THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION AND ANTIQUITIES
IBRAHIM
LEAD-IN: On January 25th, Egyptians peacefully demonstrated demanding Hosney
Mubarak and his regime to step down. On January 28th, state police withdrew from
streets which put the Egyptian Museum and Egypt's antiquities elsewhere at risk.
(MUSIC: Ancient Egypt (ritual music) 0:00-0:10 then fade out)
When the January 25th revolution struck in Egypt, today's residents were not the only
ones to feel the turmoil as pharaohs and mummies in their tombs felt the unrest too.
The 28th of January marks the date when the state police forces withdrew from streets,
martyrs got killed, and people heard that the army was getting ready to fill the gap of
insecurity that the police left. On the same day, thugs and thieves broke into the
Egyptian Museum; they also broke into storage rooms full of antiquities in other sites
in Upper Egypt and the Delta, and started digging up in lands owned by the Egyptian
Antiquity Service. In order to understand how this happened, why, and how Egypt
dealt with the situation, we must get familiar with the state of antiquities in the past
years. Antiquities have been stolen almost since they were put into the ground; even
the ancient Egyptians stole antiquities. But a question mark still appears when it
comes to antiquities in the past 30 years of Mohamad Hosney Mubarak's ruling.
Egyptology professor, Dr. Salima Ikram, says:
(MUSIC: Meditation Music of Ancient Egypt. 1:16-3:19 then fade out)
IKRAM: "Although in the past years with Hosney Mubarak antiquities were
stolen frequently it was hushed up and umm, but I mean there wasn’t a huge
scale of robbing. I would say also that antiquities started to be stolen
increasingly in the past say 15 to 20 years as Egyptian art became
increasingly popular."(:21)
Dr. Ikram teaches at The American University in Cairo (A-U-C) and says that
whenever she found things that have been suspicious, she has reported them. She has
helped put together lists and circulated them among primarily people in the West so
that in case any object is leaving Egypt, the Egyptian Antiquities Service can have a
sense of where it might go and how to stop it.
When the revolution started, Dr, Ikram was excavating in Luxor. On the 28th, mobile
networks were shut down and the only way you could reach anyone was by calling
from land lines. During this time, the National Democratic Party's building, known as
N-D-P's building, which is very close to the Egyptian Museum, near Tahrir Square,
was on fire.
IKRAM: "Journalists as well as other friends were saying you know "the
NDP's on fire" and of course all of us Egyptologists were terribly worried
about the Cairo Museum because it's next door."(:10)
When the fire was eating the NDP's building and was hungry enough to eat the
Egyptian Museum as well, many Egyptian youth circled it forming a human shield.
Amr Khaled, the famous activist and television preacher tells the story of one of youth
who surrounded the museum:
KHALED: "I wasn't sure if this revolution was going to succeed or not until I
saw a scene in Tahrir square; the scene of the Egyptian Museum's protection.
This scene has a martyr, one of the youngest martyrs. He was fourteen years
old and didn’t understand why we were lining next to each other so they told
him "we're standing next to each other to protect the antiquities, to protect our
museum". He said "then let's hold each other tight". He held the ones standing
next to him from both sides with all his strength. Two minutes later, a bullet
shot him here." (:30)
(MUSIC: Amir El Zalam. 3:20-5:22 then fade out).
He said as he pointed to his forehead. Sameh El Nabawy is a junior studying
Computer Engineering in Helwan University and an active member of both the 6th of
April Movement and The National Organization for Change. He was in Tahrir on the
28th of January and was among the youth who stood to protect the Egyptian Museum.
EL NABAWY: "When I went, I found fire inside the museum's garden. I am
guessing some people threw molotov inside because when I asked where it
came from I was told it was from the NDP's fire. But it's illogical that fire
comes all that distance. So, the fire was either started from the inside or
someone threw molotov from the outside." (0:18).
When he was protecting the museum, El Nabawy came across a group that claimed it
wanted to get into the museum and then burn it as, according to them, high officials in
Mubarak's old regime stole and smuggled antiquities.
EL NABAWY: "Some people came and said "leave us burn the museum
because they steal us they steal the antiquities" and some other words that
made no sense. We talked to them with rationality and made them leave."
(0:11)
Standing in the face of fire and some people's insanity enabled El Nabawy to defend
his heritage and country's resources.
EL NABAWY: "I was concerned about the antiquities because tourism is a
primary source of Egypt's wealth and it's not acceptable in any way that the
revolution becomes a reason for harming a source of living for many people
here in Egypt." (0:17).
Dr. Ikram was impressed by the youth and their brave action:
IKRAM: I have never been so proud in my life, I have to say. That moment for
me is something I treasure. And it was also not just there, but also at some of
the sites in Egypt later on. The villagers and particularly the young ones were
going and protecting the magazines. But for having those kids, and you know
grownups standing there, holding back the tide, was, even now, a very
emotional and fulfilling reward." (:30)
(MUSIC: Cleopatra Ceramics Music. 5:22-8:51 then fade out).
If we compare theft and destruction of monuments in other countries when they were
facing revolutions or wars to Egyptian antiquities in the January 25th revolution, we
will see how Egypt's losses were minimal. Dr. Alaa Shahin, Dean of the Faculty of
Archeology in Cairo University, says:
SHAHIN:"Imagine if this sense of nationalism didn’t exist and the youth didn’t
surround the museum quickly? This national and world wide civilization
would have been lost. Remember Beirut in the civil war, also in Afghanistan,
Kabul's National Museum was destroyed in the Taliban war, remember also
what happened during the American invasion of Iraq and the destruction of
Baghdad Museum. We did lose antiquities during the revolution but if we
count the exceptional patriotic action of the youth, then we are certainly
winners."(:26)
Despite the youth's efforts, many unique antiquities were stolen from the Egyptian
Museum and other sites all over the country. Egypt is an open museum and during the
revolution, many people started digging up searching for antiquities. According to Dr.
Shahin, there are three types of diggings. The first type is legal and done by
egyptologists and archeologists. The second type is illegal and done by unprofessional
people looking for random treasures. The third and dangerous type is the one carried
out by professional gangs who know exactly what they want and that was the case in
some robberies during the revolution.
SHAHIN:"The people who got in knew they want to get out with the Tut Ankh
Amun collection. Most what's been stolen was from that era, the 18th
Pharaohnic dynasty. Also the magazine that was stolen in western of Luxor,
two statues only, only two statues, the thieves who went in took them. So yes
they knew what they were looking for and the worth of these two statues.
There were many other antiquities, so they were experts and that's where
danger rests: professional gangs." (:56)
The good news is: some antiquity thieves were caught. Dr. Ikram says:
IKRAM: "Objects have been returned to the museum, umm, not necessarily
voluntarily. There was last five, we have heard were being sold in Khan
Khalili and they have been gained back and the gang has been tracked to
Bolaq El Dakror and may be more objects will come. But it is, just by looking
at the pattern of the looting, it does seem that there was a looting group and
then a second group said "oh, during this time let's take what we want to sell
elsewhere"". (0:29)
Even though the revolution's effect was relatively negative on antiquities, it had a
positive outcome. For the first time in Egypt's history, a new independent ministry of
antiquities gets established. If you ask a doctor what flamed the Egyptian revolution,
within his reasons, most probably he’ll emphasize on how Egyptians found no
medicines and were horribly treated in the poorly equipped public hospitals. If you
ask an economist what pushed protesters in streets, most likely he'll tell you it's due to
the unfair distribution of wealth and that the largest percentage of the population was
under the line of poverty. Ask a media person why Egyptians' voices came to being;
he'll highlight how their tongues were tied for the last thirty years.
(MUSIC: Trumpets of Tut Ankh Amun. 8:52-10:33 then fade out)
Knock on the famous archeologist and Egypt's first Minister of Antiquities Zahi
Hawass' door, ask him the same question and among the answers he'll tell you that an
archeologist blew King Tut Ankh Amun's war horn a week before the revolution and
that's how it all started.
When Hawass became minister of antiquities, a lot of archeologists protested. Some
of them called him a hypocrite for taking Mubarak's side before he stepped down. In
an interview on BBC, Hawass did say:
HAWASS: "The president would like to stay and all of us would like him to
stay. Not all of us as a government, but all of us as the majority of Egyptian
people because we need President Mubarak to make the smooth transition of
the government. He is the only one who can do that. All of us, of course, agree
with the people who did the marches, who ask for freedom and democracy. All
of us would like that, but the only one who can continue and make the stability
in Egypt is only one person: President Mubarak". (0:35)
Others accused him for being a thief. And this made him say:
"HAWASS: If you say that anyone is thief, no one will publish that. But if you
say Zahi Hawass is a thief, everyone will publish that. Actually, if there is one
single evidence against me, the government will never as me to be the minister
of antiquities." (:21)
(MUSIC: Monster Inc's "If I didn't have you". 10:34-13:01 then fade out)
Dr. Ikram, who worked with Dr. Hawass, has an opinion on the matter:
HAWASS: "I do not think that Dr. Hawass steals antiquities and I don’t think
he sells antiquities. So a lot of the protests, some of the protests were about
that, which I think is unfounded. Other protests were people wanted jobs. How
are you going to, you know, if you don’t have the money or the positions and
they don’t have quiet the necessary training you can't give jobs." (0:21)
Such accusations and protests in front of Hawass' office made him resign. Few weeks
later, Dr. Essam Sharaf, Egypt's Prime Minister met with Hawass and asked him to be
the minister again. Hawass tells why he resigned and why he agreed to be
reappointed:
HAWASS: "I met Dr. Essam Sharaf, the prime minister of Egypt and he asked
me to come back to be the minister of antiquities again. Actually during this
meeting I explained to him why I resigned. It was 37 days in my life was very
difficult because I could see lots of attack to antiquities sites and also many
storage magazine were entered by the thieves also there were marches and
rives everywhere. I did not work for one minute. But now actually when I
accepted the job again, I found out that I cannot live away from antiquities
and antiquities cannot live away from me." (0:53)
Dr. Hawass started working as soon as he was reappointed minister of antiquities:
HAWASS: "I talked to Dr. Sharaf today that in this coming two weeks,
important things will happen. We'll open The Crocodile Museum that we built
next door to The Temple of Comombo. We'll open Al-Suez Museum; a
beautiful new museum. And also we'll open The Hanging Church, a very
impressive conservation and restoration happened in this church, and this will
show how much we do care about the Coptic monuments." (0:37)
Rainy days will never stop Egyptians from having the sense of nationalism and pride
of their heritage. Efforts will continue in improving the state of antiquities because as
Dr. Zahi Hawass says:
(MUSIC: Aba'ad Makan. 13:03-13:32 then fade out)
HAWASS: "If the pyramids and Cairo Museum were safe, Egypt will be safe".
(0:7)
(MUSIC: Triumphal March Aida. 13:33-14:42 then fade out).
Interviewees and sound bites in the documentary are: Dr. Alaa Shahin, Dr. Salima
Ikram, Sameh El Nabawy, BBC's interview of Dr. Zahi Hawass and a youtube video
of Hawass in office after being reappointed minister of antiquities, and Amr Khaled
from his lecture in Alexandria.
Music pieces used in the documentary are: Ancient Egypt (ritual music), Meditation
Music of Ancient Egypt, Cleopatra Ceramics Music, Trumpets of Tut Ankh Amun,
Monster Inc's "If I didn't have you", Aba'ad Makan, and Triumphal March Aida.
Special thanks to Ziad Shaker, Moemen Abdel Azeem, and Omar El Kady for their
help with the voice over for the translation, thanks to my friend Sara El Kady for
being there and finally I would like to thank my dedicated hardworking and fair
Professor Kim Fox with all my heart for the effort she invests in us.