Is Indiana Jones the next victim of Egypt's revolution? (Zahi Hawass)

Christian Science Monitor ^ | February 14, 2011 | Dan Murphy

[Pan_Yan]

A few days ago, in the shadow of the great Pyramids at Giza, the Egyptian monuments that draw millions of tourists to visit Egypt every year, the opinion among workers on the lower rungs of the economy was unanimous: The big man had to go.

No, they weren't talking about Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian dictator chased from power last Friday. On the president, opinions were mixed. But the answer to the question "what would you most like to see changed about the regime" could be boiled down to two words: Zahi Hawass.

Mr. Hawass, who has run Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities since 2002, is the gatekeeper to Egyptology, a National Geographic Explorer in Residence (a lucrative perch) since 2001, whose rise in Egypt was at least partially sponsored by Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of the ousted leader. With his Indiana Jones-inspired hat and patter about the "mysteries of ancient Egypt," he's become something of a global star in the past decade.

And today, he was besieged by a few hundred employees of the council and unemployed archeology graduates, demanding better pay and jobs. Hawass, a larger-than-life figure resented by other Egyptologists for the tight grip he exercises over access to Egypt's monuments (I've met a few foreign archeologists over the years who claimed he refused to issue permits because their theories did not square with his own) is a reminder of how much of the ancien regime remains after Mubarak's ouster.

[ApplegateRanch]

the camel riders required money from the tourists to take their pictures, and vendors were constantly following the tourists around wanting to sell them souvenirs.

Except that part about camels, it sounds a lot like Jamaica.

(Q)The one in Boston, or the one in the Caribbean? (A) YES!

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[this_ol_patriot]

The Tariq Aziz of Egypt.

[mass55th]

"Except that part about camels, it sounds a lot like Jamaica."

Remember the window washers that would clean car windshields when people were stopped in traffic? They also got out of hand, and Rudy Giuliani put them out of business not long after he became Mayor of NY City.

[ApplegateRanch]

I remember those guys, but it was o the West Coast.

Also the guys with baseball bats that would break said windshields if you didn't give them money. San Francisco courts and politicos termed it “aggressive panhandling”, and “protected speech”.

I also remember (late 50’s through mid 70s) every 5-12 YO boy in Mexico descending on tourists in flocks yelling, “Cheeck-lets? Cheeck-lets? Chclets, cinco centavos!”

[Beowulf9]

He kind of reminds me of Jacques Cousteau and the things they said about him.

Well, the thing is when a regime is toppled the archaelogy departments funds might well dry up.

[Lynne]

“He claimed the camel riders and vendors were overrunning the place, harassing the tourists for money for every little thing.”

I was there in 2000 and those camel jockeys are real crooks!! They harass you until you take a camel ride, and then they try to steal your money. We took the ride with the driver our tour guide recommended. The others will take you out in the desert and not bring you back until you give them money. My husband didn’t let the guy get away with it though, and called the guy some pretty un-PC stuff. He gave us all our change back and took off. One of the policemen noticed my hubby’s loud voice and was starting to come over to see what was going on. I think that’s why the guy took off. The policeman had a machine gun.

[mass55th]

I’d heard they were bad. You experienced it first hand. Thanks for sharing.