Heads Up, History Buffs: The Grand Egyptian Museum Will Finally Open in Cairo in 2020

As the greatest civilisation in the Mediterranean world for almost thirty centuries, it is unsurprising that culture vultures, history boffins and archaeologists have long been captivated by the Egyptian Civilisation. Well, here’s some good news if you’re an Egyptology geek: you can now take a walk through its history at the soon-to-open Grand Egyptian Museum, hailed as the world’s largest civilisation museum. 

Officially opening in Cairo a decade after it was conceived in 2008, the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum will finally be opening its doors to the public in the last quarter of 2020. It is located two kilometres away from the iconic Pyramids of Giza and costs a whopping $1 billion in the making.

The edifice will re-house and reinstate some of the country’s most precious relics – some of which were previously stored in the notoriously crowded Egyptian Museum at Tahrir Square. Many of the precious historical objects dating back more than 3500 years had gone through cutting-edge preservation, conservation and restoration processes to bring them back to life and prevent further degradation. 

Artist’s rendering of the Grand Egyptian Museum | Image credit: Archimation

The vast mega museum will cover an expansive area (5.2-million-square-foot), allowing each of the 50,000 artifacts to be displayed in its full grandeur. Visitors will be greeted by a king-size statue of Ramses II, his left foot tread forward and fists clenched in at the main atrium.

The main galleries will be split into four eras: pre-dynastic (up to 3100 B.C.) and Old Kingdom (the pyramid builders), Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom (Tutankhamun, Ramses and Co) and Greco-Roman and will all be organised thematically. 

It will also be the first exhibit featuring the 5,400 glittering treasures of boy-king Tutankhamun, many never before on display, together in the same space over a sprawling 7,000 square metres. This will be reminiscent of the nearly intact tomb archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter and his team of workmen discovered in 1922. 

The new museum is said to supplant the famous Egyptian Museum (also called the Museum of Cairo), which is now currently home to the world’s largest archive of Pharaonic artefacts, such as Tutankhamun’s gold funeral mask.

A fixed opening date will soon be announced by Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. However, as of now, we know that entry fees will cost LE400 (SGD $34) for foreigners. Totally worth the money!