Long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum opens 12 galleries to the public

The much-anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum, housing the world’s largest collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts, has finally partially opened to visitors.

A series of galleries have been opened to the public over a decade after construction on the mega-museum got underway.

Situated near the famous Giza pyramids, it was initially due to open in 2012, but the launch has been pushed back repeatedly for various reasons including costs.

The opening of the main galleries is a trial run, following last year's launch of the main hall and stairway of Pharoanic statues.

"These main galleries are over 18,800 square metres divided into 12 halls covering topics related to society, religion, and the beliefs of ancient Egyptians, in addition to royalism," said Al-Tayeb Abbas, assistant to the Minister of Antiquities.

The trial, ahead of the yet-to-be-announced grand inauguration, will help the museum identify potential operational snags, such as overcrowding in certain areas.

It is expected to showcase more than a 100,000 artefacts, including treasures from the tomb of the boy-king Tutankhamun, which has not be open to the public yet.

For the moment, some 4,000 people a day will be able to visit the open-style halls that have been classified according to dynasty and historical order.

Eissa Zidan, Director-General of the Preliminary Restoration and Antiquities Transfer at the Grand Egyptian Museum said it hosts “distinct and unique things” that cannot be seen anywhere else.

“These include the design of the hanging obelisk, the Grand Staircase, the large displays of a huge number of heavy artefacts, the museum of Khufu boats, the treasures of the Golden Pharoah Tutankhamun," he said

The project to build what is believed to be the world’s largest archaeological museum, has cost well over $1 billion so far.

Its halls are equipped with advanced technology and feature multimedia presentations to bring the lives of ancient Egyptians to life.

With stunning views over the Giza pyramids, the museum is expected to attracted people from all over the world.

Costa Rican tourist, Jorge Licano, was one of the first to visit the newly opened galleries and said it had been “amazing“.

“There is a lot of history and a lot of things we are not aware of, especially coming from the other side of the world, and seeing everything here and learning from the locals has been great,” he said.