Antiquities museums free for Egyptians on International Museum Day, 18 May, except the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, the Grand Egyptian Museum and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy chaired the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, which began by reviewing the council's financial position for March and April compared with the same period in 2024 and 2025, with indicators showing increasing revenue growth during this period.
Dr. Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, also reviewed the main achievements across the council's sectors, including a number of new archaeological discoveries, restoration projects and work to upgrade services at archaeological sites and museums, helping to improve the visitor experience, as well as the turnout achieved by temporary overseas antiquities exhibitions since their opening.
He revealed that the exhibition "Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs" in London has received nearly 68,000 visitors since opening in February, while the exhibition "Treasures of the Pharaohs" in Rome has received around 322,000 visitors since opening in October 2025, and the exhibition "Ancient Egypt Reveals Its Secrets: Treasures from Egyptian Museums" in Hong Kong has attracted around 345,000 visitors since opening in November, reflecting the great international demand for ancient Egyptian civilization.
The meeting approved a number of decisions by the Overseas Exhibitions Committee, including continuing the tour of the "Treasures of the Pharaohs" exhibition, which will move to be displayed at a number of museums in the United States, and organizing a new overseas exhibition on Egypt's sunken underwater treasures, scheduled to be held next year in the United States.
The council also approved the code of conduct and booking and visit instructions for school trips through the "Rehla" platform, launched by the ministry to book visits for public school students, ensuring a tightly organized booking system according to specific controls while enhancing students' benefit from visits to archaeological sites.
Approval was given to allow Egyptians to enter museums open to visitors free of charge on Monday 18 May, to celebrate International Museum Day, with the exception of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, the Grand Egyptian Museum and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
The meeting also approved a number of decisions by the Permanent Committee for Egyptian Antiquities on registering newly discovered artifacts, as well as decisions by the Permanent Committee for Islamic, Coptic and Jewish Antiquities on restoration and maintenance work at a number of historic mosques in Qalyubia and Dakahlia governorates. The council also approved decisions by the Permanent Committee for Egyptian Antiquities on registering the Jewish cemeteries in Alexandria, as well as the work of archaeological missions at a number of sites.
