A trial run using a replica statue will be played out on Friday in a bid to guarantee maximum safety during next month's move of the gigantic red granite statue of Ramses II to its new home at the Grand Egyptian Museum, reports Nevine El-Aref Tomorrow at 2am, when Cairo's traffic is at its quietest, Tahrir Square will be the stage of a major feat of transportation as a replica of the gigantic 19th-Dynasty statue of Ramses II -- now at Bab Al-Hadid train station square -- is taken on a trial run to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) overlooking the Giza Plateau. The decision was announced on Monday by Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), at a press conference held in the SCA's premises in Zamalek. Hawass pointed out that the aim of the rehearsal was to experience the circumstances under which the actual move would take place. This will include the technique used in uplifting the statue, putting it in the steel cage and uploading it on the vehicles right through the journey to its new home at the GEM. Hawass said that if the trial proved a success the removal of the actual statue would take place on 25 August. He told reporters that the statue would be transferred as it was, in one piece, mounted in an iron cage attached on two special vehicles capable of bearing the 83-tonne statue on its 30km trip. The vehicles were fabricated by the Arab Contractors Company, which will handle the moving operation in collaboration with German experts. The statue's scheduled route has been worked out in collaboration with the Cairo and Giza governors as well as the army, police and all the ministries concerned so that any obstacles will be removed. "Moving the magnificent statue of Ramses II from the chaos that usually defines Ramses Square is the best decision that could be taken to protect this statue from decay," Hawass noted. Arab Contractors Chairman Ibrahim Mahlab said the statue in its cage would be hung on a steel bridge like a pendulum in an attempt to allow it free movement while the vehicles were travelling over 6 October Bridge and descending the small incline. To guarantee the secure dismantling, transportation and re- erection of the statue, Mahlab added, the Arab Contractors Company would implement techniques used by ancient Egyptians during the construction of the Giza Pyramids. Other means include covering the statue with foam rubber which will be supported on all sides by large wooden bars. The SCA plans to give the statue better protection in its new home, where it will be subjected to a comprehensive study which will last from six to twelve months. Whatever the results of the tests, environmental conditions on the relatively remote plateau will be much more suitable for the statue than the polluted atmosphere of Ramses Square. It will also fit in well with the ancient Egyptian atmosphere of both the plateau and the new museum complex. Where he currently sits at the Ramses Square intersection of at least three major thoroughfares and both the main rail and underground metro lines, the Pharaoh seems lost. "These environmental conditions, combined with the extensive vibrations from the intense traffic, were bound to have a negative effect on the statue's future," Hawass said. The idea of removing the statue from its current location was mooted in early 1994, in order to rescue it from the corrosive atmosphere that surrounded of the busy intersection. Several possible locations were suggested. At first it was thought of taking it to Mit-Rahina, 30km from the Giza Plateau and the statue's original home, but the small Mit-Rahina bridge, which could not hold the weight of the statue, stood as an obstacle. It was also suggested that it be put on display in Giza's Al-Rimayah Square or at the entrance to the Cairo Opera House, but it was feared that in time it would fare little better there from traffic fumes and congestion. "Moving the statue away from this polluted atmosphere is the best possible decision," Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said. "After 50 years of suffering, hidden under a jungle of flyovers... the most appropriate location for this magnificent statue is within view of the new GEM." The red granite statue of Ramses II was found broken in six pieces in 1882 at the Great Temple of Ptah at Mit-Rahina. There were endeavours at the time to restore and re-erect the statue in situ, but all attempts failed. The statue remained as it was until February 1955, when the minister of governmental affairs, Abdel-Latif El-Boghdadi, decided to move it to Bab Al-Hadid (now Ramses Square), where it was restored and reassembled by inserting huge iron bars inside the body. It soon became one of Cairo's most famous landmarks, providing a backdrop for several famous Egyptian movie scenes.
