60 percent of the restoration work of the first column has been completed and all its original engravings and colours have appeared

In preparation for the gala opening of the Sphinxes Avenue development project in Luxor, the Karnak Temples’ Great Hypostyle Hall is under restoration.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that the first phase of the project started in late July with the restoration of the 12 opened papyri shaped columns located in the centre of the hall, while the second phase will be extended to the other columns.

He continued that 60 percent of the restoration work of the first column has been completed and all its original engravings and colours have appeared.

Gharib Sonbol, restoration and preservation advisor at the SCA, explains that the restoration team is now removing sand and dust off of the 134 columns of the Hypostyle Hall. The colossus of king Thutmose II, located at the eighth pylon, will also be subjected to restoration.