A stunning new museum has opened Egypt's capital city, Cairo. The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) held an inauguration ceremony Saturday attended a host of dignitaries including kings and heads state. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said GEM "is set to become an international cultural and scientific hub, contributing to enhancing tourism promotion Egypt". Authorities hailed the museum, which cost more than $1.2 billion to build, as "Egypt's gift to the world". A local tour guide hopes it will "usher a new golden age of Egyptology". The location GEM is also likely to attract visitors as it is situated Giza and offers panoramic vistas the Sphinx and the Pyramids.
The museum has been billed as the world's largest archaeological site dedicated to an ancient civilisation. It houses 50,000 exhibits that have been relocated the Egyptian Museum central Cairo and sites Egypt. Dominating the entrance is a towering 3,200-year-old, 11-metre-tall granite statue Ramesses the Great, one of Egypt's most celebrated pharaohs. GEM also houses the entire Tutankhamun collection one place for the first time since 1922, when it was unearthed in the southern city Luxor. Officials hope GEM will encourage the return Egyptian antiquities held other countries, especially the Rosetta Stone, which is currently display at the British Museum.
