Collège de FranceInstitut français Chaire « Civilisation de l’Égypte pharaonique : d’archéologie orientale archéologie, philologie, histoire » Bulletin d’Information Archéologique BIA

www.egyptologues.net XXXV

Janvier -Juin 2007 Le Caire — Paris 2007

Système de translittération des mots arabes

SOMMAIRE SYSTÈME DE TRANSLITTÉRATION .3 ÉDITORIAL .5 SOMMAIRE .7 I-Thèmes généraux IN MEMORIAM .10 Alessandra Nibbi .10 Isaac Fânûs 12 NOMINATIONS, RÉVOCATION .12 DISTINCTIONS .13 ‘Abd al-Halîm Nûr al-Dîn .13 The First Day of Archaeologists 13 Rushdî Sa‘îd 15 Ahmad al-Farghânî 15 COOPÉRATIONS 16 Bosnie-Herzégovine 16 France 16 Ouzbékistan 19 Palestine 20 Yémen .23 FORMATIONS 23 Gîza Field School 23 DONATIONS 26 VERBATIM 26 POLÉMIQUES .27 Évacuation du village d’al-Qurna 27 New 7 Wonders of the World 35 Réaménagement de la ville de Louqsor .39 Marina sur la rive Ouest . 43 TOURISME & ANTIQUITÉS .45 Son & lumière 47 Vallée des Rois .48 Exploitation des sites historiques à des fins lucratives 50 Wikâlat Qâytbây . 50 Mosquée-sabîl Sulaymân Aghâ al- Silihdâr 51 Palaisde Muhammad ‘Alî àManyal 53 PATRIMOINE ENDOMMAGÉ 53 Alexandrie 54 Le Caire 54 Musée Copte . 54 Louqsor .55 Mosquée Abû al-Haggâg 55 PATRIMOINE CLASSÉ .56 Le Caire 56 Palaisdu baron Empain 56 Fayyûm .56 Mont Qatrânî . 56 ENTREPÔTS ARCHÉOLOGIQUES .57 PUBLICATIONS 58 Agnieszka Dobrowolska : The Building Crafts of Cairo : A Living Tradition .58 Zâhî Hawwâs : Mountains of the Pharaohs : The untold story of the Pyramid Builders .59 Nicholas J. Saunders : Alexander’s Tomb 61 INTERNET, TÉLÉVISION & CD-ROM63 Les contributions de la civilisation arabe et islamique en sciences médicales 64 Hopkins in Egypt Today .65 La reine soleil 66 Mémoire du Monde 67 MOMIES 69 Vases canopes présumées de Ramsès II 69 Momie présumée de Néfertiti 70 Momie présumée d’Hatchepsout 72

II -Musées MUSEUM WITH NO FRONTIERS .79 Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean 79 Musée du Louvre .80 Papyrus médical égyptien . 80 EN BREF 81 ALEXANDRIE 83 Musée d’archéologie sous-marine 83 Musée gréco-romain .85 LE CAIRE .85 Musée Égyptien 85 Laboratoire d’analyses ADN 85 Grand Musée égyptien .87 Musée Copte 89 Musée d’Art islamique .89 Musée de l’histoire du Caire 90 Musée des Textiles islamiques .90 Musée Suzanne Mubârak pour l’enfant 91 GÎZA 92 Musée de la Barque de Chéops 92 DÉSERT OCCIDENTAL 95 Oasis de Bahariyya 95 Musée des momies dorées 95 SINAÏ 95 Musée archéologique d’al-‘Arîsh .95

III -Restaurations, préservations EN BREF 99 ALEXANDRIE .103 Palais Antoniadis .103 DELTA .104 Ismâ‘îliyya 104 Mosquée ‘Abbâs Hilmî II 104 LE CAIRE 105 Rue al-Mu‘izz .105 Église de la Vierge à Hârit Zuwayla .107 Statues des places publiques .108 Palais ‘Umar Tûsûn 109 Dâr al-Kutub wa-l-wathâ’iq al•qawmiyya 110 Patrimoine architectural des XIXe et XXe siècles 112 Rue Muhammad ‘Alî .113 GÎZA .114 Plateau des pyramides 114 Pyramide de Chéops 115 SAQQÂRA .115 Pyramide de Djoser 115 SUHÂG 116 Shûnat al-Zabîb .116 QINÂ .117 Temple de Dandara 117 LOUQSOR 117 Temple de Louqsor 117 Mubârak Historical Centre 118 Mubârak Public Library 119 Vallée des Rois 120 DÉSERT OCCIDENTAL .120 Oasis de Khârga 120 Temple d’Hibis .120

IV -Expositions archéologiques EXPOSITIONS EN ÉGYPTE .122 Alexandrie 122 Bibliotheca Alexandrina : Rhythm and Verses -Masterpieces of Persian Calligraphy.122 Le Caire .123 Musée Égyptien : Anubis, Oupouaout et autres divinités 123 Musée Égyptien : Bandelettes de Toutankhamon .124 CFCC & palais de l’émir Tâz : Saqqâra sous le sable, ou le murmure des morts 125 EXPOSITIONS HORS D’ÉGYPTE .126 Allemagne .126 Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland : Ägyptens versunkene Schätze 126 Bahreïn 127 Musée national de Bahreïn : Pharaons 127 Belgique .128 Espace culturel ING : Sphinx. Les gardiens de l’Égypte 128 États-Unis .129 The Franklin Institute Science Museum : Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs 129 The Metropolitan Museum of Art : Gifts for the Gods : Images from Egyptian Temples. 129 France .130 Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes : Pharaon, homme, roi, dieu 130 Parc des Expositions La Beaujoire : D’Akhenaton à Ramsès II . 130 Galerie Bansard : Icônes coptes d’Égypte 130 Institut du Monde Arabe : l’Expédition d’Égypte 131 Japon 131 Mexique 132 Musée national de Monterrey : Isis et la vipère à plumes 132 Royaume-Uni 132 The O2 -Millennium Dome : Tutankhamun Exhibition 132

V-Vols & restitution d’antiquités VOLS & TRAFIC D’ANTIQUITÉS 134 Espagne 134 Museo Egipcio de Barcelona : statuette de Nefret . 134 Antiquités égyptiennes 134 Antiquités islamiques et coptes 138 RESTITUTIONS 141 Allemagne .141 Das Alte Museum : Buste de Néfertiti 141 États-Unis .143 Christie’s & Wyss : deux coffrets d’albâtre en formede canard 144 France .145 Mèches de cheveux de la momie de Ramsès II 145 Musée du Louvre : Naos des Décades 147 Jordanie .147 Port d’Aqaba 147 Mexique 147 Aéroport de Mexico City : stèle en calcairedu Nouvel Empire 147

VI -Recherches & découvertes EN BREF .150 CÔTE NORD .155 Centrale nucléaire à al-Dab‘a .155 DELTA .157 Daqahliyya 157 Tell al-Balâmûn 157 LE CAIRE 159 Laboratoire de datation par le radiocarbone de l’Ifao 159 GÎZA .159 Gîza Plateau Mapping Project 159 Pyramide de Chéops 162 Exploration robotique 164 SAQQÂRA .165 Tombe de Kahai 165 Tombe de Ptahemwia .166 Mastaba d’Akhet-Hotep 167 DAHSHÛR NORD .168 Cinq tombes du Moyen Empire 168 FAYYÛM 169 Aegyptopithecus zeuxis .169 MINYÂ 169 Dayr al-Barshâ .169 Tombe de Henu .169 Antinoë 171 LOUQSOR 173 Temple de Mout .173 Dromos 174 Stèle de Bakenkhonsou 174 Dirâ‘ Abû al-Nagâ 175 TombedeDjéhouty (TT 11) . 175 Vallée des Rois 177 Tombe de Senneferi (TT 99) 177 KOM UMBÛ .178 Al-Hush 178 ASWÂN 181 Fouilles fluviales 181 SINAÏ 181 Nord-Sinaï 181 Tell Habwa 181 Sud-Sinaï 183 Tell al-Mashraba 183 MER ROUGE 183 Marsa Gawâsîs 183 VII -Conférences & colloques 185 VIII -Who’s who ? .194 IX -Index 199

I – THÈMES GÉNÉRAUX Le secrétaire général du Conseil Suprême des Antiquités, Dr Zâhî Hawwâs, a annoncé que le 14 janvier est dorénavant choisi pour célébrer la Journée des archéologues égyptiens. C’était à cette même date que le feu président Gamâl Abd al-Nâsir avait décidé de nationaliser le Service des Antiquités qui, deux siècles durant, était la chasse gardée des étrangers. Hawwâs a annoncé le lancement des travaux de construction d’un hôpital destiné à soigner les archéologues. Le CSA dispose à présent d’un budget de trois millions de dollars lui permettant de donner le coup d’envoi d’un tel projet. À proximité de cet hôpital, les Forces armées construiront un club sportif et un centre d’entraînement pour les archéologues. Enfin, Hawwâs a annoncé que tous les archéologues et restaurateurs du CSA toucheront le mois prochain une prime de 40 %, afin de les aider à affronter les problèmes de santé auxquels ils sont exposés au cours de leur travail dans les milieux archéologiques confinés. (Mushîra Mûsa, « 14 janvier : Journée des archéologues », al-Ahrâm du 10 juillet 2006. Voir également Kâmiliyâ ‘Atrîs, « Chers pharaons, merci pour vos Antiquités ! », Sabâh al-Khayr du 25 juillet ; Ashraf Mufîd, « Honneurs aux pionniers lors de la célébration de la première fête des archéologues égyptiens organisée à l’Opéra », al-Ahrâm du 4 décembre). La célébration de la Journée des archéologues égyptiens a été ajournée deux fois de suite : accident de santé du Dr Zâhî Hawwâs, puis indisponibilité du ministre de la Culture. Toutefois, la cérémonie a fini par avoir lieu le 15 mars à l’Opéra du Caire. (« La célébration de la première fête des archéologues est ajournée au 17 février prochain », al-Qâhira du 16 janvier. Voir également Kâmiliyâ ‘Atrîs, « Les archéologues célèbrent leur première fête », Sabâh al-Khayr du 20 mars ; Ashraf Ibrâhîm, « Les archéologues célèbrent leur première fête à l’Opéra », al-Ahrâm du 17 mars). Mais, le choix du 14 janvier pour célébrer la fête annuelle des archéologues n’a pas recueilli l’adhésion de tous les intéressés. D’aucuns ont proposé des dates beaucoup plus significatives comme celle de la découverte de la pierre de Rosette, ou de la tombe de Toutankhamon : Muhammad Mandûr, « Les archéologues protestent contre le choix du 14 janvier », al-Qâhira du 30 janvier.

Alessandra Nibbi Avec éloge et respect, la presse égyptienne a annoncé la disparition d’Alessandra NIBBI le 15 janvier 2007. Elle était appréciée par un grand nombre d’égyptologues et de chercheurs égyptiens. Pour lui rendre hommage, nous avons choisi de citer quelques extraits du texte suivant signé par Claude VANDERSLEYEN : Alessandra NIBBI nous a quittés le 15 janvier dernier, laissant un grand vide parmi les égyptologues et dans le cœur de ses amis. Sa vie se divise en deux parties quasi égales : l’une est essentiellement australienne, c’est sa période de formation scolaire ; l’autre anglaise, c’est l’époque de production scientifique, l’époque de l’égyptologie. Alessandra NIBBI est née à Porto-San-Giorgio, sur la côte Adriatique de l’Italie, le 30 juin 1923, d’Elvira PETRELLI et de Gino NIBBI. Ce dernier, homme aux talents multiples, écrivain, historien d’art, quitte l’Italie en 1928 à cause des conditions politiques du moment et s’installe en

Australie, à Melbourne, avec sa femme, sa fille et son jeune fils. Alessandra recevra une instruction et une éducation parfaitement anglaises. Outre l’université de Melbourne, qu’elle quitte à 23 ans, elle fréquente le conservatoire de la même ville, comme soprano. Comme première activité dans la vie, elle enseigne la langue et la littérature anglaises. En 1947, la famille NIBBI retourne en Italie ; Alessandra s’y marie ; son fils Daniel naît en 1953. Après une seconde période australienne de quelques années, la famille NIBBI décide, en 1963, de quitter définitivement l’Australie. Le long retour en bateau a une conséquence imprévue : au passage du canal de Suez, une excursion organisée pour les passagers révèle à Sandra l’Égypte, ses pyramides, sa civilisation, son univers. Aussitôt arrivée en Italie, elle entreprend des études d’archéologie, à l’Université de Pérouse où elle suit les cours de l’étruscologue Massimo PALLOTTINO, et à l’Université de Florence où elle obtient un Doctorat ès Lettres, en 1965 : elle a quarante-deux ans. Des circonstances obscures, liées au fait qu’elle est toujours de nationalité australienne, l’obligent à quitter l’Italie. Elle décide de s’installer, avec son fils, en Angleterre dont la langue est, de fait, sa première langue, qu’elle continuera d’ailleurs à enseigner un certain temps. Après quelques hésitations, elle s’installe à Oxford, et définitivement au 13 Lovelace Road, où elle passera le reste de sa vie.

En 1972, Alessandra NIBBI publie un petit livre (64 pages) : The Sea Peoples : A Re-examination of the Egyptian Sources. Elle y explique que le terme « Great Green » des textes égyptiens ne désigne pas « la mer », comme on le croit généralement, mais essentiellement le Delta égyptien, à cause de son immense verdure. Le livre est publié à frais d’auteur, comme tout ce qu’elle publiera désormais. Alessandra NIBBI se présente sous son simple nom, sans titre. Elle n’appartient pas au corps académique, ni à une université ni à un musée. Elle ne dépend de personne. On ne devine pas qu’elle a 49 ans à ce moment, maturité qui se sent pourtant dans la sobriété et la rigueur de l’exposé et des raisonnements. [ ] Ce livre de 1972 a provoqué un choc. L’opinion que les Égyptiens n’ont même pas de mot pour dire « mer » est si différente de l’opinion commune que personne ne veut la croire. La réaction du monde égyptologique a été généralement déplorable. Pire que les sarcasmes que certains — même des savants respectables — ont osés, il y eut désormais le black-out total sur les écrits d’Alessandra NIBBI et sur elle-même. Citer son nom, pour un égyptologue, c’était « se déshonorer », et cette attitude anti-scientifique n’est toujours pas éteinte 35 ans plus tard, malgré certains revirements. [ ] Après 1972, Alessandra NIBBI n’a cessé de produire livres et articles pour élargir et défendre ses conceptions de la géographie antique, avec toujours cette originalité, cette indépendance d’esprit qui désarçonnait les « traditionnels ». Outre son extraordinaire intelligence, elle avait aussi un courage et une persévérance grâce auxquels elle a passé à travers tous les obstacles et toutes les vilenies. Devant le refus des revues d’accepter de publier ses études, elle a fondé en 1985 sa propre revue : Discussions in Egyptology, qui lui assurait enfin une parfaite liberté d’expression. Cette revue, par la qualité de la publication et par les nombreux collaborateurs qu’elle a attirés, est reconnue aujourd’hui — belle revanche — comme une des revues d’égyptologie de haut niveau et appréciée universellement à ce titre. La méthode scientifique d’Alessandra était de ne pas se fier à « ce qu’on avait déjà écrit », les « textbooks » selon son expression familière, souvent méprisante. Elle consultait les textes anciens, les faits archéologiques. Elle allait sur le terrain se rendre compte par elle-même, utilisant les moyens de transport du pays, captant d’un coup d’œil, par la fenêtre d’un autobus, un détail topographique qui éclairait un texte ancien qu’elle avait en mémoire. [ ] Elle parcourait les villages du delta où, parfois, la présence d’autorités officielles l’empêchait d’avoir un contact personnel, familier, avec les gens du terroir qui lui révélaient des données tirées de leur expérience millénaire des lieux. Elle entreprenait des fouilles, à Marsa Matrûh, pour élucider des problèmes liés aux ancres des bateaux égyptiens. [ ] Elle s’attaquait par prédilection aux questions dites insolubles où son esprit dénué de tout blocage, ses yeux dépourvus d’œillères, frayaient des voies inattendues, mais toujours fructueuses. La connaissance de la géographie de l’Égypte et de ses voisins a connu, grâce à Alessandra NIBBI, un formidable élan dont on ne mesure pas encore les nombreuses conséquences. Le freinage stupide exercé par certaines « autorités » de notre corporation sur les recherches d’Alessandra NIBBI a retardé le développement de cette partie de l’égyptologie de la fin du XXe siècle. Mais, l’aigreur qu’elle a pu en concevoir n’a jamais abîmé sa personnalité généreuse, joyeuse, vive. Cette égyptologue hors norme ne s’est jamais laissé abattre. Elle s’est même imposée au respect de notre communauté. En outre — ce qui n’apparaît pas nécessairement dans ses écrits — elle avait un grand cœur, elle était l’amie fidèle de ses amis. Elle soutenait tous les débutants pour qui elle prévoyait un avenir plus ouvert que celui qu’elle avait connu durant sa vie. Alessandra NIBBI était une grande et noble dame qui a droit à toute notre admiration et à notre reconnaissance. (Voir également ‘Ukâsha al-Dâlî, « Disparition d’Alessandra NIBBI, amoureuse de la civilisation égyptienne et des Égyptiens », al-Qâhira du 24  avril 2007). — —

Isaac Fânûs

Last Sunday Egypt lost renowned iconographer Isaac Fânûs (1919–2007), who almost single-handedly revived the art of the Coptic icon and endowed it with a singular, modern guise. Fânûs was a pioneering artist who graduated from Cairo’s Faculty of Applied Arts in 1941. Fânûs worked in a special atelier at the Institute of Coptic studies in ‘Abbâsiyya, Cairo, the institute from which he earned a doctoral degree in 1958. He painted a huge collection of Coptic icons, inspired by Biblical events, miracles, saints and martyrs. Many of his better-known icons depict the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Epiphany, the Wedding at Cana of Galilee, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension of Christ. Fânûs’scholarship at the Louvre Museum during the 1960s was a turning point in his artistic life, for there he studied the art of iconography, and developed his own modernist style, which intermingled Pharaonic, Byzantine, and Coptic art. His school spread in many of Egypt’s churches, as well as in Coptic churches in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, and other parts of the world. The year 1971 marked another distinctive point in Fânûs’artistic career. He painted the awe-inspiring, huge mural in St Mark’s Cathedral in ‘Abbâsiyya, Cairo, depicting the martyrdom of St Mark in a singular style which combined Coptic art with cubist lines and impressionist effects. His works extended to include mosaics and stained glass. Fânûs’legacy to Coptic art is not confined to his astoundingly beautiful work but, in his overflowing love and dedication, he taught an entire new generation of Coptic iconographers who today carry the torch of Coptic art to places all over the world. (Wagdî Habashî, “Isaac Fânûs. A singular artist”, Watanî du 21 février 2007. Voir également Hânî Labîb, « L’artiste des icônes est parti sans reconnaissance de la part de l’État ! », Âkhir Sâ‘a du 24 janvier).

Le président de l’Université du Caire, ‘Alî ‘Abd al-Rahmân, a nommé l’ex-doyen de la faculté d’Archéologie, Dr Ra’fat al-Nabrâwî, au poste de chef du département des antiquités islamiques. Cette nomination entre en vigueur à partir du 26 février 2006 et s’achève à l’issue de l’année universitaire 2008-2009. (« al-Nabrâwî nommé chef du département d’archéologie islamique à l’Université du Caire », al-Ahrâm du 17 mars 2007). Le secrétaire général du Conseil Suprême des Antiquités (CSA), Dr Zâhî Hawwâs, a décidé de nommer Dr Ahmad Kâmil au poste de directeur du musée archéologique de Sharm al-Shaykh en cours de construction. (Lû’ay Mahmûd Sa‘ïd, « Musées et Antiquités », al-Qâhira du 6 février 2007). — —

Au cours du premier semestre 2007, le secrétaire général du CSA et le ministre de la Culture ont connu quelques ennuis de santé. Suite à une « crise de tachycardie », Fârûq Husnî a été hospitalisé du 15 au 19 juin dans un grand hôpital situé en banlieue parisienne. L’électrocardiographie réalisée par l’un des plus éminents cardiologues français n’a rien révélé de grave. Aucune intervention chirurgicale n’a été jugée nécessaire. Âgé de soixante-neuf ans dont vingt années au pouvoir sans interruption — au point d’être surnommé par ses confrères le « doyen des ministres » —, le ministre de la Culture a déjà été hospitalisé l’année dernière pour les mêmes raisons. C’est avec une grande détermination qu’il semble lutter à la fois contre la maladie et ses détracteurs de plus en plus nombreux. (Taha ‘Abd al-Rahmân, « Fârûq Husnî entame son voyage de guérison à Paris », al-Ahrâr du 12 juin 2007.

Voir également « Fârûq Husnî : Je vais bien, grâce à Dieu », Akhbâr al-Yawm du 16 juin ; Ashraf Mufîd, « Le cœur de Fârûq Husnî n’a pas besoin d’opération chirurgicale », al-Ahrâm du 19 juin ; Taha ‘Abd al-Rahmân, « Il a vaincu la maladie et triomphé de ses adversaires », al-Ahrâr du 20 juin ; « Fârûq Husnî reprend ses activités », al-Qâhira du 26 juin). Quant au Dr Zâhî Hawwâs, il a été victime début janvier 2007 de la chute d’une pierre de 20 kg sur le site de Taposiris Magna en Alexandrie. Il a été hospitalisé au Bascom Palmer Eye Institute de Miami aux États-Unis, où il a subi deux interventions chirurgicales à l’œil droit le 11 et le 14 janvier par le célèbre William SMIDDY. (Ashraf Mufîd, « Zâhî Hawwâs subi une intervention chirurgicale aux États-Unis », al-Ahrâm du 13 janvier ; « Les yeux de Zâhî Hawwâs sont intacts », Akhbâr al-Yawm du 13 janvier ; Zâhî Hawwâs, “Dig Days : Lucky rabbit’s hat (2)”, Al-Ahram Weekly du 15 mars). Tout comme le ministre de la Culture, le Dr Hawwâs a été soigné à l’étranger aux frais de l’État. Ce dernier a exprimé ses remerciements et sa gratitude envers le président Mubârak — qui l’a appelé deux fois au téléphone pour s’enquérir de sa santé — et son épouse pour leur bienveillance. Enfin, le secrétaire général du CSA a précisé « qu’un tel geste n’est guère surprenant de la part du Président, qui a toujours soutenu les créateurs, les savants et les intellectuels ». (Ashraf Mufîd, « Le nouvelles du Dr Zâhî opération chirurgicale », janvier). Président Hawwâs al-Ahrâ prend après m du les son 28 — —

One of Egypt’s most distinguished archaeologists, Egyptology Professor ‘Abd al-Halîm Nûr al-Dîn was one of the first to call for the retrieval of stolen antiquities from private collections and museums abroad. In honour of Nûr al-Dîn’s achievements, the universities of Cairo, Alexandria and Fayyûm, in collaboration with the Nederlands-Vlaams Instituut in Cairo have staged a conference at Cairo University this week. Nûr al-Dîn was former Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and is now dean of the Faculty of Archaeology at Fayyûm University. He has received 13 prizes, of which the most important was the state prize in 2002. He was honoured by the US in 1984, France in 1998 and Italy in 2000 for his contribution in this field. More than 200 archaeologists and researchers are attending the three-day conference, which coincides with the publication of Nûr al-Dîn’s book, Excavations in Man’s Heart. Nûr al-Dîn described his time with the SCA as “difficult” because he was dealing with antiquities and individuals. During his time as SCA chief, the Hanging Church and the Mosque of ‘Amr Ibn al-‘Âs in Old Cairo were restored and various monuments were rescued before the completion of Aswân High Dam. (Hassan Saadallah, “Noted archaeologist honoured by conf.”, The Egyptian Gazette du 12 avril 2007. Voir également « 3 universités honorent Nûr al-Dîn », al-Akhbâr du 8 avril ; « Horus et Sekhmet en vente pour 2 millions de dollars », Uktubar du 19 novembre ; Hassan Saadallah, « L’égyptologue Nûr al-Dîn honoré dans une conférence internationale », Le Progrès Égyptien du 1er mai).

The First Day of Archaeologists ‘Abd al -Halîm Nûr al -Dîn If any ancient Egyptian spirits are still with us, then they were gathered at the Cairo Opera House last week when Egyptologists met to celebrate their first official day of tribute. The grand theatre became a temple for the day, embellished with a noble façade, columns and statues of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs and deities. The stage had a special backdrop featuring animated ancient Egyptian workmen carving the title of the gathering : The First Day of Archaeologists on a limestone wall. Strains of classical music filled the theatre hall as foreign and Egyptian archaeologists were welcomed by Zâhî Hawwâs, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). From next year on the day will be held annually on 14 January. This is the date when, in 1953, the Egyptian Antiquities Authority (EAA) became an Egyptian-run organisation headed by Mustafa ‘Âmir, the first Egyptian archaeologist to oversee Egypt’s antiquities. This year’s event was also scheduled for 14 January but was delayed because Hawwâs underwent an emergency eye operation.

“I cannot describe my happiness and joy to be among my professors, colleagues and students where we can exchange our knowledge, information and experiences in archaeology,” Hawwâs said in his opening speech. “Today, after years of working in my beloved field, I am very proud of what the SCA has achieved not only to restore, preserve and protect Egypt’s heritage but also to enrich and develop the life of archaeologists,” he went on. Now, he continued, a social club for archaeologists is under construction in Fustât, while plans for a hospital for members of the profession are being studied. Administration officers are also looking at ways to increase archaeologists’salaries and retirement pensions. During the ceremony seven archaeologists in particular were honoured with a certificate and a golden collar. These were ‘Abd al-Hamîd Zâyid, ‘Abd al-Rahmân ‘Abd al-Tawwâb and Ahmad ‘Abd al-Hamîd Yûsuf as well as four deceased archaeologists : Ahmad Pasha Kamâl, Silîm Pasha Hasan, Mustafa ‘Âmir and restorer Ahmad Yûsuf. The godfather of Egyptian archaeologists, Kamâl spent his whole life supporting Egyptian archaeologists and placing them within the framework of the Egyptian Antiquities Authority. The first Egyptian to be appointed to an archaeological post at the Egyptian Museum, he wrote several archaeological books and in 1903 he translated MASPERO’s book about the Egyptian Museum into Arabic. Kamâl was responsible for several discoveries, among them was the Dayr al-Baharî cachette where he unearthed 40 identified mummies dating from the 17th to the 21st dynasties. Silîm Hasan was one of the earliest archaeologists, and is said to have created archaeology in Arabic language. In 1953 he was put in charge of the protection of antiquities in the Nile Valley, and he excavated several sites in Gîza for the Egyptian Museum and Fu’âd I University. He was the first to excavate the area in front of the Sphinx and its valley. Among Hasan’s most interesting discoveries was the tomb of Khentkawas, the fourth pyramid of Gîza. In 1936, he was the first Egyptian to be appointed wakîl of the EAA, where he exerted all his efforts to the return of the archaeological collection in the possession of the Egyptian royal family in order for it to be exhibited in the Egyptian Museum. In addition to being the first Egyptian to head the EAA, in his day Mustafa ‘Âmir was the head of Cairo University and general secretary of the Ministry of Éducation. Among his archaeological work was the excavation at the prehistoric cemeteries in Ma‘âdî and Heliopolis. In 1953 he located Khufu’s solar boats in Gîza. Ahmad Yûsuf was known as shaykh al-Muramimîn, or the leader of Egyptian restorers. Restoring a jewellery box of Pharaoh Akhnaten — now exhibited at the Egyptian Museum — was his pass to the world of restorers. He restored several

objects at the Egyptian and Coptic museums among which are the granite statue of Queen Hatshepsut and Anubis. After retirement he helped with the restoration of Khufu’s solar boat, which took almost 27 years of hard and accurate restoration. A pioneering archaeologist who introduced the science of museology to Egypt, ‘Abd al-Hamîd Zâyid wrote several archaeological books in Arabic and English and shared in writing Gamâl Mukhtâr’s book about ancient Egyptian history. Ahmad ‘Abd al-Hamîd Yûsuf led the move to establish the ancient Egyptian documentation centre, which listed and classified the Nubian monuments before and after the international 1960s salvage operation. He focused his work on the Luxor monuments, and his participation in several national and international archaeological organisations helped popularise Egyptology. (Nevine El-Aref, “On site heroes”, Al-Ahram Weekly du 29 mars 2007. Voir également « Célébration de la première Journée des archéologues égyptiens », al-Ahrâr du 12 janvier ; Usâma Fârûq, « Honneur aux pionniers lors de la première fête des archéologues égyptiens », Akhbâr al-Adab du 25 mars ; Zâhî Hawwâs, « Les archéologues fêtent leurs pionniers », al-Ahrâm du 31 mars ; Kâmiliyâ ‘Atrîs, « Distinctions pour les gardiens de la civilisation ! », Sabâh al-Khayr du 3 avril).

Rushdî Sa‘îd

À l’occasion de la Journée mondiale du patrimoine, le secrétaire général du Conseil Suprême des Antiquités (CSA), Dr Zâhî Hawwâs, a rendu hommage au savant égyptien internationalement connu Dr Rushdî Sa‘îd. Cette distinction vient saluer les recherches du Dr Sa‘îd et ses nombreuses publications scientifiques sur le Nil et son évolution à travers les différentes époques géologiques jusqu’à la préhistoire. C’est la quatrième fois que l’Égypte célèbre la Journée mondiale du patrimoine sous les auspices de l’Unesco. Cette année, la cérémonie a été organisée le 18 avril dans le palais de Muhammad ‘Alî à Shubrâ. Lors de son discours officiel, le Dr Hawwâs a évoqué les projets de sauvegarde du patrimoine dans les domaines des musées, des entrepôts muséologiques, la gestion des sites historiques et les efforts déployés pour combattre les empiètements sur les sites archéologiques. (« Rushdî Sa‘îd honoré à l’occasion de la Journée mondiale du patrimoine », al-Ahrâr du 20 avril 2007. Voir également Fathiyya al-Dakhâkhnî, « Le ministère de la Culture honore Rushdî Sa‘îd », al-Masrî al-Yawm du 18 avril). Ahmad al -Farghânî

Ahmad al-Farghânî (798-865). © Aymé Lebon Lors d’une visite au Caire de trois jours, le président de la République d’Ouzbékistan, Islom KARIMOV, a levé hier le rideau sur la statue d’Ahmad al-Farghânî, qui a conçu et supervisé la construction du nilomètre du Caire en 247 H., sous le règne du khalife al-Mutawakkil. Le gouvernorat du Caire a choisi le palais Mânisterlî, situé sur l’île de Ruda, pour y ériger la statue de ce savant ouzbek décédé en 865. Cette statue haute de 2,70 m est fixée sur une base de 1,80 m et pèse 1,5 tonne. Elle est l’œuvre du sculpteur ouzbek Pavshan MIRTADJIEV. Par ailleurs, une statue représentant le sculpteur égyptien Mahmûd Mukhtâr sera érigée à Tachkent. (Manâr Khâtir, « Le Président ouzbek lève le rideau sur la statue du concepteur du nilomètre », al-Masrî al-Yawm du 20 avril 2007. Voir également ‘Abd al-Hâdî Tamâm, « Une statue en l’honneur du concepteur du nilomètre de Ruda », al-Ahrâm du 4 février ; Magdî Sabla, « Érection de la statue de Farghânî, le concepteur du nilomètre », al-Musawwar du 9 février ; Fathî al-Sâyih, « Levée de rideau sur la statue du concepteur du nilomètre lors de la visite de KARIMOV », Uktubar du 15  avril ; “Nilometer designer statue”, The Egyptian Gazette du 20 avril). — — —

Bosnie -Herzégovine

Bosnian archaeologist Semir OSMANAGIC, 45, is convinced he has found Europe’s first pyramid, which he says date back to ancient times. “I was amazed when I first saw them. I am certain that this is the work of an ancient civilisation,” OSMANAGIC has recently said. The two pyramids were hidden in the Visoko Valley, north of Sarajevo. OSMANAGIC has spent 16,000 euros researching the area, located on both banks of a river 30 kilometres from the Bosnian capital. Residents of the nearby town of Visoko have long known about the presence of the two structures they always referred to as “pyramids” but none of them was ever intrigued enough to investigate further. But OSMANAGIC, who says he sharpened his eye for archaeology on numerous trips around the world to study ancient civilisations, insists the structures “cannot be the art of nature.” OSMANAGIC says he believes builders from an unknown civilisation shaped the hill into a “step pyramid” then coated it with primitive concrete. The structure now stands some 70 metres high, with a square base that is 220 by 220 metres. “Initial probes about 17 metres into the earth revealed numerous anomalies in the soil,” OSMANAGIC said. The team began excavating a few spots at the site, with the work expected to be completed in two weeks. They hope to be able to uncover one of the pyramids steps and larger pieces of the mysterious brown stone for further analysis. OSMANAGIC said slabs of polished sandstone that formed the “paved entrance” to the structures. The director of the Visoko Historic Heritage Museum, Senad HODOVIC, admits he is no sceptic. “The pyramids are obviously the work of man. But we need proper and serious analysis to show who built them and when”, HODOVIC said. OSMANAGIC has spent years urging authorities to support archaeological research of the plateau of the hill, which is recorded in historic annals as the site of a medieval Bosnian town. He says the shape of the pyramids is not typical for Middle Age Bosnian constructions. OSMANAGIC is focusing his research underground, on the site’s tunnels, during the winter. In the meantime, over 20,000 enthusiastic tourists are flocking to visit pyramids daily and buy trinkets, eat pyramid pizza and pyramid cake. The former Pljesevica Hill represents a typical step-pyramid named the Bosnian Pyramid of the Moon. Initial digging uncovered the foundation, terraces, plateau of the pyramid, vertical wall and rectangular structure under one metre thick layer of soil. Four sides of the pyramid aligned with the cardinal sides (north-south, east-west). OSMANAGIC has recently held a presentation of the Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids project in Egypt on March 18 in Cairo’s Opera House. He called on Egyptian archaeologists and geologists to assist in excavating the pyramids and ascertain whether the pyramids are products of man or nature. “We would invite five or six Egyptian archaeologists and geologists by July or August to come [to Bosnia] and give us a hand. Bosnia doesn’t have a faculty of archaeology. We need more help and guidance, from the Egyptian expertise especially to get involved in this project. This will be most beneficial to both of us,” said OSMANAGIC, who has spent 15 years studying the pyramids of Latin America. Professor Nabîl Suwaylim, lecturer of archaeology and holder of three PhDs and author of many books said : “These extraordinary structures, the monuments are definitely the work of human hands. There is plenty of proof that these pyramids exist and they raise many new questions.” Egyptologist Professor Muhammad Ibrâhîm ‘Alî, who visited the Valley of Pyramids in Visoko last year, said that further research would be necessary in order to figure out who were the original architects of these colossal structures in Visoko, as well as their purpose. (“Bosnia has pyramids too”, The Egyptian Gazette du 26 mars 2007).

France Sayyida Zaynab, au sud du Caire, est actuellement l’objet d’un projet pour sa préservation et son développement mené par la mairie de Paris et le gouvernorat du Caire.

Ce projet de coopération décentralisée entre les deux capitales vise à la « mise au point d’outils pour une politique publique de traitement des centres anciens à partir du cas du quartier de Sayyida Zaynab ». Situé au sud du Caire fatimide, Sayyida Zaynab jouit, en fait, d’une situation géographique et urbaine originale et remarquable. Ses frontières sont Le Caire fatimide au nord, la citadelle de Salâh al-Dîn al-Ayyûbî à l’est, le quartier du Vieux-Caire et de Fustât au sud et la ville moderne et le Nil à l’ouest. Un très grand arrondissement avec de très importantes rues et des quartiers et qui jouit d’une vie pas comme les autres. [ ] Et c’est dans ce contexte que le gouverneur du Caire s’est intéressé aux expériences de réhabilitation des secteurs historiques menées par la mairie de Paris et par les procédures mises en place pour associer la population à l’élaboration des projets de quartier. Liées par un pacte d’amitié et de coopération depuis 1985, les deux capitales s’engagent, en 2002, dans une coopération technique pour la rénovation urbaine de ce quartier. Ce projet associe les deux capitales, le ministère égyptien du Développement local, l’ambassade d’Égypte en France, le ministère français des Affaires étrangères, la Région Île-de-France, l’Association Internationale des Maires Francophones (AIMF), l’Atelier parisien d’urbanisme (APUR), le Centre de documentation économique, juridique et sociale (CEDEJ) et le Centre Français de Culture et de Coopération (CFCC) du Caire. « Le thème général de la coopération est l’aménagement et le développement urbain. C’est-à-dire comment des services techniques d’une ville (donc les services du gouvernorat du Caire) et des services techniques d’une autre ville, comme Paris, peuvent discuter et avancer ensemble sur la méthode, sur la manière de gérer les quartiers, de proposer et de mettre en œuvre des projets d’aménagement pour l’amélioration du quartier », explique Christiane BLANCOT, architecte-urbaniste à l’Atelier parisien d’urbanisme. Au terme de l’année 2002, une mission d’experts a procédé à un premier diagnostic du quartier. Elle a identifié les problèmes cruciaux et tracé les grandes lignes des actions à mettre en place. « Chaque proposition présentée devrait se traduire par la définition d’une opération concrète, réalisable, en mobilisant des compétences et des moyens locaux, sous l’autorité des services du gouvernorat du Caire. La démarche devrait être pragmatique et le fruit du travail transportable à d’autres quartiers du Caire », souligne Alain DE ROECK, ingénieur en chef des services techniques de la direction du patrimoine et de l’architecture à la mairie de Paris. À l’été 2003, de jeunes universitaires ont effectué les recherches indispensables à la poursuite de l’étude : enquête et relevés de terrain. En fin d’année, des plans ont été établis et le gouverneur du Caire validait les principes généraux des actions à mener. Chaque action se déclinait en plusieurs projets, à coordonner avec les projets déjà lancés sur le secteur par le ministère du Tourisme, par les services des antiquités et par le gouvernorat du Caire.

Maison ottomane rue ‘Abd al-Magîd al-Labbân. © Atelier parisien d’urbanisme, Paris La première action à mener concernait en fait la rue ‘Abd al-Magîd al-Labbân, retenue comme projet pilote d’aménagement de l’espace public. Le premier domaine effectivement, c’est celui de l’espace public. Celui de la rue « nous semblait très représentatif de ce que doit faire un gouvernorat. La rue est le lieu principal où tout le monde se rencontre. Et c’est le lieu aussi, par définition, de l’intervention de la puissance publique du gouvernorat. C’est un domaine très riche parce que c’est un domaine où tout le monde est appelé à y intervenir : les gens de la circulation, de l’aménagement urbain, de l’habitat, ceux qui s’occupent de la vie économique. On a choisi comme thème une rue qui était à la dimension de nos moyens. La manière dont on a abordé le projet était d’enrichir nos échanges et de voir comment on peut travailler les uns les autres et réfléchir ensemble sur la manière dont on pouvait améliorer la vie des habitants d’une part et, depuis, développer économiquement un quartier », explique Alain DE ROECK. La seconde action portait sur le relogement des artisans mécaniciens de la

rue Abû al-Dahab, qui est perpendiculaire à celle de ‘Abd al-Magîd al-Labbân. Cette rue abrite, en fait, beaucoup de mécaniciens qui réparent les voitures. Alors la rue n’est plus une rue, elle est un atelier de mécanique. Juste à côté se trouve un grand terrain qui est un hangar et qui appartient à l’État. Il y a donc un projet qui consiste à reloger ces mécaniciens dans cette parcelle en y installant un bâtiment d’atelier pour eux et de ce fait-là, la rue peut être réaménagée pour retrouver sa destination première. « C’est un projet important parce que la première idée était d’envoyer, voire de déplacer les mécaniciens très loin (c’était l’idée du gouvernorat du Caire). On a aperçu que ces mécaniciens travaillaient, d’abord, pour les gens du quartier. Ils contribuent à la vie du quartier et ensuite, c’était là que tous les fonctionnaires qui travaillaient dans les ministères tout près venaient réparer leurs voitures. Il y avait donc là un espace d’économie urbaine qui était important et qu’il s’agissait plus de moderniser sur place une activité qui est utile plutôt que de dire qu’on va le déplacer. On discute donc avec le gouvernorat comment avancer sur des solutions pratiques sur les problèmes urbains en essayant chaque fois de comprendre quelle est la bonne solution, la bonne démarche. À partir de là, on peut fabriquer des projets. Et pour reloger des mécaniciens, il faut trouver les terrains, être sûr de la propreté, fabriquer le projet, faire un montage économique », explique Christiane BLANCOT. Et la troisième action concernait, quant à elle, la réhabilitation du patrimoine bâti de Sayyida Zaynab qui abrite une trentaine de monuments, classés par le Conseil Suprême des Antiquités (CSA) sur la liste des antiquités islamiques. En outre, il renferme un autre nombre important de constructions historiques non classées. Un bon nombre de joyaux architecturaux qui méritent une exploration poussée, donc plus d’une seule visite est nécessaire Ces monuments de grande valeur illustrent d’une manière exceptionnelle la richesse architecturale du quartier de Sayyida Zaynab, de l’Histoire qui dépasse les douze siècles. « Ce quartier, situé au sud de la ville ancienne, abrite de façon emblématique d’intéressantes marques de la présence française et un important patrimoine mamelouk. Son évolution est caractéristique de la situation générale. À travers ce cas précis, le gouverneur souhaitait que soient recherchés et testés des méthodes et des outils adaptés à la réhabilitation de ces quartiers anciens, impliquant les habitants dans leur processus », estime Alain DE ROECK. Parmi les monuments les plus importants et les plus fascinants, on peut citer la mosquée d’Ahmad Ibn Tûlûn, la mosquée mamelouke de Singar al-Gâwlî, qui est très grande et très importante. Il y a aussi une mosquée du sultan mamelouk Qâytbây qui vient d’être restaurée ainsi qu’une série de sabîl-s mamelouks et ottomans. On est aussi tout près de la place de Sayyida Zaynab, avec sa grande mosquée qui n’est pas très ancienne mais qui est très importante. Le quartier de Sayyida Zaynab porte évidemment le nom de la grande mosquée de la petite-fille du prophète Muhammad. Un sabîl ottoman se trouve juste en face. Et puis autour de ces monuments, il y a un quartier : celui de Qal‘at al-Kabsh, qui est très ancien et qui est encore structuré avec les rues anciennes qui sont sans doute mieux conservées que certaines de la ville fatimide parce que comme il était enclavé, il a été relativement protégé par cet enclavement. Ce secteur, aujourd’hui très populaire, fut un quartier important du Caire dès l’époque omeyyade et était à l’époque ottomane l’un des plus recherchés du Caire. Le sultan mamelouk al-Nâsir Muhammad le réaménagea et le dota d’adductions d’eau, avant qu’il ne soit abandonné et rasé à la fin du XIVe siècle. Par la suite, de nouveaux édifices y prirent place, dont la mosquée-madrasa construite en 1475 par le sultan Qâytbây sur le modèle de son mausolée-madrasa, construit un peu plus tôt. C’est un des meilleurs exemples de l’architecture mamelouke tardive du Caire. « Qal‘at al-Kabsh, situé au pied de la mosquée Ahmad Ibn Tûlûn, est un quartier assez enclavé parce qu’il est surélevé. C’est un quartier où l’on rencontre beaucoup de maisons anciennes qui gardent encore une structure urbaine. Il continue à fonctionner comme un quartier ancien avec ses mosquées, ses cafés et ses petits commerces. C’est un lieu très chargé et

aujourd’hui, très populaire. On pense aussi que ce type de secteur aujourd’hui, pas du tout connu ou visité par les touristes, peut être un lieu de promenade urbaine et de développement urbain assez important », indique ‘Abd al-Khâliq Mukhtâr, directeur général des antiquités de la zone sud du Caire. L’année 2004 a été consacrée à la mise au point technique du projet de la rue ‘Abd al Magîd al-Labbân et aux premières études de relogement des ateliers de mécanique. L’année 2005 a vu le champ de l’étude s’étendre au quartier voisin de Qal‘at al-Kabsh et à sa liaison avec la ville basse. Et l’année 2006 est la dernière phase du travail.

Les études sont accomplies et on est à la phase dite pré-opérationnelle, voire de préparation du chantier. « De fil en aiguille, le gouverneur nous a demandé aussi de réfléchir à la jonction entre les anciens quartiers de Sayyida Zaynab et le nouveau quartier qui est en train de se développer du côté de Zinhum, sur le plateau. Ici, un grand nombre de logements sociaux ont été construits : le nouvel hôpital pour les enfants cancéreux vient d’être créé, et une station pour les autobus ainsi qu’un centre de commerce sont en voie de développement près de la station de métro de Sayyida Zaynab. Il y a donc plein d’éléments neufs qui sont implantés. La question qui nous est posée est de réfléchir à la manière dont les nouveaux et les anciens quartiers peuvent vivre ensemble. On va d’abord reconstituer les plans qui vont nous servir de plan de travail et les distribuer sur toute l’équipe du travail pour que tout le monde puisse parler le même langage. On a donc commencé à travailler là-dessus. C’est un travail très long », annonce Alain DE ROECK.

© Atelier parisien d’urbanisme, Paris Partenaire de la ville de Paris dans ce programme de coopération décentralisée, l’Atelier parisien d’urbanisme (Apur) aide à la définition des études et des projets urbains sur le quartier de Sayyida Zaynab. Fruit du partenariat entre le gouvernorat du Caire et la mairie de Paris, avec le soutien du ministère des Affaires étrangères français, un ouvrage bilingue, édité par l’Apur, présente les projets élaborés dans le cadre de cette coopération qui montrent comment le réaménagement des rues, conjugué à un travail de réhabilitation des immeubles, peut devenir l’amorce d’une série d’opérations destinées à améliorer la vie quotidienne et redynamiser ces quartiers anciens et pauvres. « C’est la découverte d’un des quartiers les plus attachants du Caire que cet ouvrage entend vous faire partager au travers de la relation du travail accompli. Un zoom sur Sayyida Zaynab montre d’abord en quoi ce quartier est emblématique de la vieille ville et de ses enjeux, puis une présentation des projets montre comment le réaménagement des rues, conjugué à un travail de réhabilitation des immeubles, peut devenir l’amorce d’une série d’opérations qui redynamiseront la vie du quartier », indique Alain DE ROECK, dans la préface du livre. En outre, l’exposition La réhabilitation du quartier de Sayyida Zaynab, photographies, cartes et plans a été organisée dans le hall du CFCC du  Caire, jusqu’au mardi 5  janvier. Cette exposition

documentaire entendait mettre en lumière le projet de réhabilitation urbaine du quartier de Sayyida Zaynab. Elle témoigne des études, de la démarche et de la mise en œuvre du projet réalisées depuis quatre ans par les équipes mixtes du gouvernorat du Caire et de la ville de Paris. Cette exposition permet également d’appréhender les enjeux urbanistiques, patrimoniaux, architecturaux, techniques, économiques et sociaux qu’implique la réhabilitation de ce quartier situé au cœur du Caire historique. C’est l’Atelier parisien d’urbanisme (APUR) qui a fourni les documents nécessaires à la réalisation de cette exposition. (Amira SAMIR, « Jumelage pour l’Histoire », Al-Ahram Hebdo du 3 janvier 2007).

Ouzbékistan Le ministère égyptien de la Culture, représenté par Dâr al-Kutub, et l’Institut Al-Beruni d’études orientales de l’Académie des sciences de la République d’Ouzbékistan signent un protocole de coopération dans les domaines de l’indexation, la numérisation des manuscrits et l’échange d’expertise et d’informations. Cette convention sera ratifiée dans la capitale Tachkent au cours de la semaine culturelle égyptienne organisée en Ouzbékistan du 23 au 29 mars 2007. Des rencontres thématiques auront lieu dans la capitale ouzbek autour de la vie culturelle en Égypte, des transformations politiques que vit actuellement le pays et des relations historiques entre Le Caire et Tachkent. (Taha ‘Abd al-Rahmân, « L’Égypte et l’Ouzbékistan signe un protocole d’indexation des manuscrits », al-Ahrâr du 20 mars 2007).

Palestine

Israeli excavations at the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem’s most volatile holy site, have sparked Arabs and Muslims to take legal action to preserve Islam’s third holiest shrine. Egypt this week witnessed two provocative removes. In parallel with the Arab Foreign Ministers Meeting at the Arab League, Arab Antiquities Officials (AAO), along with representatives of the Islamic Éducational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), the Arab League Éducational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO), the International Cultural Council for Research and Museums (ICCROM), and the head of the Arab Archaeologists’Union met on Sunday at the premises of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) hoping to find a solution. Although Palestinian antiquities experts were unexpectedly prevented from attending because of exit restrictions imposed by the Israelis, the meeting was attended by Munzir al-Digânî, the Palestinian ambassador in Egypt. At the opening session al-Digânî said that after seizing East Jerusalem in 1967, Israel had realised that stating its patrimony would only be possible through the ratification of its identity and sovereignty. This had led to a series of destructive moves. Four days after the June 1967 War began, the Israelis demolished the Moroccan zone (Hayy al-Maghârba) in East Jerusalem, with its two 15th-century mosques and 135 houses, to clear an area in front of the Western Wall. They closed the Moors’Gate and converted the Burâq Wall into the Wailing Wall. They looted the Palestinian National Museum and turned the building into the Israeli Antiquities Bureau. Jerusalem and al-Aqsa remained their main target, however. In 1969, the Salâh al-Dîn minbar at the mosque’s eastern gate burnt down, while in 1984 there was an attempt to blow up the mosque. Recently, al-Digânî continued, Israeli archaeologists began to excavate near the al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy police guard. They claimed that the plan was to replace a damaged wooden bridge leading to the mosque with a stone ramp. This triggered protests from Palestine and her Arab neighbours. In Cairo last week, following several closed and open sessions, SCA Secretary-General Zâhî Hawwâs and the 12 AAO members strongly denounced the Israeli aggression against al-Aqsa and demanded a halt to excavations underneath the mosque, which they said aimed at altering the Islamic and Arab identity of the city. In a communiqué issued at the end of its deliberations, the AAO recommended following Hawwâs’s vigorous appeal to boycott working with any foreign archaeological mission, scientific institute or museum which helped Israel, directly or indirectly, with its excavations in Jerusalem, and to prevent them from restoring or excavating any archaeological site in the Arab world. Qualifying Israel’s provocative excavations as “criminal and destructive acts” against al-Aqsa Mosque and its entire compound, the AAO concluded that such acts essentially aimed to undermine the Arab identity of Jerusalem. They called on the United Nations Éducational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to take necessary action to force Israel, as an occupying power, to honour its obligations under international law, which prevent occupying powers from changing the identity or topographical nature of any territories they occupy. They also called on UNESCO’s Director-General Koïchiro MATSUURA to release the report submitted by the organisation’s inspection mission which was recently sent to Jerusalem to assess excavation work being carried out at Bâb al-Maghârba, at the western side of al-Aqsa Mosque. They also asked MATSUURA to determine how UNESCO planned to resolve the problem, urging Israel immediately to halt its aggression against al-Aqsa, the Dome of the Rock and Jerusalem’s Old City. “UNESCO must also declare its approach to Israel’s plan to construct a Jewish museum, to be called 'the Mercy Museum', on top of the Islamic necropolis of Ma’aman Allah,” AAO meeting Coordinator Muhammad ‘Abd al-Maqsûd said. The AAO called for a Palestinian-Jordanian

archaeological mission to be assigned to inspect the area where excavations were taking place. ‘Abd al-Maqsûd added that the whole area around al-Aqsa was under the supervision of the Islamic Waqf, and not Israel. The AAO also appealed to MATSUURA to put into effect the decision issued by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) at its 30th session held in Lithuania in July 2006, at which it urged Israel to present to the World Heritage Centre all information in relation to any new construction planned on the area on the western side of al-Aqsa, as well as that concerning the corridors leading to the mosque. “This decision has never been implemented by Israel even though it is one of the 21 members of the WHC, a matter that may have given Israel a raw deal under the WHC agreements and treaties,” ‘Abd al-Maqsûd said. According to the communiqué, the AAO has called on the Arab countries’permanent representatives at UNESCO to combine their efforts during the WHC’s upcoming meeting planned this year in New Zealand in an attempt to defend and highlight Jerusalem’s legal position as an occupied territory. They have asked that it push ahead with plans to secure the support and involvement of all the international bodies concerned to prevent Israel from violating its legal obligation in relation to preserving historic sites under Israeli occupation. According to the related UN resolutions and international conventions, Israel, as an occupying power, should coordinate any reconstruction or repair work that it undertakes in the al-Aqsa Mosque with Jordan, in the latter’s capacity as the custodian of Muslim sites in occupied Jerusalem. In parallel efforts, Hawwâs and several AAO, ALESCO and ISESCO members have communicated urgent messages to UN Secretary-General Ban KI-MOON, MATSUURA and other international officials concerned, seeking their intervention to prevent the Israeli government from acting in ways that make confrontation between Palestinians under occupation and Israeli forces all but inevitable. “Such Israeli violations have provoked wide anger and condemnation in Palestine and many Arab and Muslim countries. This is another attempt to disfigure the historical plaza, which in its turn will not only damage al-Aqsa Mosque, the most volatile and holiest [Muslim] site in Jerusalem, but will also create further tension in the entire region.” Hawwâs wrote to both KI-MOON and MATSURRA. He also demanded their immediate intervention before further escalation of the situation. Hawwâs also called on the international community to keep an eye on what Israel was doing to Christian monuments in Jerusalem. The UN secretary-general, in response to the urgent letter sent to him by the director-general of ISESCO, said the Old City of Jerusalem was a place of deep significance for the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths. “It is our firm belief that the status of the Old City and the religious sites within it are extremely sensitive final status issues that can only be resolved through negotiation,” he said. KI-MOON called upon the parties to apply Security Council resolutions 242 and 428 and refrain from establishing or asserting situations on the ground. The UN secretary-general mentioned in his letter, which was signed on his behalf by Ibrâhîm Gambarî, the undersecretary•general for political affairs, that the universal value of the Old City of Jerusalem and the necessity to eschew actions that could lead to tension were reaffirmed in the statement issued by the director-general of UNESCO, which the secretary-general fully supported. The leader of the Palestinian Islamic Movement, Sheikh Râ’id Salâh, accused UNESCO of dropping some of the facts about al-Aqsa from its new report. Salâh said UNESCO had turned a blind eye to the Israeli regime’s destruction of the mosque and the excavations being conducted at the holy site. His comments came after a group of UNESCO experts visited al-Aqsa. Salâh said the authorities in charge of the mosque had asked the UN to stop Israeli damage to the building’s foundations. He said the UN cultural agency had failed to live up to its responsibilities. The Palestinian official accused UNESCO of siding with the Israeli regime. The secretary-general of the 57•member Islamic Conference Organisation (ICO), Ekmeleddin IHSANOGLU, yesterday expressed his anguish and dismay at the world’s silence on Israel’s blatant moves to “Judaise” Jerusalem and change the holy city’s historic character. The ICO was formally established in September 1969 after the burning of al-Aqsa Mosque. “When the Buddhist statues were being demolished in Bamiyan, the whole world rose up against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan,” IHSANOGLU said in an exclusive interview with Arab News yesterday. “UNESCO was very active then, but not a word is being said against what Israel is doing to the al-Aqsa Mosque. Nobody utters a word against the Israeli aggression.

Nobody is really taking any action. There is silence all over.” ‘Alî Radwân, head of the General Arab Union for Archaeologists, told Al-Ahram Weekly that Israel’s encroachment upon al-Aqsa Mosque had not been sporadic, but, rather, a systematic endeavour that began when it occupied Jerusalem, an attempt to change the cultural history of the city and rewrite its past. Over the last 50 years Israel has made continuous attempts to rewrite the cultural history of the Middle East. Back in 2001, two years after enrolling as a member of the World Heritage Committee, Israel submitted an official request to place 28 Palestinian sites on its World Heritage list as belonging to Israel, among them the historic Arab city of Jerusalem. The move was naturally contested by Arab countries because it went against international law — including the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and the International Convention of the Protection of International Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972. Israel nevertheless succeeded in registering three areas as its own : the old city of Acre, the Bow Houses in Tel-Aviv, and the Roman fortress at Masada. Two further attempts were made three years ago. One concerned the countries that fall within the Great Rift Valley, and the other Jerusalem. Radwân announced that according to historical evidence “Rowa-Lem-Shem-Yem” or Jerusalem, is an Ancient Egyptian word, written in hieroglyphs in manuscripts and documents dating back to the reign of the Middle Kingdom Pharaoh Senusert III, about 1830 BC. This is much earlier than any existing Hebrew texts. References to the “the Plast people”, clearly the Palestinians, are found written in hieroglyphics in New Kingdom manuscripts. Rowa-Lem-Shem-Yem means a city of Canaanite origin and does not mean Jewish or Hebrew land. Radwân pointed out that Jerusalem was completely destroyed in 70AD by Titus, son of the Roman emperor Vespasian and that Emperor Hadrian prohibited any Jew from entering Jerusalem. (Nevine El-Aref, “Remember who built Jerusalem”, Al-Ahram Weekly du 15 mars 2007. Voir également Delphine MATTHIEUSSENT, “Israel to halt holy site repairs, excavations go on”, Middle East Times du 12 février ; Taha ‘Abd al-Rahmân, « Husnî appelle les organisations archéologiques arabes et l’Unesco à protéger al-Aqsa », al-Ahrâr du 2 mars ; Hassan Saadallah, “Experts urge UNESCO to halt al-Aqsa dig”, The Egyptian Gazette du 5 mars ; Mahmûd Shâkir, « Hawwâs : liste noire des archéologues qui participent aux violations de la mosquée al-Aqsa », al-Wafd du 5 mars ; Hassan Saadallah, “UNESCO warns Israel over al-Aqsa”, The Egyptian Gazette du 8 mars ; Mirvat Ayyûb, « L’Égypte exige un contrôle international sur les fouilles israéliennes », Watanî du 18 mars).

The powerful head of Egyptian antiquities called for a boycott of any foreign archaeological teams working with Israel on excavations in East Jerusalem at an emergency meeting of Arab antiquities authorities Sunday. “We must take steps to defend the al-Aqsa mosque and the heritage and monuments of Jerusalem,” said Zâhî Hawwâs, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) that oversees all archaeology projects in the country. He suggested to the other heads of Arab archaeological organizations that they “forbid from doing research or excavations anyone belonging to universities or museums working on archaeology with the Israelis in occupied [East] Jerusalem.” Israeli excavations and construction projects in the vicinity of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, have sparked accusations by Palestinians and Muslims around the world that the site is being damaged. “This is the only way to stop the destruction of Jerusalem’s antiquities,” Hawwâs added. Delegates at the meeting said that a blacklist would be drawn up of offending archaeological teams that would not be permitted to work in Arab countries. (AFP, “Egypt antiquities chief urges Israel boycott”, Middle East Times du 5 mars. Voir également Rânyâ Hifnî, « Poursuite des tentatives de démolition de la mosquée al-Aqsa », Sawt al-Umma du 29 janvier ; Islâm ‘Afîfî, « 2 lettres de Zâhî Hawwâs à l’Unesco et aux Nations Unies pour tenter de sauver al-Aqsa », Akhbâr al-Yawm du 17 février ; al-Sayyid Râshid, « L’Union des archéologues arabes déclare la guerre à Israël à cause d’al-Aqsa », al-Ahrâm al-‘Arabî du 17 février ; Mushîra Mûsa, « Hawwâs appelle à l’envoi d’une commission archéologique à Jérusalem pour y constater les violations israéliennes d’al-Aqsa », al-Ahrâm du 5 mars ; ‘Alâ’‘Abd al-Hâdî, « Les archéologues arabes menacent de se retirer de l’Unesco si celle-ci ne soutienne pas la cause de Jérusalem », al-Akhbâr du 5 mars ; Muhammad Sha‘bân, « Coordination des efforts arabes afin de suspendre l’affiliation d’Israël à l’Unesco », al-Qâhira du 6 mars ; Taha ‘Abd al-Rahmân, « Dr ‘Alî Radwân : la protection de Jérusalemn contre la judaisation nécessite une noblesse politique internationale », al-Ahrâr du 15 mai).

Cette crise a inspiré au Dr Zâhî Hawwâs des propos extrêmement hostiles à l’égard de l’Unesco : Le secrétaire général du CSA a lancé une diatribe contre l’Unesco. « Nous ne sommes pas fiers d’appartenir à une organisation qui accuse une telle faiblesse. Nous ne souhaitons pas maintenir notre adhésion », a-t-il annoncé, en appelant les archéologues arabes à adopter une position courageuse vis-à-vis de l’Unesco. Lors du discours prononcé hier devant les présidents des organisations archéologiques arabes, le Dr Hawwâs a ajouté qu’il refuse d’assister à la réunion annuelle du comité du patrimoine international de l’Unesco à cause de sa complaisance à l’égard d’Israël. « L’Unesco est une organisation faible, qui lève la voix pour dénoncer les atteintes archéologiques perpétrées dans n’importe quel pays, mais qui reste muette et impuissante face aux tentatives israéliennes incessantes pour judaïser Jérusalem », précise Hawwâs. (Fathiyya al-Dakhâkhnî, « Hawwâs accuse l’Unesco de complaisance à l’égard d’Israël et appelle les archéologues arabes à la punir », al-Masrî al-Yawm du 5 mars. Voir également Usâma Fârûq, « Liste noire des archéologues destructeurs d’al-Aqsa », Akhbâr al-Adab du 4 mars ; Kâmiliyâ ‘Atrîs, « Hawwâs appelle à adopter une position forte pour sauver al-Aqsa », Sabâh al-Khayr du 6 mars ; Amânî ‘Abd al-Hamîd, « Hawwâs menace de se retirer de l’Unesco », al-Musawwar du 9 mars).

Yémen Yemeni Minister of Culture Muhammad Abû Bakr yesterday met with Egyptian Ambassador in Sanaa Muhammad Mursî ‘Awad for talks on benefiting from Egyptian expertise in preserving antiquities and setting up museums. (“Cooperation with Yemen”, The Egyptian Gazette du 25 avril 2007).

Gîza Field School

Plan of the site Mark LEHNER, director of the Gîza Plateau Mapping Project (GPMP), realised that the excavation of the vast ancient settlement site at Gîza offered him “an opportunity to give back to Egypt something in return for all the years I have enjoyed excavating here.” He envisioned running a rigorous training programme for Egyptian inspectors to guide them in the basics of standard archaeological practice around the world, and today, all over the country, selected SCA inspectors are being trained in the standard practices that are now used for stratigraphic excavation and recording in Britain, France, other European countries, and the United States. LEHNER’s aim harmonised with the objective of SCA director Zâhî Hawwâs to train Egyptian inspectors in advanced techniques of field archaeology in order, eventually, to make prior training at one of the professional field schools a condition for appointment to join foreign missions. This fits in neatly with the concern of the American Research Centre in Egypt (ARCE) that funds be provided to train Egyptian inspectors. Gerry SCOTT, ARCE’s recently• appointed director, reacted positively with a USAID grant.

Thus, in collaboration with the SCA, the support of the USAID grant through ARCE, and the Charles SIMONYI Fund for Arts and Science, LEHNER recruited Muhsin Kâmil and Ana TAVARES to organise a “hands-on” training course known as the Gîza Field School. It works within the impressive area of 230 metres east-west and nearly 300 metres north-south, and the chosen students come from as far afield as Sinai, the Delta cities, Banî Swayf in Middle Egypt, and Luxor and Aswân in Upper Egypt. They are being professionally guided, by a team of 55 archaeologists and specialists, including field instructors. In addition to tending basic skills and techniques, they are guided in the use of digital equipment and techniques far more advanced than the conventional stratigraphical excavations and recording being carried out elsewhere. Kâmil explains : “Even the basic skills are more advanced, in giving every deposit a discrete number, recording all the stratigrahic relationships (which is to say what came before what), and sampling for all classes of material culture : animal bone, ancient plant remains, pottery, charcoal, chipped stone, and mud sealing fragments.”

“This joint exercise of archaeology with professional instructors combined with a participating field school has proved a rich and rewarding experience for all,” LEHNER says. “Our aim is to train students in the standard practices that are now used for stratigraphic excavation and recording in Britain, France, other European countries, and in the United States. What is being taught is what is required by the SCA,” to which Hawwâs adds, “LEHNER’s special talent combines scholarship with excavation techniques and administrative know-how”. “In the past, Egyptian inspectors who accompanied foreign archaeological missions did little more than act as facilitators” Hawwâs says. “They bought supplies and expedited permits, and 95 per cent were ignorant of the mechanics of scientific excavation. Unless you are qualified, know how to identify strata, interpret and deal with material as it comes to light, and know how to record it, you destroy the historical record.” Aware of the shift from object-finding to field archaeology, Hawwâs took early steps, following his appointment as secretary-general of the SCA in 2002, to release two of Egypt’s foremost archaeologists, ‘Atiya Radwân and Mansûr Burayk, from their SCA duties and send them with a group of students to the field school in New Mexico. “When they returned, ARCE responded to our needs in providing funds from USAID for further training in Egypt,” he says. ARCE took the initiative to finance the first schools, at Mît Rahîna (Memphis) under Diana PATCH, in Fayyûm under Willeke WENDRICH, at Nabta Playa in Nubia under Fred WENDORF, and in Sinai under some of Egypt’s top archaeologists. Gerry SCOTT, keen to encourage and continue field schools, arranged USAID financing for the Gîza Field School. “The grant largely contributed to the financing of the first cycle of two years of Mark LEHNER’s training school with beginners and specialists at Gîza, » SCOTT says. What is emerging from the field training is that Egyptians are gaining a level of proficiency and confidence and will not in the future have to rely on foreigners. The Gîza Field School is increasing their numbers, and once they graduate they become eligible, through the SCA, to conduct their own excavations as well as to teach. “This is a great leap in the right direction,” LEHNER says. “The school provides ongoing training for the workmen as well as inspectors, all of whom have been integrated with the dig. It is a huge operation, an enormous challenge.” The Gîza Plateau Mapping Project (GPMP) can be measured not only in the size of the exposed ancient settlement but also in the growing number of students in training. “We processed 247 applications and interviewed 190 applicants at the SCA Zamâlik headqarters in mid-March 2006,” said Kâmil. “On November 16-17, in the middle of the Advanced Field School, we interviewed over 300 applicants for our 2007 Beginners Field School session, which opened in February 2007-a snowballing interest in professional archaeology.” LEHNER says this is a unique opportunity for students to participate in an ongoing excavation side by side with professionals in our archaeological team. “One of our goals is to integrate the field school into the overall excavation so that we do not have isolated 'practice' squares,” he says. “Instead, each team works in a square adjacent to a main excavation area. The students’results are as important as everyone else’s in helping us understand the site.” The team members are multi•disciplined. Ceramist Anna WODZINSKA has collected, categorised, and studied the Old Kingdom pottery. Together with seven other specialists she is working on a manual of Egyptian pottery from predynastic Fayyûm to modern, a task of immense importance to students. WODZINSKA has noted that 70 per cent of the pottery mass at Gîza are bread pots. Jessica KAISER, an osteoarchaeologist, has an enthusiastic and devoted following among the students, is studying the large number of Late Period burials and has prepared a thick binder with tabbed categories for human skeletons.

Members of the field school survey architectural elevations, study pottery, and excavate Late Period burials “This is an opportunity to study the bones of people of modest means who were buried some 2,000 after the site was abandoned by the pyramid builders,” KAISER says. The skeletal remains were so fragile that they had to be thoroughly documented in situ before an attempt could be made to lift them. “It proved to be too time•consuming, so I managed to computerise the process and now we have the largest collection of scientifically dug low-status burials from the period between 664 and 343BC. It is unique, and our workmen have learned a great deal in the process ; they know the Latin names of the different bones, and have helped me label the bone bags and lift and pack the burials.” Kâmil calls it salvage archaeology, a “hands-on”, practical training programme on which the students have proved to be dedicated and very serious. “They have integrated easily with professionals,” he says. “Apart from learning practical skills in mapping and documentation, they have to write weekly reports, prepare general reports at the end of the programme, and attend lectures given by instructors on specific topics. They also give lectures and PowerPoint presentations themselves in order to acquaint other members of the team with what is happening in each area of the excavation. In the advance course, they specialise in ceramics, human osteology, survey, archaeological illustration, or excavation, and attend workshops on these specialisations.” The GPMP is not about monuments or discovery : it is about information. “It is the interdisciplinary approach which provides a rich context for instruction,” TAVARES says. “We assume no prior knowledge. We teach students the basics of how to take measurements, lay out grids, and record features by hand.” “The best archaeologists can be trained with very simple digging tools — a tape measure, a compass, and a note-book and a pen,” she adds, “Mud-brick archaeology — the medium from which the worker’s settlement was built — is very fragile. If not recorded on the ground, the information is lost. It’s difficult and time• consuming work and it has to be done meticulously.”

Once the students have passed their field training they themselves will be eligible to give SCA training courses. “This is a tremendous incentive,” Kâmil says. “There is no doubt that the experience gained at Gîza provides inspectors with a solid foundation for managing other sites around the country.” Indeed, when the first batch of the students were handed a certificate, bearing logos of the SCA, ARCE and AERA at the offices of the American Research Centre in Cairo at the conclusion of the 2005 field season, all expressed the wish to continue the programme. And so, at the foot of the pyramid plateau at Gîza, the parts of the large and complex archaeological jig-saw puzzle that have yet to be joined are being put together. LEHNER is directing a vast enterprise that includes some 175 Egyptian and foreign experts, four field school groups excavating in different areas, and a following of devoted students who are confident of becoming competent archaeologists. “It’s an SCA/ARCE partnership, achieved with the support of The Charles SIMONYI Fund for the Arts and Sciences” LEHNER says. “We have introduced to Egypt the standard practice as outlined in the MoLAS (Museum of London Archaeological Service) Manual in tandem with regular interdisciplinary GPMP excavations, and the chosen students are working concurrently with the experts. They are an active — be it vigilantly supervised — part of the

interdisciplinary, long-term project.” One student on his way to work looked out over the expansive site, the assembled crew of workers, foreign colleagues, and his compatriots from all parts of the country and, recalling the heyday of pyramid building, reportedly said : “Just think ! All of Egypt is united here ! Could it have been so for those who lived 4,500 years ago in the city we are discovering ?” (“A search for the lost city”, Al-Ahram Weekly du 31 mai 2007).

Le directeur général des Comités permanents, Magdî al-Ghandûr, a annoncé que le CSA a accepté un don de 335 pièces archéologiques constituées pour la plupart d’éléments architecturaux. Ce don a été concédé sans aucune contrepartie par les héritiers de ‘Alî Mahmûd, antiquaire dans la région d’al-Bahnasâ, située dans le gouvernorat de Minyâ. (Lû’ay Mahmûd Sa‘ïd, « Musées et Antiquités », al-Qâhira du 22 mai 2007). — — Bruce d’archéologie australienne, a dollars destiné John CLARK, égyptienne de fait un don de à rehausser la amateur nationalité 750 mille conscience

archéologique des enfants égyptiens. (Lû’ay Mahmûd Sa‘ïd, « Musées et Antiquités », al-Qâhira du 6 mars 2007).

Commentant la restitution par la France des mèches de cheveux de la momie de Ramsès II, mises en vente sur Internet, le secrétaire général du CSA bombe le torse : [ ] Hawwâs said that the attempted sale was discovered because he has observers who scan the Internet constantly for violations of Egypt’s heritage. “We open the Internet everyday, and the most important source you have are my spies,” he said. “I have spies all over the

world.” (AFP, “Pharaoh’s missing locks returned to Egyptian museum”, Middle East Times du 11 avril 2007). La nouvelle théorie formulée par Jean-Pierre HOUDIN sur l’utilisation d’une rampe intérieure lors de la construction de la pyramide de Chéops ne déchaîne pas la passion du Dr Zâhî Hawwâs : [ ] “It makes sense, but not great sense,” Zâhî Hawwâs said. “Everybody can have a theory, you have 300 people and 99 percent of them are non-specialists, I cannot let them all go onto the site.” (“Egypt says no onsite tests for French pyramid theory”, Middle East Times du 11 avril 2007).

Le gouverneur d’al-Qalyûbiyya, ‘Adlî Husayn, a demandé au secrétaire général du CSA, Dr Zâhî Hawwâs, un exemplaire de son chapeau, qui a été fabriqué et commercialisé sur le plan international par une société chinoise. La reproduction du chapeau est vendue à 15 dollars l’unité. Une partie des bénéfices est versée au profit du musée Suzanne Mubârak pour l’enfant, parrainé par la première Dame d’Égypte. (« ‘Adlî Husayn réclame le chapeau de Hawwâs », al-Musawwar du 29 juin 2007). La journaliste américaine Susan HACK du magazine Condé Nast Traveler interroge le Dr Hawwâs sur le besoin impérieux de trouver un équilibre entre tourisme de masse et préservation archéologique. Dans cette interview, publiée sur le site Internet concierge.com, le secrétaire général du CSA répartit les touristes en deux catégories bien distinctes : [ ] « I’ve been trying to find an accommodation between the needs of tourists and the preservation of the monuments. Before, it was a big mess, with vendors selling djellabas on top of temples, and cars and tour buses parking right in front of sites. The first step was to build walls around many sites, move the parking areas, and create visitors centers. The second was to introduce the system of rotation, opening and closing tombs in Upper Egypt. I also need the Egyptian Tourist Authority to understand the value of Egypt. We have nine million tourists when we can really deal with half that number. You need to raise hotel prices and bring in people who can afford to pay. There are good hotels in Luxor that sell rooms for ten dollars a night, and when I make a discovery, I’m afraid to publicize it because I know it means more people coming. The Egyptian Tourist Authority needs to understand that mass tourism harms monuments. A group of tourists who can afford to pay only a thousand dollars apiece for a trip are useless. Let them stay in their own country ! [ ] I live with the pharaohs. When I travel, Egypt is in my heart. I owe what I have accomplished to my education in the States. But that doesn’t make me pro-America ! ». (Susan HACK, “A Conversation with Zâhî Hawwâs”, Concierge.com, July 2007).

Lors d’une autre interview accordée à une journaliste du quotidien al-Akhbâr, le Dr Hawwâs réaffirme son point de vue : « [ ] Une bonne planification touristique ne doit pas viser l’augmentation du nombre de touristes, mais plutôt sélectionner des touristes de qualité, capables de payer leur séjour plus cher. Le but n’étant pas d’attirer 10 millions de touristes qui dépensent chacun 500 euros. L’on pourrait se contenter de seulement 3 millions de touristes assez fortunés pour dépenser plusieurs fois cette somme ». (Ilhâm Abû al-Fath, « Louqsor et le tourisme ! », al-Akhbâr du 8 mai). Le secrétaire général du Conseil Suprême des Antiquités (CSA), Dr Zâhî Hawwâs, a déclaré que l’Égypte n’est pas disposée à créer un musée juif au Caire, puisque le Secteur archéologique ne dispose pas de suffisamment d’Antiquités juives pour la fondation d’un tel musée. Hawwâs a révélé avoir reçu une proposition d’un rabbin américain, il y a près de deux semaines, pour la construction d’un musée juif au Caire et la restauration des synagogues et des tombes juives avec le soutien de restaurateurs et d’archéologues étrangers. Hawwâs a notifié au rabbin que la restauration des synagogues s’effectue par l’entremise des archéologues égyptiens. Si le rabbin souhaitait y contribuer, il suffirait d’apporter une aide financière et « nous effectuerons nous-mêmes les restaurations nécessaires ». (Fathiyya al-Dakhâkhnî, « Hawwâs : Nous ne possédons pas assez d’Antiquités juives pour en faire un musée J’ai demandé une aide financière au rabbin américain », al-Masrî al-Yawm du 15 février 2007).

[ ] Le secrétaire général du CSA, Dr Zâhî Hawwâs, a souligné que les pyramides représentent l’unique merveille du monde antique encore debout et qu’elles n’ont nullement besoin de participer au référendum sur les New 7 Wonders of the World, organisé actuellement par Bernard WEBER. Hawwâs a affirmé « qu’attacher un grand intérêt à n’importe quel Khawâga parlant une langue étrangère fait partie des travers des Égyptiens ». [ ] Il s’est montré sceptique quant à l’hypothèse que la tour Eiffel puisse remporter ce concours en tant que nouvelle merveille du monde. Selon le Dr Hawwâs, « la construction de la tour Eiffel est à la portée du premier venu, titulaire d’un B.T.S. » [sic]. (Muhammad Wadî‘, « Les pyramides, merveille des merveilles, sont hors compétition ! », Uktubar du 13  mai 2007). — —

Évacuation du village d’al -Qurna Six semaines après l’évacuation des habitants d’al-Qurna début décembre 2006, le mensuel Egypt Today dresse un état des lieux fort consternant : Perhaps the largest crowd ever to visit the village of al-Qurna on Luxor’s West Bank assembled early last December to watch an over-elaborate ceremony taking place on a hill opposite the village. Local officials brought in two busloads of journalists to witness the proceedings, which began with groups of school children in Pharaonic dress performing to the beat of drums. Once the children were done, visiting mayors, governors and council heads gave speech after speech to the attentive television cameras. While most of the assembled dignitaries made mention of the need to improve the lives of al-Qurna residents, all focused on the long-awaited razing of al-Qurna village, the second such attempt in the last decade and part of a bid to conserve antiquities beneath local houses. Between the dignitaries and the village was a row of brightly painted construction vehicles. Across the road in al-Qurna itself, a different group was on a different hill : These were the villagers themselves, separated from the dignitaries by rows of police.

Theirs was a generally less enthusiastic reaction. “Those girls over there,” the man I was standing next to told me, “they are not from al-Qurna. They brought them in from Luxor,” he insisted. It felt much more like a council of war than an archaeological undertaking, one foreign correspondent remarked. As the ceremony drew to a close, a select few residents of al-Qurna were handed deeds to homes in New al-Qurna at al-Târif, the LE 180 million, government-built city three kilometers northeast of old al-Qurna, offered as a replacement to the locals. Then came the destruction crews : Four homes were symbolically reduced to rubble as the cameras flashed. Reactions to the demolition were mixed. As one man screamed at the crews, scores of people seemingly resigned to their fate sat and watched him with as much interest as the destruction. A group of women was chasing down every person they saw with a camera or a notebook and, in broken English, preceded to tell anyone who would listen how excited they were about the move. Their inexhaustible level of enthusiasm, and their over-eagerness to share their excitement with all and sundry, led many of the assembled members of the press to speculate about how much this cheerleading squad had cost the local government. Given Egypt’s historically spotty track-record on relocation projects, little could we have known then that the ambitious project to raze the rest of the village and relocate its residents could actually turn out to be a good thing for many of the Gurnawis. Our next visit, just before press time and within the project’s scheduled six weeks time frame for completion, was equally surprising as we saw many of the eager to show us the cracked walls and the deteriorating state of the unbaked bricks as well as the lack of any utilities in their village. One old woman ushered us into a one-room house she shared with her five daughters. The house belonged to a man who had been helping them since her husband died, and she was worried that she wouldn’t get a home in New al-Qurna. Despite her concerns, she wanted to move. “Look at this,” she said gesturing around the small room. “We have no services, no water, no toilet, and this place is very small.” Running water is not allowed anywhere in al-Qurna because of fears that it could damage the ancient tombs beneath the homes. And though many residents expressed concerns that moving to the new village would remove them from their livelihoods, she wasn’t worried. “What work ?” she asked. “We have no living here. My daughters can only sometimes get work by the day, but this is all.” At this point the eldest daughter, who wasn’t happy that her mother was speaking to us at all, began screaming at her mother to be quiet. “I am only telling them the truth,” the mother replied defensively as we left. residents happy and snug in their new accommodations. On our first visit, Gurnawis were

Many others were less enthusiastic about the new city. ‘Abdallah Hasan explained that he owned four houses in al-Qurna, but claimed the government was only offering him one in the new village. “The new house is smaller than any one of my homes here,” he alleged. “How can they take four houses, give me one and call this fair ?” Sa‘îd, who was busy working in his family’s alabaster shop, the New Mona Lisa, also felt slighted by the move. “They took my home and they are giving me 150 square meters of desert. What am I supposed to do with that ? They are not going to help me build a house. The government must think we are very rich people.” His brother, who goes by the improbable nickname Shagî, pointed out that it’s not what is being offered to the Gurnawis that’s the problem. “Our life is here,” he said. “It isn’t a problem with the new homes or the new services. It is a problem with our lives. Our life is here. I have seen the new city. It’s nice, but that’s not the point, these are our homes.” Over in New al-Qurna that day, the identical single-story duplexes sitting in impossibly neat rows couldn’t be further removed from the chaotic collection of houses and the twisting alleys of al-Qurna.

Separating the new village from the main street are large open fields of grass. Paved roads and streetlights complete the contrast. Matching the symbolic four demolished houses, four of the new houses were furnished, complete with residents. Families invited in the curious to show them brand•new furniture, still in its plastic wrapping. The refrigerator in the center of one room still had the safety seal holding the door closed. In the old village of al-Qurna, just walking too near a house could result in an invitation to tea. The lack of the ubiquitous drink was puzzling until a quick tour of the house revealed that the water was not turned on, nor was there electricity to boil the water. One block in from the finished row facing the street, the new homes were far from finished. The roads weren’t paved. Manhole covers lay open, exposing sewage and water lines not yet connected. Even further back, the promised houses were still wooden forms waiting for concrete. Across the street, two schools, a community center and a police station all looked far from completion. Back then in December, it seemed the government’s goal of moving all of the Gurnawis within six weeks would have to be scaled back and we were ready to return in January to write the second chapter — the next chapter, we expected, in a spotty history of relocation that stretches back at least as far as the Nubians in the 1960s. There are as many versions of al•Qurna’s history as there are people to tell it. According to the Ministry of Culture’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), the original residents of al-Qurna were people fleeing the French invasion during the early 1800s. A century later, following a surge of interest in Egyptology, people moved en masse to stake claims above the tombs. Archaeologists clamoured to purchase the “rights” to excavate the treasures below, while travellers stopped in to make purchases. The SCA’s characterization of the Gurnawis as grave robbers and squatters is nothing new. In fact, they’ve certainly been called worse. The Gurnawis suffered from an image problem centuries before the SCA even existed. At some point in the sixteenth century, a merchant known only as the Anonymous Venetian travelled to Luxor and brought back to Europe the first description of the city since the ancient Greeks. His is the first known reference to the Gurnawis, and it’s hardly a flattering one. According to his account, they made a “habit of robbing and murdering unprotected travellers, fellow Bedouin and other villagers without distinction.” The source of these accusations was his boat captain, widely believed to have been a Cairene. The Anonymous Venetian, terrified by his captain’s stories, never set foot on the West Bank to see for himself. Following the publishing of the Venetian’s accounts and sketches, the

monuments and temples of Upper Egypt captured the imaginations of Europeans, and scores of European travellers made the long journey to see ancient Thebes. These travellers also left behind memoirs of their voyages, few of which remembered the Gurnawis much more fondly. The French naturalist Charles SONNINI wrote that al-Qurna was “the resort of the most formidable banditti the meanest, the most frightful, and most miserable place in appearance I ever beheld.” His impressions seem to have been pre-formed by discussions with Turkish officials long before he met the Gurnawis and his account quickly becomes disjointed. Despite continually referring to them as ‘banditti,’ when SONNINI buys artifacts from them, he says they, “displayed as much integrity and fairness as if they had been the most honest people in the world.” The references to the Gurnawis as ‘bandits’and ‘outlaws’are too numerous to list. In most of these cases, a government official is cited as the source of dire warnings to the traveller. The Gurnawis, of course, paint a much different picture of themselves. Their history on the hillside long predates the SCA’s estimates, they claim, explaining that their people moved there for the same reason the ancients built their tombs in the area. (The hills of al-Qurna are above the reaches of even the highest Nile flood and their freestanding position makes them immune from the flash floods, which threaten much of the surrounding area. The tombs were ready•made housing, and over time these primitive shelters expanded and became al-Qurna village.) Archaeological records are scant in an area where dried mud bricks are the most common building material, but the Gurnawis point to several factors to refute accusations that they are newly arrived squatters. The earliest drawings of al-Qurna show it centered around the ruins of a Coptic church. Although al-Qurna has some Coptic residents, the vast majority are Muslim ; the placing of a church in such a prominent location means it was almost certainly built many centuries before, when the village was primarily Christian. The recent discovery of a sixth century Coptic manuscript in the area also suggests a much longer history than some have claimed.

Robert HAY was a Scotsman who spent 10 years in Egypt from 1824 to 1834. He created what was up to that point the most detailed and extensive collection of drawings of Egypt’s antiquities. Much of his time in Luxor was spent on the West Bank. While documenting the prominent temples and tombs such as Madînat Hâbû and Queen Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple, he also included current sketches and descriptions of the Theban Necropolis, known as al-Qurna to its residents, where he was staying at the time, living in a tomb that he called the “standard housing for villagers and visitors alike.” In many ways, Dr. Zâhî Hawwâs was the man behind the move of the Gurnawis. In an exclusive interview from the East Coast of the United States last month, where he was recovering from eye surgery, the SCA chief says he doesn’t doubt there has long been limited habitation in the area, but he claims, “Almost all of these people came to this area in the 1920s when there began to be large expéditions. The archaeologists hired people from nearby villages with no place to live and they made homes in the tombs.” Since coming to office in 2002, Hawwâs has turned his obsession with the preservation of Egypt’s priceless antiquities (and the recovery of pieces spirited out of the country) into a national mission. While the government’s claim that the Gurnawis are recently arrived squatters is open to debate, even the Gurnawis admit they have a history of looting antiquities. “But this was all in the past,” Shagî says. “Now we make our living from the tourists who come to see the tombs and the antiques. We would have to be very stupid to steal these things.” Today, he claims, the Gurnawis act as the guardians of the tombs. “If the people are gone from here, then people will come and rob the tombs.” The Gurnawis have also been accused of being a nuisance to tourists, a nonsensical claim according to Shagî. “We have had tourists rent homes and live here for years because they like the people here. This will never happen in the new village.” Right next to al-Qurna is the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. “In 1997, when the terrorists attacked the tourists, it was people from al-Qurna who helped save the tourists,” Shagî claims. “Al-Qurna is super friendly for tourists. There are no hassles here.” Hawwâs is skeptical, saying it’s not only the looting that is the problem : Having humans and animals living in tombs is even more of a threat to whatever antiquities may remain. “Terrible damage has been done to the tombs of al-Qurna,” he told the cameras at the December ceremony. “The fact that archaeology is regaining its rights here is the dream of my life.” “If you dig anywhere in Egypt, you’ll find something,” ‘Azza Shawarbî, national project director of the recently formed Egyptian Antiquities Information System

(EAIS), once told me. With a smile she added, “Even if you fall down, you will probably land on an artifact.” So with millions of Egyptians living on top of ancient monuments, the question is : Why is al-Qurna being singled out ? “There are 950 tombs under these houses,” Dr. Samîr Farag, the governor of Luxor, tells me. “We don’t even know what we have. This decision was based on the importance of the site.” For centuries, the man of the house would go “downstairs” in hard times and return with an artifact to sell. It was less of a get-rich-quick scheme than it was a means of survival. “Almost all of the tombs will certainly be in very bad condition,” Hawwâs tells me over the phone. “But I think as we dig under these houses we will find at least 25 lost tombs from ancient Thebes. We don’t really know what’s hidden underneath these houses. But I’m sure though that our excavations will reveal great [finds].” Back in Sa‘îd’s alabaster shop in December, he explains that it’s not so much what the government has promised them in compensation for moving as the likelihood that they will ever get it that mostly disturbs him. “They are pushing us to leave, but they have given us nothing yet.” “I think they are lying. They came and spoke with us and promised us all these things, but I have seen the new city,” Shagî adds. “They told us the new house would be 180 [square] meters, but it’s only 130. We have a lot of people here ; they told us about 3,200 flats but there are only 570,” Shagî says. The Gurnawis had good reason to be skeptical. All of the relocation projects in Egypt’s recent history have been marked by broken promises. Ignoring the Cairo-area debacles of the 1990s, whole libraries could be filled with books and essays on the displacement of the Nubians. Depending on whose figures you believe, either 50,000 or several hundred thousand Nubians were relocated more than 40 years ago to make way for the Aswân Dam and Lake Nâsir. Many are still fighting to get the compensation promised to them. Many more have given up. In May 2004, Hasan ‘Abdallah, a Nubian man from Qustul, told Egypt Today about the disparity between what was promised and what was delivered. “You see, we were shocked because the authorities who visited our villages from Cairo told us that we were moving to a better place. They showed us models of our new homes. But the reality was completely different.” The mood was festive on the day they were moved, he said, but when the Nubians finally saw their destination, “Everyone became quiet, very quiet. We were shocked by what we saw,” ‘Abdallah recalled. Not only was the promised compensation much less than promised, but nearly half a century later 75 percent of the Nubian diaspora have not received any compensation at all. Today’s Nubians now refer to themselves as al-Mankûbîn, the ill•fated ones. The Gurnawis aren’t the only ones to draw a parallel between themselves and the Nubians. Ironically, Governor Farag also mentioned it in his speech at the ceremony : “Three thousand five hundred families will leave for a better life. It’s the most important resettlement operation since the rescue of Abû Simbil in Nubia some 40 years ago.”

This isn’t the first time the government has tried to move the Gurnawis. Relocation efforts date back at least 100 years, and given the well-documented mutual dislike between the Gurnawis and respective governments, probably go back even further. In 1945, an Egyptian architect named Hasan Fathî built a new village for the residents of al-Qurna. The idea and the funding came from the Department of Antiquities, which had been trying (rather unsuccessfully) to dislodge the Gurnawis for the previous 50 years. Fathî was chosen for the project because of his novel ideas on solving the housing problems in Egypt, and it was the perfect opportunity to test his theories. The project became his most famous after he wrote a book about it called Architecture for the Poor, which quickly gained international recognition. The book is largely a story of good intentions and failure. Today, thanks to destructive groundwater and abandonment, little is left of Hasan Fathî’s village save a mosque and parts of the original houses. In the early 1990s, the government decided to give it another shot, and studies and planning began in 1992. Archaeologist Caroline SIMPSON arrived in Egypt in 1994 and has spent most of her time since then living in and documenting al-Qurna. She was there, in fact, when the government last tried to move the Gurnawis in 1997. Then, as before, she says, the promises didn’t live up to the reality either. “A leaflet was part of the consultation exercise for the planned relocation of al-Qurna in the mid-1990s,” she described in a series of lectures given at the American Research Center in 2000. “It shows the new village sensitively planned, with respect for local social structures and needs. This was what many local people agreed to and they keep these leaflets locked safely in their cupboards to prove it. But it never happened. What was built instead was barracks-type accommodation on the one hand, and a toy-town nonsense piece of corruption on the other.” The end result of this failed attempt was four dead Gurnawis and zero Gurnawis moved. (There are competing accounts of how the four died : While some claim they were relocated visitors who died in a flash flood, others say they were killed in demonstrations against the move. Either way, today’s Gurnawis aren’t interested in rehashing the story.) The current relocation project has implications for much more of the population of Luxor than simply the Gurnawis. Indeed, it is the first phase of a plan to turn the city into what Farag calls “a living museum.” The next phases of the project are going to take place inside Luxor city limits. In the heyday of ancient Thebes, a road connected the temples of Luxor and Karnak. The road, lined with an estimated 1,200 sphinxes, was of enormous religious significance to the ancients. Over the millennia, as ancient Thebes transformed itself into modern Luxor, the road was swallowed by new residents for whom it held no significance. Today, numerous roads cross the ancient path and tens of thousands of people live in hundreds of buildings along it. The planned restoration of the three kilometer•long, 80 meter wide “Sphinx Avenue” will demand the expropriation of more than 100,000 square meters of residential land in Downtown Luxor. The residents of this area have been promised the same deal as the Gurnawis. Their new village has been planned by and is being built by the same people. The fate of the Gurnawis will be theirs. When we went back to the original al-Qurna in mid-January, a few of the houses were still standing, but the majority had come down. The freshly painted construction vehicles were gone and men with picks and baskets were chipping away at the remaining buildings. Most of the residents had gone, too. Of those who remained, some had houses left and some didn’t. Mahmûd al•‘Atayât is one of the many residents chasing away the cold morning air with a fire made from scavenged wood from the destroyed houses. “Come look, I will show you,” al•‘Atayât says. He leads me to a small alabaster workshop behind the stores. Inside, five people are sitting on the floor and an old man he tells me is his father is sleeping on the only piece of furniture. “My old home is destroyed,” he begins. “Why haven’t they opened the new one ? They haven’t opened the new homes for us but they tore down my old home,” he complains, becoming more irate with every word. “This is not a home, this is my workshop,” he exclaims. “Now I

can’t even work. They have now taken everything.” Outside the workshop sits a family

even less fortunate than al-‘Atayât’s. A scattered mess of furniture and boxes is where Abdu Hasan and his family spent last night. The members of the family range in age from a baby only a few months old to the very elderly. “We are all living outside right now,” Hasan says as he stokes his fire. “Five days ago they made me bring my stuff outside. They [tore down] my house before they gave me a new one. How can I live out here ?” he asks, shaking his head. “The new house for us is ready,” he alleges. “But they won’t give me the key. It is very cold here at night.” As if on cue, a bulldozer rolls past as we talk. One of the younger men in the group begins yelling at the man who appears to be the foreman. “My grandmother has slept outside for three days. Please, we want the truth.” “This man is from the government,” he says, back turned toward us. “They always say, ‘Someone will come tonight.’ But no one will come.” Sa‘îd and Shagî are also still in al-Qurna. “Probably 70 percent of the people are in the new village, maybe more,” Shagî says. “Most of the people still here are just waiting, only a few are resisting. The police will force them to move. They [the police] are waiting right now, but soon they will stop waiting.” Their houses are still standing. “We don’t know what will happen. They told us we have two weeks, but we don’t have new houses yet. Many of the new houses are not built yet. The schools they promised are not finished either. I think it will take another two years before they are finished,” Shagî surmises. But over in New al-Qurna, the city has taken on a new appearance since our last visit. It is still unfinished, but most of the houses are full. Children playing in the streets make the uniform houses seem much less sterile. Playgrounds are being set up on the grassy fields — fields a truck is busy watering as we pull up. Across the road, just as we had been told, the schools and the community center are still far from complete. It seems that the relationship between the Gurnawis and the government hasn’t improved over the course of the move, as the only finished building on the other side of the street is the new police station. Wandering along the unpaved roads between the houses, we come across a man playing with a child in front of one of the houses. He introduces himself simply as Tayyib, and invites us in to see his house. The plastic•covered couches from the previous visit are gone. In their place are a collection of rugs and furniture that have obviously been collected over time, making it feel much more like a home than the pre-packaged houses that had been on display. “No, no, no,” he answers to the first question. “Living here is much better. We were living with no water and no toilet. This is much nicer. No, there are only five people including me living in this house,” he says when we tell him that many of the people we’d met in December claimed the houses in the new village were overcrowded. “I have heard this happened to some people, but those are the people who have not come yet.” He waves his arm to encompass all of New al-Qurna. “No one here is living like that.” There is an office people can go to, we find out, to resolve complaints and sort out grievances. In subsequent conversations with the residents of New al-Qurna, we’re told that it’s only a small unfortunate minority who are still stuck in al-Qurna, victims of Egypt’s legendary bureaucracy. By this time it’s almost midday. What about all of the children in the street ? When will they finish a school for them, we wonder. “I think this school will be finished next year,” Tayyib says, gesturing at the building across the street. “But all of the children are in school.” Then why aren’t they in school at midday, we ask ? This week is a holiday, he explains. “There is a school very close. The younger children go by collective car. But the older ones, they can walk if they choose. It’s not far at all. And next year,” he shrugs and points back across the street, “they will go to this one.” Hawwâs later tells us he never would have moved the Gurnawis had their interests not been taken into account. “We were always working for these people. Now they can have a hot shower. Many of these people have never even had a shower in their life. It is impossible to say their life is not better.” (Cache SEEL, “It’s Settled, Then”, Egypt Today, février 2007. Voir également Nawal Hassan, “Killing The Goose ?”, Egypt Today, janvier ; « Des dizaines de familles vivent sans abris sur la montagne d’al-Qurna à Louqsor », al-Ahrâr du 22 janvier).

[ ] Sous les regards amers des habitants, les bulldozers sont à pied d’œuvre. Les maisons en terre cuite ne tiennent pas face aux coups de l’engin et disparaissent au bout de quelques minutes dans un nuage de poussière. Aussitôt la maison détruite, le propriétaire signe un contrat sous l’œil attentif du fonctionnaire de la municipalité, pour aller loger, clé en main, dans la nouvelle maison qui l’attend à al-Qurna al-Gadîda. Une perspective qui incite paradoxalement les autres habitants à activer la démolition de leur maison. Le nombre limi