21 - 27 June 2001
Issue No.539
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 21 - 27 June 2001 Issue No.539 |
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Underwater dreams
No country in the world, it seems to me, is richer than Egypt in terms of the magnitude and variety of the civilisations that have left their mark. Its history aside, Egypt's geography -- one of the main reasons so many civilisations settled here in the first places -- places the country at the crossroads of all the major trade routes through the ages. Discoveries of ruins that range from Greek and Roman to Persian and Muslim are apparently forever ongoing.
The principally Ptolemaic ruins of the ancient city of Herakleon, discovered recently in Alexandria, added to the ruins from Cleopatra's time, discovered two years ago, provide further evidence of the endless historical discoveries that have yet to be made in the depths of the Mediterranean. This is not to mention Alexandria's special place in the hearts of poets and artists from all over the world and through the ages, from Cavafy to Lawrence Durrell. And this is Alexandria alone; I am sure the rest of Egypt's cities and towns would prove equally rich.
Civilisation aside, recent discoveries by American archaeologists have revealed evidence of a previously unknown species of dinosaur in the Western Desert, showing that life existed in Egypt millions, rather than thousands of years ago. What has been discovered so far in terms of remains of bygone ages is merely the tip of the iceberg.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
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