By Akram Medhat
Minister of Antiquities Dr. Khaled El-Enany praised the efforts made by Egypt in cooperation with UNESCO to relocate and rescue the two temples of Abu Simbel during the last century, as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia in 1962.
This came in his speech yesterday evening, Tuesday, during the celebration held by the Egyptian Embassy in Paris at the Petit Palais to mark 200 years since the discovery of the Abu Simbel temple, attended by the French Minister of Defense, a number of ambassadors in Paris, members of the French National Assembly, and French and international news agencies.
El-Enany reviewed the history of the two temples and their most important archaeological features, and briefed the attendees on the steps of the project to relocate the two temples and on the efforts made by the Egyptian government to resume work on all stalled archaeological projects in order to complete and open them as soon as possible, inviting the attendees to visit Egypt to enjoy its unique heritage.
The celebration included a display of a collection of archaeological replicas that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs borrowed from the Ministry of Antiquities for the occasion, including a model of the war chariot of the golden pharaoh King Tutankhamun, made at the Ministry of Antiquities' replicas unit from gold-plated wood inlaid with stones, in addition to two models of the Abu Simbel temples.
Also on display was a collection of bronze busts of leading figures of the campaign to save the monuments of Nubia, in recognition of their great role: Dr. Selim Hassan, the dean of Egyptian archaeologists and then undersecretary of the Antiquities Service; Dr. Tharwat Okasha, Egypt's Minister of Culture at the time, who shouldered the rescue campaign; and Dr. Christiane Desroches Noblecourt, the French archaeologist who appealed to the world to save the monuments of Nubia and was appointed UNESCO adviser for the rescue of the Abu Simbel temples. The Ministry of Antiquities also contributed by providing the scientific material on the two temples, and the busts will be returned to be displayed in their original place at the Abu Simbel temples visitor center.
