Dr Hawass

In June 2009, work commenced on the restoration of the Jewish synagogue in Cairo dedicated to the important Jewish scientist Moses Ben Maimon, who was born in 1135 AD in Cordoba, Spain, but who died in Egypt in 1204. In a new video for Heritage Key by Sandro Vannini, Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities Dr Zahi Hawass speaks about the work, and why it’s vital for the history of Egypt.

Are you a huge fan of the pyramids? Read all the books, got the t-shirt, watched The Mummy too many times to know (it had better be the original)? Contemplate running away from home because you never got any Egypt-based toys for Christmas? Well worry no more, for long-running kids' stalwarts Playmobil have come up with their latest incarnation: the sparkling new Egypt range.

Ever wondered what was between the Great Sphinx's legs? What about the catacombs of Khufu's Pyramid? Playmobil have got all these bases well and truly covered with the toys, though Dr Hawass might have something to say about the handy mezzanine level peering over the pyramid's edge (could make a tidy little flat, actually).

Take a look at these tasty pics and tell me you don't already feel like you're in the Egyptian desert:

Dr Zahi Hawass and a huge team of experts have just finished laser scanning the Great Sphinx, and now the Pyramids of Giza are being surveyed using the latest laser technology. Dr Hawass, who reports on the project in his blog, has employed the services of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences at the Mubarak Institute for the project, which saw Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara subjected to the same techniques in June by a Japanese group.

Today, Zahi Hawass and Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities are celebrating the completion of five major projects in the city of Luxor, which have totalled of 127 million Egyptian Pounds (£13.9 million). They include work to restore and develop the famous ancient sites of Luxor Temple and Deir el-Bahri Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, as well as the more recent attractions of Abul Hagag El-Loxori Mosque and Howard Carter's rest house.

Zahi Hawass has arguably given more than anyone to the field of Egyptology - but now he needs your help, as he aims to raise $2 million to employ the world's best Egyptologist as professor at Cairo's American University. The esteemed archaeologist has been Secretary General of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) for over seven years, and has dedicated most of his adult life to the wonders and mysteries of the ancient civilization. Now he wants to pass the baton to Egypt's younger generation in style: “I always say that to like something is not enough, to love something is not enough,” Dr Hawass says on his official website. “You need to give your passion, and you need to give it all. I have given all my passion to Egyptology. And now I need your passion, to add to mine.”

More than two thousand Egyptophiliacs lined up outside Clowes Memorial Hall for what Director of Operations Karen Steele informed me was a sold-out house.  “Even as funding for the arts is being cut, an event like this sells out in days."
It would not be too much of an exaggeration to say Zahi Hawass's lecture, The Mysteries of King Tut Revealed, had the feel of a rock concert.  We were there to see a star.  What secrets would he reveal tonight?  What announcements would he make?

When I first read about the Tut exhibition, Tutankhamen: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, at the Indianapolis Children's Museum, I have to admit that I was elated. When I found out that Zahi Hawass would be giving a lecture there, I was even more excited. So imagine how I'm feeling now, just a few hours before I will get to interview the great Dr Hawass as a special assignment for Heritage Key!