A red-granite colossus of Ramses II, the 13th-century BC “king of kings”, rises three storeys from a triangular pool in the atrium of the new Grand Egyptian Museum, just west of Cairo. This Grand Hall, open at both ends to obviate the need for air-conditioning, has a 21st-century sophistication more readily associated with “starchitect” museums in the Gulf. Its triangular portals, framed by hieroglyphics in the translucent alabaster facade, glow gold at sunset.
一座紅色花崗岩雕刻的拉美西斯二世(Ramses II)巨像,這位公元前13世紀的「萬王之王」,在開羅以西新建的大埃及博物館(Grand Egyptian Museum, GEM)中庭的三角形水池中高聳三層樓。這個大堂兩端敞開,無需空調,展現出21世紀的現代感,更讓人聯想到海灣地區的「明星建築師」博物館。三角形入口由半透明雪花石膏立面上的象形文字勾勒,夕陽下泛着金色光輝。