Egypt to host conference on Islamic heritage

Youm7

Egypt will host today the second conference of the Islamic heritage, organized by the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and cultural Organization (ISESCO) on September 17.

The conference will continue for two days and will be attended by the delegations of Niger, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, and Malaysia.

Director General of the High Council of Antiquities, Mohamed abdel-Fatah, will deliver the opening speech. It is expected that abdel-Fatah will highlight Egypt's role in protecting the Islamic heritage as a way to achieve tourist development in the Islamic states.

Online: The Journal of Egyptological Studies (Bulgarian Institute of Archaeology)

JES

Articles in JES 1 (2004) and JES 2 (2005) are available for download as PDFs.

The Journal of Egyptological Studies (JES) is published by the Bulgarian Institute of Egyptology. It is issued on an annual basis since September 2004. The JES is a result of the development and expansion of Egyptology in Bulgaria. It gives Egyptologists an opportunity to publish new original ideas, new approaches and data in connection with the language, literature, religion, archeology and history of the “place where our hearts live”.

The Journal of Egyptological Studies is open to the international Egyptolgical society, but also aims to establish a bridge between Western schools of Egyptology and their colleagues from Eastern Europe. As a result of World War II and the political changes, which took place afterwards, part of the connections between scholars from different countries in Europe has been interrupted. Nowadays, for example, few Egyptologists abroad know about fundamental achievements of Russian scholars in the field of socio-economic, political and cultural history of Ancient Egypt. We want to cooperate in filling this gap, encouraging young scholars to contribute to the process of exchange of ideas and experience in our field.

Sad News: Jean Leclant

Le Figaro

Ils sont une toute petite poignée d’hommes et de femmes à avoir chevillé au corps la passion de l’Égypte et de la Grèce antique, et, surtout, la passion de vouloir transmettre leur savoir. Jean Leclant était de ceux-là. Il s’est éteint aujourd'hui à l’âge de 91 ans.

Membre de l’Institut, dont il assurait le secrétariat perpétuel depuis vingt-huit ans (il fut élu en 1974), l’ancien élève de l’École normale était réputé pour ses travaux et ses publications sur l’histoire et la civilisation pharaonique, et ses fouilles en Égypte. Ses connaissances l’ont conduit à mener une carrière impressionnante. Impossible de citer tous ses titres, on peut juste rappeler qu’il a été membre de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale au Caire, professeur d’égyptologie à la Sorbonne puis au Collège de France durant une dizaine d’années. Il a été directeur d’études à l’École pratique des hautes études.

Il aimait l’étude.

More re UNESCO assistance for Egypt

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

During a meeting held yesterday at the Supreme Council of Antiquities’ (SCA) offices, the director of UNESCO’s cultural department Tamara Twinasky announced UNESCO’s full collaboration with the SCA to restore and preserve Egypt’s archaeological sites, which were listed on the UNESCO’S World Heritage List in 1979.

Mohamed Abdel Fatah, the secretary-general of the SCA, told Ahram Online that Twinasky pledged UNESCO’s full support to continue restoration and development work now carried out at the Memphis Necropolis (the Giza plateau, Abusir, Dahshur and Saqqara) especially at Dahshur and Saqqara which was meant to be completed earlier this year.

Youm7

UNESCO will cooperate with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) to maintain Egyptian archaeological sites listed on the World Heritage List.

Mohamed Abdel Fattah, the Secretary General of the SCA, met yesterday with Tarek Shawky, director of UNESCO’s regional office in Egypt; Tamara Twinasky, director of UNESCO’s cultural department; and Gehan Zaki, the General Coordinator between the organization and the SCA.

Abdel Fattah said UNESCO has expressed its readiness to cooperate with the SCA in many areas. They discussed the work underway at Dahshur, which is supposed to be finished by the beginning of next year. They also discussed the program of cooperation and the sites that have been on the World Heritage List since 1979.

In-Person Research on Ancient Manuscripts

Baylor University

Fragments of ancient, rare manuscripts of Greek classical poetry, Greek philosophy and Judeo-Christian Scriptures are being retrieved from papier-mâché-like mummy wrappings on loan to Baylor University -- all part of an international project that will give undergraduate humanities students rare hands-on research.

The project, called the Green Scholars Initiative, eventually will include more than 100 universities, with Baylor University as the primary academic research partner. Professor-mentors will guide students through research and publication of articles about rare and unpublished documents, among them an ancient Egyptian dowry contract on loan to Kent State University and an ancient papyrus of Greek statesman Demosthenes' famed "On the Crown" Speech, said Dr. Jerry Pattengale, initiative director and a Distinguished Senior Fellow with Baylor's Institute for Studies of Religion.

Photo for Today - Temple of Luxor at sunset on New Years Eve 2011

Egyptian obelisk amongst Rome monuments vandalised

BBC News (David Willey)

Three historic monuments have been attacked by vandals in the Italian capital, Rome.

In the first attack, a man was caught on security cameras chipping two pieces off a marble statue on a fountain in the Piazza Navona.

Hours later tourists watched as a man threw a rock at the famous Trevi Fountain in the centre of the city.

Police then said they caught an American student scaling a wall of the Colosseum to chip off pieces of marble. . . .

Part of an Egyptian obelisk brought to Rome 2,000 years ago has just been covered in graffiti.

Egypt halts decision on visas

Al Ahram Weekly

Egypt will suspend the decision requiring tourists to get visas in advance, says the ministry of tourism.

The Assistant Minister of Tourism, Hisham Zazou announced that the Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour has agreed with the Council of Ministers to suspend the decision. Zazou added that tourism companies and offices were already notified of the suspension of the decision.

Last Thursday the cabinet had announced that it was going to change the visa regulations and visitors could no longer get their visa upon arrival in Egypt.

Al Masry Al Youm

Egypt's government has frozen a decision requiring tourists and other visitors to apply for visas before arrival in the country, an Egyptian tourism official said Sunday.

Deputy Tourism Minister Hesham Zazou said the Cabinet froze the decision, according to the official Middle East News Agency. He did not give a reason or say if it would be enforced later.

Online: JSTOR pre-1923 now freely available

JSTOR

Thanks to Chuck Jones and his Ancient World Online blog for the above link. JSTOR has long been an invaluable resource for those who have access. It is good that some of the content has been opened for the general public. There was a lot of pre-1923 Egyptology so this may well offer a useful resource.

Dear Library and Publisher Colleagues,

I am writing to share exciting news: today, we are making journal content on JSTOR published prior to 1923 in the United States and prior to 1870 elsewhere, freely available to the public for reading and downloading. This includes nearly 500,000 articles from more than 200 journals, representing approximately 6% of the total content on JSTOR.

We are taking this step as part of our continuous effort to provide the widest possible access to the content on JSTOR while ensuring the long-term preservation of this important material. To date, we have primarily provided access to people through a growing base of libraries and institutions. In 1995, only ten journals were digitized and available to just a few universities. Today, millions of people from more than 7,000 institutions in 153 countries have access to journals on JSTOR through their universities, colleges, high schools, businesses, research institutions, museums, historical societies, and public libraries.

This constitutes remarkable progress and impact, but there remain many people who are not affiliated with institutions who want access to the knowledge preserved in JSTOR. We have taken a variety of steps over the years to serve them.

News from the SCA in Luxor

Luxor News Blog

Thanks to Jane Akshar for the information that Ibrahim Soliman (Supreme Council of Antiquities) has been promoted to Head of Karnak and Luxor.

Also from Jane's blog is the news that Abdel Fattah (new head of the SCA) is aiming to complete the Avenue of the Sphinxes for a planned opening at the end of October. At Karnak visitors will be directed towards the temple via the ongoing excavations in front of the first pylon. See the link for more.

A Revolutionary Duck

CairObserver

When walking along the waterfront in Garden City Cairenes and visitors wonder about one particular building across the Nile on the southern tip of Gezira (Zamalek) Island. If you take a falucca ride around here the boatman might tell you “that’s the museum of the revolution.” This might be confusing as there are now three junctures in the last century of Egyptian history that have been endowed with the title “revolution.”

The building in question was ordered in 1949 under King Farouk for the Royal Navy fleet and was completed in 1951. At that time it cost LE118,000. Needless to say, the building was never used as intended because the King was overthrown in 1952 by members of the army. During the early days of post-Farouk Egypt, the building was used by Gamal Abdel Nasser and the “free officers” as their headquarters and many historic meetings, laws, court rulings and decisions took place here. By 1956 the building was ignored and abandoned and stayed so until recently.

Feature on Serabit el-Kadim turquiose mines

Al Masry Al Youm (Fatma Keshk)

A feature story on Serabit el-Kadim in Sinai, with photos.

"His majesty of this God has sent the God's treasurer, the assistant and leader of the troupe, Her-Wer-Re, to the mining lands and he said: there is abundant turquoise in the hill."

With these words, Chief Her-Wer-Re began documenting the work of his mining expedition sent by the pharaoh (his majesty of this God) to Serabit al-Khadem in South Sinai during the Middle Kingdom Period (ca. 2055-1985 BC). In the inscriptions on his stele at the mine, he boasts of the success of his expedition despite rumors that turquoise ore might be lacking at that particular time of year: "My expedition returned complete in its entirety … I broke off in the first month of summer, bringing my precious stone … I accomplished my work with great success without a voice being raised against my work, which I have done excellently."

Rock inscriptions left by ancient Egyptian miners in South Sinai are rich with details of working conditions and weather, as well as praise for the pharaoh and the gods. They present a lively narrative of daily life that can be easily compared to modern business reports, or even a diary.

Photo for Today - the Temple of Luxor

Night time view.

Statue of Amenhotep III and Tiy.

Egypt Antiquities authority schedules debt to push restoration

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

During his first meeting with representatives of constructor organisations which are carrying out restoration works and development projects of some of archaeological sites and monuments, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities’ (SCA) Mohamed Abdel Fatah agreed to draw an urgent plan for a rapid resumption of all restoration projects, which were put on hold for lack of the SCA budget, starting with those in dire need of restoration.

During the meeting, Abdel Fatah discussed the SCA financial situation with Sameh Khatab, head of the Financial Sector, and Mohamed El-Sheikha, head of the Projects Sector, in order to schedule all the SCA’s debts within the framework of the recent revenue of the council providing through the number of visitors to the monuments and archaeological sites.

The third phase of the Grand Egyptian Museum will see the light

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

According to the agreement signed between Egypt and Japan concerning the technical requirements of the company to carry out the third phase of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) overlooking the Giza Plateau, the GEM Committee will prepare a shortlist of the qualified companies proposed in the bid to select the winning one.

The proposed companies are among the most competent international companies from Spain, Brussels, Italy and Egypt.

The third phase of the build includes the construction of the museum’s main exhibition halls, which will display 100,000 ancient Egyptian artefacts.

Dealers arrested in Minya province

Youm7 (Manmoud Abel Rady)

Twelve antiques dealers were arrested in Minya province by Police detectives cooperating with the Public Security Authority after they tried to sell artifacts taken from tombs.

Major Gen. Ahmed Gamal, assistant Minister of Interior for public security, said that 12 antiques dealers in the city of Adwa were attempting to sell ten granite statues, 12 metal statues, a statue on a black granite base, and four scarabs.

No visas on arrival in Egypt

Just as Egypt tries to revive its tourism industry, they do something which seems so counter-productive. A friend of mine in New Zealand made the following remark yesterday:

"Egypt doesn't have an embassy in NZ and because I am here on a Work Visa going to Residency, I don't think I can legally just mail my passport to Canberra, Australia to get the visa. I'll probably have to go to the trouble and expense of going all the way to Canberra to get the thing and it will probably run me $750 all up. Very annoying indeed. This move is going to cost them even more tourists because I had at 2 Americans drop out after hearing this and some of the people joining me from here don't want to go to the extra trouble either."


Bikya Masr

In another odd move by the Egyptian government, foreign nationals will no longer be allowed to obtain an entry visa at a port of arrival, ending years of ease for foreign citizens hoping to visit the country.

It comes as the government appears to be continuing its crackdown of foreign nationals living in the country, where a large number have reported not being able to extend their visas or obtain longer permissions to stay in the country since the revolution ousted the government of Hosni Mubarak in February.

Despite relying heavily on tourism, the move means nations from the United States, Europe, Australia, Gulf countries, Africa, Latin America and Asia will now be required to apply for a visa at their local Egyptian embassy and consulate before arrival.

The Daily News Egypt (Reem Abdellatif)

Tourism officials are concerned with a Cabinet decision to change Egypt’s visa regulations, requiring visitors to obtain visas before arrival.

Visitors from Europe, the United States, or Gulf countries were given visas upon entry at the airport; this however, is set to change from now on. Visitors will be required to obtain visas from Egyptian embassies and consulates abroad.

“I was told by the minister of tourism that this won’t be applied right away,” Elhamy ElZayat, head of the Egyptian Tourism Federation, told Daily News Egypt.

“We are currently trying to find a solution that can appease all sides,” he added.

The new rules will affect citizens from the United Stats, Europe, Australia, the Gulf, Africa, Latin America, and Asia, Cabinet spokesman Mohamed Hegazy told The Associated Press.

ElZayat said the move would impact tourists mainly coming to Egypt’s Red Sea resorts, in cities like Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada, because these tourists often use the internet to book their stays.

“There was a very good solution suggested by the tourism minister for the issue and it’s to give out visas via the internet, which will be faster and more convenient for visitors,” he added.

Petrie launches Egypt partnership

Museums Association (Geraldine Kendall)

The Petrie Museum holds over 80,000 Egyptian artefacts but can only display 10% of its collection.

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology has launched a collections partnership with the Egyptian Educational Centre and Cultural Bureau (EECCB), part of the Egyptian Embassy in London.

Last year the museum was awarded an Effective Collections Special Project grant of £25,000 for a scheme enabling unused objects from its collection to be displayed in the EECCB’s newly refurbished grade 1* listed building.

The Petrie Museum holds over 80,000 Egyptian artefacts but can only display around 10% of this collection at present due to the size of its facility.

Three rooms in the EECCB’s Mayfair property, including a large ballroom, are to be set aside to display over 100 objects from the museum on a three-year rotating basis.

“Defending Egyptian Tourism” campaign issues first statement

Youm7 (Hend Mokhtar)

Officials from the “Defending Egyptian Tourism” campaign issued their first statement Thursday, supporting a demonstration defending tourism in Egypt on October 14, and rejecting any statements that harm the tourism sector.

The campaign called on the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to take necessary action against those who harm tourism, intentionally or unintentionally.

They described the tourism sector as a “red line” which cannot be harmed.

Illegal road on antiquities land near Abusir

Cairo/Giza Daily Photo (Maryanne Stroud Gabbani)

Maryanne follows this story with the better news that he local families met the other night and told the members who built the road that they could not quarry in this area, but it still makes one wonder how it went so far without anyone taking action to prevent it.

I went to Sakkara Country Club with a friend today to arrange a stay for him and his wife next weekend. While there the manager opened his drapes and waved at a dark line in the desert next to the Club. Apparently last night a group of local sand and gravel miners trucked in tons of clay to construct a road coming in from the asphalt road to the Giza dump to the north, along the edge of the desert and then up the hills just behind the Club. Apparently the goal is to mine and truck away the hills behind the Club that hid the sight and considerable stench of the Giza dump from the rest of us. And this is on antiquities land. The dump is not but the road most certainly is, and it's highly probable that the workers on this endeavor will enjoy a bit of moonlight archaeology. So who are they paying off? The Army or Antiquities? Or both?