What You Need To Know About The Egyptian Grand Museum
Home to a wide assortment of spectacular artifacts, Egypt is a dazzling destination full of temples, tombs and some of the world’s most recognizable landmarks. And if you happen to be an avid fan of the Egyptology, here’s a recent addition to the already mind-blowing list of highlights of the ‘Land of the Pharaohs’ — The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). Nestled in the close proximity to the Pyramids of Giza, this marvelous art gallery strives to be a world-famous attraction that will not only contribute to Cairo’s tourism but also its economy.
While this grand museum is still under construction and expected to be completed in 2020, here is all the information you need for your special visit to the Grand Egyptian Museum:
Location and Historical Significance of GEM
The much anticipated and talked about Cairo hotspot, the Grand Egyptian Museum is nestled 2 kilometers inside the legendary pyramids of Giza. With magnificent monuments dating back to a long time ago, the museum complex is spread around 480,000 square meters and is nominated by the UNESCO for the World Cultural Heritage sites. All in all, the Grand museum is not just your gateway to the past but also the junction between the dry desert and fertile floodplain thanks to its central location in Cairo!Design of the Grand Egyptian MuseumMastercrafted to serve the ancient Egyptology center for the next 100 years, the GEM is shaped like a chamfered triangle, and built on the difference in level to create a new ‘edge’ to the existing plateau. While the entrance to the grand structure boasts of a series of striking layers comprising a forecourt, it will welcome visitors into a shaded entrance area with a grand staircase that rise above to the plateau level, where for the first time they see a glimpse of the pyramids from within the museum and unveil the galleries.
Did you know? The entrance hall comprises of a latticework of stone triangles held by strong, sturdy structures prepared from 1,340t of MSH sections
Avant-Garde Features of the Grand Egyptian Museum
Envisaged as the cultural complex of activities dedicated to the ancient Egypt, the museum takes immense pride in its 24,000m² of permanent exhibition space, which is almost the size of 4 football fields. This humongous arts center will also showcase five galleries hosting the complete Tutankhamen collection, an atrium with the statue of Ramses II, a children’s museum and a large conservation centre with distinct laboratories for cleaning, sorting and refurbishing the artefacts.
In fact, one of the most alluring features of the GEM will be an 800-seater auditorium-cum-conference center with a large shaded courtyard next to it. What’s more; it is adorned with an 800m long translucent stone wall that rises to a height of 40m in places, letting visitors discover the sheltered space behind. In fact, the wall is extraordinarily illuminated by the vivid lighting schemes of the main building, which adds an extra dose of charm to the desert landscape in the night.
Honorable Mentions: Nearby, the areas of soft landscaping will be house restaurants, ticketing centers and outdoor leisure areas embellished with internal circulation and access roads winding between them.
What to expect on your visit to Grand Egyptian Museum
On your arrival at the Grand Egyptian Museum, you can expect to kickstart your journey back in ancient Egyptian times while moving through a large plaza adorned with beautiful date plants. Soon after, you’ll be warmly welcomed by a series of giant statues brought in from several sites across Egypt and never been on display before. In fact, you’d notice one-third of the museum complex covered by the exhibition featuring about 50,000 artifacts dating to a variety of periods in Egypt’s history —making it largest archaeological museum in the world.
While the entire museum is especially designed to impress, it is the exhibit dedicated to King Tutankhamun, which is expected to be the largest attraction of the GEM. With the Mummy of Tutankhamen anticipated to shift from his tomb in Valley of Kings to the Grand Egyptian Museum, the authorities boast that the visitors can closely associate themselves as a part of the King Tut’s funeral procession.
With two galleries especially dedicated to the relics of King Tut, the idea is to make the exhibition an immersive experience where visitors can step into his life and have an inside look at his lifestyle including how he ate, dressed, and ruled! What’s more; one can also catch the glimpse of the Great Pyramids, since one of the walls will be made of glass.
