When the Grand Egyptian Museum opened its doors in November, the world saw a dazzling display of ancient relics: the complete Tutankhamun collection reunited under one roof for the first time, an 83-ton statue of Ramses II, and a $1.2 billion building advertised as the largest archaeological museum on earth.
Just a few weeks later, the excitement of the opening night was overshadowed by a series of problems. These issues had been simmering for the past 12 years of construction, and several delays occurred before the museum even opened.
The chaos began almost immediately once the mega-museum was officially opened to the public.
On one of the first weekends, officials sold more than 27,000 tickets in a single day despite a posted daily capacity of 20,000, per ArtNews. Visitors waited in hours-long lines in the desert heat, and many who held prepaid tickets were turned away.
Viral footage of frustrated crowds prompted an abrupt policy reversal: as of today, all tickets must be pre-booked online with assigned entry times, and walk-up sales have been cut off.
Access to the museum is still an obstacle, especially for local Egyptians. The museum currently enforces a 60–40 percent ticket quota favoring foreign tourists, a rule that has drawn sharp criticism from locals.
Parliament member Freddy Elbaiady criticized the policy on in Facebook post, writing, “I have no problem at all that a foreign tourist pays for a more expensive ticket, and with hard currency, which is normal and exists in most countries of the world…But all the world is not a single country that says to its citizen: ‘Sorry… There is no place for Egyptians, we have finished your share!’ While the foreigner books and walks in as usual! There is no country that respects its citizens by doing this.”
The November opening ceremony itself became a showcase of cultural errors. Despite the presence of global dignitaries and famous foreign musicians, no major Egyptian musical acts were listed to perform.
Errors have been present in Egypt’s mega-museum plans since the early days of design and construction.
Repeated delays have plagued the museum’s two-decade journey – from the 2011 revolution in Egypt, to the COVID-19 era, to reliance on Japanese loans and military-affiliated contractors.
The museum’s construction was reportedly financed in part by two major loans from the “Japan International Cooperation Agency,” given in 2008 and 2016, amounting to roughly $800 million total, according to The Art Newspaper.
Meanwhile, the historic Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, once the centerpiece of Egyptology for millions, has allegedly been largely emptied of its masterpieces. Some tour operators now skip the older museum entirely, leaving its future in doubt.
“Most tourists are in Cairo for two to three days at the most. They will do the Gem, the Museum of Civilisations, and maybe the castle of Saladin. The museum in Tahrir has been dropped by most tour operators,” Ahmed Mustafa, a tour guide with more than 30 years of experience, told The National News.
Museum officials describe the early problems as merely teething issues for a project of this scale. In mid-November, Dr. Ahmed Ghoneim, CEO of the Grand Egyptian Museum, said the museum was receiving an average of 19,000 visitors per day since the soft opening, per EgyptToday.
