The Rise and Fall and Rise of Zahi Hawass

Smithsonian Magazine ^ | 6/2013 | Joshua Hammer

[Renfield]

Zahi Hawass doesn’t like what he’s seeing. Clad in his familiar denim safari suit and wide-brimmed bush hat, the famed archaeologist is standing inside the burial vault of the Step Pyramid of Djoser, a six-tiered, lopsided mound of limestone blocks constructed nearly 5,000 years ago. The huge, gloomy space is filled with scaffolding. A restoration and conservation project, at Saqqara outside Cairo, initiated by Hawass in 2002, has been shoring up the sagging ceiling and walls and staving off collapse. But the February 2011 revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak—and also ended Hawass’ controversial reign as the supreme chief of all Egypt’s antiquities—is now threatening to unravel Hawass’ legacy as well. With tourists nearly gone, funds dried up and the Ministry of Antiquities leadership reshuffled several times in the past two years, preservation work on the pyramid has ground to a near halt. The new minister has diverted reconstruction money into hiring thousands of unemployed archaeology graduates, claims Hawass, in a desperate move to stop protests. “He has done nothing,” Hawass says, with perhaps a touch of schadenfreude in his voice, scrutinizing the rough limestone ceiling and walls....

[Renfield]

Ping

[muir_redwoods]

There probably are less informative and more self-important bullies working for governments somewhere but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them.

[Chainmail]

Ping

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Thanks Renfield. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Djoser the Djoserian.

During the rectification of the Vuldrini, Djoser came as a large and moving Torg. Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor. Many Shuvs, Zuuls, and Egyptians knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day.

[1010RD]

So we’ve established a couple of facts:

1. Radical Islam isn’t good for human liberty.

2. Radical Islam isn’t good for human health

and now, we can state with some authority that

3. Radical Islam isn’t good for human economy.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Thanks for the article. It seems as the gentleman was a painfully useful man. Currently there are Islamic madmen running around in Egypt wanting to destroy the Pyramids and Sphinx.

[StormEye]

Islam and historical truth do not exit comfortably together.

Hawass had to go. He's too westernized and believes in preserving the artifacts of past. The cult of Islam will not tolerate anything but it's own version of history.

[Oatka]

Hawass had to go. He's too westernized and believes in preserving the artifacts of past.

What always got to me was these Third World countries complaining that the West came in and "stole" their artifacts - some of which they didn't even know existed. At least in the Western museums they were taken care of.

"Back home", they are left to rot.

Same goes for our "native american" culture here. THIS is what I found at the Indian War Fort McDowell in Arizona.

[denydenydeny]

"Back home", they are left to rot.

At best. Until the Salafists take full power when they will be dynamited.

[null and void]

You’ve never been to Washington?

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

This article is a little light on material critical to Hawass, but even so, there are some positive aspects to this P J Barnum of Egypt.

[muir_redwoods]

I have, you’ve never seen Zawi Hawass on TV?

[null and void]

Oh yes, many times!

[TexasTransplant]

Prolly the reason he was such an ahole... he had to be.

TT

[sauropod]

read

[Defiant]

Don’t cross the streams!