CAIRO: Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty headed for Japan Thursday to inaugurate “The Era of the Pyramid Builders” ancient Egyptian antiquities exhibition.
“Comprising over 120 artifacts gathered from different museums across Egypt, the exhibit will be inaugurated in Tokyo Thursday evening before it tours other eight Japanese cities including Matsuyama, Sendai, Kagoshima and Kyoto. The exhibition will be open until September 2017,” head of the Museums Section at the antiquities ministry Elham Salah was quoted by Youm7.
The artifacts are dating back to the Old Kingdom Period (2686 B.C.-2181B.C.); an era known as the Pyramids age, Salah said, adding that some of the artifacts have never been in public display before.
According to Damaty, the exhibit is produced in light of a protocol signed between the Japanese government and the Egyptian ministry of antiquities.
“The exhibit is expected to attract two million visitors with revenue estimated at $2.2 million. Its insurance value is estimated at $131 million,” he said.
It will contribute in boosting tourism sector and the ministry’s financial resources and benefit other archaeological projects, he added.
Earlier this month, Damaty announced that the antiquities ministry’s revenue from entrance fees of archaeological sites reached 380 million EGP ($50 million) during the 2014/2015 fiscal year, compared to 229.8 million EGP in the previous fiscal year.