Australia to Host ‘Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs’ Exhibition

The Australian Museum in Sydney is gearing up to host the exhibition “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” in November. (Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
The Australian Museum in Sydney is gearing up to host the exhibition “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” in November. (Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
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Australia to Host ‘Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs’ Exhibition

The Australian Museum in Sydney is gearing up to host the exhibition “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” in November. (Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)
The Australian Museum in Sydney is gearing up to host the exhibition “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” in November. (Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities)

The Australian Museum in Sydney is gearing up to host the exhibition “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” in November as part of its fourth international tour, following its successful stops in the French capital, Paris, and the American cities of Houston and San Francisco.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, inspected on Sunday the halls where the artifacts will be displayed.

In a press statement, Waziri said his visit to the Australian Museum “aims to ensure the readiness of the halls to host the exhibition, the implementation of security and precautionary measures, as well as the safety and civil protection measures in place, to guarantee the safety of the archaeological artifacts.”

The exhibition comprises 181 archaeological pieces from the collections of Cairo's Egyptian Museum dating back to the era of Pharaoh Ramses II, as well as some discoveries from the Egyptian mission in the Heliopolis area of Saqqara.

Additionally, it showcases artifacts from various Egyptian museums that highlight distinctive aspects of ancient Egyptian civilization. Among them are a collection of statues, jewelry, cosmetic tools, paintings, intricately decorated stone blocks, and colorful wooden sarcophagi.

“Organizing the exhibition in Australia is of great importance for tourism promotion, as it is a country that has rarely organized exhibitions of Egyptian artifacts,” Hussein Abdel-Basir, the Director of the Antiquities Museum at the Library of Alexandria, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Sydney was supposed to host an exhibition of Tutankhamun years ago, but it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the artifacts returned from London without completing their international tour,” he added.

The Australian Museum has opened reservations for the highly anticipated exhibition.

It has invited the public to embark on a captivating journey that transports them back over 3,300 years, to delve into the pulsating heart of ancient Egypt and get acquainted with one of its most renowned pharaohs.

The all-new multisensory museum experience will provide visitors with a window into the life and accomplishments of Ramses II, more commonly known as Ramses the Great, who ruled Egypt for 67 years – the second longest reign for any pharaoh, living an astonishing 92 years.



Egypt Recovers 3 Ancient Artifacts Found in the Netherlands

This picture shows a partial view of Cairo on August 25, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
This picture shows a partial view of Cairo on August 25, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
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Egypt Recovers 3 Ancient Artifacts Found in the Netherlands

This picture shows a partial view of Cairo on August 25, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
This picture shows a partial view of Cairo on August 25, 2024. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)

Egypt recovered three ancient artifacts that were smuggled out of the country and found in the Netherlands, where two of the items were for sale in an antiques shop, Egyptian officials said Tuesday.
The items retrieved include a mummified head from the Hellenistic period, a ceramic funerary figurine dating to Egypt’s New Kingdom era (664-332 B.C.), and part of a wooden tomb bearing an inscription of the goddess Isis from 663-504 B.C., the Egyptian embassy in The Hague said in a statement. The head was found in good condition, showing remnants of teeth and hair, The Associated Press reported.
Dutch police and the cultural heritage inspection unit retrieved the figurines and parts of the tomb after determining that they were smuggled out of Egypt. A Dutch individual handed over the mummified head, which he had inherited from a family member, to local authorities.
The three artifacts are believed to have been stolen and smuggled after they were discovered through illegal excavation, according to Egyptian authorities. No details were provided about when those items were believed to have been unearthed and smuggled.
Repatriation from the Netherlands is part of Egypt’s wider push to stop trafficking of stolen antiquities. More than 30,000 artifacts have been recovered since 2014.
Last year, an ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after US authorities determined it was smuggled years ago.