Since 1902, the first port of call for those wishing to view Egypt’s ancient treasures has been the Egyptian Museum in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Inaugurated almost 120 years ago, however, the museum has become something of a relic itself. It was built to accommodate 35,000 artefacts and 500 daily visitors; today, with more than 140,000 objects (most of them languishing in storage) and up to 7,000 visitors each day, overcrowding is an obvious issue.
In 2002, a solution was presented when the Egyptian Ministry of Culture announced its intention to construct a replacement – an ultra-modern masterpiece of a building to be named the Grand Egyptian Museum. Now nearing completion and scheduled to open by mid-2021, it is set to be the largest archaeological museum complex in the world; and in the words of its director general, Tarek Tawfik, “the museum of the 21st century”.
No comments:
Post a Comment