Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Museum: First ever museum for the revolution

drhawass.com (Zahi Hawass)

Press release:

Culture Minister Farouk Hosni approved the Supreme Council of Antiquities’ (SCA) request to establish a museum for the revolution of July 1953 in Egypt. This will be the first ever museum for the revolution, and will be installed in the building used by the revolution’s leadership in Al-Gezirah on Zamalek Island.

This decision came after the SCA’s Permanent Committee listed the site of the revolution’s leadership on Egypt’s Islamic and Coptic heritage list. This building was the location of several meetings of the revolution leaders where they made critical decisions.

The building was built in 1949 by the late King Farouk on the bank of the Nile in order to be a dock for his royal yacht, and consists of three floors with 40 rooms.

Today Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the SCA, will meet architect Ahmed Mito to discuss plans to turn the building into a museum.

Hawass calls all historians, artists, intellectuals and anyone interested in this subject to share in developing the museum by introducing thoughts and artistic touches to spruce up the building with the aim of turning it into a museum.

“It is a complementary step to what was started in 1996 by the Fine Art department, following President Mubarak’s decision to convert the building into a museum relating the history of this great revolution that changed Egypt’s history,” said Hawass.

Dr. Mohamed Ismail, General Supervisor of the Permanent Committees, said that the decision to place the building on Egypt’s Islamic and Coptic heritage list underlines its architectural and historical importance. The building’s architectural condition, continued Ismail, was inspected by SCA experts as a first step toward its development.

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