Camera-eye:

Giant mummies

By Youssef Rakha

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RETURN of the living dead? Ahmed Shawqi Pasha (1868-1932), otherwise known as the Prince of Poets, occupies one of three small courtyards built around busts of literary figures.

The project is part of a so-called beautification drive initiated by the Giza Governorate. Now finally in its conclusive phase, the statue is wrapped in blue polystyrene to protect it from construction debris before being unveiled. The Prince of Poets will join other great men of letters -- a statue of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz stands before Al-Galaa Bridge, opposite the Cairo Sheraton, while a statue of the late Taha Hussein, dean of Arabic literature, overlooks Sphinx Square.

The three swathed figures look like giant mummies dotting the Giza cityscape. Rather than formidably enlightening, the three look formidably scary, and literature acquires a surreal declension in the public mind.