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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 July - 2 August 2000 Issue No. 492 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 July - 2 August 2000 Issue No. 492
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Illegal stones
Pieces of the Great Pyramid of Khufu were allegedly for sale last week on eBay, a large on-line auction site. However, the authenticity of the items was unsubstantiated and they were pulled off the auction block. Zahi Hawass, director-general of the Giza Plateau, was called in as an expert. His verdict was definitive. "The offer is a hoax," Hawass concluded. He claimed that there is no way anyone could break off a piece of the Pyramids. Furthermore, Hawass also called into question the seller's claim that he had climbed the Great Pyramid, saying it has been illegal for the last 11 years. He said the rocks were probably just ordinary stones from the desert. In any case, even if they were real, they would be considered stolen antiquities. Consequently, eBay cancelled the sale.
Contentious words
Yet another Al-Shaab article, the now-defunct mouthpiece of the Labour Party, has resulted in a libel suit. This time the plaintiff is grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi. He complained that Sheikh Yehia Ismail, the former secretary-general of the disbanded Al-Azhar Islamic Front, libelled him in an article entitled "Egyptian divorce American style." In the piece, Ismail attacked Tantawi for endorsing the recently passed khul' law, which makes it easier for women to obtain a divorce if they surrender their financial rights. A trial date has yet to be set.
Strike pay
The hunger strike by embittered Al-Shaab journalists has come to an end, thanks to the intervention of the Press Syndicate and its chairman, Ibrahim Nafie, chairman of the board and editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram. The health of some of the journalists taking part had deteriorated drastically since beginning of the strike on 10 July. In the agreement, all the journalists, administrators and employees of the newspaper will be paid outstanding wages. The funds are being supplied by an unnamed agency. The Press Syndicate also affirmed its continued support for re-opening Al-Shaab. It was shut down by the government following riots at Al-Azhar University. Al-Shaab was accused of inciting the violence due to its virulent campaign against the re-publication of an allegedly blasphemous novel by the Culture Ministry.
Pilgrimage tragedy
In Saudi Arabia last week, a major bus accident on the road from Jeddah to Mecca left at least three Egyptians dead and 47 others injured. The passengers were on their way to perform the umra, or lesser pilgrimage, when their bus swerved to avoid an oncoming truck. It slammed into another truck. The injured were immediately taken to hospital for treatment. The accident occurred approximately 160 kilometres from Jeddah.
Tragedy at sea
With summer in full swing, there has been a rash of beach-related accidents. Near Alexandria last week, in the tourist village of Sidi Krir, two drowned as the result of heavy currents. Both of the drowning victims were domestic workers. Saadiya Abdu was 14-years old and Badriya El-Sayed was 16 years old. They were working for two separate families vacationing in the village. The youths became friends when they discovered they both hailed from the same village in the Nile Delta governorate of Kafr Al-Sheikh. Taking a break from their chores and the heat, they went for a swim. Tragically, they were not strong enough to overcome the dangerous waves. In another unfortunate incident, 27-year-old Tareq Nureddin Mustafa was hit by a fishing boat while swimming near Nelson Island off the coast of Abu Qir west of Alexandria. Mustafa was rushed to Abu Qir Central Hospital for emergency surgery. He was later transferred to the emergency room of a more specialised hospital in Alexandria on the orders of Health Minister Ismail Sallam.
Phone bill
An Egyptian and a Turkish man came to blows on a Turkish airways flight on its way to Cairo from Istanbul. The conflict was the result of the Turkish man's insistence on using his mobile telephone, despite repeated warnings that it could affect the control systems of the plane. Warnings then gave way to violence. Although the fight was eventually contained, the pilot informed Egyptian authorities of the incident. The fight is being investigated.
Legal tender
Apparently, customers and merchants in the Nile Delta governorate of Sharqiya have adamantly refused to use those much maligned 10-piastre notes. A feature story in Al-Ahram claims that even beggars are refusing to accept them. Despite the insistence of bank officials that there has been no recall order and reassurances that the banks are perfectly willing to cash the small denomination notes, people refuse to accept them as legal tender. This lack of confidence is not restricted to the Delta. It is nationwide. Five and 10 piastre notes first appeared several years ago, but were cancelled. They have been recently put back into circulation to fend off widespread complaints that the country has a serious small change shortage.
House of memories
Some 200,000 artefacts and historical documents relating to the building of the Suez Canal will be housed in a special museum called "Memories of the Canal." It will be constructed on the banks of Lake Timsah near Ismailia on the same spot where Egypt's Khedive Ismail and Empress Eugénie of France inaugurated the Canal in 1869. Minister of Higher Education Moufid Shehab, Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, and Ismailia governor Fouad Saadeddin, were among the luminaries scheduled to lay the cornerstone. The museum is jointly financed by UNESCO, the Friends of Ferdinand de Lesseps Society and the Alexandria Library. Yesterday was the 44th anniversary of the nationalisation of the Suez Canal company.
Saving history
Customs authorities at Cairo Airport managed this week to foil an attempt to smuggle 11 packages of historical documents dating back to 1880. The officials claimed that the seized documents, which were on their way to an unnamed European destination, are worth approximately LE4.5 million. The documents were masquerading as medical supplies.
Compiled by Tarek Atia
