The military glory of the Theban Pharaohs is being highlighted by Luxor Museum's new extension. Nevine El-Aref reports With the Nile in the background, President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated Luxor Museum's new extension yesterday. The annex showcases the history of the Ancient Egyptian army that played a major role in the longevity of Egyptian civilisation. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and other top government officials attended the inauguration. The new annex's exhibits aim to illustrate just how well-organised the Ancient Egyptian army was during the New Kingdom (1569- 1081 BC), when Theban warriors saved Egypt from the Hyksos, who had invaded the country and taken control of the Delta. The era saw a monumental change in the role of the Egyptian armed forces, with new weapons being manufactured, and new military strategies adopted to liberate the country and re-establish Pharaonic control. Those were the days when military commanders like Horemheb and Ramses I became Pharaohs, while other kings surrounded themselves with former royal soldiers and officers. The simple, two-storey building's collection of 100 artefacts was carefully chosen from items previously located in the Egyptian museum in Cairo, as well as at storehouses at the Karnak and Luxor temples. Hosni said the challenge was "to maintain the same interior design and spirit of the original Luxor Museum", which was designed by Mahmoud El-Hakim. Although relatively small, the LE17 million extension is marked by a dramatic display style that, according to interior designer Hussein El- Shaburi, manages to use the extension's limited space in an optimum manner, while simultaneously showcasing the mummies of Ahmose I and Ramses I. El-Shabouri accomplished this dynamic by using a slightly elevated space and dramatic lighting for the mummies, without interrupting the continuity of the way the other objects, which require brighter lighting, are displayed. The mummies are exhibited inside Plexiglas showcases on Pyramid-shaped stands. "This stand can be easily opened from one side to enable curators and restorers to readjust humidity inside the showcase, or restore them if necessary, without removing them from their final resting place," said Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Secretary- General Zahi Hawass. The mummy of King Ahmose I, the Pharaoh who actually expelled the Hyksos from Egypt, was originally found among the royal mummies unearthed at Deir Al-Bahari, and has been on display at the Egyptian Museum since then. The mummy of King Ramses I, who was a major general in the army of Horemheb before becoming king, was stolen and smuggled out of Egypt in 1871. When it recently came into the possession of the Michael C Carlos Museum, which confirmed that it was indeed a royal mummy, it was officially handed back over to Egypt, where it was briefly displayed in the Egyptian Museum before its final journey back to Luxor. The rest of the collection includes swords, knives, heavy shields, and arrows, as well as construction materials, architectural implements, and tools used to sharpen weapons. Statues of well-known warrior kings such as Ramses III, who defeated the Libyans, Tuthmosis III, who led Egypt to victory against the Hittites, and Seti I, are also on display, as are splendid examples of Ancient Egyptian art, including two large pieces featuring Seti I and Ramses IV's graphically illustrated military plans. President Mubarak also visited the temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir Al-Bahari, known in ancient times as "the most splendid of all." The monument, which took four decades of restoration work carried out by a Polish-Egyptian team, has come a long way since it was discovered in 1798 by a member of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. Located on the Theban necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, Queen Hatshepsut's temple is a terraced sanctuary, framed by high cliffs and adorned with some of the most famous reliefs in the Nile Valley, most notably those depicting her birth and displaying her voyage to Punt on the east African Somali coast. President Mubarak also inaugurated the mortuary temple of Seti I after the completion of its restoration work. The temple, which lies in the northern portion of the Theban necropolis, on the western side of the ancient village of Qurna (Gurna), was constructed by Seti I and dedicated to his father, Ramses I, and the god Amun- Re. It once stood as the first station on the west bank along a processional street of temples and tombs that led from the state temple of Amun at Karnak on the east bank, across the river, then south to the temple of Al-Deir Al-Bahari. Reconstruction was carried out by a German mission, in cooperation with the Egyptian Antiquities Organisation, in 1970. Devastating thunderstorms in 1994 did significant damage to what had been restored but modern walls provided decent protection after which recent restoration prevented further harm.
