The Egyptian Tourist Police frequently “insisted” that The Idiot be accompanied by armed guards when he MedTrekked from the Suez Canal to the Libya Border in 2017 to gather information for the third volume of The Idiot and the Odyssey trilogy of travel narratives.But today they let him roam footloose and fancy free throughout Cairo’s newest GEM, aka the Grand Egyptian Museum, which officially opens on July 3 (the original, and much-postponed, opening date was 2012).
It was worth the wait to see over 20,000 ancient artifacts, ranging from beads, small stones and coins to towering stone statues, mummies, sarcophagi and jewelry.
The unrestrained Idiot arrives on a Sunday morning at the gargantuan GEM (Grand Egyptian Museum) which will officially open in July when it will be the largest archeological museum in the world.
Eight years ago The Tourist Police requested that The Idiot be accompanied by armed policemen during his walk on the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. Today they let him run wild at the GEM.
The Idiot is greeted by a towering statue of King Ramses II in the GEM atrium.
The Idiot checks out King Ramses II from one of the twelve upper galleries.
Mummy may I?
The Idiot’s favorite mummy in the GEM is a crocodile.
This ancient bangle box inspired contemporary jewelry cases.
Romancing the Stone at the GEM in Cairo.
The Idiot purchased a coffin box at the GEM gift shop.
“Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil,” in ancient Egypt.
A typical display depicting ancient Egypt at the GEM.
A typical display depicting ancient Egypt at the GEM.
A typical display depicting ancient Egypt at the GEM.
A typical display depicting ancient Egypt at the GEM.
The staircase (there’s also an escalator) to the galleries at the GEM.
The view of the Pyramids from the GEM.
The Idiot walks across the Nile River in Cairo to get to the GEM.
The Tut collection at the less grand, but still very crowded, Egyptian Museum in downtown Cairo will be moved to the GEM before July. It will be replaced with a new array of antiquities.
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