Egypt Short of Cash to Build Its Grand Museum

22 September 4, 2015 Culture Egypt short of cash to build its Grand Museum Amr Emam the world. Constructed on a space of 470,000 square metres, the struc- ture is to include the main museum, Cairo a conference centre, auxiliary build- ings, including restaurants, cafés gypt is finding it hard to and parking lots and a large land- raise funds to complete scaped area. construction of its larg- The Grand Egyptian Museum is est museum, which is be- expected to house 100,000 arte- ing built in north-western facts, including 3,300 pieces from ECairo. 18th dynasty King Tutankhamen. Construction of the Grand Egyp- The halls of the museum will show- tian Museum started in 2005 and case 50,000 pharaonic pieces with was expected to be completed in the remaining objects kept at mu- 2015. However, ten years after work seum warehouses. began, the museum is still under Some important artefacts are ex- construction because of a lack of pected to be moved from the Egyp- funds. tian Museum in Cairo’s Tahrir Square “The government is facing a very to the new museum. The Egyptian Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty speaks during a news conference at the Grand tough trouble, one related to the Museum was inaugurated in 1902. Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, on August 25, 2015. necessary finance for construct- It has a neo-classic style, housing ing the museum,” said Abdel Halim more than 140,000 artefacts. Nour Eddin, the former head of the With hundreds of thousands of estimate the number of visitors to in marketing the museum. Outside the fence of the site a state-run National Council of An- visitors every year — the highest the museum and the Giza pyramids At the site of the project, con- digital billboard read: 450 days re- tiquities. “Now, the government is number of visitors to the Egyptian at 5 million every year. In 2020, the struction workers seemed to be as maining (before inauguration of the addressing some donor countries to Museum in Cairo in a single year number of museum visitors is ex- committed to completing their work museum). However, Nour Eddin, contribute the needed funds but the reached 2.5 million before 2011, ac- pected to rise to 8 million, which on schedule. Yellow helmet-wearing who was the first supervisor of the money is not easy to come by.” cording to the Antiquities Ministry will create demand for hotels, rec- engineers instructed workers while Grand Egyptian Museum years ago, — overcrowding has become a prob- reational parks and cultural centres. trucks carried construction materi- does not believe it. He expects work The Grand Egyptian lem at the building. The museum’s In 2006, Egypt moved the mam- als to and from the site. on the museum not to be finalised Museum is expected location in crowded Tahrir Square moth statue of King Ramses II from before 2018. “The problem was that Egyptian officials to house 100,000 makes securing tourists difficult. Ramses Square in central Cairo to Egypt started the construction of Worse, the museum was the scene the museum site in an event that re- pin their hopes on two museums at one and the same artefacts of looting during the 18-day uprising ceived local and international media the new project to be time, namely the Museum of Civi- in early 2011. attention. The statue’s journey was lisation in southern Cairo and the When museum work started in Now, Egyptian officials pin their part of a government campaign to an international Grand Egyptian Museum, in north- 2005, construction was estimated hopes on the new project to be an promote the Grand Egyptian Mu- heritage hub western Cairo,” Nour Eddin said. to cost $800 million. The Egyptian international heritage hub that seum. “The two projects have squeezed government contributed about $38 showcases archaeological wonders A board of directors, which in- Inside completed sections of the the budget of the Antiquities Minis- million. Donor states, such as Japan made more than 7,000 years of civi- cludes several well-known inter- museum, archaeologists renovated try dry of cash.” and Italy, also contributed funds. lisation. national figures, is expected to be about 4,000 threatened artefacts, Damati conceded the financial However, only half the funds It is 2 kilometres from the Giza responsible for managing the Grand according to Essa Zein, the head of problems facing the completion of needed are available, according to Plateau, which was declared a World Egyptian Museum when its con- the Renovation Committee of the the project during a press briefing Tarek Sayed Tawfik, general super- Heritage site by UNESCO in 1997. It struction is completed, according to Antiquities Ministry. He added that recently. visor of the museum. is situated between the plateau and Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al- 23,500 artefacts have been moved He said while work has not When completed, the museum is the modern part of Cairo. Damati. Sayed says the international from the Egyptian Museum to the stopped at the museum, the lack of expected to be one of the largest in Feasibility studies of the project board of directors will also be used new facility. funds has reduced its intensity. Damascus Opera House offers respite to war-weary Syrians Khalil Hamlo opportunity to watch her sing live, even if it meant to expose myself to dangers.” On his part, Bashar Atrash, Damascus a worker with the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said he had booked early five years of a dev- his ticket to Harb’s concert a week astating conflict did not ahead and would not miss it for any- stop Syrians from en- thing. “Mortars falling on people’s joying the music at the heads have become part of the daily Damascus Opera House, life of Damascus residents. We have Nwhich opened in August as part of adapted to such a situation and we the Arab Music Festival, defying will not stop living. mortars and bombs that occasion- We just got used to the hardships ally rain down on the city. of war,” Atrash said. The event brought a small respite The Arab Music Festival was not to war-weary Syrians, who flocked the only cultural event in war-torn to the opera house to take in con- Syria this summer. The Wadi Festi- certs and performances by leading val in rural Homs was revived three Syrian artists. years after it had been suspended The first Arab Music Festival came due to the conflict. after several years of war had largely Syrian Tourism Minister Bisher muzzled the opera. “We wanted The National Orchestra for Arabic Music Yazigi described the five-day event for this edition to be special and as “proof that the Syrian people are varied. That’s why we have invited determined to have a life, in spite of Syrian artists from different genera- surprised by the big crowd, which as it makes people even more at- House, located on Umayyad Square the five years of war, which largely tions performing different musical was essentially made up of residents tached to life and the wave of ex- in a posh section of Damascus, was destroyed the country’s cultural and genres,” Opera House Director Juan of Aleppo who had to flee their tremism that swept many regions hit by dozens of mortars shells in the touristic sites”. Karajoli said in an interview with homes because of the war,” Jamil in the country, was an additional past few years. During the festival, Yazigi an- The Arab Weekly. said. incentive for Syrians to show open- However, despite security haz- nounced the reopening of the cru- The event was supposed to fea- “When I saw how immersed they ness and reject fanaticism.” ards, music lovers were keen on tak- saders’ castle, Krak des Chevaliers, ture Arab artists from different na- were in the music, which made ing advantage of the cultural respite in Homs, after its rehabilitation. The tionalities but participation was them forget, just even for a while, Despite security the festival was offering. UNESCO World Heritage site was limited to Syrian performers for se- the calamity that befell on their hazards, music Dozens of mortars and rockets damaged during battles that ended curity reasons. city and their livelihood, I felt that were fired on Damascus neighbour- when regime forces recaptured the The festival showcased popular I should be more generous in my lovers were keen on hoods on August 23rd but that did place from rebel groups in March local singers, including Shadi Jamil, performance in order to bring some taking advantage of not prevent fans of Syrian singer 2014. famous for his traditional Aleppo- happiness to their hearts.” the cultural respite Mais Harb from filling the Opera The Wadi Festival, an annual tra- style songs, Mayada Bselis and op- The opening featured the National House that evening. dition organised by the Ministry of era singer Bushra Mahfoud. Orchestra for Arabic Music, under Fathallah, a native of Yabroud in Reina Hammoud said she was de- Tourism, was suspended in 2012 Organisers and artists said they conductor Adnan Fathallah, which the war-devastated Qalamoun area termined to attend that performance when rebels seized a cluster of vil- were amazed and touched by the accompanied Bselis. “I can certify north of Damascus, was not the only after travelling a long distance from lages in the province, 50 kilometres size of the audiences that packed that the enthusiasm that the large performing maestro in the festival, Sweida in southern Syria. west of Homs. the main hall of the opera house on audience showed that night was which also featured the Tarab Zahab “Mais is a friend of mine and we “Culture Against All Odds” is the opening night and for subsequent exceptional and even better than group under Aleppo musician Bar- share the same passion for music, motto of Karajoli, who took office concerts.

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