The eagerly awaited first part of the historic Axum Obelisk arrived in Ethiopia's northern ancient town of Axum from Italy early Tuesday.

The cargo plane, which loads the historical Obelisk, arrived at Axum Airport at 6:30 a.m. (1130 GMT).

Ethiopia's Culture Minister Teshome Toga, also chairman of the National Committee for the Return of Axum Obelisk, and other senior government officials received the obelisk at the airport.

Cheering crowd, religious leaders and invited guests also attended the ceremony marking the return of the obelisk, looted by the then Fascist Italy during the first half of the last century. Brochures heralding the return of the obelisk were being air- dropped in Axum town.

Speaking on the occasion, Teshome expressed happiness to the Ethiopian people over the return of the historic obelisk.

He said the return of the obelisk was made possible through the unstinted effort of the Ethiopian government and the full cooperation of the Italian government.

The Ethiopian minister said the return of the obelisk would further bolster the historical and diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Ethiopia's Information Ministry said in a statement that the decision of the government and peoples of Italy and the subsequent support they rendered to materialize their decision is expected of a civilized nation and is highly commendable.

The role Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi played in this regard merits particular mention as he did this with a great sense of responsibility, it said.

The ministry said the restitution of the obelisk after a successful diplomatic effort by the government of Ethiopia and the positive response of the government and people of Italy will scale up and open a new chapter in Ethiopian-Italian relations.

Residents of Axum on their part expressed their joy through various traditional dances and songs at the airport throughout the previous night. Residents from Shire, Adwa and other neighboring localities have begun to enter into Axum town to witness the return of the obelisk.

The remaining two parts of the obelisk, which weighs 58.2 tons, are expected to arrive in short period of time.

The event marking the return of the Axum obelisk has been postponed as the transportation of the obelisk, which was supposed to arrive on April 13, has been delayed for six days for technical and logistic problems, earlier reports indicated.

The stele, weighing 160 tons and standing 24 meters high, is around 1,700 years old and has become a symbol of the Ethiopian people's identity. In 1937 the invaders of fascist Italy have dismantled and taken it on the orders of Benito Mussolini.

Following the signing of two agreements by Italy and Ethiopia, in 1956 and 1997, Ethiopia formed a national committee for the return of the obelisk. This committee, working with the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), has carried out research and technical analysis to prepare the segmentation and transportation of the obelisk to Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is one of the oldest continuous civilizations in the world. The first known civilization in Ethiopia was that of the mighty Aksumite Kingdom. Having established itself in 1,000 BC, in northern Ethiopia, it eventually spread over all of northern and even central Ethiopia. The ancient city of Axum, which was started by the Aksumites, was Ethiopia's first capital city.