Tag archives for Middle East
Posted by Willeke Wendrich, professor of Egyptian archaeology and digital humanities at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles, answers questions about the volatile situation in Egypt. She has received three grants from the National Geographic Society’s Committee for Research and Exploration to investigate agricultural sites from the Neolithic period in Egypt’s…
Posted by The following statement by Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s new Minister of Antiquities and head of “a newly created department that will be charged with the care and protection of all Egyptian monuments and museums,” was posted today on ZahiHawass.com. Hawass is also a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. By Zahi Hawass I would like to tell the people,…
The United Nations appealed to Egypt today to protect its cultural heritage, the news agency Reuters reported. “The appeal by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) came as protesters demanding the departure of President Hosni Mubarak mounted the biggest street demonstration since the uprising began a week ago,” Reuters said. “I solemnly…
The director of Alexandria’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Ismail Serageldin, thanked Egypt’s young people for helping to protect the country’s museums and archaeological sites during the current political strife, which has spurred several incidents of looting. Serageldin posted this statement on the library’s website: To our friends around the world: The Events in Egypt 30 Jan 2011…
Widespread looting of museums and antiquities are occurring across Egypt, not just in Cairo, the news website Bikya Masr reported an Egyptian official saying in a statement. The official called on the global archaeology community to be on “high alert” for ancient artifacts being smuggled out of Egypt. The website quoted an antiquities official, Mohamed…
Archaeologist Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, reports that several of the country’s museums have been attacked by looters taking advantage of the political turmoil in the country. In the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, looters stole jewelry from the museum shop and smashed a statue of Tutankhamun and other artifacts. In…
Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) has announced the appointment of Mohamed Al Hammadi as editor in chief of National Geographic Al Arabiya, a new monthly publication, which is set to launch October 1, 2010. The magazine will be published in 15 countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Mohamed Al Hammadi A statement…
Renowned geneticist and anthropologist Spencer Wells has traced human evolution back to our earliest ancestors. He directs the Genographic Project, which is collecting and analyzing hundreds of thousands of DNA samples from people around the world in order to decipher how our ancestors populated the planet. Now, in his new book, he examines our cultural inheritance in…
