A Tragedy
The subject may be out of the scope of this blog but I can’t help reflecting on the recent rockslide that continues to take lives in a poor town at the foot of Moqattam Hill in Cairo.
The forces of nature are mostly unpredictable, but is up to us to do what we can to prevent these tragedies from happening. There are over 80 slums in Cairo, populated mainly by migrants from rural areas looking for better opportunities in the metropolitan area, who end up living in unsuitable places and with little resources to cope. Negligence, bribery, poor planning and insufficient emergency services on the part of authorities produce these results.
Let’s not forget that Egypt is not only ancient monuments, pristine beaches and resorts. The people of Egypt deserve better living conditions and a chance to enjoy life as much as we their guests.
Our sympathies to the victims of this terrible tragedy and their families.
An intellectual triumph or imperial plunder?
According to Ben Macintyre of The Times, it’s pointless trying to work out who owns ancient art objects.
His solution is to leave the best cultural legacy the world has produced in a first world “universal” museum where these objects are best displayed and preserved. Of course, that museum would be the British Museum, whose vast collection of “treasures” is “a great cornucopia of different civilisations, an encyclopaedic storehouse of universal knowledge, displaying the great cultures side by side, with equal veneration, to enlighten not just an elite, but the world.”
Only one line of text implies how these artifacts ended up in this place, “whether as trade goods or booty”. One wonders how Macintyre categorizes the negotiations between British Lord Elgin and the Turkish occupiers of Greece, who let him deface the Parthenon of the superb statues that now bear his name.
A “universal” museum does not lay a claim of ownership of the past. It merely “shares” a world heritage. But if these objects happen to be displayed in their countries of origin, say the Egyptian Museum, then that collection becomes “cultural property” a “restricted, homogenous museum culture describing not a world of ideas without borders, but a limited story defined by nationalism and politics.”
In a few words, claiming for the return of what you own is a nationalistic act with a political agenda. Keeping ancient art objects in a “universal” museum, is a civilized act of white Enlightenment, not imperial plunder.
Read Ben Macintyre’s article and some very enlightening comments by readers here.
Seeking Collaborators
Any website’s success is based on traffic, and traffic is generated by addressing the needs of readers looking for specific topics within a central theme.
All-About-Egypt has grown to the point that I have to recognize that while my passion for Egypt is boundless, my knowledge is not.
I deem it necessary to request the collaboration of other writers interested in having their articles published in All-About-Egypt. This is strictly voluntary, but as author, you get full credit, international recognition and publication rights. If you have a blog or website, you’ll also get an outbound link to help you develop traffic and rank. Your article will be further promoted through my subscription base.
The writing style of All-About-Egypt is informal, in a few words - Egyptology for the rest of us. Ease of reading is essential, but accuracy is too. Usual disclaimers apply, but All-About-Egypt is not a forum to propose outrageous claims or poorly supported theories. Just make sure that events and dates are properly corroborated.
Articles will be edited for search engine optimization, meaning a specific topic keyword or keyword phrase will be included repeatedly in the copy. If you know how to write like this, great. If you don’t, please accept that your text will be edited to comply with the general style and aims of the website.
One other thing: Articles should be original and unpublished. Please don’t submit articles already published in free article submission websites. Search engines heavily penalize duplicate content.
Topics currently required:
Tel el Amarna
Thutmose III Military Campaigns
(Modern Egypt) Recipes Egypt, Egyptian Cuisine, Kofta Kebab Egyptian Recipe, Egyptian Salad
Ancient Egypt Food, Ancient Egyptian Recipes Desserts
Ancient Egypt Writing
(Modern Egypt) Work in Egypt
Currency Exchange in Egypt (haggling, tips, baksheesh, best shopping, etc.)
Egyptian Bedouins
Facts on the Ankh
Djoser Pyramid
Luxor Egypt Travel Tips
Climate History of Ancient Egypt
Art of Egypt
Ramses II Love for Nefertari
Maat
Social Work in Egypt
Ancient Egypt Children
Egyptian Lutes
Ancient Egyptian Women
Ancient Egypt Holidays
Reading Egyptian Hieroglyphic Words
Expats in egypt
Egypt’s Greatest Inventions
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Free Sim Cards for Egypt
Imhotep Museum
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A remembrance
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the massacre at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, where 58 tourists died at the hands of terrorists. Our sympathies to the families of the victims of this totally unjustifiable attack.
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Translator
By N2H
