More evictions at Qurna

International Herald Tribune

Almost 60 mud brick houses were demolished Sunday near tombs in the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor after security forces used tear gas to force out residents, according to inhabitants.

For the past half century, local authorities and officials in Egypt's antiquities department have been trying to move inhabitants out of the Gurna area adjacent to the Pharaonic era tombs of the Valley of the Kings.

Last year, several houses were demolished and inhabitants moved to new houses several miles away, however many locals still refuse to leave, describing the replacement houses as substandard. . . .

Officials from Egypt's antiquities department have long decried the Gurna residents and there have been several attempts over the years to move them out because their homes rest near several tombs.

They accuse the residents of making their living by robbing tombs and selling the artifacts to tourists and collectors.

Jane Akshar has also posted about this on her Luxor News Blog, saying that property has also been demolished at Al Gezira on the floodplain where there is no evidence of archaeological remains. She says that much of the additional demolition work is being carried in order to create a Luxor Open Air Museum. She includes a photograph of the demolition by bulldozers of shops local to her.