Posted on 06/30/2015 12:24:47 PM PDT by Red Badger
In this June 18, 2015 photo, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's former head of antiquities, stands next to his new book, "The legend of Tutankhamun," as he speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office in Cairo. For more than a decade, he was the self-styled Indiana Jones of Egypt, presiding over its antiquities and striding through temples and tombs as the star of TV documentaries that made him an international celebrity. But four years after the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and nearly ended his own career, Hawass can be found in a cramped office, lamenting the state of the antiquities bureaucracy he once ruled like a pharaoh and dreaming of a new museum whose fate lies in limbo. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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For more than a decade, he was the self-styled Indiana Jones of Egypt, presiding over its antiquities and striding through temples and tombs as the star of TV documentaries that made him an international celebrity.
But four years after the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and nearly ended his own career, Zahi Hawass can be found in a cramped Cairo office, lamenting the state of the antiquities bureaucracy he once ruled like a pharaoh and dreaming of a new museum whose fate lies in limbo.
His trademark wide-brimmed hat and safari vest may be hung up for now, but he is brimming with ideas on how to revive Egypt's antiquities and bring back tourists after years of unrest.
A long-planned new facility out by the pyramids, called the Grand Egyptian Museum, was intended to open this year, but the government says it is short the one billion dollars needed to complete the project.
"Government routine cannot work for museums," Hawass said in an interview in his office, asserting that state bureaucracy is one of the main reasons the current Egyptian Museum has fallen into disrepair. For the new museum, "the directorship, the curatorship, it can be from America, from Germany, from England, from any place in the world. You need this museum to be international."
He also says private, international sponsorship is needed.
"If you pay $10,000, I put your name, written on the wall of the museum. If you pay $100,000, I put your name on the facade of the museum. If you build a whole gallery, I will name (the gallery after you)," he said, adding that the government should announce that Egyptian monuments belong to the entire world, not just Egyptians.
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In this June 18, 2015 photo, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's former head of antiquities, presents his new book, "The legend of Tutankhamun," to Jehan Sadat, widow of assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, right, during an event in Cairo. For more than a decade, he was the self-styled Indiana Jones of Egypt, presiding over its antiquities and striding through temples and tombs as the star of TV documentaries that made him an international celebrity. But four years after the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and nearly ended his own career, Hawass can be found in a cramped office, lamenting the state of the antiquities bureaucracy he once ruled like a pharaoh and dreaming of a new museum whose fate lies in limbo. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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As to the challenge of moving artifacts from the current museum in downtown Cairo over bumpy roads to the site of the new facility on the city's outskirts, Hawass says "any TV channel" would pick up the tab in return for exclusive rights to document the artifacts' restoration and transport. "They will run in competition to do this," he said.
Hawass knows TV. He was once a staple on the Discovery Channel and had his own reality show on the History Channel called "Chasing Mummies," the promo for which introduced him by saying "100,000 years of history belong to one man... Only he holds the key to the world's greatest ruins."
The productions earned him droves of fans abroad but led to accusations of grandstanding in Egypt, where he was seen by many as a self-promoter who mistreated subordinates and abused his position for personal gain. He lost his job as head of antiquities after the 2011 uprising and faced corruption charges, of which he was later cleared.
But his swashbuckling antics gave a boost to Egyptian archaeology, with fundraising efforts and international tours of King Tut artifacts generating tens of millions of dollars.
His name is still associated with many of Egypt's most famous digs, including grand discoveries such as the Valley of the Golden Mummies in Bahariya Oasis in 1999 and the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut almost a decade later. He has long campaigned to bring home ancient artifacts spirited out of Egypt during colonial times, and once said he had managed to recover 5,000 pieces.
Zahi was an outspoken supporter of his longtime patron Mubarak, and has praised President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who led the military overthrow of an Islamist president in 2013 and was elected last year. But that support has not translated into an official role other than promotional work for tourism in Egypt.
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In this June 18, 2015 photo, Zahi Hawass, Egypt's former head of antiquities, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office in Cairo. For more than a decade, he was the self-styled Indiana Jones of Egypt, presiding over its antiquities and striding through temples and tombs as the star of TV documentaries that made him an international celebrity. But four years after the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak and nearly ended his own career, Hawass can be found in a cramped office, lamenting the state of the antiquities bureaucracy he once ruled like a pharaoh and dreaming of a new museum whose fate lies in limbo. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Hawass insisted during the interview that he is focused on writing and has no desire to return to his previous position as head of the country's antiquities. "People come here every day and ask me to come back... I think I did my duty, and it's time for me now to publish all that I discovered."
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But at the glitzy launch of his latest book earlier this month at a ceremony at a five-star hotel attended by hundreds of Cairo's elite, he was less guarded about possible ambitions to return.
"Maybe," he said, as a torrent of fans pressed to take photos next to him.
Probably just as well. Who'd want to go there under today's conditions?
ISIS and the MB would just blow it up...................Hell, they even wanted to tear down the Pyramids!...................
Very knowledgeable man,,, but a complete prat!
Last I heard, this guy was missing and presumed dead.
Nope, he was arrested after the fall of Mubarak, and charged with corruption, but the courts threw out the charges..........
His office is filled with pictures of himself. Figures.
ISIS would destroy it. :(
Zowie's back! That's a fine-lookin' coffeetable book he's got there! Thanks Red Badger.
The sooner the world gets rid of those destroying haters, the better of the world and civilization will be.
Amen to that.
Having spent my entire adolescence roaming the Egyptian Galleries at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, I was an avid fan of Hawass on the History Channel. But as I matured both spiritually and politically, I began to see cracks in his facade. He started mouthing off about Israel and the “Palestinians” and other things that had nothing to do with Ancient Egypt. Pretty soon I recognized him as an attention hound and an opinionated bloviator, much like Dr. Carol Fontaine (who used every opportunity to debunk the Bible, even though she taught “New Testament” at Seminary), and the UFO Guy with the weird hair.
When Hawass bemoaned the MB takeover of the Egyptian Museum, I was, of course, as distressed about the destruction of antiquities as he was, but couldn’t help feeling a wee touch of Schadenfreude at his predicament.
We stood in line for 7 hours to view the Tutankhamen exhibit in New Orleans. In the seventh hour, the doors closed before we and several hundred were allowed in. It seems there was to be a private showing for the Exxon executives that had funded the event.
We had driven 700 miles and stood in line nearly 7 hours. There was a tremendous up roar from those standing in line. After a while, an Exxon executive came to the door and apologized, indicating Exxon would pay to keep the museum open till all in line saw the exhibits
Those treasures can not be imagined simply by looking at pictures or videos. The craftsmanship is not exceeded by any art in any museum. The work is in many mediums but especially in gold and gold leaf.
I can see how this guy has ticked off the locals, his ego was stratospheric, but he did an awful lot for reviving interest for a new generation of fans and enthusiasts of Ancient Egypt.
That is fact. I saw the Ramses (can't remember which Ramses) in Dallas in 1989. The gold is so bright it almost burns your eyes. The details of a 40ft marble statue of Ramses carved 3000 years ago blew my mind. It could have just been finished in 1988. I will NEVER forget what I saw and how I felt looking through a time machine.
I used to watch this guy on the History Channel, he was a complete a..hole!
I think tearing down the pyramids would be a great job for ISIS to undertake.
Since we don’t know how they were able to move all those millions of mighty stones so fast, it would take the jihadis years to do it—and might keep them humbly out of the beheading business.
Hawass is a great man, deserves a lot better.
update:
Grand Egyptian Museum to be managed internationally: Antiquities minister
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/0/138869/Heritage/0/Grand-Egyptian-Museum-to-be-managed-internationall.aspx
[snip] Egypt’s antiquities minister said Tuesday that the long-planned Grand Egyptian Museum will have an independent, international directorship in an effort to overcome bureaucracy. [/snip]
Just wait til ISIS takes over. There won’t be any need for one......................
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