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Installing The Marble Floor At The Museum
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Once
completed, the museum will tell the story of Minya through history, including
the rule of Pharaoh Akhenatun and his beloved wife Queen Nefertiti. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.
The
final phase of construction of the new Atun Museum, overlooking the River Nile
in Minya governorate, is finally in full swing after years of delay, according
to officials at Egypt's antiquities ministry.
Engineers,
archaeologists and builders are putting the finishing touches to the first
hall, which will serve as a model for other diplay areas in the museum. In the
next two weeks, the hall will be inspected by a project consultant to ensure it
is up to standard.
Elham
Salah, head of the ministry's museums section, said that work on the hall
includes the polishing of the walls and ceiling, and installing the lighting
and the air-condition systems.
"If
the project consultant approves the interior design and all the work achieved
in the sample hall, such as the colour of the polish, the location of the air-conditioning
and the type of flooring, it will be applied in all display areas in the
museum," Salah said.
Ahmed
Hemeda, director of the Atun Museum, said that the current work on the museum
is the final of three phases, now being completed several years behind
schedule.
Work
on the museum began in 2002, with the first two phases completed in 2010. These
phases included construction of the main building and additional structures
such as an administrative building. However, work halted after the January 2011
uprising due to a decline in tourism revenue and a lack of budget.
In
2015, work on the third phase began, which involves finishing walls, floors and
ceilings, installing lighting and air-conditioning systems, and completing
landscaping.
The
Atun Museum covers 25 feddans and stretches 600 metres along the Nile Corniche.
Its pyramid-shaped building contains 16 exhibition halls relating the history
of Minya governorate through history.
Some
halls will be dedicated to the history of the ancient captial city of
Al-Amarna, its monotheistic Pharaoh Akhenatun, his beloved wife Queen
Nefertiti, and other family members. There
will also be a garden, theatre, conference hall, a cafeteria and 19 shops for
arts and crafts.
