EGYPT

Hi Everyone, I had been following the early stages of Egypt’s political unrest with a heavy heart, but now I simply feel inspired… Where there could have been utter destruction and total anarchy, the Egyptian people through their unity, have managed to maintain some order in the chaos. The Egyptian army has agreed to let people protest as long as they do so peacefully…this is such a relief and a statement in itself. The next 48 hours will be critical…..concessions are being made, but the Egyptian people have no faith in the government as it stands – these concessions may not be enough. I am sharing with you this post by Mr. Zahi Hawass regarding the reports on looting of Egyptian antiquities….

Dr. Zahi Hawass, the newly appointed Minister of Antiquities states:

“I would like to tell the people, all over the world, the good news:

the storage magazine that was looted in Qantara, in the Sinai, has had 288 objects returned! I cannot say exactly how many objects were lost, but it seems that the majority of what was stolen has been returned. I would like to say that we were afraid that sites around Alexandria were robbed, but the military is now protecting them all. Also, the site of San el-Hagar in the Delta, where important 21st and 22nd Dynasty tombs are located, is being protected by the local Egyptians. More good news comes from Saqqara, where a committee reported that, although outlaws did open the padlocks of tombs there, they did not enter the tombs or cause any damage; everything is safe. The Egyptian Museum, Cairo, is fine, too. A total of seventy objects have been broken, but the museum was dark and the nine robbers did not recognise the value of what was in the vitrines. They opened thirteen cases, threw the seventy objects on the ground and broke them, including one Tutankhamun case, from which they broke the statue of the king on a panther. However, the broken objects can all be restored, and we will begin the restoration process this week.

The commanders of the army are now protecting the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, and all of the major sites of Egypt (Luxor, Aswan, Saqqara, and the pyramids of Giza) are safe. The twenty-four museums in Egypt, including the Coptic and Islamic museums in Cairo, are all safe, as well. (..)”tp://www.drhawass.com/blog/state-egyptian-antiquities-today-update