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The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) finally fully opened on 1 November 2025. As I reported in AE 138 and 148, the museum opened in stages. It now comprises the Hanging Obelisk outside, the Grand Hall (atrium), the Grand Staircase, twelve Main Galleries with four additional ‘cave’ galleries, Khufu’s Boats Museum, and the Tutankhamun Galleries showcasing all the objects found in his tomb. All are now open.
The GEM is huge – it claims to be the world’s largest museum dedicated to a particular civilisation. Tour groups are herded through on a whistle-stop tour lasting two hours, but that can only scratch the surface. I spent three full days in the GEM on my latest visit, and I look forward to returning in the future.
Visiting the GEM
Currently, you must buy your entry ticket online before you arrive – it is not possible to buy a ticket on site. The GEM is located close to the Pyramids of Giza – a mini-road has been built between the museum and the Giza Plateau. In future it will be possible to travel between the two on electric buggies.
I am delighted to report that photography is now allowed using cameras or phones in all the galleries, subject to no flash, tripods, or selfie-sticks. Previously cameras had been banned outright, or were banned in certain galleries, but now they are welcome everywhere.
I have described the Hanging Obelisk, the Grand Hall, and the Grand Staircase in previous articles. I also described how only 11 of the 12 Main Galleries had been open, so I started my latest visit in the newly opened Gallery 3.
Gallery 3 and the four ‘cave’ galleries
Gallery 3 investigates the cults of gods and goddesses from the Prehistoric Period to the First Intermediate Period, and how funerary rituals developed to protect the dead in the afterlife. I was impressed by a clay sculpture of a standing lioness goddess, with two small standing humans at her feet. The statue bears the name of Khufu on its back – the child figure on the goddess’s right is Khufu, while Pepy I later added his figure on her left. This object comes from Saqqara, from the Chapel of Prince Khaemwaset (fourth son of Ramesses II) built at North Saqqara, which was excavated in the early 2000s.
Gallery 3 also contains some striking examples of reserve heads. These limestone heads with individual facial features were found in Old Kingdom non-royal tombs, particularly at Giza, and might have served as magical replacement heads if the deceased person somehow lost their actual head after death. Most reserve heads are damaged, usually in the nose or ears. There is some debate over whether this damage was deliberate, occurring before the heads were placed in the tomb, or whether it was caused by tomb robbers. The high quality of the carving suggests that they were produced in the royal workshops.
In addition to the Main Galleries, there are four basement galleries that are now open. Access to these small galleries, each dedicated to a particular topic, is via a separate set of stairs from one of the Main Galleries. The GEM calls these small galleries ‘caves’. The four topics covered are Priestesses of Goddess Hathor, the Valley of the Kings, Deir el-Medina, and Underwater Cities. In the Valley of the Kings cave, there are several objects from KV57, the Tomb of Horemheb, including a fine wooden model of a panther, and the decorated lining blocks from the burial chamber of Hatshepsut’s tomb (KV20).
Khufu’s Boats Museum
Khufu’s Boats Museum is housed in a separate building. Two disassembled wooden boats were found in pits on the south side of Khufu’s Pyramid in 1954. One was in good condition, and the reassembled boat was initially displayed in a museum next to the pyramid. In 2021, it was moved to the new climate-controlled building beside the GEM. The boat in the second pit had suffered water damage and was originally left in its pit. But, in 2009, a project began to remove the damaged pieces of wood and restore them.
The pits beside Khufu’s Pyramid were originally sealed by a set of limestone blocking stones. Some of these are particularly interesting, in that their undersides have inscriptions naming Djedefra, the son of Khufu, proving that it was he who succeeded Khufu and finalised his burial arrangements.
The first boat, measuring 43 metres (141 ft) in length, is the world’s oldest intact ship. It is beautifully displayed in the new Boats Museum, with walkways on different levels that allow different viewpoints. Beside it, a steel skeleton has been assembled, into which it is planned that the second boat will be reconstructed in future years.
The Tutankhamun Galleries
The crowning glory of the GEM is the full collection of more than 5,000 objects from KV62, the Tomb of Tutankhamun, now displayed together again for the first time since the tomb was discovered in 1922. The galleries are arranged in sections dealing with different themes: the search for and discovery of the tomb; the personal possessions placed in the tomb that the boy-king could use in the afterlife; the concepts of rebirth and the afterlife; the royal funerary equipment (including the golden mask); and a section on Tutankhamun’s identity and possible family tree. Everything is beautifully displayed.
The recommended visitor path is unclear, with no signage, so I decided to follow a U-shaped route, starting at the reception area, then on to the discovery, and finishing with the identity section. But other paths might be equally valid.
One of the highlights for me is the rectangular storage box, which is made of wood, and decorated with bands of ivory listing the names and titles of Tutankhamun and his wife Ankhesenamun, written in black. The wooden panels are gilded with symbols reading neb ankh was, granting ‘all life and dominion’ to the royal couple. The museum label for this box suggests that it was originally intended to hold gold, silver, or perhaps glass vessels.
The unguent vessel in the form of a standing lion is one of my favourite pieces. He rests his left paw on the hieroglyph symbol sa for protection, and raises his right paw as if to strike. His red-stained tongue lolls from his mouth; his nose is painted blue, his eyes gilded, and his ears are pierced for earrings (although these are lost). The body is hollow, acting as a storage jar for some perfume or unguent. His floral crown acts as a stopper. Howard Carter reported that the body still contained ‘a dried blackened fatty substance’ when the object was inspected.
The delightful bird with eggs evokes the idea of rebirth. It consists of a flat jar-lid with a bowl on top that represents a nest. Sitting in the nest is a bird and four eggs. The lid, bowl, and eggs are of ‘Egyptian alabaster’ (calcite), while the bird is made of wood. In the words of the Great Hymn to the Aten (translated by Lichtheim): ‘When the chick in the egg speaks in the shell, you give him breath within to sustain him’. This object is an echo of the naturalistic style of the Amarna Period.
The boat in a basin is an extraordinary object, believed by Carter to be some sort of centrepiece, perhaps to decorate a dining table during a banquet. The rectangular basin below the boat could be filled with liquid so that the boat appears to be floating. The prow and stern of the boat are shaped into ibex heads with ear piercings, and adorned with real horns. Two naked females are on board: a servant-girl sitting at the front, holding a lotus flower in her left hand; and, at the back, a dwarf who would originally have held a pole to steer the boat and check the depth of the water. The nakedness, the lotus, and the figure of the dwarf are all symbols to promote the king’s rebirth.
Six complete but dismantled chariots were found in the tomb. They have been painstakingly reassembled from their component parts. One is a ceremonial chariot (identified by Carter as a ‘state chariot’), intended for public parade. The entire surface is covered with gold, and decorated in a running-spiral motif. Other chariots in the tomb had a military purpose, or were intended for hunting. The chariot was introduced into Egypt by the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period, but the Egyptians developed it into a rapid lightweight vehicle which contributed to the military success and empire-building of the Eighteenth Dynasty.
The folding stool with a back is sometimes called the ‘Ecclesiastical Throne’, since in some minds it recalls the European bishops’ thrones of the Middle Ages. It is made of ebony, covered partly in gold foil, and inlaid with faience and coloured stones. The steeply curved seat looks uncomfortable, but would have held a pile of cushions to be practical. The vulture goddess Nekhbet spreads her wings protectively on the back panel, which includes the king’s original name – Tutankhaten – suggesting this chair probably dates to the beginning of the reign. There is a matching footrest, the top surface of which is decorated with nine bound captives, so that Tutankhamun could rest his feet on the traditional enemies of Egypt.
The winged scarab pendant combines elements of lunar and solar imagery to promote the deceased’s resurrection. The central scarab, representing the sun at dawn (that is, at the moment of the sun’s rebirth), is made of meteoric silica glass from the Western Desert. The scarab’s forelegs lift up a sky-boat containing an Eye of Horus, above which are a lunar crescent of gold, and a lunar disc of silver. Three figures of gold are attached to the face of the disc: from left to right, the moon-god Thoth, the king, and the sun-god Ra-Horakhty. Perhaps these represent a cryptographic writing of the king’s throne-name Nebkheperura. (For more on this pectoral, see AE 111.)
Tutankhamun’s canopic chest was carved from a single block of Egyptian alabaster. When the lid of the chest was lifted, it revealed four human-headed stoppers of the same material, each beautifully portraying the king wearing the nemes headcloth. I was pleased to see all four stoppers in their right place in the chest. In the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, only three stoppers had been displayed, with the fourth made available for temporary exhibitions – most recently in the Hurghada Museum. Now the ensemble is once again complete.
For many people, the golden funerary mask is the highlight of the GEM. Constructed of 10 kg (22 lbs) of solid gold, with a striped nemes headcloth inlaid with blue glass to imitate lapis lazuli, the mask portrays Tutankhamun as an idealised Osiris. The eyes are made of quartz and obsidian, outlined with lapis lazuli to represent the kohl make-up worn by both men and women. Covering the chest is a broad collar, with falcon-headed terminals and 12 rows of coloured beads.
The presentation of the mask is excellent: you may join a queue to stand for a moment in front of the mask to take your selfie, or you may stand outside the roped area and take photos as you wish. Museum staff are constantly monitoring the situation, so that everyone is allowed fair access.
The final object that I present here is a wooden image of a head on a lotus flower. In one version of the Egyptian creation story, the sun god Ra arose from the primeval waters at the moment of creation on a lotus blossom. This head of Tutankhamun as a child evokes his rebirth in the afterlife, representing him as Ra (or possibly as the god of the lotus flower Nefertum).
Concluding thoughts
When I visited the GEM in early 2026, visitor numbers were high, averaging 15,000 per day. Entrance tickets must be booked online, specifying a time slot, which should enable the authorities to prevent over-crowding, since ticket sales for a particular slot can be withdrawn once maximum capacity has been sold. But you should be prepared for crowds, particularly if you visit at the weekend, and especially in the Tutankhamun Galleries.
Despite the crowds, I very much enjoyed my visit. If you go with a guide, they will lead you to see the most important highlights. Visiting on your own, as I did, is more difficult – the GEM is so large that you need several hours or even days to see everything, especially given the limited signage to help direct visitors. The GEM is now one of the great museums of the world and I unreservedly urge anyone going to Cairo to pay it a visit to enjoy its magnificent collection.
Geoffrey Lenox-Smith holds the Certificate in Egyptology from Birkbeck, University of London, and is one of our regular ‘Out and about’ contributors.
All images: © Geoffrey Lenox-Smith
