Nevine El-Aref reports on the completion of the first phase of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation Despite the heavy rains that hit Cairo Sunday, a score of ministers, along with Cairo Governor Abdel-Azim Wazir, Minister of Housing Ahmed El-Maghrabi, Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garana and a gaggle of journalists and photographers gathered at the edge of the Ain Al-Sira lake to mark the completion of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation's (NMEC) first phase. Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni led Mrs Suzanne Mubarak on a tour around the museum grounds. Located at the edge of the Ain Al-Sira lake and neighbouring Old Cairo, the site of the Amr Ibn Al-Aas Mosque, Hanging Church and Ben-Ezra synagogue, the 35-feddan-museum celebrates Egyptian civilisation from prehistoric to modern times. Although plans for the museum were drawn up in 1990 the first phase of the project began in 2002, when Mrs Mubarak laid a pyramid-shaped foundation stone. Hosni said that the museum had originally been planned for what is now the parking area of the Cairo Opera House. When this proved too small the plans remained dormant until 1997 when, during an Iftar with the minister of interior, Hosni was so impressed with the panoramic views from the edge of the Ain Al-Sira that he suggested to archaeologists and experts from UNESCO that it could make a suitable location for the museum. All the concerned authorities agreed. The site for the NMEC began to be cleared in 2000, when the Cairo governorate removed all encroachments on the 35 feddans it had offered the Ministry of Culture. In 2002 Mrs Mubarak laid the foundation stone, and by 2004 the site was ready for construction to begin following an extensive pre-building inspection to check for antiquities buried below ground. In addition, an up- to-date storehouse, similar to the ones at the Louvre in Paris and the British Museum in London, was built on site. Farouk Abdel-Salam, head of the office of the Minister of Culture, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the magazine is the first in Egypt to be directly linked to the police via a sophisticated alarm system. To access the storehouse requires two magnetic cards held by separate inspectors, and each storage unit registers the identity of whichever curator opens it. The first phase of the museum also saw the construction of a laboratory to restore pieces in the museum's collection. The second phase of the project, said Hosni, will be completed within six months and the museum is on schedule to be inaugurated in 2009. Actual buildings will occupy five feddans of the 35-feddan site, with the remainder of the land given over to gardens and outdoor exhibits, many found during the course of the pre-building inspection. Al-Ghazali Kesseba, the project's consultant engineer, described to Mrs Mubarak the planned four-storey building. The first two floors will comprise exhibition spaces, the third a documentation centre and the fourth a library. The architecture of the museum will mediate between its exhibits and immediate surroundings: the large, square shape will represent the base of a pyramid, while a gallery -- equivalent to a pyramid ramp -- will lead to a smaller building modelled on a Nile Valley temple which will house a 400 sq m educational institute and conference hall. To emphasis the pyramid-shape of the complex, the building has a benben -shaped top which will house the archaeological library. Educational workshops for children are also included in the design. Kesseba concluded his presentation by asking all concerned authorities -- especially the Ministry of Housing and Cairo governorate -- to help protect the area from encroachment and draw up an urban plan for the immediate surrounds that would unify the façades and height of neighbouring buildings. Hosni stressed that the museum will showcase the diversity of Egyptian civilisations from prehistoric to modern times. It will contain 150,000 artefacts drawn from the collections of, among others, the Egyptian, Islamic and Coptic museums in Cairo, the Graeco-Roman and National museums in Alexandria, the Luxor Museum, and archaeological storehouses across Egypt. "These will be carefully selected by a committee which is now sifting through the halls and storage of these museums and of the major archaeological sites," says Zahi Hawass, secretary- general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). "Exhibits featuring the skills and achievements of Egyptian history will be organised within the museum's walls." The Nile, handwriting, handicrafts, society and faith will be the major organisational themes of the museum. In the Nile pavilion visitors will travel through the Pharaonic, Coptic, Islamic and modern periods, with a major display being given over to the creation of Lake Nasser and its profound impact on Egyptian agriculture. The irrigation system exhibit will start with the reign of Mena, founder of the First Dynasty, and will continue until the time of the Middle Kingdom Pharaoh Senusert III. The pavilion will also include a section devoted to Egypt's flora and fauna. The handwriting section will comprise displays plotting the evolution of astronomy, mathematics and medicine, and the impact of technological developments on Egyptian society. There will also be special displays devoted to crafts, including metalworking sculpture and architecture. The hierarchy of Egyptian society and its system of government will be explained in an ethnographic section. Hawass told the Weekly that royal mummies will be displayed in such a way as to illustrate their personalities and achievements within a social context. The displays will include models of relevant temples, tombs and obelisks. Outdoor exhibits will include many items uncovered on the site of the museum, among them a Fatimid laundry found during the 1960s, the oldest existing ground plan of an Islamic house, dating from 75 AH, and a dyeing factory which contained more than 100 clay dyeing pots. Ancient Egyptian artefacts found in the debris include udjet eye and scarab amulets. Construction of the museum is being funded by the Egyptian government -- the total cost is estimated at LE550 million -- while experts from UNESCO are supervising technical aspects of the project. Hosni said that to attract more Egyptian visitors a commercial zone with a cafeteria, restaurants, a cinema and a theatre will be installed in the museum garden alongside bazaars and shops.
