20 saal ke lambi muddat ke intezar ke baad aur taqriban 1 billion dollar ki investment se, Misr (Egypt) ne akhirkaar Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) ko awaam ke liye khol diya hai. Weekend par shandar inaugural ceremony in Cairo ke baad museum ne Tuesday ko officially visitors ka khair maqdam kiya aur isay 21st century ke sab se aham museum openings mein shumar kiya ja raha hai. Giza ke Pyramids (Pyramids of Giza) se sirf 2 km aur Cairo se 8 km ke faaslay par waqay, yeh museum taqriban 500,000 square metres par mushtamil hai. Yeh duniya ka sab se bara museum hai jo ek hi ancient Egyptian civilisation ko dedicate hai. Yahan 30 dynasties se zyada yaani 5,000 saal ki Egyptian history ko cover karte 100,000 se zyada artefacts aamda tor par display kiye jayenge, jin mein King Tutankhamun collection, royal mummies, aur ancient sculptures shamil hain.
Misr ke Saqafat-e-Qadima ka Naya Daur
Museum ki sab se qeemti nishaniyon mein 3,200 saal purana Shah Ramses II ka 11.36-metre lamba mujassama shamil hai, jo ab Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) Cairo ke entrance par shaan se qaim hai. Saath hi, zairin pehli martaba Tutankhamun Collection ki tamam qeemti ashya ko ek hi roof ke neeche dekh sakte hain. Isi tarah 4,500 saal purani Khufu Boat, jo duniya ki sab se purani salamat qishtiyon mein se ek hai, bhi yahaan namoodar hai.Apne anokhay naqsh o nigaar ki wajah se museum ko “The Fourth Pyramid of Egypt” bhi kaha ja raha hai. Irish architectural firm Heneghan Peng ke tayyar kardah is imarat ka design khud Giza ke Pyramids se mutasir ek chamfered triangle ki shakal mein hai. Sand-color concrete, alabaster stone aur ek wasi frosted-glass façade museum ko purani tehzeeb aur modern bunyadon ka behtareen imtizaj banate hain. Museum ki shumali aur janubi deewarein Khufu aur Menkaure Pyramids ke saath seedhi alignment mein hain, ek symbolic aur visual connection paida karte hue.
GEM (Grand Egyptian Museum) ka safar bahut paicheeda raha. Project ka idea 1992 mein announce hua tha, lekin construction 2005 mein shuru hui. Arab Spring 2011 aur baad mein COVID-19 pandemic ne baar baar taraqqi rok di. Kuch hisay 2024 mein soft-launch hue, jab ke aaj takreeban tamaam complex mukammal taur par public ke liye khola ja chuka hai. Complex mein main exhibition building, conference centre, Nile Valley park, Khufu Boat Museum, aur advanced conservation centre bhi shamil hain. Museum mein dakhil hote hi zairin ka pehla muqabla 80 tonnes se zyada wazan rakhne wale Ramses II ke azeem statue se hota hai. Iss statue ki relocation apne aap mein tareekhi kaam tha — ise seedhi position mein hi ek 128-wheel transporter par 30 km door le jaya gaya, jis ke liye specially road closures aur precision engineering istemaal ki gayi.
Entrance se aage six-storey grand staircase shuru hota hai, jiske dono taraf takreeban 60 qadeem nishaniyan — devi devtaon ke statues, sarcophagi, qadeem columns aur pathar par naqsh shuda matn — display kiye gaye hain. Museum ka sab se bada hissa, 7,500-square metre ka Tutankhamun Gallery, boy king ke qabr se milne wale 5,000 se zyada artefacts rakhta hai: uska golden mask, throne, chariots, sarcophagus, jewellery, sab kuch uski dafnayi chamber ke mahaul ko recreate karte hue.
Tourism Revival ki Nai Ummeedein
Total 45,000 square metres ki exhibition space ke saath, Grand Egyptian Museum duniya ke azeem museums mein sixth largest hai — Louvre, Hermitage, National Museum of China, Metropolitan Museum of Art, aur Museo del Prado ke baad. Is museum ka iftitah Egypt Tourism Industry 2025 ke liye intehai qabil-e-tawajjoh waqt par hua hai. Sirf 2024 mein 15.7 million tourists ne Misr ka rukh kiya, aur tourism sector ne mulk ki GDP ka 8% hissa faraham kiya. GEM, jo Giza plateau ke bilkul qareeb hai, ko mulk ki international tourism ko mazeed bulandiyon tak le jaane wala qadam tasleem kiya ja raha hai. Grand Egyptian Museum ke darwaze khulte hi duniya ko sirf ek naya museum nahi, balkay Misr ki la-zawal tehzeeb ka ek markaz mil gaya hai, jo ancient Egyptian civilization ke virsay ko modern cultural heritage ke saath jor kar ek nayi gawahi deta hai ke Misr ki civilisation aaj bhi utni hi zinda hai jitni hazaron saal pehle thi.