Monday, October 24, 2005

Discoveries, recognition and promotion

http://www.algomhuria.net.eg/gazette/5/
An article by Zahi Hawass about himself. It is reproduced here in full, because it will not be on the site by tomorrow:
"In 1987, I was appointed Director General of Giza, Saqqara, and Bahariya Oasis and set to work dealing with many problems facing these sites. I began setting up controls to collect fees from visitors and limited the number of people entering the pyramids. Furthermore, I fought off a ring road that would have run near Giza and threatened the monuments; and set up a site management plan that included excavation and preservation.The last great Egyptian archaeologist Selim Hassan, the last to excavate Giza before I came, stated that the plateau held no more secrets and that everything had been found. But, the last fifteen years have proved him wrong and have made many important discoveries.During the last few years, I have received national and global recognition for my work. The foreign press in Cairo gave me the Pride of Egypt Award, and Mansoura University, honoured me for my contributions to Egyptian society and the archaeological community worldwide.In 2000, I received the Distinguished Scholar of the Year from the Association of the Egyptian-American Scholars, and was presented with the Silver Medal from the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. Recently, I was chosen by the National Geographic Society as their eighth Explorer-in-Residence. Two of the most important honours I have received are, the First Class Award for Art and Science, presented to me by President Hosni Mubarak in recognition of my achievement and conservation of the Great Sphinx. The other special award was given to me by my home village and held in the courtyard of my primary school. It was wonderful to see all the smiling faces of my family and friends and I could not keep back my tears. The American Academy of Achievement awarded me a Golden Plate, placing me in the company of several Nobel Prize winners. Recently (2005), I was given an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the American University in Cairo.In 2002 I was promoted by Egypt's Minister of Culture, Farouq Hosni, to Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the top antiquities job in Egypt".

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

the man is certainly full of himself. Egyptian archaeology did well before him and will do so after he is gone

Anonymous said...

No doubt he is full of himself. Often referred to as "Egypts last Pharaoh". But hey he has done a great job and he is charismatic, so cut him some slack.