Archive for April, 2011

The IMF is ready to help Egypt plug a funding gap of up to US$12 billion as the country seeks to rebuild its economy. Samir Radwan, Egypt’s finance minister, said on Tuesday the country was seeking a loan of about $4bn from the IMF. The interim government is facing pressure to create jobs and raise wages... »

Archaeologists unearthed one of the largest statues found to date of Amenhotep III at his mortuary temple in Luxor. The 13 meter (42 foot) tall statue was one of a pair that flanked the northern entrance to the grand funerary temple on the west bank of the Nile that is currently the focus of a... »

The largest collection of Islamic art in the world is back on display. After nearly a decade of renovation, Cairo’s Museum of Islamic Art officially opened. The museum is the main abode for the national collection of Islamic art, with 100,000 objects. In 2003, the Ministry of Culture launched its comprehensive restoration project for the museum.... »

In an effort to promote tourism in Egypt, new archaeological sites and tourist attractions will be inaugurated soon in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan as well as Rashid and Taba. Zahi Hawass announced that a number of archaeological sites and museums will be opened soon, among them the hanging church of Old Cairo, a number of... »

Dreaming of a King Tut style burial? The new Egyptian Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs (MSAA) production unit has just released its first batch of ancient Egyptian replicas, including 130 replica statues from collection of King Tutankhamun. The replicas are to be produced for tourists. Some hotels in Sharm El-Sheikh have already bought... »

A new research project led by Professor Jennifer Westerfeld, of the University of Louisville, is taking a look at a unique set of graffiti scribbled onto the walls of the 3,200 year old Egyptian temple at Abydos built by Seti I. Westerfeld believes that a community of nuns contributed to this defacement, writing on its... »

Egypt currency may drop to a record low this year as economic growth slows the most in almost two decades. The currency, which fell to a six-year low of 5.9758 against the dollar on March 30, may drop to 6.3 by the end of this year, according to the median of five estimates compiled by... »

Egypt’s interim cabinet decided on Wednesday to cancel daylight saving time after a poll posted on its website showed the majority of Egyptians would approve the cancellation. Egypt was scheduled to change its clocks on the last Friday of April. Daylight saving time usually lasts to the end of September. Al Masry Al Youm »

The report below does not mention a recent court decision concerning the Egyptian Museum’s new gift shop. There’s a link below for information on that case. Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs Zahi Hawass has been sentenced to one year in jail on Sunday for refusing to fulfill a court ruling over a land dispute. The... »

Zahi Hawass announced the return of four items that had gone missing from the Egyptian museum during Egypt’s January Revolution. Among the returned objects was the gilded wooden statue of the boy-king Tutankhamun, standing in a boat throwing a harpoon. Salah Abdel Salam, a public relations person at the Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs... »