In the main hall of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Egyptian app developer Ahmed El-Kholy stood before the painted wooden coffin of Sennedjem, a master craftsman of the 19th Dynasty (1295–1186 BC), and raised his phone toward the hieroglyphs. Within seconds, his app, Manetho, translated the 3,000-year-old inscriptions into English — and, with another tap, into Arabic.
El-Kholy describes Manetho as “the world’s first real-time hieroglyphic translator using artificial intelligence.” Users simply photograph hieroglyphic inscriptions on statues, papyrus sheets, or other artifacts, and the app instantly provides translations.
“The idea began when we used to go to museums and temples just to look and take photos without understanding what the inscriptions meant,” El-Kholy said. “We realized we needed something to translate them.”
British tourist Phillip, testing the app on the black granite sphinx of 12th Dynasty King Amenemhat III, called it “very easy to use and informative,” adding it could “enhance the visitor’s experience.”
A 2024 computer science graduate, El-Kholy worked with a team of more than 16 technicians and Egyptology experts to develop Manetho, which won first place in the Huawei Developer Competition for Egypt and North Africa, earning a spot in the global finals in China. Huawei supports the project with technical resources, cloud services, and training.
Manetho also offers augmented reality features. In one sequence, Queen Nefertiti greets visitors and recounts her story in Arabic. In another, a marble bust of Niobe “speaks” in English about centuries spent in silence.
El-Kholy hopes to expand the project to include virtual reality experiences, allowing visitors to explore tombs or view statues in 3D as they tell their stories.
