(25 May 1998) English/Nat
The Sphinx is ready to greet its public again.
Egypt has unveiled the restored figure, built into a limestone outcrop in front of the Great Pyramids.
The unveiling ceremony was followed by a 90-minute party to celebrate the restoration of the 45-hundred year old Sphinx.
Egyptian archaeologists and experts toiled for ten years to repair the effects of erosion on the 45-hundred year old sphinx.
It took more than 2.5 million U-S dollars and 12-thousand limestone blocks to restore the sculpture's weakened paws, legs and stomach.
And on Monday, the restored sphinx was finally unveiled to the sounds of new Age music played.
The signal was given by a man in a Pharaonic priest's costume, as guards in loin cloths rolled back hundreds of metres of white star-specked sheets covering the Sphinx.
Federico Mayor, director-general of the U-N Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, praised the work as a magnificent restoration.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It's a very important day because to safe-guard the treasures of our past, our common heritage. It's a very important not only for Egypt but for the world as a whole. "
SUPER CAPTION: Federico Mayor, Director General of the U-N Educational and Cultural Organisation
Egypt hopes the refurbished figure will bring back tourists. The tourist trade has been down since Islamic militants gunned down 58 people at another ancient site last November.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It is a day that everybody all over the world will remember because the Egyptians and our president will announce to the whole world that the Egyptian is safe. Ten years ago the Sphinx was not smiling because of the bad restoration. Today the Sphinx for the first time is smiling, because it has gained again the proportions. The restoration is wonderful. This project and the celebration today will tell everyone all over the world two messages: Number 1, that the Sphinx is safe; and Number 2, that Egypt is safe. And everyone has to come to witness the restoration of the Sphinx. We have to know also the Sphinx was the symbol of the whole world. Today still, in the ancient times it was the symbol of ancient Egyptian and the symbol of kingship, and it's still to us Egyptians the symbol for all of us, not only for Egyptians but everyone all over the world."
SUPER CAPTION: Dr. Zahi Hawas, Head of Giza Antiquities
Leading Egyptian opera singers Reda el-Wakil and Iman Mostafa also performed during the opening ceremonies which were broadcast live on state television.
The Sphinx, believed to show the face of its builder Pharaoh Chephren, is still missing its beard, parts of which are in the British and Egyptian museums.
The nose was lost in the 14th century.
The damage to the Sphinx was brought by centuries of wear, but it is also blamed on the water from drainage system of nearby villages.
The earliest restoration was undertaken almost 3,400 years ago by a prince later crowned Pharaoh Tutmosis IV.
Other attempts were made in Roman times, in the 1920s and in the 1970's.
The new restoration took care to use the same type of limestone and mortar employed by its ancient builders.
No one is sure why Chephren built the Sphinx, which sits 73.5 meters (242 feet) long and 20 metres (66 feet) high.
Some historians say it was part of a temple complex that stood in front of Chephren's Pyramid.
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