Egypt

Banquo's ghost

The Art Newspaper (Martin Bailey)

Thanks to Alice Gaylor for the link. One wonders what sort of state the Antiquities service is in if only one person can be found with suitable qualifications to lead it.

Egyptian antiquities boss Zahi Hawass still remains the minister, despite reports that he has been sacked. On 19 July he told The Art Newspaper that prime minister Esssam Sharaf has asked him to continue to go to work. However, Hawass’s future is now very uncertain.

Although Hawass is facing dismissal in an imminent cabinet reshuffle, it is proving complicated to find his replacement as antiquities minister. Last Sunday Abdel Fatah El Banna of Cairo University was named as his successor, but the appointment failed to go ahead after he faced criticism, including protests from antiquities staff.

Jerusalem Post (Seth J. Frantzman)

Perhaps he spoke too soon.

The news that Zahi Hawass was recently swept aside from his post in a cabinet reshuffle in Cairo, should be welcomed. There was always something about Hawass that seemed not quite right. Besides his anti-Semitic comments, it was his constant presence. He was always there – in every video, television report, newspaper article, every time Egyptian archeology was mentioned. As Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, and later as the first Minister of Antiquities, he has spent a decade as the highest government bureaucrat responsible for Egypt’s archeological heritage.

But a close comparison of how new archeological discoveries are presented in Egypt and how they are revealed in other places, like Israel, gives a peek into how Hawass operates. In 2010, when a new pagan burial alter was found at Ashkelon in Israel, the interview for National Geographic was given by Yigal Israel, chief archeologist at Ashkelon for the Israel Antiquities Authority. Reports about the excavation of Vadum Iacob, a Crusader fort in the Galilee, quote Ronnie Ellenblum, head of the research project there.

But in Egypt things are different.

- Resignation Of Sca Head Refused
A few days ago a number of news sites reported that the new head of the SCA, Mohamed Abdel Fatah, had resigned from his position. The reason given was that he felt that he could not do the job properly without being given full authority, and that the...

- Hawass Responds Re His New Situation
New York Times (Kate Taylor) Zahi Hawass, whose departure as Egypt’s minister of antiquities was announced in a cabinet reshuffle this week, said in an e-mail Friday that, while he continues to supervise the agency while his replacement is found, he...

- Egypt's New Cabinet Sworn In
Al Masry Al Youm (Mohamed Azouz) Ambiguity has surrounded the destiny of Egypt's new Ministry of Antiquities, following a recent cabinet reshuffle approved on Thursday. No one has been named to replace the previous and only minister to ever run the...

- More Re Hawass Loss Of Position In Reshuffle
I will continue to add to this post throughout today if any new information turns up, but I won't repeat anything that has already appeared on either this post or yesterday's. Although the interim government have clearly submitted to protester...

- Breaking News - Hawass Replaced As Minister Of Antiquities?
There are reports coming in that Zahi Hawass, Minister of State for Antiquities, has resigned his position or been replaced during or following the most recent cabinet reshuffle. It appears that his replacement is Dr Abdel Fattah Al-Banna from Cairo University....

Egypt