The Grand Egyptian Museum Took Two Decades to Rise
Imagine a museum so vast it feels like a small city. The Grand Egyptian Museum is one of the largest cultural projects in the world, covering nearly 50 hectares with more than 167,000 square meters of built space.
It sits beside the Pyramids of Giza and stands as the largest museum dedicated to a single civilization.
The museum officially opened to the public in the last month, and plans to welcome 19,000 visitors a day.
Work on the idea originally began in the early 2000s. Construction officially started in 2005, and after years of political upheaval, funding shifts, and a global pandemic, the museum finally opened in 2025.
The entire project took more than twenty years to complete, and holds over 100,000 items of timeless value.
For lovers of architecture and design, the museum is a powerful symbol of human ambition.
The scale is breathtaking, the craftsmanship is meticulous, and the story behind it shows what can happen when a vision is carried forward for decades.
Some of the museum’s most impressive collections include:
- The full collection of Tutankhamun comprising 5,398 pieces will be on display for the first time in one place at GEM.
- Among those are the iconic Golden Mask of Tutankhamun, a gold coffins set (including one pure-gold coffin of 110 kg), the Golden Throne, jewellery, daggers and utensils from his tomb.
- The museum displays the two full-size solar boats of Khufu (the pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid). They are about 4,600 years old and among the oldest wooden ships ever found.
- The giant statue of Ramesses II. 11 meters tall and weighing 83 tons, and has been moved to GEM and stands in the Grand Hall (Atrium) as part of the introduction.
- Additional standout collections include the artifacts of Queen Hetepheres (mother of Khufu), and of Yuya and Thuya (the parents of Queen Tiye).
See more on the Grand Egyptian Museum website at GEM.eg.
Images courtesy of Grand Egyptian Museum.
