It's beyond imagination

It's beyond imagination.

The dream finally came true, and the world watched the inauguration of the largest museum for Egyptian civilization in history.

The opening scene was civilized in every sense of the word; honorable, majestic, and befitting Egypt and its civilization that dazzles the world and puzzles scholars.

On Saturday evening, the eyes of the world were on Cairo. From the heart of Giza, next to the Pyramids, the doors of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) were opened in an unprecedented celebration.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi attended, alongside dozens of leaders and presidents from various continents, including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish King Felipe VI, a number of representatives from UNESCO, prime ministers, and ministers of culture and tourism from Arab, European, African, and Asian countries.

All state agencies had been working for months as one team to make the moment appear in its most splendid form. Most international and Arab channels were broadcasting live. The opening was a launchpad for a new phase, titled Culture and Development.

Since assuming responsibility, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has followed up the project step by step, considering it a window through which Egypt looks out onto the world. He directed that the museum should be a state project, not just a ministry project, and that the opening should be an event worthy of Egypt's history and status. He said in one of his meetings that the goal is not only to display artifacts but to reconnect the present with the past.

I was impressed by the joy of the Egyptians in their project. I was impressed by their gatherings around the museum before the celebration to declare their joy and love for their homeland. Social media platforms turned into Pharaonic paintings, bearing the photos of their owners as kings and pharaohs, in overwhelming delight, celebration, and joy.

During the celebration, the attending leaders expressed their admiration for what Egypt had accomplished.

The German President said, "The Grand Egyptian Museum does not only represent Egypt's past, but its cultural future in the world." French President Emmanuel Macron praised "the edifice that reminds the world that civilization does not die as long as there are those who protect it." Spanish King Felipe VI affirmed that "what Egypt has done today proves that civilization is not measured only by its age, but by its ability to renew and give."

Amidst this majestic opening, the name of artist Farouk Hosny remains present. He is the one who once said: "We will have the largest museum for Egyptian monuments in the world."

I followed up closely with Minister Farouk Hosny throughout these years the phases of the museum's establishment, and I know how much this dream meant to him, how great this dream was, and how he worked on it with all passion and love. A few days ago, when I spoke with him, he was very happy because his dream had turned into a reality. The dream of an artist who simply said:"I imagined the Grand Egyptian Museum... but the reality was greater than the imagination."