The Antiquities Ministry announced plans on Wednesday to start opening the Egyptian Museum to the public in the evenings.
The proposal would see a special lighting system installed within the museum to illuminate the galleries and halls in a new way for twilight visitors to experience.
Elham Salah, Head of the Museums Sector, said the idea was inspired by a Tourism and Antiquities Police Department recommendation to install security lights in the grounds to improve security. This prompted the suggestion to install lights inside the building to keep the museum open to the public after dark.
The Head of the Projects Sector at the Antiquities Ministry, Waadullah Abulela, said the project would cost LE 2 million.
The Egyptian Museum, located in downtown Cairo's Tahrir Square, is home to some 100,000 artifacts from ancient Egyptian History. Plans have been afoot for over two decades for a vast museum in Giza, to be called the Grand Egyptian Museum, to which some treasures from the Tahrir site are to be transferred.
Last year the Antiquities Ministry said progress on the building, to be the largest museum dedicated to ancient history in the world, has been stalled due to funding shortages. According to online news outlet Al-Monitor, in 2015 the total cost of the project stood at US$700 million.
