Pharaoh Ramses II Statue’s Epic Journey To Egypt’s Grand Museum | Reuters

One of Egypt's most iconic monuments, this colossal statue of Pharaoh Ramses II welcomes visitors to the new Grand Egyptian Museum, which officially opens on the 1st of November. The 3,200-year-old statue made a remarkable journey over many decades to reach its current home. It was discovered in an ancient city of Memphis in 1802 and restored from pieces to its full height of 36 feet. It stood for decades in Cairo's central Ramsey Square, before ending up at the museum in Giza, near the pyramids. How was this huge statue, weighing about 91 US tons, moved around? Archaeologist Aliya Yusuf explains. Some foreign consultants had said it would be impossible to move a statue of that size, so an experiment was conducted using a model with the same weight and height as the original statue, and it was successful. Then in 2006, the actual move took place, transporting the statue from Bab el Hadid in Ramsey Square to the Grand Egyptian Museum. It was a very successful operation. The transportation cart was specially designed to absorb vibrations, and the statue was carefully wrapped in foam padding for protection. After that, the statue arrived here. The journey took about 10 hours. It wasn't easy, but it was completed successfully, both during the experiment and during the actual move. The monument was finally installed in 2018 after the long and expensive operation. Under construction for more than 20 years, the museum was initially scheduled to open in 2012, but the launch was repeatedly delayed due to cost overruns and political turmoil.