Hawass on his first love

Asharq Alawsat (Zahi Hawass)

People have gotten used to us disclosing many of our archaeological discoveries that date back to the Pharaonic age, from tombs to statues to beautiful paintings, not to mention underground crypts containing mummies or treasure in which the ancient Egyptians used to bury themselves in preparation for the journey into the afterlife.

The announcement of such discoveries can usually be found on the front pages of international magazines and newspapers and television channels that compete to cover the news of such discoveries, covering this in the Egyptian, Arab, and international media. However at the same time, we hear very little about Coptic or Islamic archaeological discoveries. Whenever I find myself as a guest on a radio or television program, the host invariably asks me, "Why do you love ancient Egyptian antiquities more than Islamic, Coptic, or Jewish antiquities?"