"Slowly Qurna is being erased from the map. The process began last December after the Luxor authorities ordered the demolition of all the village's mud brick houses. 'In just five minutes,' reported Agence France Presse on 3 December, 'and under the deafening roar of bulldozer engines, three long-abandoned houses were the first to go ... The stage-managed affair included a fashion show of children parading in ancient Egyptian costumes to the beat of epic drums and enthusiastic speeches by officials for the television cameras. Three thousand five hundred families will leave for a better life...'
The eviction was the culmination of a process that began nearly 60 years ago, before Egypt became independent. The tomb of Rumose is only one of about100 tombs, the so-called 'Tombs of the Nobles', sunk deep into this hillside. But because of the village of Qurna, the archaeologists couldn't get at them. Even worse, the villagers were not beyond plundering the tombs over which they perched, quietly removing items of sensational importance for discreet, expert visitors."
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The eviction was the culmination of a process that began nearly 60 years ago, before Egypt became independent. The tomb of Rumose is only one of about100 tombs, the so-called 'Tombs of the Nobles', sunk deep into this hillside. But because of the village of Qurna, the archaeologists couldn't get at them. Even worse, the villagers were not beyond plundering the tombs over which they perched, quietly removing items of sensational importance for discreet, expert visitors."
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"The Egyptian authorities have evicted hundreds of peasants from this village in southern Egypt because their mud-brick houses, which have sat atop some of the world's most treasured and ancient tombs for centuries, were leaking sewage onto priceless antiquities.
The families have been resettled in a nearby planned community with running water and telephones. But 80 families are holding out, saying they want more from a government so far reluctant to use brute force.
The Gurna standoff near the famed Valley of the Kings illustrates the challenges facing an authoritarian government that for decades imposed its will on the people, keeping them poor but fed, underemployed but employed, but now seeks to adjust the social contract without sparking widespread unrest. The government has again imposed a solution — one that will change the way hundreds of families live — but is negotiating with those left behind until they find terms that are acceptable, or at least, accepted."
The families have been resettled in a nearby planned community with running water and telephones. But 80 families are holding out, saying they want more from a government so far reluctant to use brute force.
The Gurna standoff near the famed Valley of the Kings illustrates the challenges facing an authoritarian government that for decades imposed its will on the people, keeping them poor but fed, underemployed but employed, but now seeks to adjust the social contract without sparking widespread unrest. The government has again imposed a solution — one that will change the way hundreds of families live — but is negotiating with those left behind until they find terms that are acceptable, or at least, accepted."
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