GARDEN CITY TRAVEL
After decades of planning, architectural competitions, and meticulous curation, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is finally opening its doors. Located just two kilometres from the Giza Pyramids on the edge of the desert plateau, the museum is the largest archaeological complex in the world dedicated entirely to a single civilisation.
The scale of the project is difficult to overstate. The building itself covers nearly 500,000 square metres. As you approach the main entrance, you are greeted by an expansive façade covered in translucent alabaster motifs, filtering the harsh Egyptian sun into a soft, glowing light within the grand atrium.
The Atrium and Ramses II
Upon entering, the first thing visitors encounter is the colossal 11-metre, 83-ton red granite statue of King Ramses II. This magnificent piece was moved from Ramses Square in downtown Cairo in 2006, carefully transported through the city streets to take its permanent place in the heart of the new museum.
Behind the statue lies the Grand Staircase, a sweeping architectural feature that ascends towards the main exhibition halls. The staircase is lined with dozens of massive royal statues, sarcophagi, and architectural elements, chronologically arranged to guide you through the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms as you climb.
The Complete Tutankhamun Collection
The undeniable centrepiece of the GEM is the Tutankhamun galleries. For the first time since the tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922, the entire collection of over 5,000 artefacts will be displayed together. The old Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square only had the space to display roughly a third of these items.
The new exhibition uses state-of-the-art lighting and climate control to preserve the delicate organic materials. Visitors will see not only the iconic golden death mask and the nested shrines, but also the boy king’s personal chariots, walking sticks, intricately woven linen garments, and the ceremonial beds carved in the shapes of divine animals.
The layout of these galleries is designed to mirror the layout of the original tomb in the Valley of the Kings, giving visitors a sense of the overwhelming discovery as they move from the antechamber through to the burial chamber and the treasury.