Yesterday's evening, parts of one of Pharoanic King Ramses II's obelisks were transferred from San Hagar archaeological area in Sharkia governorate to Cairo to go under restoration for final display in Tahrir Square, one of the most famous squares in Egypt.
The transfer will come in line with a plan for redesignign the square and set pieces on display to beautify the place.
Dr. Mustafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the transfer took place amid security measures by the Tourism and Antiquities Police, and comes in line with government's plan to develop Tahrir Square and turn it into a sightseeing destination in Cairo.
Dr. Waziri noted that the parts of the obelisk will be subjected to restoration and assembly work by a team of the Ministry of Antiquities in Cairo.
On his part, Mohammed Al-Saidi, director of the Scientific Office of the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the obelisk in the San Al-Hajar archaeological area was severed into 8 parts, including the upper part in the form of "Ben Bin" (Harim), where the height, upon assembly competition, will will reach about 17 meters, and weights about 90 tons. He noted that the obelisk is carved from pink granite stone and is known for the beauty of its inscriptions depicting King Ramses II standing in front of an idol, in addition to the various titles of the king.
Worth noting that last September , the Ministry of Antiquities completed the first phase of the developing the San Al-Hajar archaeological site, where it renovated, assembled two obelisks, two columns and two statues in the temple of Ramses II as well as finished the restoration and lifting of some archaeological parts lying on the ground since its discovery.
The ministry has also began, with self funding, the second phase of the restoration, assembly and construction of a number of other obelisks, statues and columns in the archaeological site, which is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in the Delta and Sharkia Governorate.
A few months ago, the Egyptian-French cooperation project was launched to improve the efficiency of services in the region. In this project, France provided large finance to develop the place including establishing visitors center to serve with instructions as well as making online pages to provide information and archival images of the history of the discovery of the region.
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