The Grand Egyptian Museum was partially opened to the public on Wednesday, October 16th.
This news has been long-awaited by people all over the world, and it was a question I was constantly asked whenever I traveled abroad: When will the Grand Egyptian Museum open?
As Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced, this is not a full opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, but merely a partial opening of this grand cultural edifice.
The reason for this is the unfortunate events occurring in our region of the Middle East, namely the brutal war being waged by Israel against our people in Gaza and Lebanon. Egypt cannot hold a global celebration attended by kings and heads of state while the blood of our people in occupied Palestine and Lebanon is being shed mercilessly by an enemy devoid of all humanity.
Therefore, we stand united with our government in this wise decision, and we reaffirm Egypt’s steadfast position in support of the Palestinian people’s right to establish their independent state.
Without a doubt, the grand opening will come soon, God willing, when President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announces the date of the grand cultural celebration.
This will happen when peace prevails in the Middle East. At that time, the treasures of King Tutankhamun will amaze the whole world when they are displayed in their new home.
Two of the largest halls in the museum have been dedicated exclusively to displaying all of the king’s treasures for the first time since their discovery on November 4, 1922. The world will see the artifacts of Tutankhamun displayed in a civilized manner using the latest museum display technologies for the first time.
Even the artifacts from King Tut’s treasures that were previously displayed at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir will be seen by visitors as if they are being displayed for the first time since they were removed from the king’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
My only wish is that the golden mask of King Tutankhamun—the most famous and valuable artifact on Earth—be the last piece of art a visitor sees before leaving the King Tut’s treasures wing of the museum. The reason is that many visitors to the museum are only familiar with one piece from King Tut’s treasures: the golden mask.
Therefore, I fear that if the mask is displayed in the middle of the hall, visitors might leave the museum early due to time constraints.
However, if the mask is the last piece on display, visitors will have to explore all the exhibits to reach the golden mask.
I had hoped for a global press conference to be held on the opening day within the Grand Egyptian Museum, specifically in front of the statue of Ramses II which we moved from Ramses Square to the Grand Museum.
During this conference, we would have announced the reason for the partial opening of the museum, highlighting the significant achievements made in the newly opened halls, and reassuring people around the world about the Grand Egyptian Museum’s readiness for the grand opening when the current circumstances change.
However, I hope that the announcement of the full-scale operation of the Grand Egyptian Museum will be made at least six months before the opening to allow everyone to prepare for attendance, as this museum is the largest cultural project of the 21st century.
I had the pleasure of meeting esteemed American actress, Jodie Turner-Smith, who was visiting Egypt.
She even postponed her departure to be able to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum. I was also delighted to learn that the reason for her visit to Egypt was to film a Hollywood spy movie. Therefore, I would like to commend the Egyptian government for eliminating the difficulties that international filmmakers used to face. Previously, they had to go through seven different government agencies to obtain permits, each demanding various documents and fees! This bureaucratic nightmare drove international filmmakers away from Egypt, leading them to film in Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia, countries that welcome filmmakers and offer free facilities.
Films like ‘The English Patient’ and ‘The Mummy’ were shot there.
A few days ago, I met Mr. Ron Perkel in my office. He owns a film production company that filmed the spy movie in Egypt. I had previously met him when he visited with President Bill Clinton, and we toured the Sphinx together. Ron told me he was very happy with the significant facilities provided by the Egyptian government to international production companies filming in Egypt.
He assured me that this would generate significant income for the Egyptian economy and, at the same time, positively encourage tourism to Egypt.
A film about Saddam Hussein will be shot in Egypt in November. I have written extensively on this subject for many years, pleading for the removal of obstacles and red tape for foreign documentary and cinematic film productions.
Unfortunately, I saw no response; therefore, I thank the current government for its actions and hope it will continue in this direction.
To illustrate the significance of this decision, I will share a pleasant anecdote.
During the summer months, when I was the director of the Pyramids, I used to travel to Los Angeles to teach a course on the pyramids at UCLA.
One year, a renowned Hollywood film producer, Julie Corman, the wife of the famous director Roger Corman, who was known for his horror films and who discovered Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson, visited my office at the university.
Julie told me that she intended to film a movie in Egypt starring Stacey Keach, but she was hesitant to venture into filming in Egypt, especially after meeting the famous director Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg had told her that he went to Egypt to shoot some scenes for the Indiana Jones film, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ (1981) and that before filming, he was surprised to find that the film footage had to be submitted to the security agencies for review.
At the same time, he would have to go through government agencies to obtain approvals, which they might or might not grant, not to mention the difficulty of dealing with the employees.
I told Julie that I would help her, and indeed I did. I introduced her to trustworthy people who assisted her.
Surprisingly, Ms. Julie informed me that there are two crucial roles in the film: the first is the head of the antiquities department, and the second is a taxi driver. The film is titled ‘Legend of the Lost Tomb’ (1997) and is about an evil person chasing a young boy and girl through archaeological sites in search of a tomb filled with treasure. Julie asked me to play the role of the head of the antiquities department, but I told her that I am not an actor and declined the offer completely.
I recommended the late actor Youssef Daoud, who spoke English fluently.
When it came to finding a taxi driver, a young graduate of the film institute, Khaled al-Sawy, who also spoke English fluently, was chosen. The film was shot in Egypt, and I played the same role I have in the real world of archaeology. In the film, the villain chased the boy and girl into an excavation site that I was overseeing, and I chased the villain away.
In the film’s credits, it read ‘Zahi Hawass as himself,’ meaning I played the same role I have in real life. This film is currently available on YouTube.
Let’s get back to the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Some may not know the story behind choosing its location. The credit for selecting this spot primarily goes to my artist friend Farouk Hosny, who decided that the museum should be situated near the pyramids. The architect who designed the museum initially did not want to connect it to any other buildings, while Hosny envisioned a world-class museum for a country with such a rich history and civilization, unlike any other in the world.
The location was chosen, and as usual, some tried to criticize the decision. However, the site was the most suitable for building a world-class museum.
To ensure innovation and a connection between the pyramid and the museum, we held an international architectural competition and received over two thousand submissions.
Hosny formed an international committee to select the best submitted project, and eventually, a Chinese engineer living in Dublin, Ireland, was chosen. We started by building world-class restoration labs and storage facilities. The credit for building these storage facilities goes to King Tutankhamun, as we sent an exhibition of his artifacts abroad and earned approximately $120 million from it.
We purchased state-of-the-art equipment for the storage facilities and restoration labs. After that, we obtained a loan of approximately $400 million from Japan and selected the companies that would undertake the construction.
The museum was originally scheduled to open in 2015, but the events of 2011 halted all work on the museum, and the funds allocated for construction were diverted to hiring unnecessary employees in the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
However, when President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi assumed office, he showed a special interest in the museum, and the government allocated approximately one billion dollars for its completion.
This was a message from the Egyptian government to the world that despite the economic crisis, the government and the president of Egypt were committed to this museum, declaring to the world that Egypt preserves its artifacts and heritage – one which belong to the entire world.
