Work to resume soon at Sharm El-Sheikh museum

Construction work at Sharm El-Sheikh National Museum to resume soon after three years on hold due to financial problems.


After resolving financial problems facing the Army Forces, the official construction contractor of Sharm El-Sheikh National Museum, work on the museum is to resume soon.

Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim told Ahram Online that Army Forces will resume the work at the museum shortly.

He explained that it is important to complete work on the museum museum because it will not only attract more tourists to Sharm El-Sheikh, but will also increase the ministry’s revenues through ticket sales. “Tourists and Egyptians will visit the museum because it is the only archaeological attraction in Sharm El-Sheikh,” Ibrahim pointed out.

The first phase of the museum was completed in 2009 following three years of feasibility studies and construction work. This phase included construction of the museum building and associated administrative structures as well as 26 bazaars and a bookstore. 
The second phase, which began immediately afterward, was put on hold due to lack of funding after the January 2011 revolution. The second phase includes the completion of the museum’s interior and exhibition facilities, along with the installation of the museum’s security system.

The museum will exhibit some 7,000 artefacts dating from prehistoric times until the modern era, which have been carefully selected from museums all over Egypt.

 
Objects unearthed in Sharm El-Sheikh and some that have been retrieved from Israel will also be in the collection on display as well as 11 authentic Coptic textiles offered by Nagla Riad, who inherited them from her aunt, artist Taheya Halim.

The textiles are of different sizes and shapes and are decorated with images of animals, foliage and geometric shapes.  

Ibrahim said that the museum’s garden will serve as an open-air museum and entertainment area, featuring a cinema, theatre and 1000-seat conference hall. The museum will also feature a cafeteria and a bookstore specialising in history and antiquities.

Fuente: Nevine El-Aref en http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/44/77577/Heritage/Museums/Work-to-resume-soon-at-Sharm-ElSheikh-museum.aspx

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