CAIRO — The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has recently announced the completion of the restoration, maintenance and development works at Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi Citadel in Cairo, including the restart of the citadel’s clock tower, Egypt’s first ticking clock, after decades of nonoperation.

In a statement published on its Facebook page Sept. 16, the ministry announced that “the clock has been repaired by Egyptian craftsmen after years of nonoperation. The trials of the clock’s automatic winding [mechanism] have begun in order to ensure its continuous, uninterrupted operation.”

It continued, “The restoration of the clock tower has been completed, and the colors have been enhanced to give it back its original luster. Maintenance and reinstallation of the stained glass panels and the rims of the circular iron columns located on the upper part of the column were also completed.”

Egypt received the clock in 1846 as a gift from the King of France, Louis Philippe, to Muhammad Ali Pasha, then-ruler of Egypt. It was placed inside a metal tower decorated with inscriptions and stained glass panels, in the center of the northwestern hallway of the Mosque of Muhammad Ali.