Remember the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ initiative, Experience Egypt from Home, where it publishes VR and guided video tours around the country every day? Well, after a few VR tours at the country’s iconic sites and hidden gems, and after a series of videos at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, it was the Grand Egyptian Museum’s (GEM) turn.
Last night, the first of the guided videos from GEM, which was scheduled to open its doors for the public later this year, was published. Therefore, this video, made in cooperation with the Ministry of State for Information, is considered one of the very first looks at the inside of the new museum.
Dr El Tayeb Abbas, the GEM’s Archaeological Director, revealed that the most valuable collection that will be on display are the treasures of the young King Tutankhamun. The short video took us to the museum’s conservation centre, where we could see a glimpse of the king’s treasures, including beds and chariots. And according to Dr Abbas, King Tut’s outermost coffin will be on display and out of his tomb for the very first time.
The GEM will be the largest museum in the world, housing ancient Egyptian treasures. Along with the state-of-the-art conservation labs and the exhibition halls, the museum will also include educational facilities, a children’s museum, a conference centre, restaurants, cafés, souvenir shops, and large gardens for visitors to enjoy.
Kingship will be the GEM’s theme, where the entrance areas will focus on that, shedding light on the Tutankhamun galleries which will boast more than 5,000 objects from his royal tomb. It’s noteworthy that many of these were never displayed for the public before. As for the rest of the main galleries, they’ll contain artefacts from the Prehistoric to the Roman periods.