National Museum, symbol of war and destruction, reopens
Lebanon, Culture, 11/25/1997

The National Museum, symbol of Lebanon's war and destruction, will reopen its doors Tuesday in a grand ceremony by President Elias Hrawi after a 22-year closure.

For years, the area around the museum witnessed some of the most ferocious fighting between rival Christian and Muslim militias during the country's fifteen years of civil war.

It's Egyptian-inspired facade with its four towering pillars was reduced to a pitiful, bullet-scarred structure, its treasures vandalized, looted and abused by the militias.

Being situated on the so-called "green line" which separated Christian east Beirut from Muslim western Beirut, the museum took the worst of the fighting during the war years.

The word Matthaf -- Arabic for Museum -- was used only in reference to the demarcation line dividing the two sides of the city.

Today, after several years of hard work and a $2.5 million facelift, the museum is set to reopen its doors and usher in a new era for Lebanon.

Initially, only the ground floor will be open to visitors with part of the museum's collection of treasures on display. Those treasures, most famous among them being King Ahiram's limestone sarcophagus with its inscription of the first phonetic alphabet, were kept safe in cement cases in the museum's underground.

Fifty tons of cement were poured around the objects, keeping them safely hidden away from the fighting. Many of those objects, however, were damaged from rusting and corrosion caused by humidity and salt water which often seeped into the basement over the years.

These are being rehabilitated and will not be exhibited for at least two years.

About a 100 other objects, some of the dating back to the year 4000 BC, will be on display. These include anthropoid sarcophagi, stone objects, jewelry, statues and tombs.

"This is a very important day for me," said a bystandard, "We have never had the opportunity before to learn about our country's national heritage and I'm going to be among the first visitors to the National Museum,".

Previous Stories:
  Lebanese National Museum   (11/24/1997)
  National museum to open on November 25   (10/20/1997)
  Filmmakers to get a chance at first international festival   (9/9/1997)

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