Strolling on the Avenue of Sphinxes

Originally published February 11, 2010 | Al-Ahram Weekly Online | by Nevine El-Aref | Tourists will soon be able to see two sections of the Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor looking much as they did in the days of the Pharaohs. Nevine El-Aref takes a stroll down the path of priests and princes in her very detailed article regarding this very exciting excavation program.

More Regarding Restoration of Luxor's Sphinx Avenue

Originally published January 29, 2010 | The Star Online | by Alexander Dziadosz | More details concerning the restoration of Luxor's Sphinx Avenue (previously posted January 24: Sphinx Alley Gives Egypt Large Open-Air Museum), including how many have been unearthed thus far, how long the project will take to complete, how long it will take to restore the avenue, and its pre- and post-relation with tourism.

Egypt Relics Chief Pulls in Revenue as He Fights for Nefertiti

Originally published January 26, 2010 | Bloomberg | by Daniel Williams | This article highlights the past and future endeavors of one Dr. Zahi Hawass, none of which have come without controversy. Such endeavors have been the following: the request to return fragments from the Louvre, numerous attempts to regain the Nefertiti bust in the Neues Museum, the discovery that Egyptian workers had built the pyramids and not Hebrew slaves, the collection of billions in revenue from the Tutankhamun traveling exhibit to fund Egyptological projects, and the like.

Antiquities Protection Draft Law Continues to Ignite Debates at PA

Originally published January 20, 2010 | Zawya | by Safaa Abdoun | Here's an excerpt of one of my favorite topics - illicit trade and private owning of antiquities:

Protection of Egypt's antiquities was the subject of heated debate at the People's Assembly as steel mogul and senior National Democratic Party MP Ahmed Ezz and Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni argued over private ownership of antiquities.

The point of contention was Article 8, which bans the trade, or any other form of disposal, of antiquities unless there is a written consent from the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA). It also states that the council has the right to take the antiquity from the owner and offer a reasonable compensation.

[...]

Minster of State for Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Councils, Mofid Shehab, proposed to add a clause to the articles which states that anyone in possession of an antiquity has to notify the council within a year of the law coming into force.

Parliament Speaker Ahmed Fathi Sorour said that the crime of owning an antiquity is only punishable if the owner knows that it is an antiquity and doesn't report it, and he postponed the discussion of this article until the entire law is discussed.

News from the Desk of Zahi Hawass

From November 13 - December 13, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | by Dr. Hawass

Articles:

• December 13: Tourist Regulations
• December 9: The Tomb of Sa-Iset at Dashur
• November 24: Climate Change and Conservation in Egypt
• November 16: Site Management at Giza

Video:

• December 10: Tomb Robbers in the Valley of the Kings
• December 3: King Tut’s Treasure
• November 26: The Curse of Tutankhamun
• November 20: How Did King Tut Die?

Photos:

• December 7: Tomb of Amenemhab
• December 2: The Mummy of Sitre-In
• November 26: Yuya and Thuya Canopic Jars
• November 20: Seti I Tunnel

Egypt to Combat Emissions With Solar Power

Originally published September 29, 2009 | Mena Infrastructure | by Timon Singh

More on Site Management and Restoration at Luxor

Originally published September 1, 2009 | Zahi Hawass' Blog | Dr. Hawass

Zahi Hawass supplements Nevine El-Aref's article at Al-Ahram Weekly Online concerning major developments to monuments and archaeological sites at Luxor; this time, it straight from the source. Less site pollution at Deir el-Bahri; a new lighting system has been tested to dazzle visitors to the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the mortuary temples, and Deir el-Bahri at night; the future opening (significantly dated for November 4th) of Howard Carter's rest-house; and more are detailed in Hawass' post.

Hawass' Plans For a "Replica Valley"

Originally published August 27 - September 2, 2009 | Al-Ahram Weekly Online | by Nevine El-Aref

The following is an excerpt from Al-Ahram Weekly Online where Zahi Hawass reveals his and the SCA's plans to create a "Replica Valley" of the most famous of the KV/Q tombs such as Tutankhamun's, Seti I's and Nefertari's (the most beautiful if I don't say so myself); click the above link to read the full story:

As for the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I and Nefertari, Hawass said a plan to protect them was now being implemented in collaboration with the British organisation Adam Lowe of Factun Arte. The plan is to create identical replicas of these tombs by making detailed high-resolution copies of the burial chambers, paintings and sarcophagi using laser scanners. After the replicas have been constructed they will be installed on the cliff side of the Valley of the Kings, which will be called "The Replica Valley" where visitors can experience their beauty with the knowledge that the ancient paintings are being preserved. Hawass pointed out that missing fragments from these tombs now held in foreign museum, would also be scanned and added to the overall reconstruction to give a complete picture of the tombs.

Explore Ancient Egypt with Fairmont & National Geographic

Originally published August 26, 2009 | Yahoo! News

If you're willing to spend $960 and would like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the secrets of Egypt through lectures, tours, and a felucca ride in the company of Zahi Hawass, then this offer is certainly for you. This Global Explorer Series from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and the National Geographic Society runs from November 27 - 30, 2009 and has many fabulous incentives (as if Dr. Hawass wasn't enough, my goodness!). Click on the above link to read more on this offer.

The following is a direct link to the Fairmont Towers web site, where you can book the tour.

Even Egypt's Pharaohs Suffer from Backpacker Fatigue

Originally published August 25, 2009 | Telegraph | by Rowan Pelling

The following is an excerpt from the Telegraph, which speaks of the speculated fate of the Valley of the Kings and Queens:

Outside of Bangkok, two of the planet's least lonely places are Egypt's Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, where bus-loads of tourists tramp all over the pharaohs' tombs. Sadly, the horde's humid breath raises the moisture level in the closely confined chambers, accelerating their decay. This means that visitor numbers will soon be severely limited – experts and dignitaries only, I imagine – while replica tombs will be built for the gawping masses.

I hate to say "I told you so," but...I told you so! I wouldn't go as far as to say that these replicas will be "no more alluring than Las Vegas" because they will be far more precise and true to Egyptian craftsmanship (one would hope, anyway). Like I said before, just close off the Valleys (I don't care if it takes years...just not too many) until technologically sound protection to all contents within each Valley tomb is implemented (I certainly would not mind looking through Plexiglas). Of course, that's easy for me to say. If worst comes to worst, I'll just load up my credentials with so many degrees in Egyptological subjects that Zahi Hawass will have no choice but to let me into one of those chambers.

"Closed" Sign Coming Soon to King Tut's Tomb

Originally published August 19, 2009 | USA Today | by John Bacon

The following is an excerpt from USA Today, regarding more on the latest news about the possibility of the Valley of the Kings being closed off to tourists wanting to visit the tombs. Dr. Hawass if certainly faced with a double-edged sword, a predicament that shouldn't come without massive consideration: either you close off the KV tombs and create a museum filled with replicas and decrease the touristic population (I can see a replica tomb here in Chicago) or close off the KV tombs to tourists temporarily (and still decrease revenue from tourism, be it temporarily) and open them when proper technology has been implemented within each tomb so that the delicate contents within and tourists can peacefully coexist. I wouldn't mind waiting for proper technological implementation, as the former option (one Hawass has proposed) would really kill revenue for Egypt. Like I said before, I can see a replica here in the states; although, I suppose the addition of the Egyptian culture while seeing these replicas would make a better experience.

If you're interested in visiting the tombs of pharaohs in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, better schedule your trip soon.

[...]

"A team of experts is currently using laser technology to examine these tombs in order to build the replicas ... which would then open to visitors in a place near the Valley of the Kings," Hawass said.

Egypt Warns Pharaohs' Tombs Could Disappear

Originally published August 18, 2009 | Yahoo! News - Singapore and Agence France Presse

The following is an excerpt from Yahoo! News in Singapore. Click the above link to read the full story.

The ornate pharaonic tombs in Egypt's Valley of the Kings are doomed to disappear within 150 to 500 years if they remain open to tourists, the head of antiquities has warned.

Zahi Hawass said humidity and fungus are eating into the walls of the royal tombs in the huge necropolis on the west bank of the Nile across from Luxor, which is swamped daily by several thousand tourists.

This sort of trouble for the KV and QV tombs (and other places, for that matter) has been going on for many years. Can you imagine how exponentially quick tomb art deteriorated during Egyptology's infancy? I'd be freaking out, for sure. Expediency in this situation wouldn't be hazardous in preserving the rich art of the Ancient Egyptians. I'm hoping that by the time I visit Egypt, Zahi Hawass will have implemented a system to all sites that allows tourists to visit them in situ.

Egypt's Great Wonders

Originally published August 7, 2009 | Top Valuable Article | by Debra Corbei

I'm not sure if this is the original source of this article, but it certainly lists some good advice and traveling tips (along with her reactions to the seemingly juxtaposition of modern and ancient Egypt and things that still baffle us such as the means the ancients used to build the pyramids) if you are planning on going to Egypt as a tourist (no necessarily a scholastic one). Her itinerary lists some of the more popular locations of which most everyone has heard: Cairo and Giza, the Valley of the Kings and "King Tut," the temples of Rameses IV and Merneptah, Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, Luxor, Abu Simbel, and the Ramesseum.

Government, Camel Operators Grapple Over Giza Access

Originally published August 2, 2009 | The Boston Globe | by Nick Mendez and Emily Williams

Sed Ali dug his heels into the hindquarters of a small, gray, Arabian-style horse, weaving through a pack of dilapidated camels as he trotted across the sand. Ali was giving our group of Northeastern University students a guided tour of the great pyramids in Giza, a family business he has been a part of since he was 6.

Before we set out, Ali asked that we send the Egyptian government letters praising his business. He is concerned that the government’s modernization efforts at the historic site will mean the end for the independent camel operators who depend on the pyramids.

Egyptian Desert Tourism Promotion Goes Full Blast

Originally published July 19, 2009 | eTurboNews | by Hazel Heyer

After breaking the record for the fastest crossing of the Great Sand Sea last March 5, Egyptian adventurer Hesham Nessim plans to set another record on November 2009 in the Western Desert driving from Siwa to Abu Simbel.

Nessim will be driving the "fastest" vehicle ever to cross the Egyptian Western Desert. If this adventure were to succeed, it would be registered on the Guinness Book of World Records. The Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority sponsors the event highlighting desert/valley tourism and countless natural wonders of Egypt, in line with its current strategy to promote the desert tourism product.

Egyptian Grand Museum worthy of the Pharoahs

Originally published July 20, 2009 | The National | by Digby Lidstone

The Grand Egyptian Museum is scheduled to open in 2013. "The new museum is one of the best ways of preserving these antiquities and showing them to the people at the same time. Our hope is it will be the greatest museum in the world," said Alaa al Din Shaheen of Cairo University and the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Egypt's Ancient Sites Are a Wonder to Behold

Originally published June 21, 2009 | STL Today | by Sally Bixby Defty

This special interest editorial follows the author's adventures in Egypt, where she describes the awe-inspiring Giza pyramids; the magnificent Temple at Abu Simbel; an experience with tourism at Luxor; the vastness of the Valley of the Kings, the beauty of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, and the east bank's Luxor and Karnak temples; the sensational treasures of Tutankhamun; the future plans of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo; and dreamlike travels, floating across the Nile.

Video - Visiting the Valley of the Kings

Originally published June 19, 2009 | San Francisco News | by Spencer Christian

Spencer Christian visits the Luxor, said to be the world's greatest open air museum. Following this video are resources and de Young Museum's Tutankhamun exhibit information.

Death of a Village Outside Luxor that Lived Off Ancient Tombs

Originally published June 13, 2009 | Times Online | by James Hider

The Egyptian Government sacrifices the wellbeing of villagers, some who had made a living from selling stolen treasures from the tombs on which they built their houses, to preserve these ancient sacred places.

The exchange in some cases doesn't seem equal.