On Tuesday, Dr. Khaled al-Anani, Tourism and Antiquities Minister, and Pilot Mohamed Manar, Civil Aviation Minister, inaugurated two new museums at Cairo International Airport, in celebration of International Museum Day, which is celebrated annually on May 18.
The museums are located in Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 buildings at Cairo International Airport.
The inauguration came as a continuation of the efforts and effective coordination between the two ministries and launching new initiatives and visions to revitalize the movement of tourism in Egypt, as well as highlighting the ancient civilization.
The ceremony was attended by the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Dr. Mustafa Waziri, Brigadier Engineer Hisham Samir, Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Engineering Affairs, and Professor Moamen Othman, Head of the Museums Sector at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
The inauguration was attended by Dr. Ali Omar, Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the Display Scenario of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Mahmoud Mabrouk, advisor to the minister of antiquities for museum displays, and Professor Bassem Abdel Karim, Assistant Minister of Aviation for International Affairs and Media.
Major General Tarek Naseer, Security Advisor to the Minister, Engineer Mohamed Saeed Mahrous, the Chairman of Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, chairman of the Cairo Airport Company Magdy Ishak, and other members from the ministries, had also attended the event.
The ministers listened to a detailed explanation from the two museum’s curators about their idea of its establishment during the opening ceremony, with the museum in Terminal 2, consisting of 100 meters and contained 304 artifacts that highlighted the ancient Egyptian’s interest in the eternal life and the artistic features of the ancient Egypt, Roman, Greek, Coptic, Islamic, and modern eras.
The museum also featured pieces that highlight the existence of Egypt, the cradle of the monotheistic religions that gathered under its shades in peace and harmony.
Afterward, the ministers and their accompanying delegation went to the museum in Terminal 3, consisting of 150 meters, instead of 60 square meters.
During the inauguration, Al-Anani expressed his happiness with the opening of the museums, describing it as a means of publicity and promotion for Egypt and its civilization, especially the cultural tourism product.
The minister noted that the museums are new attractions and a distinctive service that is provided within the Cairo International Airport for travelers, arrivals, transit travelers, and businessmen who have not had the opportunity to visit Egypt and its tourist and archaeological sites to get to know Egypt and its ancient civilization as well as encourage them to visit it.
He added this achieves one of the strategic objectives of the Ministry's sustainable development plan to raise the competitiveness of the Egyptian tourist destination by enhancing the tourism marketing of the distinctive components of the Egyptian product locally and internationally as well as attract the largest possible number of tourists from different markets and categories.
Al-Anani thanked Manar for the continuous and fruitful cooperation and the effort made over the past year to achieve the dream and open the two museums as it is an addition and a service that Cairo Airport provides to its passengers.
At the end of the inauguration, the Tourism Minister announced that the visit to the two museums is free of charge today on the occasion of their inauguration and in celebration of International Museum Day.
The Minister of Civil Aviation pointed out that the inauguration of the museums in the Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 buildings at the airport is a new step added to the achievements of the Ministry of Civil Aviation through integrating visions and unifying efforts with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in line with the goals of sustainable development and Egypt's future vision 2030.
He added that Egypt's airports are the country's first gateway to the world, as the idea of establishing and developing the museum is one of the most important means of developing transit tourism and tourism marketing plan due to its distinctive location within the airport, which is considered a central airport and an important cultural window for the world to attract travelers, especially transit passengers, and introduce tourists to the ancient Egyptian civilization and the great Egyptian heritage.
Manar noted that the inauguration comes as a first step that will be generalized in the rest of Egypt’s airports, especially those in the tourist attractions, pointing out that the presence of an archaeological museum in all airports is one of the affecting and important factors to attract tourism and the flow of cultural and Information for the benefit of Egypt’s economy.
The Museum of Terminal 3 features 59 artifacts that were carefully selected by the Supreme Committee for Museum Display Scenario from the holdings of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, the Coptic Museum in Misr El Qadima, the Museum of Islamic Art in Bab al-Khalq, and the Ashmolean Museum.
The artifacts date back to the ancient, middle, and modern periods, as well as the Roman and Greek eras.
Among the most important pieces on display, is a statue of the Egyptian writer from the Fifth Dynasty, two pieces from pre-dynastic times and a group of statues from the Greek and Roman eras, as well as the statue of Queen Hatshepsut from the New Kingdom and some rare pieces and Coptic icons from the eighteenth century, in addition to a set of coins, Qurans, and decorative plates that goes back to the different Islamic eras.
To encourage travelers to visit the museums, tickets were set up a little cheaper with the ticket price cost 3 dollars or EGP 50 for the foreign visitor and EGP 25 for the Egyptian visitor.
Contributed by Yara Sameh
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Tourism, Civil Aviation Ministers Inaugurate Cairo's Airport Museums[/caption]
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