Tht third phase of a scheme to redesign the venerable Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square as a museum of Pharaonic arts has been launched, writes Nevine El-Aref Following 16 months of fundamental reconstruction, the third phase of the Egyptian museum development project was inaugurated last week. The aim of the project is to provide more services and facilities for the museum's patrons, including the addition of a new visitor's route and extension of the hours of operation until 10pm. The museum is now equipped with a brand new visitor centre that includes a striking bookstore, cafeteria, restaurant and a children's museum. This centre is located on the west side of the museum building and will be accessible by means of the museum's new tour route. A permanent open-air exhibition on the east side of the museum has also been established, displaying a number of sarcophagi and statuary and architectural elements from ancient Egyptian tombs and temples. On completion of this development project visitors will enter the museum from the main entrance gate in Tahrir Square and exit via the side gate next to the Mariette mausoleum. This phase of the Egyptian Museum Development Project is one part of a multi- phase plan to transform the museum into a beautiful space for the display of ancient Egyptian art. The project will be complete after parts of the existing Egyptian Museum collection have been transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum overlooking the Giza Plateau, which is now in its initial stages. The man responsible for the museum section at the Supreme Council of Antiquity's secretary-general's office is Mohamed Mahmoud, who says that the Egyptian Museum basement has also been given a welcome face-lift as part of the project. It has been transformed into a research centre for scientific testing, equipped with a DNA processing laboratory, documentation centre and administrative sector. New, high-tech showcases are also provided, as well as sensors to control security and humidity levels. Since it opened in 1902, the neo-classical edifice of the Egyptian Museum has been the home of all ancient Egyptian artefacts unearthed at the nation's archaeological sites. This has led to the overcrowding of its various galleries, even down to the basement, which for most of its history was used as a storeroom. Farouk Hosni, the minister of culture, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the redesigning project would transform the Egyptian Museum into a "cultural lighthouse" that would help Egyptians to "rediscover the meaning of their identity and the features of the Egyptian personality". It will also refresh the museum's role as an educational institution that will help revive the cultural awareness of the Egyptian people. Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said the project aimed at redesigning the museum both inside and out. "Redesigning the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir will re-envision the space in which the museum's collection will be displayed, and develop exhibitions with maximum educational impact on the public," Hawass said. A new scenario will be organised and a detailed plan of the new displays within the exhibition space will be implemented. The renovation will accommodate the modernisation of the museum's technological and structural facilities. Improvements to the museum's facilities will include the installation of new security and fire safety systems, as well as an air-conditioning system and a lighting system to include natural and artificial light sources. Updated communications technology will encompass connections for access to external and internal data networks. Hawass said that the project would also include the implementation of a number of training courses to enhance the professional skills of the museum's curators and restorers. The former director of the Egyptian Museum, Wafaa El-Seddiq, said areas of the project would give more attention to personnel working in the museum's library and administration, and would help enhance their skills in cataloguing procedures, services to patrons and the conservation of library materials.
