Walk with the Pharaoh

The Egyptians turned the relocation of the statue of Ramses II into a national holiday

The Egyptian authorities have decided to increase the attractiveness for tourists of one of the main attractions of their country - the Great Pyramids. Now in Giza, in addition to the pyramids and sphinxes themselves, visitors from all over the world will also be greeted by an 11-meter statue of Ramses II, transported from Cairo.

The statue of Ramses has spent the last half century in the center of the Egyptian capital near the railway station, so the official reason for moving the 83-ton statue was concern for the safety of the exhibit. According to scientists, city smog and vibration of the subway could lead to the destruction of the statue, which is already more than 3 thousand years old. “Descendants would not forgive us for the final destruction of the monument; it is already in unsatisfactory condition,” said the head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawassa.

Despite the fact that the pink granite from which the statue was made continued to deteriorate, it took scientists about ten years to agree on the final resting place of the “king of kings.” According to Egyptian officials, statues are not created to stand in squares, they should be either in museums or in temples. Mr. Hawass said experts agreed that the statue, which is the world's most recognizable symbol of Egypt - most often depicted on T-shirts, postcards and other souvenirs - should adorn the lobby of the new Grand Egyptian Museum. The Egyptian authorities plan to build it within five years, and during this time the statue of the pharaoh will be brought into proper shape.

Half a century ago, Ramses had already traveled from the capital of Ancient Egypt, Memphis, where he was discovered during excavations in 1887, to Cairo. Then the statue was transported in parts, divided into eight fragments. This time, probably due to the danger of destruction, they decided to transport it in its entirety.

After the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb at the beginning of the last century, the famous British essayist Gilbert Chesterton noted that even Tutankhamun managed to become news among the newspapers. With this in mind, Egyptian authorities, already subsisting largely on tourism, turned the relocation of the pharaoh's statue into an hours-long show broadcast live on television. An advertising campaign designed to attract as many tourists as possible to the ceremony of sending the pharaoh on his last journey began in the spring. Last Friday, the sculpture made of pink Aswan granite was separated from the concrete pedestal, wrapped in cellophane, treated with polyurethane foam and loaded in a metal container onto a special platform attached to a powerful tractor. The statue was secured with straps in a strictly vertical position and additionally supported by a crane. The speed of the procession, which was accompanied by spare tractors, ambulances and an armed guard of 1.5 thousand Egyptian army soldiers, did not exceed 5 km per hour. During the procession, the Cairo authorities had to change traffic routes in the city center and dismantle the pedestrian bridge to allow passage of the 13-meter structure.

The unique operation to transport the giant statue, which cost a million dollars, began at one in the morning local time and took ten hours. Despite the 40-degree heat, the journey of the “king of kings” took place with a huge crowd of people, turning last weekend into a real national holiday.

Yulia KHOMCHENKO