After two decades and an estimated cost of $1bn, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, just a few days after the official opening ceremony on Saturday.
Regarded as the world’s largest archaeological facility for a single civilisation, the museum is located 2km (1.2 miles) from the pyramids of Giza and 8km (5 miles) from the capital, Cairo.
The complex spans nearly 500,000sq metres (5,381,900sq ft) and will house more than 100,000 ancient artefacts from the 30 dynasties of ancient Egypt.
Some of the main attractions include the 3,200-year-old, 11.36-metre (37ft) statue of King Ramses II, the complete collection of Tutankhamun’s treasures and a 4,500-year-old boat, one of the oldest intact ships in the world, belonging to Khufu, the pharaoh renowned for building the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The Grand Egyptian Museum’s design
The museum has been called the “fourth pyramid” of the Giza Plateau, which is home to three pyramids about 4,500 years old: the Great Pyramid of Giza (built for Pharaoh Khufu), the Pyramid of Khafre (built for Pharaoh Khafre) and the Pyramid of Menkaure (built for Pharaoh Menkaure).
Visitors can view the pyramids from inside the museum, which is designed in the shape of a chamfered triangle, echoing the geometry of the pyramids. The museum’s north and south walls are aligned with the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Menkaure.
The design, created by the Irish architecture firm Heneghan Peng, uses sand-coloured concrete and translucent alabaster stone while the museum’s main facade is made of frosted glass panels.
The complex was announced in 1992, but construction did not begin until 2005 and was delayed by political turmoil after the 2011 Arab Spring and the COVID-19 pandemic. Some areas of the museum had a soft launch in 2024.
The museum complex includes the main building, a conference centre, a courtyard, a Nile Valley park, the Khufu Boat Museum and a conservation centre.
A look inside the museum
Upon entering the museum, visitors are greeted by the 3,200-year-old statue of King Ramses II, which weighs about 83 tonnes.
