Grand Egyptian Museum opens, with a catch

Before its fast approaching official opening to the public, the $1 billion Grand Egyptian Museum near the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo has announced limited events to test the visitor experience to what will soon be home to the world’s largest archaeological collection.

Select areas of the museum will be part of the trial phase in the museum which occupies a total area of half a million square metres.

As a stage for thousands of artefacts dating back millennia, the Grand Egyptian Museum was designed to reflect Egypt’s unique cultural diversity, and to offer visitors the opportunity to learn about Egypt’s past and the country’s significant role in the history of humanity.

The one-of-a-kind Hanging Obelisk greets visitors as the first artefact standing at the entry way to the museum, which opens up into the vast Grand Hall, home of the 80-tonne Statue of Ramesses II. The thousands of exhibits include priceless artefacts such as all of the contents of King Tutankhamun’s treasure , which will be reunited in the Grand Egyptian Museum for the first time since the discovery of his tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Alongside the main museum the site also includes a Children’s Museum, a temporary exhibition space, a library, an education centre, and a conservation centre, with further amenities soon to follow in another section with office spaces, an auditorium, a conference centre, shops and food and beverage options, and fine-dining restaurants. Surrounding the museum the outdoor spaces are filled with the Sculpture Garden, the Palm Garden, and the Terrace Garden.

Sites that are partially open during the test phase are the Hanging Obelisk Square in front of the museum, the Grand Hall, the Children’s Museum, the Immersive Hall, the outdoor areas, and retail and food and beverage outlets, but the rest of the galleries and the two Tutankhamun galleries will remain closed until the grand opening of the museum.