Khufu solar boat gets a new home
Khufu solar boat moves to its new home at the GEM: Pharaoh Khufu’s solar boat has been transferred from the Giza plateau to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) as authorities gear up to open the flagship tourist attraction, the cabinet announced in a statement Saturday. The 4.6k year-old vessel was discovered in 1954 at the Great Pyramid, and has since been displayed in a museum adjacent to the pyramids. The boat arrived at the GEM early Saturday morning, having taken 48 hours to make the 7.5-km trip across the the Giza Plateau. Solar boats were believed to transport people to the afterlife and were placed alongside pharaohs in their burial chambers.
The story made headlines internationally: Reuters, AFP, TRT, ABC News and The Daily Mail, to name a few, ran stories on the move. Egypt is hoping to gain media attention ahead of the GEM’s opening as it looks to revitalize its tourism industry that has been hard hit by the pandemic.