Hawass demands palaces fall under control of Antiquities Ministry

Al Masry Al Youm

Egyptian Minister of State for Antiquities Zahi Hawass on Monday demanded that all presidential palaces in Egypt fall under control of the ministry’s Islamic and Coptic antiquities department. In a statement, Hawass said he had sent a memo to Prime Minister Essam Sharaf asking him to include the Oruba Palace, the former headquarters of deposed President Hosni Mubarak, as well as other presidential palaces.

Hawass also demanded that a ministry committee be formed to examine the contents of the Oruba Palace and other presidential palaces, as well as the palaces and rest houses of former senior officials, to indicate whether the contents include antiquities.