 480,000 square meters and has a translucent facade of more than 600 meters high and 45 long, so it will offer views of the pyramids from the interior.
- Another highlight is the statue of Ramses II that stands at the entrance to the site. The interior of the museum is structured in chronological order, thus presenting the different periods of Ancient Egypt.
- In addition to the exhibition rooms, the museum houses various shops, restaurants, a conference center with capacity for 1,000 people, a library, three parks, and a conservation center. For the youngest, it has a differentiated space, where activities, games or crafts will be developed. The site, in turn, has an area dedicated to people with special needs.
- The GEM will also offer its visitors rest areas, 10 restaurants, cafes, 28 shops, 3D cinema and extensive gardens of pharaonic inspiration. A children’s museum is even being created where the youngest visitors will be able to get closer to the world of ancient Egypt through replicas and adapted technological resources.
- The Great Egyptian Museum will have several shops, restaurants, a conference center with capacity for 1,000 people, a library, three parks, and a conservation center, which aims to be the largest in the Middle East.
- Children will also be able to enjoy a part specially designed for them, with a large number of activities to stimulate their curiosity, such as games, crafts or virtual galleries. The center will also have a space dedicated to people with special needs.
Grand Egyptian Museum and Guinness World Record
Image of a mosaic of coffee cups from a mask of the ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamun in Giza, Egypt. In the courtyard of the Great Egyptian Museum near the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt held an outdoor ceremony on Saturday to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest mosaic of the mask of ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun made of coffee cups.
The best destination according to the international media
The BBC has chosen Egypt as the best destination for this year, and CNN and The New York Times have put it at the top of their list for 2020. But the excitement is also indoors. According to a BBC article, the opening of the GEM “has excited the local population to be able to experience more of their own history and share the treasures of ancient Egyptian civilization with new visitors. Egypt also topped Forbes’ “Where to Go Next” list, where the world-renowned magazine recommended 27 countries for adventure lovers to visit by 2020.
Bloomberg said the GEM is part of a broader strategy that has long brought joy to the Arab republic: “The museum is one of several improvements that will help the Egyptian government continue the upward trend in post-revolutionary tourism. [ Read More ]
Some Egyptians told the BBC that, for them, the Grand Egyptian Museum is a new window to showcase the national treasures they are proud of, and in the right environment. And they are pleased with the new facility since many of those who visited the previous museum did so in “narrow, poorly lit and un-air-conditioned corridors, where tourists were crowded together. And no wonder: the original museum building dates back to 1902, and was certainly not designed to cope with the crowds of visitors that arrive every year from all over the world.
Local media also assume that the GEM will be an unprecedented boost for tourism in Egypt. A recent article in the Daily News Egypt noted that “the mega-museum is considered one of Egypt’s most important players in attracting tourism and reviving the country’s main source of income. [ Read More ]
BBC said that “the museum has raised hopes of significantly boosting Egypt’s tourism sector, attracting a large number of tourists by 2020” [ Read More ]. The Executive expects five million visitors a year. Given the expectation that the GEM is already generating, they seem to be far from optimistic.