Celebrating 115th anniversary of the Egyptian museum

CAIRO – 28 November 2017: The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square will celebrate on Tuesday, November 28 the museum’s 115th anniversary at 6:30 p.m.

The celebration ceremony, which will take place in the museum, will be attended by Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani alongside a group of foreign ambassadors.

Up to 60 golden pieces of King Tutankhamun's chariot were put on display for the first time at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo as part of the 115th anniversary’s celebration of its opening on Wednesday, November 15.

The celebrations, planned to continue until December 31, are organized by the Antiquities Ministry in cooperation with the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo.

Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani said on Sunday that Acting Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly will follow up on the Grand Museum project, indicating that 70 percent of it is complete.

Forty-two thousand artifacts out of 100,000 were moved to the Grand Museum which plans to hire international companies for service management, Anani stated during a press conference in the cabinet.

The first phase of the museum is expected to be open by the end of 2018, and will display the treasures of King Tutankhamun for the first time in history since their excavation in 1922, according to Tariq Tawfik, the general supervisor of the museum.

The excavated treasure amounts to over 5,000 artifacts which are currently being transferred to laboratories located in the museum’s restoration center with the plan to feature them in a separate building on the complex once restored.

The Grand Egyptian Museum is expected to hold the largest collection of artifacts from Egyptian history; this will include treasures from the Greco-Roman era and many other periods.

This project comes in tandem with the Tourism Authority’s efforts to prepare an agenda of events varying from artistic to sportive throughout the year, emphasizing the importance of cultural tourism and engaging with Egypt’s cultural heritage.