Tutankhamun Arrives, GEM Cairo Opens November 1st

This time, the Egyptian government has made up its mind: after several delays, the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the largest, most comprehensive, and most futuristic Egyptian museum ever, will open on November 1st. At the center of the immense exhibition, presenting one hundred thousand artifacts across 500,000 square meters, will be the most anticipated: the treasure from the tomb of Tutankhamun, the child pharaoh whose story is still shrouded in legend. The announcement was made by Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly, following approval from President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.

He warned all stakeholders, ministries, and private companies to expedite the installation's completion as quickly as possible so as not to miss yet another milestone, which comes more than 20 years after Hosni Mubarak laid the foundation stone and just under two decades after construction actually began in 2006. The opening of the museum, the Prime Minister emphasized, "has been prepared to be an exceptional event, adding to a series of important national events linked to Egypt's modern history. Among other things," he said, "the presence of high-ranking figures from many countries around the world is expected." A flagship not only of Egypt but of global archaeology and museology, the GEM will not replace the 19th-century Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, from which the most important pieces will be transferred, but it will remain as a testament to an era that contributed so much to the philosophy of conservation. Tutankhamun's mask is still there, but it is understood it should follow the fate of the rest of the treasure and be displayed in the prestigious setting of the new museum. Built in pyramid sections alongside the real pyramids of Giza, to which it will be connected in the future by a dedicated passageway, the new Egyptian Museum in Cairo is already partially open to visitors and its exhibition layout and logistical services are appreciable, including moving walkways from which visitors can effortlessly admire the statues arranged along the stairs. At the entrance, gigantic statues, such as that of Ramses II, 12 meters tall and weighing 83 tons of granite, greet visitors, underscoring, if any were needed, the grandeur of an unrivaled Egyptian civilization. Now, after millennia of passing through the hourglasses of time, the Sisi presidency seeks to elevate it as a symbol of Egypt's coveted place in the Middle East and the world.