National Museum marks 116th anniversary
112 views · Published 26 November 2018 · 1:52 · Indexed 17 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(20 Nov 2018) LEADIN The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square is celebrating its 116th anniversary. Egypt's Minister of Antiquity was joined by numerous foreign ambassadors to mark the event. STORYLINE The gilded masks of Thuya and Yuya - parents of Queen Tiya, the wife of King Amunhotep III - just some of the belongings of the historic couple on display at the Egyptian Museum. This year the museum in Tahrir Square is celebrating its 116th anniversary. Egyptian Minister of Antiquity Khaled el-Enany is holding a celebration here and has been joined by other Egyptian ministers and officials as well as foreign ambassadors. They are being taken on a tour of the museum where, amongst other antiquities, they can view objects from the tomb of Thuya and Yuya which are now replacing Tutankhamen's artefacts. El-Enany is keen to insist the decision to move Tutankhamen's artefacts to the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is currently under construction in Giza, won't affect the Egyptian Museum, which still contains contains 160,000 historic pieces. "We are holding this event today to deliver a very clear message which is that the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir will not die (won't be affected) by establishing the Grand Egyptian Museum or the Civilization Museum which will be opened in 2020," he says. The Egyptian Museum was founded by Abbas II, Egypt's last Khedive. It opened its doors to the public on 15 November 1902. The museum building, designed by French architect Marcel Dourgnon, lies on the edge of Tahrir Square, the centre of the 2011 uprising that toppled long time autocrat Hosni Mubarak. It houses the world's largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities and has long been a cornerstone of Egypt's tourism industry. During a speech at the celebration event el-Anany confirms they've secured a a grant from the European Union to work on a seven year plan to put the museum on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/ae6d0943ea71e923b4952655e7dc7ea9
