Satellite Images Show Progress on World's Largest Archeological Museum
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), hailed as the world's largest archaeological museum, is in the final stages of preparation ahead of a grand opening this July.
Newsweek has reached out to GEM and the Egyptian Tourism Ministry for comment.
Perched near the iconic pyramids of Giza, the GEM is set to become a new center of global heritage tourism. The museum capitalizes on enduring fascination with ancient Egypt-one of history's most studied civilizations-and marks a major investment in economic tourism for the region, which has been struggling.
Satellite imagery captured by Google Earth has shown construction progress of the GEM, which is poised to become the world's largest museum for a single civilization, according to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Sisi has invited US President Donald Trump and Spain's King Felipe VI to attend the ceremony, the Egyptian presidency said in February.
High-profile figures and celebrities have visited the GEM in a soft opening phase, including Massad Boulos, Trump's advisor for Arab Affairs and the Middle East.
According to Egypt's government, the museum spans 100,000 square meters, with 45,000 for exhibits and the rest housing a library, labs, cinema, shops and restaurants.
Housing 100,000 artifacts from ancient Egyptian civilization-from the Pharaonic, Greek and Roman eras-one of its most important collections will be that of Tutankhamun, including a ceremonial chair and gilded canopic shrine.
Egypt has been actively working to recover ancient artifacts that it said were illegally taken out of the country over past decades, tracking items through international auctions, online sales, and diplomatic channels. Officials say they have repatriated tens of thousands of antiquities since 2011, including from the United States.
Ahmed Ghoneim, CEO of GEM told Al-Qahera News TV channel in February, translated from Arabic: "The Grand Egyptian Museum, as President Sisi said, is Egypt's gift to the world. Its opening may be the world's biggest cultural event in the past decade and in the coming one."
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaking at the Police Academy in December, translated from Arabic: "The Grand Museum is a milestone shift in the world museums not only in Egypt because it is the largest museum for a single civilization, which is the Pharaonic civilization."
UNESCO in 2017 World Heritage review report: "One hundred thousand artefacts will find their new home in the GEM. Fifty thousand of these will be on permanent display, including 30,000 pieces that have never been shown before."
The Grand Egyptian Museum is expected to launch over a few days on July, 3. The museum will be closed to the public from June, 15 and will reopen on July, 6.
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