9 Reasons Egypt’s $1 Billion Grand Egyptian Museum Is One of the World’s Most Spectacular

1. A museum worth the wait

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Anticipation has been building since the early 1990s, when the original plans were laid. Those plans for the Grand Egyptian Museum weathered revolutions, funding shortfalls, and a pandemic. Now people get to see what the wait was for. The $1 billion complex puts the story of Ancient Egypt from prehistory through the Greco-Roman era under one roof in a way that’s never been done for one civilization. It’s a project with the perfect setting: Set just two kilometres from the Great Pyramid that is perhaps the defacto symbol of Ancient Egypt, the museum offers an unprecedented, chronological journey through 5,000 years of history.

2. The “fourth pyramid” of Giza

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The museum’s chamfered-triangle design subtly mirrors the geometry of its famous neighbors. Dublin-based architects Heneghan Peng aligned the museum’s north and south walls with the Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Menkaure. From inside, floor-to-ceiling windows perfectly frame the Pyramids beyond.

3. Built into the desert — and built green

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The architects leaned on the elevation difference between the Nile Valley and the desert plateau to keep the building from extending above the plateau to continue to give the Giza pyramids their spotlight along the horizon line. Sun-filtered light, translucent stone cladding, solar panels and water-harvesting systems all contribute to this building’s status as the first green-certified museum in Africa and the Middle East.

4. The Grand Staircase: a journey through time

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The museum’s dramatic six-story Grand Staircase is a narrative built into the architecture. Sixty colossal artifacts line the ascent, each terrace marking a different era of Egypt’s history. The oldest artifacts are at the bottom, and progress chronologically as you go. At the top, you emerge onto a viewing platform with sweeping views of the Pyramids.

5. King Ramses II greets you at the door

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Before you have a chance to see any of the wonders inside, you’re met by a 35-foot-tall statue of Ramses II, weighing some 83 tons. Transported from its former home in central Cairo in 2006, where it rested since 1954, the statue now stands in the museum’s atrium, surrounded by reflecting pools and illuminated by filtered daylight.

6. Tutankhamun, in one place at last

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For the first time since 1922 when the tomb was found in the Valley of the Kings, the treasures of Tutankhamun are displayed together in one space designed to evoke the boy king’s burial chamber. The dedicated gallery houses over 5,000 objects created some 3,400 years ago: the famed gold death mask, gilded throne, chariots, jewelry, even his sandals and toys in about 80,000 square feet of museum space.

7. Khufu’s boat and a queen’s throne

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One of the world’s oldest intact water vessels — a 4,500-year-old cedar boat made for the pharaoh Khufu, responsible for the Great Pyramid of Giza — gets prime space. Experts say it could still float today. Nearby, the collection includes a gilded bed canopy and throne of Queen Hetepheres I, offering rare insight into Egypt’s earliest queens.

8. Twelve galleries, one civilization

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The GEM’s 12 major galleries are laid out chronologically and thematically, tracing daily life, belief systems, rule and ritual. Among the artefacts: a 4,000-year-old board game, cosmetics jars, mummies (including a crocodile), and royal jewelry. Together they paint a full picture of everyday life alongside dynastic glory.

9. A living museum where history is preserved for the future

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Beyond the galleries lies one of the world’s largest conservation centers where 17 specialist labs connected by an underground tunnel handle the restoration for everything from Tutankhamun’s coffins to ancient textiles. On the grounds, you’ll find a children’s museum, sculpture gardens, cafés and an auditorium.