I begin my weekend with good coffee, time with my lady and a good breakfast and look forward to a couple of days without the total BS of an election……

My regulars will know that I do enjoy history and international stuff and today’s post fills both of those desires.

Since I was very young and saw the original Mummy I have been interested in Egyptian history….and it became more pronounce when working in the Middle East and North Africa I got to visit historical sites in Egypt….Giza, Luxor, Karnak among others……you cannot imagine the awe one feels standing at the base of the Great Pyramid or at the Step Pyramid…….the national museum in Cairo is a place of wonder and awe also…..and there is where I am going with this post…..

There is a new museum slated to open soon on the Plain of Giza…….

When visitors arrive at the Grand Egyptian Museum—to open near the Giza pyramids in 2018—they’ll be greeted by a 4-ton statue of King Amenhotep seated beside the Egyptian god Ra. But first, the 3,500-year-old pink granite statue will be restored, having just traveled 400 miles from Luxor, reports NBC News. Carefully secured by the Tourism and Antiquities Police, the statue rediscovered in southern Egypt in 2009 was one of 780 Egyptian artifacts to arrive at the museum recently in special humidity-controlled trucks, per Ahram Online. They’ll become part of a collection that will number 50,000 pieces, more than half of which have never been seen by the public before.

Clay pots, painted sarcophagi, and limestone blocks inscribed with hierogylphics are just some of the items hand-picked by General Director Tarek Tawfiq, per Ahram Online. Every piece will be arranged in its original context. “You will be transferred to ancient Egypt and you will have an enjoyable experience through real authentic pieces,” Tawfiq says. The Grand Staircase alone will be a spectacle. It will showcase 100 artifacts representing kingship, including the statue of King Amenhotep, a granite column from the temple of King Sahure in Saqqara, and two black granite statues of the lioness war deity Sekhmet from Luxor, reports Ahram Online. (Egypt is now celebrating this incredible discovery.)

I am old and will not get to see this amazing site but maybe my granddaughter will get the chance.

As long as we are talking about history there has been a development in Syria…….

Syrian government forces backed by Russian airstrikes pushed Thursday into the ancient town of Palmyra, which has been held by the Islamic State group since May, state TV reported. The advance came after the troops managed this week to capture several hills and high ground around the town, famed for its priceless archaeological site and Roman ruins, reports the AP. The state TV broadcast footage of its reporter, embedded with the Syrian military, speaking live from the entrance of Palmyra and saying that as of midday Thursday, the fighting was concentrated near the archaeological site on the southwestern edge of the town.

Recapturing the town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, would be a significant victory for Syria’s army and its Russian allies. Russia withdrew most of its forces and aircraft from Syria last week after a monthslong bombing campaign that succeeded in turning the tide of the war again in President Bashar Assad’s favor. Earlier in the day, Gov. Talal Barazi said from the nearby city of Homs that the Syrian army has determined three directions to storm Palmyra and was clearing all roads leading into the town of mines and explosives. “We might witness in the next 48 hours an overwhelming victory in Palmyra,” he said. (ISIS already has destroyed archaeological treasures in Palmyra.)

Sadly we will never be able to repair the damage the pigs in ISIS has done to this historical site….but at least we can punish the bastards for what they have done.