A grand museum displaying Egypt's ancient treasures is opening for a trial run

CAIRO (AP) — The Grand Egyptian Museum will open 12 halls with exhibits about ancient Egypt in its main galleries starting this week in a trial run ahead of the still-unannounced official opening, officials said Tuesday

The museum, a mega-project near the famed Giza Pyramids which has cost well over $1 billion so far, will open the halls for 4,000 visitors per day starting Wednesday, said Al-Tayeb Abbas, assistant to the minister of antiquities.

The museum has been under construction for more than a decade, and an overall opening date has not yet been set, having been repeatedly delayed for various reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Some sections have been open since 2022 for limited tours.

More than 100,000 artifacts of Egypt’s ancient treasures will be displayed in the world’s largest archaeological museum, according to the Egyptian state information website.

Abbas told the AP that the trial run starting Wednesday would help prepare for the full opening by identifying operational issues, including which parts of the museum might become overcrowded.

The displays across the 12 halls tap into issues related to society, religion, and doctrine in ancient Egypt, he added. The open-style halls have been classified by dynasty and historical order, and will showcase thousands of artifacts.

Eras that will be exhibited in the main galleries include the Third Intermediate Period (about 1070-664 B.C.), Late Period (664-332 B.C.), Graeco-Roman Period (332 B.C.-395 A.D.), New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.), Middle Kingdom (2030-1650 B.C.), and Old Kingdom (2649-2130 B.C.). One of the halls displays statues of “Elite of the King,” members of the royal family and high-ranking officials who worked in the army, priesthood, and the government.

Limited tours have been allowed in parts of the site since late 2022 to test visitors’ experience and the museum’s operational preparedness.

Aude Porcedde, a Canadian tourist who visited several sections, told the AP she was amazed by the museum, adding that Egyptian civilization is important for her and for the world to know more about.

“There is a lot of history and a lot of things we are not aware of, especially coming from the other side of the world, and seeing everything here and learning from the locals has been great,” said Costa Rican tourist Jorge Licano.

The grand staircase, six stories high and with a view of the pyramids, and the commercial area are open to the public, showcasing monuments and artifacts that include sarcophagi and statues. Other parts of the museum, including the King Tutankhamun treasure collection, are set to open at later dates.

All halls are equipped with advanced technology and feature multimedia presentations to explain the lives of the ancient Egyptians, including its kings, according to Eissa Zidan, director-general of preliminary restoration and antiquities transfer at the museum.

One of the halls will use virtual reality to explain the history of burial and its development throughout ancient Egypt.

“The museum is not only a place to display antiquities, but it also aims to attract children to learn about ancient Egyptian history ... The museum is a gift to all the world,” Zidan told the AP.

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Associated Press journalist Fatma Khaled contributed to this report from Cairo.

FILE - Visitors walk past the cups used in the mosaic of ancient Egyptian King Tutankhamun's mask at the yard of the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Hamada Elrasam, File)

Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)

Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian colossal statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)

Visitors walk past ancient Egyptian colossal statues along the Grand Staircase at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)

King Ramses II statue is displayed at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, Tuesday, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Khaled Elfiqi)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A campaign to restore abortion access in Missouri so far has raised close to $22 million, finance reports filed Tuesday show.

The campaign reported bringing in more than $14 million between July and the end of September alone.

Missourians for Constitutional Freedom seeks to undo the state’s near-total abortion ban and is one of nine statewide campaigns to enshrine abortion rights into state constitutions.

The campaign had close to $11 million in the bank at the beginning of the month to spend on advertising in the final weeks before the Nov. 5 election.

Donors to the Missouri campaign include model Karlie Kloss, who gave $50,000, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who last month chipped in $1 million. Other big funders include Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, Sixteen Thirty Fund and The Fairness Project, among others.

A Missouri political action committee opposing the abortion-rights amendment has raised about $212,000 and had less than $5,000 left at the beginning of October. The political action committee of the powerful anti-abortion group Missouri Right to Life so far has spent at least $637,000 opposing the amendment.

Initiative petition campaigns tend to cost a lot of money in Missouri, and abortion ballot measures in other states have been hugely expensive.

A 2022 fight over protecting abortion rights in Ohio cost a combined $70 million, with abortion-rights supporters pitching in nearly $40 million and opponents spending more than $30 million. The reproductive rights amendment passed with almost 57% of the Ohio vote.

This year, abortion rights groups have outraised opponents by a nearly 8-to-1 margin in campaigns for ballot measures across the U.S.

FILE - Abortion opponents watch and pray as members of the media interview attorney Mary Catherine Martin of the conservative Thomas More Society, after Missouri's Supreme Court heard arguments over whether an abortion-rights amendment should go before voters this year on Sept. 10, 2024 in Jefferson City, Mo. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File)

FILE - Missouri residents and pro-choice advocates react to a speaker during Missourians for Constitutionals Freedom kick-off petition drive, Feb. 6, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga, File)