Library of Luxor Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art re-opens on Nov. 4

CAIRO – 2 November 2022: On November 4, the Luxor Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art will inaugurate the museum's library after completing its development work. The museum will also hold a series of events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of discovering Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri explained that the development work of the library resumed for a year, and included creating its own database, in addition to enriching it with a variety of books in Arabic, English and German. The books are specialized in ancient and modern Egyptian history, Islamic and Coptic history, museums, arts and various industries.

Waziri noted that the number of books amount to nearly 4000, 2000 of which were deposited in a special wing of the library of Ahmed Youssef, dubbed as the Sheikh of the restorers. Among them is a group of books specialized in boats, through which one can learn about ways to restore the Khufu boat.

Part of the exhibited items - Min. of Tourism & Antiquities 

Part of the exhibited items - Min. of Tourism & Antiquities

For his part, Head of the Museums Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities Moamen Othman added that the celebration also includes the opening of a temporary archaeological exhibition under the title "The Golden King", which includes a group of distinguished pieces related to Tutankhamun.

Moreover, Director General of the Museum Alaa el-Minshawi indicated that on the sidelines of the celebration, an exhibition of photographs will be opened, and workshops will be organized to make a model of Tutankhamun's tomb, his mask, and some of his ornaments. This is in cooperation with the students of the Faculties of Archeology and Fine Arts, the Institute of Archeology Restoration, Tourism and Hotels, some school students in Luxor, and the participation of a group of students with special needs.

It is worth mentioning that Haj Ahmed Youssef started his work in the Egyptian Antiquities Authority in 1930, and established the first department for the restoration of antiquities to take the position of deputy and then head of the department. He also taught restoration for postgraduate students at the Faculty of Archeology, Cairo University for three years, after which a special department for restoration was established.

One of his most important achievements in the field of restoration is the restoration and re-installation of the Khufu boat, which was discovered in the area of the ruins of the pyramids. He also restored the tombs of Menna and Nakht in Luxor, which date back to the era of Thutmose IV, in addition to many restoration works in a number of Egyptian museums, including the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, the Coptic Museum and the Museum of Islamic Art.