The renovation work that began on January 26 has been going on in full swing, with the preliminary poojas for performing Kumbhabhisekham (consecration) expected to begin within a couple of weeks, according to the Agama Sastras.

The work is under the close monitoring of HR and CE Minister R Kamaraj, while R Kannan, Culture, Museums, Tourism and Religious Endowments Departments Secretary, experts from Archaeological Survey of India, State Archaeological Department and Museum department are extending advice. All renovation works have been documented from the beginning.

The renovation work is estimated to cost ` five crore, funded by donors. According to sources, the work is done in such a way that it would not require any structural repair for a century.

Talking to City Express, P Kothandaraman, Deputy Commissioner, Parthasarathy temple, said all the 29 holy kalasams had been gold-coated for the first time. This was done in the conventional way instead of modern electroplating process, and used 364 grams of gold for this.

“The electrical network has been replaced. The bulbs have been replaced with important LED bulbs. In accordance with our ancient practice, no electric light would be installed inside Karpa Griha (sanctum sanctorum). Once the consecration of temple is complete, the devotees can have darshan only in the light of ghee lamps,” Kothandaraman said.

Along with the structures, the lily pond (Allikeni), which gave the village its name Tiru Allikeni, has been restored. According to the temple history, the pond is called kairavini pushkarani — filled with red Lily flowers.  It is believed that Goddess Mahalakshmi was born in this tank as Vedavalli.  For the past four or five decades, there have been no lillies in the pond. But soon, red colour lily flowers will fill the pond to suit its name.

Kothandaraman added that unnecessary structures built inside the temple over a period using cement and all the marble structures have been removed. In their place, unpolished granite (karunkal) levelled by hand push hammering would be laid in all parts of the temple, adding to its ancient eighth century look.

As the woodwork inside the gold- plated Ananda vimanam atop the sanctum sanctorum of the presiding deity Lord Parthasarathy has been damaged over the years, it has been renovated using new teak wood. Instead of steel nails as is usual, brass nails have been used for the work.

The two temple cars will be covered with unbreakable transparent glasses in their middle portion at a cost of `27 lakh.

The karungal on the compound walls have been applied with an organic mixture called noogra paste imported from Afghanistan and another clay imported from Africa to ensure their safety.

Another mixture called surya kavasam, a mixture of aloe vera, vasambu (sweet flag), kadukkai (terminalia chebula) and a few other herbs will be applied inside of all temple towers in order to protect them from termites and other decay.

The 16-pillar mandapam (Andaal Neeraatta Mandapam) located on the Eastern side of the temple has also been  renovated. The lime coatings given during the past 10 decades have been removed using an organic material called devata.

Dream Darshan

The presiding deity here is Sri Venkatakrishna Swami also known as Geethacharya. Puranas say King Sumathy prayed  Lord Thiruvengada of the Seven Hills to give him darshan in the form of the charioteer (Sarathy) to Partha (Arjuna) during the Mahabharata war, rendering Bhagavad Gita. Lord Thiruvengada appeared in his dream and bade him to go to Brindaranya (Triplicane) where he would give him darshan in the form he wished. Sri Venkatakrishna Swamy is enshrined in the middle of the sanctum sanctorum, while Sri Rukmani Thayar and Satyaki are on his right and left. Elder brother Balarama is seen on the right side of Rukmani Thayar facing North and his son Prathyumnan and grandson Anirudhan are on the Northern side  facing south The Utsava Moorthi is seen with marks in the face caused by Bheeshma’s arrows during the Mahabharatha War.

Author: T. Muruganandham | Source: Indian Express [May 21, 2015]

Started in 2010, the renovation of the two tombs resumed after a three-year hiatus due to the political turmoil that followed the January 25 Revolution, head of the Projects Department at the Antiquities Ministry Waad Allah Abul Ela told The Cairo Post Tuesday.

According to Abul Ela, “The restoration work on the two tombs included cleaning and reinforcing walls and installing lighting and ventilation systems. New ceilings and roofs have been added as well as wooden floor coverings.”

According to the Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty, “The first tomb belonged to Imery, a high priest and administrative overseer of the royal court during the reign of Pharaoh Khufu (2589 B.C.-2566 B.C.) while the second belonged to Neferbau Ptah, Imery’s eldest son who was an overseer of the royal estates and a superintendent of the royal palace during the 5th Dynasty (2494 B.C.-2345 B.C.)

The four-year renovation was carried out under the supervision Supreme Council of Antiquities, said Damaty.

“The restoration work in Imery’s tomb included the removal of modern graffiti left by visitors on the walls of the tomb—particularly in the burial chamber—along with the removal of the old finishing mortar, which was falling from the walls,” Abul Ela said, adding that new mortar was then applied to the walls.

Located in the southwestern corner of the western necropolis at Giza, the tomb of Imery includes a number of vividly colored paintings covering the walls representing most of the practices of Imery’s everyday life with his family, archaeologist Sherif el-Sabban told The Cairo Post Tuesday.

According to Abul Ela, the tomb of Neferbau Ptah, which was unearthed in 1925, is badly damaged “due to the poor condition of the rock from which it was carved in the cliff and also due to the old-fashioned sanitation system installed in an unscientific method in the nearby Nazlet al-Samman suburb.”

“The renovation work in this tomb included restoring and strengthening the paintings and fixing the fading colors,” he added.

Neferbau Ptah’s tomb comprises five rooms and a crypt along with a life size rock carved statue in the western wall, Sabban said, adding that “the harvest scenes depicted at the tomb’s eastern wall are the most beautiful of the drawings in the tomb.”

Author: Rany Mostafa | Source: The Cairo Post [April 29, 2015]

Entrust repair to professionals!

VIA «Home builder in Sydney»

The mosque had been closed since 1992 due to damage it had suffered from an earthquake in the same year.

As part of the Al-Darb al-Ahmar Urban Regeneration Program, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has commenced the renovation work in 2009.

The mosque was inaugurated in presence of Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty, the Aga Khan, the Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, Cairo governor Galal Saeed.

“The restoration of the Amir Aqsunqur Mosque was executed by a team of 60 to 80 craftsmen and conservators. They had first to remove the temporary supports installed after the 1992 earthquake – and then to implant seismic retrofit measures to protect against future earthquakes. They worked to conserve extensive roofing and facades on the one hand, and delicate marble panels and Iznik ceramic tiles on the other,” said the Aga Khan.

The blue tiles at the mosque’s interior eastern wall lend this mosque its alternative name, Islamic history professor at Minya University Fathy Khourshid told The Cairo Post Sunday.

The World Monuments Fund and the Selz Foundation were also key supporters of the restoration of the Amir Aqsunqur Mosque.

“Covering the Qibla wall from the floor to the ceiling, these tiles are in the style of ceramics manufactured in the Turkish town of Iznik which is famous for blue tiles,” said Khourshid.

Located in Islamic Cairo’s modern district of Al-Darb al-Ahmar between Bab Zuweila and the Citadel of Saladin, “the mosque was a part of a funerary complex, containing the mausoleums of its founder Shams El-Din Aqsunqur, his sons, a number of children of the Mamluk sultan Nasir Mohamed and that of its principal restorer, Ibrahim Agha al-Mustahfizan,” according to Khourshid.

Author: Rany Mostafa | Source: The Cairo Post [May 03, 2015]

Following the conversion of two Hagia Sophia into museums, which were initially built as churches and then turned into mosques and, subsequently, museums, the third Hagia Sophia in Edirne’s Enez district will be reconverted into a mosque, according to Foundations General Director Adnan Ertem, despite previous debates on turning it into a museum after reconstruction.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Ertem said the Edirne Culture Assets Protection Regional Board approved the reconstruction project of the structure, which he called a “mosque” during the interview.

Ertem said the project would start as soon as possible, adding that the Hagia Sophia has been taken into the Foundations General Directorate’s investment program.

Explaining why it should be re-opened as a mosque, Erdem said the building was a “sanctuary that was consecrated as a mosque.”

“It is a foundation that can be put into service in line with its foundational charter. Thus its function will be preserved,” said Ertem.

Enez’s Hagia Sophia is located inside the ancient city of Ainos and although there are no records, it is thought to date back to the 12th century. It is located along the border with Greece and stationed on top of a hill seen from all around.

The district governor of Enez, Fatih Baysal, said in 2012 the usage of the structure as a mosque or not was a matter to be decided after the renovation.

“But even if it is used as a museum or a mosque, this place really needs to be [opened],” said Baysal.

Enez Mayor Abdullah Bostancı said the structure would have similar properties to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

The main Hagia Sophia, which has been a museum since 1935, was built in the fourth century and converted into a mosque, when Mehmet the Conqueror took Istanbul in 1453.

The Hagia Sophia in Turkey’s western district of İznik, which was initially constructed as a church in the eighth century and turned into a mosque when the city was conquered by the Ottomans in the 14th century, became a museum in the Turkish Republic. The building was later converted into a mosque in November 2011.

Another Hagia Sophia church, located in the Black Sea province of Trabzon, had been a mosque for many years after the conquest of the city and registered as a mosque in its land title. It was then turned into a museum and transferred to the Culture and Tourism Ministry. It was retransferred to the Trabzon Regional Directorate of Foundations through a court decision and reopened for Muslim worship in July 2013.

After the conversion from museum to mosque, 33 historic artifacts from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman eras in the garden of Trabzon’s Hagia Sophia were moved to the Trabzon Museum in January 2014.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [May 01, 2015]

The Culture and Tourism Ministry commenced a project to renovate and reanimate the original appearance of the ancient castle, which was built by the Genoese people 800 years ago, said Cüneyt Yemenici, the mayor of Akçakoca in Düzce.

“There will be bidding until the first half of 2016 for the restoration project. The tools necessary for the renovation have been determined,” said Yemenici.

Expecting the castle to reopen for touristic purposes in the summer of 2017, Yemenici indicated their communication and collaboration with the Culture and Tourism Ministry would continue.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News [July 23, 2015]

Kardzhali mayor Hasan Azis signed a EU-grant contract valued at EUR 748 203, as announced by the municipality's Press Office. The grant is provided through the financial mechanism of the European Economic Area in the field of restoration, renovation and protection of the cultural heritage of the region.

The project entails activities set to continue the preservation and social inclusion of the archaeological complex in the Bulgarian tourist map. A portion of the ancient complex will be restored, conserved and exported from the site located near the south-western part of the Acropol.

Planned activities are set to last approximately 13 months.

Source: Novinite [April 23, 2015]

The first phase of the project covers 18 sections of the "Great Wall of Qi" with a total length of 61 km. It will cost 208 million yuan (34 million U.S. dollars), according to Xie Zhixiu, head of the provincial cultural heritage administration.

Shandong will also launch projects this year to protect the natural environment and ancient military facilities along the Wall, said Xie.

Built between 770 BC and 476 BC in the ancient state of Qi, today's Shandong, the Great Wall of Qi started at a small village in what is now Changqing District of Jinan City, with passes, gates, castles and beacon towers along a total length of 641 km till it met the sea near Qingdao.

Due to natural erosion, construction, mining and land reclamation, the Great Wall of Qi is in a worsening condition.

As military defense projects, more than 20 emperors in ancient China ordered the building or renovation of walls and fortifications. The Great Wall of China was made a World Heritage Site in 1987.

Source: Xinhua [June 26, 2015]

“This is part of our common heritage,” said Glafkos Constantinides, a member of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot cultural heritage technical committee, during a press preview on Wednesday and continued: “Our heritage comes from the past but also what we expect to build in the future.”

Greek and Turkish Cypriot politicians followed a tour at the renovated “Othello Tower” the same day after accepting the invitation of the Slovak Ambassador in Cyprus, Oksana Tomova, in the context of the Slovak Republic’s initiative “Dialogue for Peace.”

The restoration, that cost over 1 million euros, was carried out by the bicommunal technical committee, the European Commission and the United Nations Development Program Partnership for the Future (UNDP-PFF).

“Othello Tower” will be open to visitors in July 2 hosting a marvelous performance of the Shakespearean drama, in which young and talented Greek and Turkish Cypriot actors will take part.

Author: Katerina Papathanasiou | Source: Greek Reporter [June 16, 2015]