Tourism Minister Inspects GEM

Ali Abu Dashish -Ahmed Emam

Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, visited the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) to review the latest updates on the progress of the work.

During the tour, he first inspected the area of the hanging obelisk of King Ramses II. He received a detailed explanation from Atef Moftah, General Director of GEM, about the obelisk, its history of transfer, and the decision to place it at the beginning of the museum's visitor path, allowing visitors to see the king's cartouche for the first time.

Following this, the Minister inspected the lobby, commercial area, and official gift house of the museum, emphasizing the importance of enriching the tourism experience for Egyptian and foreign visitors.

The Minister also ensured that the museum's visitor path is equipped with necessary services to accommodate people with special needs. Additionally, he inspected the museum's central control and monitoring room, consisting of 11 sub-rooms linked to all the museum's systems.

He received a presentation on the room's workflow mechanisms, focusing on the security and technological systems of the museum project and those related to the visitor experience.

This room provides comprehensive security control of the museum and its artifacts, establishing an integrated information base supported by sound and image to enhance security protection systems significantly. It is also responsible for monitoring any violations inside the museum.

In the same context, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities hailed the advanced level of services provided by the central control room at the museum, emphasizing its role in integrating and connecting all the museum's systems effectively, especially in terms of security and technology.

The Minister also visited the Nile River simulation area in front of the King Khufu Boat Museum, where Moftah explained the display arrangement of artifacts, including the placement of a pink granite statue of the god Hapi, the ancient Egyptian god of the Nile, as well as protective statues along the river.

They also simulated the excavation of the boats to match the original dimensions of the discovered wood, and placed archaeological stones with special graffiti found in the excavation site.