CAIRO: Head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass announced Wednesday the reopening of the Nubian Museum following a comprehensive upgrade of its security and surveillance system. The museum was closed for two weeks following the theft of Van Gogh's “Poppy Flowers” from Cairo's Mahmoud Khalil Museum on Aug. 21, for which lax security was blamed. Hawass said that he had received a report from the head of the museums' sector informing him that maintenance and surveillance cameras were installed and all display rooms were being closely monitored. More security personnel have been posted inside display rooms and at the various gates. According to a previous statement released by the SCA, the Nubian Museum's security system, which has been operational ever since the museum opened in 1997, had broken down several times before. The theft of the $55 million Van Gogh prompted the Ministry of Culture to hike security in all museums. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni even told the official Middle East News Agency that the security control rooms will be manned by Egyptian intelligence officers.
