Giant new museum showcases Tut’s treasures of ancient Egypt
Egypt’s new $1 billion Grand Egyptian Museum has opened its doors to the public, giving King Tutankhamun’s treasures their most spectacular home yet, which has to be seen to be believed
READING LEVEL: GREEN
King Tut’s treasures have a new home. The gold sarcophagus* of the famous child pharaoh, who became an Egyptian king when he was just nine, is officially accepting visitors at its appropriately jaw-dropping new permanent residence: Egypt’s long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum. Open a week, the billion-dollar, truly staggering showcase of ancient grandeur* already looks set to revive tourism and boost the capital Cairo’s struggling economy.
“Today, as we celebrate together the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, we are writing a new chapter in the history of the present and the future,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told a gathering of dignitaries* in the museum’s square for the official celebration on November 1 ahead of the public opening on November 4.
With a mighty footprint of half a million square metres, the museum houses around 100,000 artefacts* — half of them on display — dating back more than six millennia*.
Guests at the exclusive opening watched a display of lights and music, with the pyramids towering before them.
Dozens of performers in elaborate costumes played traditional tunes as a laser show depicting pharaohs and fireworks lit up the night sky above the museum.
“It is a living testimony to the genius of the Egyptian human,” Sisi said of the new museum.
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“This is the dream that all of us imagined. We all (dreamt) that this project would be realised,” Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told the press on November 1.
Set on a gentle slope overlooking the Giza Plateau, just beyond the shadow of the pyramids, the museum was built with major support from Japan.
More than 20 years in the making, the GEM faced delays and setbacks including political unrest, regional conflicts and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The museum is the world’s largest collection devoted to a single civilisation, according to Egyptian officials.
Inside, visitors enter vast, light-filled halls with soaring ceilings and sand-coloured stone walls that evoke the surrounding desert.
At the centre of the main atrium looms an 83-tonne statue of Ramses II, the pharaoh who ruled Egypt for 66 years and presided over its golden age.
The Daily Telegraph’s editor-at-large Matthew Benns and the paper’s cartoonist Warren Brown visited the GEM during their 18,000km drive from London to Melbourne in a 100-year-old Bean classic roadster.
“Visiting the GEM was certainly a highlight of the trip,” Benns said. “After visiting the pyramids at Giza, going into the GEM really gives you a sense of what it must have been like thousands of years before. You can look out and see the actual pyramids from inside the museum.
“The Grand Staircase with its ancient statues – brilliantly spaced and lit on the stairs – immediately shows the sheer size and scale of the museum. It is massive!”
“One of the highlights for us was King Tutankhamun’s display of artefacts in halls designed to resemble the original tomb where his mummy remains in the Valley of the Kings. It is extraordinary to think he died more than 3000 years ago.”
The GEM also features immersive galleries, precision lighting, virtual-reality exhibits and a children’s museum.
The live conservation lab is a highlight. Visible through floor-to-ceiling glass, visitors can watch restorers assembling a 4500-year-old solar boat buried near Khufu’s pyramid, built to carry his soul across the sky with the sun god Ra. Khufu was the second king of the 4th dynasty (circa 2543–2436 BCE).
The undisputed star of the show, however, is King Tutankhamun’s collection of more than 5,000 objects, many displayed together for the first time.
CAIRO CALLING
The museum finally opened to the public last week, showcasing thousands of funerary* artefacts previously scattered across Egypt.
Egypt’s tourism sector, a vital source of foreign currency and jobs, has been repeatedly rocked over the past 15 years, from the 2011 uprising to waves of unrest.
But tourism has shown recent signs of recovery, with 15 million visitors travelling to Egypt in the first nine months of 2025 and generating $12.5 billion, up 21 per cent from last year.
Egyptian tourism minister Sherif Fathy predicted that tourist arrivals would reach 18 million by the end of this year.
He told reporters at the opening that the government expects the museum to draw five million visitors annually, adding that it already welcomes 5,000 to 6,000 visitors each day.
“We hope to increase that to 15,000 daily,” Mr Fathy said.
The celebrity sarcophagus of King Tut, the sheer scale of the new museum and the astonishing sight of its priceless collection will surely prove an irresistible Aladdin’s cave of wonders for ancient history buffs worldwide. These collected treasures are an astounding testament to the sophistication and opulence of Egypt’s ancient, long-buried past.
The museum also stands as a lasting legacy to decades of challenging work by archaeologists*, conservators*, historians, scientists, curators*, technicians and others who have rescued, repaired and preserved these rare jewels of history and given these artefacts the breath of new life. Long live the boy king!
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GLOSSARY
- sarcophagus: decorated, ornate coffin used in ancient times
- pharaoh: king or queen of ancient Egypt
- grandeur: the quality of greatness, in beauty, size, character, importance and so on
- dignitaries: important officials, people who hold a position of authority and respect in society
- artefacts: objects made by people, such as tools and decorations, especially those of historical interest
- millennia: a period of 1000 years
- showcasing: presenting, displaying, highlighting
- funerary: used at or relating to funerals
- archaeologists: specialists in the study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artefacts and other physical remains
- conservators: specialists whose job is to keep works of art, important buildings, or valuable cultural objects in good condition
- curators: professionals at museums, galleries and other places where objects of art, science, or from the past are collected and displayed
EXTRA READING
Push to get roadster to pyramids
Tech unwraps mummified mystery
King Tut’s dad built ancient town
Was Tut a ‘hand-me-down’ king?
QUICK QUIZ
- How many objects are in the Tutankhamen collection?
- Who was Ramses II?
- How much does his statue in the atrium weight?
- What can visitors watch restorers assembling?
- How many visitors travelled to Egypt in the first nine months of 2025?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Tourism magnet
How will this new and exciting Grand Egyptian Museum “revive tourism and boost the capital Cairo’s struggling economy?” Talk to a partner and list your top five reasons below:
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Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, History, Geography, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
What features does the Grand Egyptian Museum possess that will make visitors from all around the world visit this major attraction? Write what interests you the most:
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Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, History, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.
Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.
Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?
Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.