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After 11-hour careful movement, Egypt on Friday succeeded in moving the famous statue of the 19th Dynasty Pharaoh Ramses II from downtown Cairo to a new and peaceful home near the Great Pyramids.

The statue reached its new home near the Pyramid plateau in western Cairo at about 12 o'clock local time (0900 GMT) after creeping some 35 km.

The movement began as scheduled at 01:00 AM local time (2200 GMT Thursday) in Ramses Square in downtown Cairo as the heavy-truck pulled out the place where the statue was located. Although the operation was conducted at midnight, tens of thousands of Egyptians and some foreigners in Cairo poured into the square and along the streets it passed by to see off the 3,200-year-old statue, a landmark scene for Cairo.

There were so many people and cars swarming into the square that it caused serious traffic jam along several main streets even one hour before the operation.

"Long live Ramses!" a young man called Hassan shouted in Arabic, saying that he was to bid farewell to the great Pharaoh Ramses II. Ramses II, dubbed "King of the Kings," was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty and was believed to take the throne in his early 20s and ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC for over 66 years.

He was once said to have lived to be 96 years old, but it was more likely that he died at the age of 90 or 92. As a great builder and a famed ancient warrior, he was seen by many as the greatest Pharaoh in ancient Egyptian history by bringing unprecedented power and glory to Egypt.

His statue, made in pink granite, was one of the most important archeological discoveries in Egypt. Some 11.5 meters high, the 83-ton giant statue was unearthed in 1882 in ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis.

In 1954, the statue was dismantled into six pieces and transferred from Memphis to the Ramses Square. It soon became one of Cairo's most famous landmarks.

But placing the priceless statue there has since given rise to many controversies, particularly in terms of the protection of the antique.

Egyptian officials and archeologists said that the statue has been damaged due to exposure to exhaust fumes and the vibrations caused by cars and subway traffic.

Moving the statue out of such a polluted atmosphere was the best possible decision after over 50 years of suffering, said Egyptian Cultural Minister Farouq Hosni after announcing the transfer plan in late May.

Yet moving such a big and precious statue was by no means an easy job.

To face the challenge, the engineers have constructed a steel cage around the statue and connected it to steel beams. They also covered the statue with a special paint, foam-like material and adhesive tapes to protect it from scratches while being loaded on two flat-bed trucks.

To ensure a smooth and safe trip, the Egyptian authorities carried out two trial runs before Thursday's transfer on July 21 and July 27 respectively.

Before Thursday's operation, the Egyptian government deployed thousands of policemen and even the elite guard forces of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a bid to secure a safe moving of the convoy.

The transfer has drawn much attention from Egypt's domestic media and even foreign media. The 11-hour process was broadcast live on Egyptian TV.

Such media hype has made Gharabawi, the 60-year-old veteran truck driver of the heavy truck that towed the statue along its way to the new home, become famous in Egypt overnight. "Although I have carried out very difficult assignments before, carrying the statue of King Ramses on the back of my truck to his new house is the toughest assignment I will ever undertake in my life," said Gharabawi.

Ramses II statue is now temporarily placed near the site where Egypt's Grand Museum was being built at some US$550 million.

Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Ha was said after the transfer that a working team, comprising archeologists, will inspect and overhaul the statue in his new site.

"I think that if Ramses were alive and could talk, he would say 'Thank you for transferring me (to this new home)'," Hawas told Egyptian TV.

(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2006)