The year 2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the Research Centre of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, established by Professor Kazimierz Michałowski on 19 January 1959. The final event celebrating this important jubilee is the exhibition “60 Years of the Research Centre in Cairo”, the grand opening of which took place on 1 December 2019 in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in Cairo.
The exhibition presenting the most important achievements of Polish archaeological missions, not only from the University of Warsaw but also from cooperating institutions which also participated in the organization of the exhibition – chiefly the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University and the Archaeological Museum in Poznań, will be open until 15 December. It consists of boards dedicated to each project and a 3D model of the theater discovered in Alexandria. The exhibition is the result of cooperation between the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities, and the Polish Embassy in Egypt. The funds were provided by the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland. The event is coordinated by Dr. Patryk Chudzik from the PCMA. Showing the exhibition in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was possible thanks to Mr. Moamen Osman, Head of the Museums Sector at the Ministry for Antiquities, and Dr. Sabah Abdel Razek Seddik Kassem, Director of the Museum.
The guests attending the opening of the exhibition expressed their admiration for the achievements of Polish archaeologists. Their work was also appreciated by the official speakers: H.E. Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Egypt, Dr. Michał Łabenda; Director of the Research Centre in Cairo and Acting Director of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Dr. Artur Obłuski; and the Head of the Museums Sector at the Ministry for Antiquities, Mr. Moamen Osman. The speakers emphasized the effective and long-standing cooperation between Poland and Egypt in the area of archaeology, expressed in joint activities in the field and collaboration between authorities and scientific institutions, which has most recently born fruit in the shape of this exhibition. H.E. Polish Ambassador to Egypt referred in his speech to Prof. Kazimierz Michałowski, who, as the founder of the Research Centre, had given momentum to Polish archaeological activity in Egypt, conducted in the whole country: from the southern border up to the Nile Delta and the Mediterranean coast. H.E. the Ambassador thanked the Polish archaeologists for their hard work on numerous excavation sites. Dr. Obłuski underscored the importance of the cooperation and assistance of the Egyptian representatives and staff of the Ministry for Antiquities, while Mr. Moamen Osman thanked the Polish archaeologists and the Research Centre for their contribution to the development of archaeology.
The PCMA Research Centre in Cairo is the oldest Polish scientific institution in Egypt and the Near East. Its establishment was a milestone that helped improve the standing of Polish humanities worldwide. The Centre coordinates all the activities of Polish archaeological missions and also promotes Polish science and culture abroad. The exhibition presents archaeological projects carried out thanks to the presence of Polish researchers in Egypt resulting from a long-standing Polish-Egyptian cooperation.
Dr. Artur Obłuski wrote in the foreword to the exhibition catalog:
„The history of the PCMA UW Research Centre in Cairo involves dozens of projects and hundreds of Polish archaeologists, Egyptologists, conservators and architects. Many of these researchers committed to a scientific career in research in Egypt. The great interdisciplinary projects at Deir el-Bahari and in Alexandria, launched by professor Michałowski in the initial years of the functioning of the Centre, are still continued today and deliver new information about Egyptian history. Nevertheless, not just the famous sites, but each project implemented by the Centre makes a unique contribution to the development of Polish Mediterranean archaeology, which we would like to present to the visitors of the exhibition”.
Exhibition:
“60 years of Research Centre in Cairo”
1 – 15 December 2019
The Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Midan al-Tahrir, Downtown Cairo
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1. Uroczyste przecięcie wstęgi przez p. Moamena Osmana, Dyrektora Sektora Muzeów Ministerstwa Starożytności Egiptu oraz JE dr Michała Łabendę, Ambasadora RP w Egipcie (fot. M. Jawornicki) -
2. Przemowa JE dr Michała Łabendy, Ambasadora RP w Egipcie (fot. M. Jawornicki) -
3. Przemowa Moamena Osmana, Dyrektora Sektora Muzeów Ministerstwa Starożytności Egiptu (fot. M. Jawornicki) -
4. Przemowa dr. Artura Obłuskiego, p.o. Dyrektora CAŚ UW(fot. M. Jawornicki) -
5. Goście zebrani podczas przemówień (fot. M. Jawornicki)(fot. M. Jawornicki) -
6. Goście zebrani podczas przemówień (fot. M. Jawornicki)(fot. M. Jawornicki) -
7. Od lewej p. Moamen Osman, Dyrektor Sektora Muzeów Ministerstwa Starożytności Egiptu; dr Sabah Abd El-Razeq, Dyrektor Muzeum Egipskiego w Kairze; jej asystentka Fatma El-Zahraa; dr Artur Obłuski, p.o. Dyrektora CAŚ UW, JE dr Michał Łabenda, Ambasador RP w Egipcie; z tyłu dr Patryk Chudzik z CAŚ UW, koordynator wystawy (fot. M. Jawornicki) -
8. Dr Artur Obłuski, dr Patryk Chudzik oraz dr Sabah Abd El-Razeq oprowadzają po wystawie JE dr Michała Łabendę oraz p. Moamena Osmana (fot. M. Jawornicki) -
9. Dr Artur Obłuski z dr Sabah Abd El-Razeq (fot. M. Jawornicki) -
10. Katalog wystawy, na zdjęciu od lewej: dr Artur Obłuski, p.o. Dyrektora CAŚ UW; dr Patryk Chudzik (CAŚ UW), koordynator wystawy; Moamen Osman, Dyrektor Sektora Muzeów Ministerstwa Starożytności Egiptu; Sabah Abd El-Razeq, Dyrektor Muzeum Egipskiego w Kairze; JE dr Michał Łabenda, Ambasador RP w Egipcie (fot. M. Jawornicki) -
11. Model 3D amfiteatru odkrytego w Aleksandrii (fot. M. Jawornicki) -
12. Zwiedzanie ekspozycji (fot. M. Jawornicki) -
13. Poczęstunek (fot. M. Jawornicki)
