Over 30,000 visit newly built NMEC museum in Egypt

CAIRO – 2 August 2017: The National Museum for Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) has witnessed a high turnout of visitors after its inauguration five months ago, amounting to a total of 35,614 visitors, Mahrous Saeed, head of the museum, told Egypt Today on Wednesday.

He also added that the museum has recently received a new collection of artifacts and antiquities that have been transferred from the Egyptian Museum as part of the Zaki Saad antiquities collection.



The construction of the third phase of the project is expected to begin in August; whereas the second phase, being finalized, includes laboratories, administrative departments, a cinema and theater, commercial markets, and seminar halls.
NMEC is a cooperative project between the Egyptian government and UNESCO. The museum was implemented in 2004 and opened its first temporary exhibition hall last February.

UNESCO’s role in the project is to provide consultancy and expertise, and to build the museum’s objectives with multi-disciplinary professionals, archeologists, architects, designers, educators, environmentalists and administrators.



Located in the Fustat area on 33 feddans (34.25 acres), the museum is expected to receive monuments and operate renovation labs and workshops.
The architectural design of the buildings feature aspects of Egyptian civilization, such as the glass pyramid on top of the main building and the Roman-Egyptian theater.

Visitors will be able to enjoy edutainment segments through the 3D cinema and theater, purchase souvenirs from gift shops, and relax in the coffee shops, restaurants and cafeterias on site.



NMEC, expected to be finalized in 2019, also features other amenities, such as 42 retail shops, parking lots that will accommodate 500 cars, and a bus garage accommodating 50 buses.

The museum launched a temporary exhibition hall that started operating last February, showcasing Egyptian artifacts from ancient Egypt and other eras that followed.
The nine exhibition halls will feature galleries showcasing the medieval, archaic, Pharanoic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, Islamic, modern and contemporary periods.