Ukraine in Arabic | Restoration of the Great Sphinx to be finished in Egypt
KYIV/Ukraine in Arabic/ Egypt will soon reopen to tourists the courtyard in front of the Sphinx which has been under restoration for nearly four years.
Carved from a single ridge of stone, the Sphinx is one of the most visited monuments in the world, and has been regularly restored following damage from air pollution and underground water.
The limestone half-man half-lion sits in a quarry below the level of the plateau where the pyramids of Giza stand on the outskirts of Cairo.
"The Sphinx courtyard will be opened for the first time since the restoration" of the monument, Antiquities Minister Mohammed al-Damati told reporters on a tour of the site.
Restorers consolidated the northern side of the statue which includes a large part of the Sphinx's left shoulder and neck.
"The sphinx is now safe and sound and will greet visitors to the Giza plateau after being hidden under scaffoldings for almost three years," al-Damati told. He added that the restoration took place using new blocks, inserted to consolidate those added during last century's restoration.
Erosion factors were the main reason that led to the deterioration of the blocks, said al-Damati adding that cracks have been spread over it.
He told that the courtyard in front of the Sphinx is to be open for the first time ever.
The courtyard, al-Damati pointed out, was closed many years ago and was never open to the public.
"A separate ticket than the one for the plateau is required for those who want to be face-to-face with the great sphinx," al-Damati told.
The sphinx has been restored several times in its history, most recently for a ten-year span starting in the 1990s.
Khafre's pyramid will be open to visitors after a new lighting system to light its corridors was installed.
Al-Damati said that the lack of budget was behind the delay in the completion of Khafre's pyramid restoration which took three years instead of one year.
According to the ministry's rotation plan, one pyramid of the three pyramids of Giza will be closed every year for restoration.
The Sphinx was built in the 4th dynasty by the pharaoh Khafre, known as Chephren by the Greeks. Archaeologists are still puzzled over its exact purpose, with most believing it was constructed for religious and astronomical reasons.
Damati said a small temple built next to the Sphinx by pharaoh Amenhotep II of the 18th dynasty will also be opened to the public for the first time.
He added that the Menkaure pyramid - the smallest of the three Great Pyramids of Giza -- will be reopened on Monday after three years of restoration work.
