Monday, December 04, 2006

More on move from Qurna

"Proximity to the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of Luxor has put most Qarna villagers into the tourism business: sculpting, alabaster shops, selling ancient Egyptian replicas, renting bikes or hawking souvenirs. But as Luxor authorities decided to relocate families by the hundreds to a new community to protect the monuments on which the village was literally built more than 100 years old, unrest marred the peaceful village. People seemed reluctant to leave - preferring their primitive village, lacking clean water and sewage, to the new, modern flats built for them. The new city has service centres, a post office, a police station, a cultural centre, electricity, running water, sewage, a mosque, schools, gardens and a market. But the presence of more services was of little interest to many, especially those from the younger generation. Some said that they hated leaving behind their 100-year-old homes - considered by some as family heritage, old and crumbling as they are."
See the above page for more.

More at the International Herald Tribune website, with a photo, at:

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