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A group of people observing ancient Egyptian statues displayed in a museum exhibit, with the statues positioned behind a glass case.
Arts, Culture & Media

Two decades in the making, the Grand Egyptian Museum building is as intriguing as its artifacts

The Grand Egyptian Museum is the largest museum in the world for a single civilization, and holds a total of around 100,000 artifacts. It finally opened to the public this month.

The World

Visitors look at statues at the Grand Egyptian Museum which opened to the public in November to great fanfare.

Courtesy of Youssef Alaa El-Din

In a country known for the world’s oldest wonders, a new one now rises from the desert sands of Egypt. More than 20 years in the making, the Grand Egyptian Museum opened this month to great fanfare.

It marks a new chapter in how nations tell their own stories. With an immersive design and a view of the Giza pyramids, officials call it a modern monument to the art of preserving the past.

Click the player above to hear the report by Nadine Tag from Cairo.

Below is a gallery of photos from the new museum.

A large indoor area with a towering ancient Egyptian statue surrounded by a crowd of people. The statue depicts a standing figure with traditional headdress and attire. The area features a high ceiling with patterns on the walls, and the lighting casts reflections across the space.
Egypt took the first steps in 1992 toward realizing its dream when an area of 117 acres was allocated near the Giza pyramids to become the home of one of the largest museums in the world.Courtesy of Youssef Alaa El-Din
A close-up of an ancient Egyptian statue depicting a pharaoh with a false beard and a headdress, set against a blurred indoor background with soft lighting.
Statues are among the most distinctive phenomena of ancient Egypt.Courtesy of Youssef Alaa El-Din
A wooden ship display in a modern museum interior, featuring curved ceilings and glass walls.
The museum serves as a bridge between the past and present, blending ancient civilization with cutting-edge technology.Courtesy of Youssef Alaa El-Din
A golden sarcophagus with intricate detailing and blue ceramic inlays, depicting an ancient Egyptian figure with crossed arms and a ceremonial beard.
The museum has galleries displaying the discoveries of the tomb of King Tutankhamun.Courtesy of Youssef Alaa El-Din
A grand indoor setting with a large, illuminated stone archway supported by two ornate columns, surrounded by people on steps in a modern architectural space.
The Grand Egyptian Museum has collections dating from the Prehistoric until the Roman Period.Courtesy of Youssef Alaa El-Din
View of two pyramids framed between two modern buildings, with planters filled with greenery in the foreground.
A view of the Pyramids of Giza from the Grand Egyptian Museum.Courtesy of Youssef Alaa El-Din
An ancient Egyptian stone artifact featuring hieroglyphics, with a pyramid-like shape in the background and intricate carvings on a vertical surface in the foreground, displayed in a dimly lit museum setting.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is the largest museum in the world for a single civilization.Courtesy of Youssef Alaa El-Din
A display case in a museum showcasing a collection of ancient pottery and vases, featuring intricate designs and varying shapes and sizes, with soft lighting highlighting their details.
Various galleries depict different aspects of ancient Egyptian civilization.Courtesy of Youssef Alaa El-Din
A museum display featuring a group of ancient Egyptian wooden soldier figurines, each holding spears and shields, arranged in rows inside a glass case. Reflections of visitors and overhead lights are visible on the glass surface.
The museum includes 258,000 square feet of permanent exhibition space, a children’s museum and conference and educational facilities.Courtesy of Youssef Alaa El-Din

This story was published in collaboration with Egab.

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