Al-Ahram Weekly | Egypt

		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 8 - 14 March 2001 Issue No.524
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Charge proves negative
LAST week Al-Ahram Weekly joined the rest of the Egyptian media in bringing news of the family in Maadi which was alleged to be practically lighting up because of electrical currents running through the bodies of its members. Reporters and Ministry of Interior staff had "verified" the claims by pressing a screwdriver to each person. The fact that the plastic end of the tool lit up each time this was done was considered proof of the family's assertions.
However, reason prevailed when Minister of Health Ismail Sallam set up a committee to look into the matter. After ordering the family to leave their apartment, the levels of electromagnetic waves in the dwelling were measured and revealed to be normal. Both the father and son underwent electrocardiogram's (ECG) which also failed to reveal anything out of the ordinary.
After every possible angle had been investigated, the committee turned to the screwdriver and upon its careful inspection discovered that it was a toy that lit up on its own! The committee did note, however, that the carpets in the apartment were synthetic and that much of the clothing worn by the "electrified" family was also synthetic, providing optimum conditions for static electricity. They suggested that the apartment be aired out and that synthetic materials be put out in the sun to rid them of their excess charge.
Heritage online
FORTY-FOUR thousand original Islamic manuscripts will be made available to the public for the first time in history. Al-Azhar plans to put its entire collection of manuscripts online; a project described by officials from the religious institution as making "available the biggest library of [Islamic] manuscripts in the world."
The collection includes works on Islamic tradition, jurisprudence and interpretation of the Qur'an. For more than 9,000 manuscripts there is only a single copy, and most of these have never been publicly displayed.
The project is funded by a grant of $5 million made by the Emir of Dubai Sheikh Maktum bin Rashed.
More time, less stones
DID Khufu have enough time to build the Great Pyramid? After years of debate, new evidence suggests he might have had time after all, reports Nevine El-Aref.
According to Zahi Hawass, director-general of the Giza Plateau, and the American scholar Mark Lehner, the answer to this question lies in the Turin Papyrus, the earliest King List, which records the names of Egypt's most important Pharaohs, the duration of their rule and major events which took place during their reigns.
Some 63 years after the papyrus was discovered by the Italian Egyptologist Drovetti, Hawass says a new study of the document reveals that Khufu might have reigned for as long as 32 years.
"Ancient Egyptians recorded the lengths of the reigns of their kings based on the bi-annual cattle count," Hawass explained. "Khufu reigned longer than we thought. Lehner and I have been studying the famous Turin Papyrus again, with special reference to Khufu because his originally reported 23-year reign would surely not have been long enough to raise such a monument as the Great Pyramid."
Meanwhile, new information about the structure of the Great Pyramid has led to a recalculation of the number and size of the blocks. Because the pyramid is now known to be built on a natural rock hill, Hawass believes the total actual number of blocks is far less than the traditional estimate of 2,300,000, and may be only 750,000. Evidence from the quarry where the blocks were cut shows the blocks could have weighed between half a ton and 1.8 tons, and not 16 tons as was once thought.
Compiled by Fatemah Farag

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