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Tourists stand on the grand staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Friday, May 23, 2025. Egypt opened the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum on Saturday, the world’s largest museum dedicated to its ancient civilization — a massive project that also aims to boost the country’s tourism industry and troubled economy.
The museum took two decades to establish. It is located near the Giza Pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo, and displays more than 50,000 artifacts detailing life in ancient Egypt.
World leaders, including kings and heads of state and government, were scheduled to attend the grand opening ceremony in the Egyptian capital, according to a statement from the presidency, which described the museum as “an exceptional event in the history of human culture and civilization.”
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi wrote on social media that the museum will bring together “the genius of ancient Egyptians and the creativity of contemporary Egyptians, and promote global culture and art with a new landmark that will attract everyone who cherishes civilization and knowledge.”
‘Symphony of Humanity’ The museum is one of several mega-projects that Sisi has championed since taking office in 2014, as he embarked on massive infrastructure investments aimed at reviving an economy weakened by decades of stagnation and battered by the unrest that followed the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.
Preparations for the big reveal have been shrouded in secrecy.
A theater was built in the museum’s courtyard, where an orchestra and musicians would later perform what Egyptian media described as the “global symphony of humanity.”
Security measures were tightened around Cairo ahead of the opening ceremony, as the government announced that Saturday would be an official holiday. The museum, which has been open for limited visits over the past few years, has been closed for final preparations that will take two weeks.
The government renovated the area surrounding the museum and the nearby Giza Plateau, which includes the pyramids and the Sphinx. Roads have been paved and a metro station is being constructed outside the museum gates to improve access. An airport has also been opened, Sphinx International Airport, west of Cairo – 40 minutes from the museum.
The $1 billion facility has faced multiple delays, as construction began in 2005 but was halted due to political instability.
Ramses the Great and King Tut The museum, known as the GEM, features a towering triangular glass façade that mimics the nearby pyramids, with 24,000 square meters (258,000 square feet) of permanent exhibition space.
The path opens to a colossal granite statue of Ramesses the Great, one of the most powerful pharaohs of ancient Egypt, who ruled for nearly 60 years, from 1279 BC to 1213 BC, and is credited with expanding the domain of ancient Egypt into modern Syria in the east and modern Sudan in the south. The statue welcomes visitors as soon as they enter the corner lobby of the museum.
From the lobby, a grand six-story staircase lined with ancient statues leads to the main galleries and a view of the pyramids. A bridge connects the museum to the pyramids, allowing tourists to move between them on foot or by electric cars, according to museum officials.
The museum’s 12 main galleries, which opened last year, display antiquities ranging from prehistoric times to the Roman era, arranged by era and theme.
Two halls are dedicated to five thousand artifacts from the collection of King Tutankhamun – the boy pharaoh who ruled from 1361 BC to 1352 BC – which will be fully displayed for the first time since British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered King Tut’s tomb in 1922 in the city of Luxor in the south of the country.
Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s most famous archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities, said that the Tutankhamun collection is the museum’s masterpiece.
“Why is this museum so important when everyone is waiting for it to open?” He told the Associated Press. “Because of Tutankhamun.”
The collection includes the three funerary beds of the young pharaoh, six chariots, his golden throne, his gold-covered sarcophagus, and his burial mask made of gold, quartzite, lapis lazuli, and colored glass.
Boosting tourism and the economy The government hopes the museum will attract more tourists who will stay for a while, and provide the foreign currency needed to support Egypt’s exhausted economy. The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said the museum is expected to attract 5 million visitors annually.
The tourism sector suffered through years of political turmoil and violence following the 2011 Arab Spring uprising. In recent years, the sector has begun 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 gross domestic product, according to official figures. Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathi said that Egypt generally expects about 18 million tourists this year, and the authorities hope to receive 30 million visitors annually by 2032.
Walid Al-Batouti, a tour guide, said this will translate into more job opportunities and pump foreign currency into the economy.
He added: “This will greatly enhance Egypt’s economy, not just the hotels and the museum itself.” He added that when a tourist takes a taxi or even buys a bottle of water, this “pumps money” into Egypt’s coffers.
The authorities said that the museum will open its doors to the public starting on November 4, the anniversary of Carter’s discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
