A few weeks ago, there was an announcement for an Egyptian-Japanese archaeological team to reconstruct the outer granite casing of the pyramid of King Menkaure, the smallest of the three main pyramids at Egypt’s famous Giza Plateau.
The idea was quickly met with sharp criticism a committee appointed to review the plans has declared it “impossible.”
The plan had been to dig out and examine dozens of large granite blocks from around the base of the pyramid, with the aim being to eventually reinstall them around the pyramid’s exterior to restore it to what it’s believed to have looked like when it was built more than 4,000 years ago….Last week, a committee tasked by Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities to look into the matter as the controversy unfolded also issued a firm rejection of the proposed project.”The Menkaure Pyramid Review Committee (MPRC), has unanimously objected to the re-installation of the granite casing blocks, scattered around the base of the pyramid since thousands of years ago,” a report by the committee read.The committee underlined “the importance of maintaining the pyramid’s current state without alterations, given its exceptional universal and archaeological value.”
Now Egypt has officially scrapped the project.
Officials planned to install cladding made of ancient granite on the pyramid of Menkaure, which is smallest of the three main Giza pyramids. The site is one of the seven wonders of the world.The Menkaure Pyramid Review Committee announced on Thursday that its plans had been scrapped.The head of the Menkaure Pyramid Review Committee, Zahi Hawass, was concerned about cladding the blocks with cement, which could ruin the ancient structure. He also said it would be impossible to determine exactly where each block had been.”What I want to say is don’t worry, the pyramids of Giza are safe, and nothing will happen to them,” Hawass said to Reuters. “People everywhere are calling me, writing letters, emails. They are worried.”
Mankaure was the fifth king of the famous pyramid-building 4th Dynasty of ancient Egypt and the grandson of the big pyramid builder Khufu.
While I am on the subject of Egypt, I thought it worthwhile to do a status check. The last time I reported on the Land of the Nile, income from the Suez Canal had declined precipitously due to Houthi piracy in the Red Sea.
Now Egypt is selling off a portfolio of historic hotels that were a premier part of state assets.
The sale of Mena House and six other historic hotels – financed by the Emirates – is part of what Timothy E Kaldas, an analyst of Egypt’s struggling and often opaque economy, termed “an underwhelming fire sale” of state assets, as the government clamours for cash injections while diving deeper into debt.Moustafa is Egypt’s largest real estate developer, whose business empire has witnessed a rebirth since his release from prison in 2017, after President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi pardoned him of a murder conviction. His portfolio includes properties across Egypt’s new capital, the crown jewel of Sisi’s megaprojects, in addition to his hospitality arm, Icon, which owns several luxury hotels in Cairo.His Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) has now acquired seven heritage hotels across Egypt, including Mena House. This includes others that serve as monuments to Egypt’s recent past, including the Sofitel Winter Palace in Luxor, the Old Cataract in Aswan and the Steigenberger Cecil on the Alexandria coastline. International hotel chains continue to run the hotels, but Icon bought a majority stake in the Egyptian government company which owned them.The Egyptian prime minister, Mostafa Madbouly, celebrated the $800m sale to Moustafa, who lauded the acquisition for bringing in foreign currency. He added that the sale was financed by “a well-known international strategic investor”.
Those of us who know Egypt appreciate the significance of these hotels.
Finally, in response to the Israeli response to the Oct. 7th attacks by Hamas, Egypt is returning to the days of monumental construction projects…this time an 8-mile border wall.
Egyptian authorities, fearful that an Israeli military push further into southern Gaza will set off a flood of refugees, are building an 8-square-mile walled enclosure in the Sinai Desert near the border, according to Egyptian officials and security analysts.For weeks, Egypt has sought to bolster security along the frontier to keep Palestinians out, deploying soldiers and armored vehicles and reinforcing fences. The massive new compound is part of contingency plans if large numbers of Gazans do manage to get in.More than 100,000 people could be accommodated in the camp, Egyptian officials said. It is surrounded by concrete walls and far from any Egyptian settlements. Large numbers of tents, as yet unassembled, have been delivered to the site, these people said.
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