The Grand Egyptian Museum: The Beginning of a New Era in Heritage Management and the Refutation of Historical Misconceptions

By Tamer Salah El-Din
Agencies

This evening marks the culmination of years of work, delays, and determination with the long-awaited opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), standing proudly at the foot of the Giza Plateau.
More than a vast gallery of antiquities, the GEM is conceived as a global hub for research, conservation, and education — a strategic engine for Egypt’s tourism sector, and a powerful, tangible response to repeated attempts by individuals and nations to appropriate or distort the origins of the world’s first and greatest civilization.

The project could never have reached completion without direct presidential support and decisive governmental intervention. The dream itself began decades ago when Egypt’s then-Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosny, attended an honorary dinner hosted by the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. When asked about Egypt’s “storage of antiquities,” Hosny replied, “We will build the greatest museum of Egyptian civilization.” It was not an idle remark, but a promise to summon history into the present and project it toward the future.
Upon his return to Cairo, Hosny chose the site opposite the Giza Pyramids and presented the idea to the late President Hosni Mubarak, who questioned the feasibility of financing it. Hosny assured him that such projects usually attract international funding. Indeed, a full feasibility study was commissioned from a leading global consultancy and completed after four years.

The project faced several suspensions, until President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi personally intervened to remove obstacles and secure Egypt’s share of the financing. Thus, what once began as the vision of an Alexandrian artist who became a culture minister has materialized into a living reality — a testament to Egyptian resolve and creativity that consistently achieves the impossible and astonishes the world when willpower is present.

The Idea and Its Origins: From Vision to Decision

The concept of establishing a grand, centralized museum devoted to the civilization of ancient Egypt was born in the early 1990s, as cultural and archaeological institutions sought a site worthy of Egypt’s heritage. The chosen location, adjacent to the pyramids, was not a sentimental choice but a strategic one — designed so that the visitor’s experience becomes a living extension of the archaeological landscape itself.

The Man and the Guiding Light: Farouk Hosny’s Role

Farouk Hosny — artist, intellectual, and former Minister of Culture — remains inseparable from the museum’s inception. He played a pivotal role in shaping its early vision and in launching the international architectural competition that would define its form. His name is also tied to the idea of a “national museum of unity,” one that preserves Egypt’s cultural legacy within a single, integrated framework.

Presidential Support Rekindled the Dream

Since President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi assumed office, the project has enjoyed steadfast presidential patronage. His directives cut through years of bureaucratic and financial stagnation, reviving the GEM and ensuring broad international participation in its final phase and ceremonial opening. His support accelerated the site’s infrastructure work and positioned the project as a new symbol of Egyptian cultural diplomacy.

Scientific Hands: From Archaeologists to Conservators

The GEM is far more than an architectural marvel; it is a scientific ecosystem powered by hundreds of Egyptian and international experts. Among them, renowned archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass supervised the planning of the exhibition routes and coordination between departments.
State-of-the-art conservation laboratories equipped with advanced digital technologies have treated and transported thousands of artifacts — including mummies, colossal statues, and delicate vessels — each piece meticulously preserved for future generations.

Pharaonic Treasures Beyond Compare

The Statue of Ramses II
The monumental 83-ton statue, once the centerpiece of Ramses Square, was relocated to the museum in a complex engineering feat. It now greets visitors in the Grand Hall — the museum’s symbolic heart.

The Treasures of Tutankhamun
For the first time in history, the complete collection of the boy king’s artifacts — over 5,000 objects, many unveiled to the public for the first time since the tomb’s discovery in 1922 — will be displayed in dedicated galleries. (The original mummy remains preserved in the Valley of the Kings for safety reasons.) Thousands of unseen pieces, untouched since their excavation, now form the museum’s most anticipated attraction.

Architecture and Design: Modernity Beside Eternity

The museum’s design was awarded to Heneghan Peng Architects after an international competition involving over 1,500 submissions. The structure’s monumental glass façade opens toward the pyramids, creating a visual dialogue between modern geometry and the timeless desert horizon.
Balancing contemporary design with pharaonic symbolism, the GEM houses over 100,000 artifacts, along with restoration centers, cultural and educational spaces, restaurants, and libraries — a self-contained city of heritage and knowledge.

Funding and Global Partnerships

With total costs exceeding $1 billion, the project was primarily funded by Egypt, with major contributions from Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and technical assistance from European heritage institutions.
This collaboration gave the museum a global dimension without compromising its deeply Egyptian identity.

Stories of a Living Past

The relocation of Ramses II to Giza was a national event broadcast live across Egypt — a symbol of the country’s ability to protect its legacy. Similarly, the Khufu Solar Boat, one of humanity’s oldest wooden artifacts, was carefully dismantled and transferred to the GEM, where it will be reassembled in an immersive exhibition narrating the ancient Egyptian journey to the afterlife.

An Institution for the Future

The museum is not only for tourists and lovers of antiquity. It opens its doors to students and researchers through workshops and training programs in archaeology and conservation.
This transforms the GEM into a living institution — preserving heritage while building bridges toward the future of restoration and museology, not only in Egypt but worldwide.

Notable Figures Behind the Project

• Farouk Hosny – Visionary founder of the museum’s cultural concept
• Dr. Zahi Hawass – Leading archaeologist and key planner of the exhibition layout
• Dr. Khaled El-Anany – Former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, now Director-General of UNESCO (elected October 2025)
• Egyptian restoration teams – The backbone and true heroes of the project
• President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi – The executive and political force behind completion and inauguration

What Does GEM Mean for the Future?

The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum is not the conclusion of a project, but the dawn of a new era in heritage management. It fuses museology with technology, scientific research with cultural economy, and national identity with global dialogue.
Projected to attract over five million visitors annually, the GEM will strengthen Egypt’s status as a global destination for heritage tourism, redefining the country’s soft power and reaffirming its unmatched contribution to human civilization.

“The Grand Egyptian Museum is not a building of stone — it is the memory of a nation extending through time, speaking to the future.”
— Farouk Hosny

References and Sources

• Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities reports (2023–2025)
• Official website of the Grand Egyptian Museum: grandegyptianmuseum.org