Grand Egyptian Museum opens, 50,000 artifacts are on display

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi on Saturday opened the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), a long-awaited, billion-dollar showcase for pharaonic treasures, saying that its inauguration opened "a new chapter in history.

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"Today, as we celebrate together the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, we are writing a new chapter in the history of the present and the future, in the cause of this ancient homeland," Sisi told a gathering of princes, queens, heads of state and other dignitaries at a ceremony in the museum's square.

Two decades in the making, the museum located near the Giza Pyramids and Sphinx showcases over 50,000 artifacts detailing life in ancient Egypt. It will display the entire collection of treasures from the tomb of the famed King Tutankhamun for the first time since its discovery in 1922.

World leaders, including monarchs, heads of states and governments, attended the grand opening ceremony in the Egyptian capital, according to the president's office, which touted the museum as "an exceptional event in the history of human culture and civilisation."

President Abdel-Fattah Al Sisi wrote on social media that the museum will bring "together the genius of ancient Egyptians and the creativity of modern Egyptians, enhancing the world culture and art with a new landmark that will attract all those who cherish civilisation and knowledge."

"This is the dream that all of us imagined. We all dreamed that this project would be realised," Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told a press conference in Cairo on Saturday.

The museum, known as GEM, is one of several megaprojects championed by Sisi since he took office in 2014.