BIA

MAI 2015
Bureaucracy is another problem. After the
revolution, many heads of different sections
were afraid of signing paper work. The National
Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) and the
Mallawî Museum were true examples of
bureaucracy. I have now signed the papers on
my own responsibility, and the work has
resumed. The Mallawî Museum is to be officially
inaugurated soon. Another phase of the NMEC
is to be opened in July.
The lack of security is a third problem, and
we are trying to fill the gap through the
installation of new electronic security systems
like the one newly installed in the Luxor
Museum. The lack of specialist restorers is a
fourth problem, since the ministry has a large
number of restorers but most of them are nonspecialist.
This led to the improper restoration
of the Tutankhamun mask.
I have created a new section in the ministry
for restoration in order to provide specialist
restorers, meaning that it will soon have
restorers specialising in metals, wood, glass,
stone, papyri and so on. Training for restorers
will also be introduced in collaboration with
Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
The social media is a fifth obstacle, as
incorrect material appears on the Internet.
— What is the ministry’s policy regarding
the return of illegally smuggled antiquities?
Since I entered office almost 500 artefacts
have been returned from France, Switzerland,
and the United States. A collection is to come
back from Australia soon.
Can you comment on UNESCO Director-
General Irina BOKOVA’s visit this week to Cairo
to attend a conference on cultural properties
under threat in the Middle East?
Irina BOKOVA is to inaugurate the conference
and will pay a visit to the MIA to inspect the
rehabilitation and restoration work carried out
there, as well as signing the agreement for
UNESCO’s $100,000 donation to the MIA. Her
attendance is a great honour to the conference
and sends the message that UNESCO is
protecting all monuments, including those
damaged during terrorist attacks. (Nevine El-
Aref, “The future of the past”, Al-Ahram Weekly,
May 14, 2015. Voir également « al-Damâtî : Je
suis amplement satisfait du travail accompli par
mon ministère », Ruz al-Yûsuf, 16 mai ; Amânî
Abû al-Nagâ, « al-Damâtî : les médias publient
des informations erronées et se focalisent sur
les aspects négatifs », al-Shurûq, 17 mai ;
Ahmad Mar‘î, « al-Damâtî : Je tente de
ressusciter un ministère moribond », al-Yawm
al-Sâbi‘, 22 juin).
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Vendredi 15 mai 2015
A fire broke out in the grounds of a 19 th -
century royal palace in Cairo but caused no
damage to the historic building, officials said
on Friday. Three fire vehicles were dispatched
to the ‘Umar Tûsûn Palace in the district of
Shubrâ in northern Cairo to extinguish the
blaze. Photos from the site showed flames
leaping from behind the wall of the palace.
Muhammad ‘Abd al-Latîf who is head of the
Islamic Antiquities Department at the Ministry of
Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the fire
broke out at a modern hall on the grounds of
the palace, and didn’t reach the historical
building. “Thank God the fire is contained and
nothing has happened to the palace,” said ‘Abd
al-Latîf, who added that the police were
investigating the causes of the fire.
‘Abd al-Latîf said that the halls on the site
were built by the Ministry of Education in the
1970s when the palace was in the possession
of the ministry, and were used to store desks,
tables and other equipment. The antiquities
ministry, ‘Abd al-Latîf said, will ask education
ministry to remove the items and clear the
halls.
The palace is a 3,200-square metre building
on two storeys, with an arcade façade and a
long terrace on its upper floor. It was built in
1868 for Prince ‘Umar Tûsûn, who also
BIA LI — Janvier/Juin 2015 122