Dr Zahi Hawass Appointed to Egypt President Mubarak's New Cabinet as Minister for Antiquities
Dr Zahi Hawass, has been promoted in the shake up of Egyptian President's Hosni Mubarak's new cabinet according to a report from AP. Formerly the Vice Minister for Culture, and the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Dr Hawass will now take the role as Minister of a newly created department - the State Ministry for Antiquities. Literary critic Dr Gaber Asfour has been named the new Minister of Culture, replacing the long-serving Farouk Hosni.
The cabinet shake up comes in the wake of political turmoil across Egypt, which saw a lack of police protection for key sites such as Cairo's Egyptian Museum. Looting at the museum saw damage caused to several artefacts including those discovered in the famous Tomb of King Tutankhamun, as well as reports of severe looting at sites including Saqqara, Memphis Museum and Abusir. Former director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Wafaa el-Saddik, also revealed that museums in Egypt do not have insurance.
Last year, Dr Hawass was installed by President Mubarak as the Vice Minister for Culture in a move to allow him to postpone his pending mandatory retirement as the Secretary General of the SCA, as Egyptian ministers do not have a set age for retirement.
With several museums and heritage sites across Egypt in a state of disarray, Dr Hawass' first priority will be to account for the missing artefacts, begin the restoration of damaged historical treasure and reopen museums and popular tourist spots such as the Great Pyramids of Giza as soon as possible.
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hello this is a real interesting article on forgeries
excellent article !
Museum looks really great.
ediscovery
There are really lots of secrets in Egypt. I'm sure this is going to cost millions in auction.
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That's one scary mummy. Thanks for letting us know this. I find it really informational.
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Focus on
King Tut –
Stonehenge
Terracotta Warriors
Pyramids –
Archaeology
Britain –
China –
Egypt
Greece –
Rome
Heritage Key Words
ancient london, british museum, roman, art, zahi hawass, london, ancient egypt, religion, burial, valley of the kings
Next major 'ancient' exhibition in London:
Journey Through the Afterlife: The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
at the British Museum
November 2010 - March 2011
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Comments
OUTSTANDING! Let' hope he can succeed!
Zahi hawass is a traitor siding with the dictator Mubarak against the people of egypt!
He has profited over the backs of ordinary egyptians for decades! Smelling mummies was only a hobby, he has
huge business interests given to him by mubarak's regime!
He should be hanged and all his belongings confiscated and returned to the people of egypt!
I have not researched the politics of archeology in Egypt. However, I think there is some common sense and stark reality to the issue. I don't see any reason to think there is see any compatibility between ancient Egyptian culture and the religious infrastructure of today. They just happen to be sitting on the same real estate as the ancients. Being that there is no oil pumping in Egypt, these antiquities perpetually leave the door wide open to political and economic manipulation
I also think one needs to be careful taking sides on this issue of revolt. The Muslim Brotherhood is no friend of the west, and will not be appeased by westerners. No matter what happens, after untold billions of dollars given to the Egyptians by the American gov, looted by Mubarak's regime, you can best believe that these people will be no better off than they ever were before. The end result will be something like this: They would much rather live under the oppression of their religion, than their dictator. ( I should say, oligarchy), and that is what the future holds for them. It will simply be a trade off of dictators vs. religious fanatic hardliners who are incapable of creating wealth for the country, and who will most certainly take a hostile approach to dealing with any kind of western encroachment. A no win situation.
It's definately a sad time for those of us who empathize with continuing the effort to unravel the mysteries of ancient Egypt. So forget about Mubarak and his new appointees.
Dr. Zahi Hawass is a scumbag who should be dancing on the end of a rope alongside his owner and Bela Lugosi impersonator Mubarakobama. Mubarakobama is instead counting his blood money in the Presidential Suite of the Tel Aviv Hilton.
Viva la revolution, get rid of these scumbags and give back the treasures to the people of egypt to share openly with the ordinary people of the world . The true meaning of these artifacts has been kept under wraps by the academic ,military industrial complex for to long
Hawass is a hypocrit of the worst type.He has indulged in his own vanities at other peoples expnese for years.Now we see the result of 'looting' of artifacts-Who are the culprits?
Foreigners,as Hawass would have you all believe!
NO its the Egyptians themseleves.
Hawass is a total embarassmenmt and Egypt should not let this idiot represent this wonderful country.
Anthony
I say good for the man, he is one of my favorites in that he exposes the bible for what it is, MYTH. I especially like his research into the fact that Egyptians built the pyramids, not some slaves from outside of the kingdom. The truth speaks for itself.
Why should Dr. Hawass be hanged, pilloried or even vilified? The scholarly work he has done seems to be consigned to oblivion by the boisterous mob that has all but ruined Egypt. After all, what did that so-called 'revolution' achieve? Egypt is now a military state. Whatever benefits may follow -- if any are to follow -- let one of them be that Dr. Hawass is allowed to show the world more of the common human heritage that he has dealt with in such a scholarly manner.
Why should Dr. Hawass be hanged, pilloried or even vilified? The scholarly work he has done seems to be consigned to oblivion by the boisterous mob that has all but ruined Egypt. After all, what did that so-called 'revolution' achieve? Egypt is now a military state. Whatever benefits may follow -- if any are to follow -- let one of them be that Dr. Hawass is allowed to show the world more of the common human heritage that he has dealt with in such a scholarly manner.
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