Ramesses to go to Grand Museum

After decision, indecision and decision the red granite statue of Ramses II will move ahead to its new location at the court of the Grand Egyptian Museum, overlooking giza plateau, on August 25. Culture minister Faouk Hosni announced yesterday. Such decision came after the completion of all studies required to guarantee the safety of the statue transportation and the construction of the trucks that would load the statue during its strip from Babul Hadid to the Grand Egyptian Museum. Such transportation is also coincide with a massive development work to be implemented at Ramses Square.

Dr. Zahi Hawass secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said that the statue will be transported at six o'clock in the morning of 25th August as one piece inside and iron cage covered from inside with foam. He added that the technique used in lifting the statue will be similar to the one used by ancient Egyptians in lifting the pyramid's blocks.

Abdel Hamid Qutb head of the engineering department in the SCA said that the expected time to transport the statue will last for 13 hours as the speed of the trucks will range from 15 to 20 km but on bridges the speed will be reduced to the half.

At the Grand Egyptian Museum, the statue will be better protected as the environmental conditions there are more suitable.

The red granite statue of Ramses II was found in 1882 at the Great Temple of Ptah at Mit-Rahina. In 1955, the statue was transported 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.