Zahi Hawass

RedeemedChild

New member
Montana Smith said:
So there is nothing he can possess that the Egyptian Criminal Court cannot take away.

You missed out the really good stuff:



Maybe he'll be breaking rocks for archaeology students!

LOL. This is very funny.

I've haven't really be able to watch Zawi Hawass's show Chasing Mummies but what I've seen of it fully impressed me and I'm sorry that the show is coming to an end. It was like Indiana Jones on steroids for real.

BTW here is where a link to a comment by Hawass on the shows ending.
http://www.drhawass.com/blog/chasing-mummies-series-comes-end
 
Life imitating Art

What gets me is the caption under the photo...really?!!



'Real Indiana Jones' sacked as keeper of Egypt's heritage

By Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent

He called himself the real Indiana Jones and keeper of Egypt's heritage, and was an almost permanent presence on any television programme about the country's colourful past.
eg_1949292c.jpg

George Lucas consulted Zahi Hawass before creating the character of Indiana Jones Photo: AP


But Zahi Hawass, the public face of the pyramids, has become the latest casualty of the revolution sweeping the Egyptian government after being sacked as minister of antiquities.

Dr Hawass was head of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities for 10 years, and before that in charge of the Pyramids and Sphinx on the Giza plateau outside Cairo. He staged regular press conferences unveiling new discoveries from the time of the pharaohs.

In honour of his claim that the film producer George Lucas consulted him before creating the character of Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford in films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, he was rarely seen without a large fedora hat.

But after being made minister of antiquities in one of Hosni Mubarak's last acts as president, he has been sacked to appease growing hostility from anti-government protesters, not least archaeologists fed up with his style of management.

Social networking sites like Twitter were flooded with inevitable jokes, from "the Curse of the Mummy strikes" to comments such as "Zahi Hawass to no longer appear in every single TV special on Egypt". Some were simpler, saying, "Please take your hat with you."

Dr Hawass was popular among journalists, visitors and for a time Egyptians themselves for his flamboyant style and unchallenged commitment to promote Egypt's treasures and to use them to attract tourists.

He also led populist campaigns to return Egypt's heritage from museums abroad, most notably the Rosetta Stone from the British Museum.

However, local archaeologists accused him of stealing credit for their achievements, and "recycling" discoveries for publicity.

More seriously, as the Egyptian revolution unfolded, his finances, friendship with Mr Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, and management of resources came into question.

He was revealed to receive a regular income from the National Geographic channel, and was put on trial over the contract under which a company which marketed a "souvenir Hawass clothing line", including copies of the trademark hat, was awarded the rights to run the souvenir shop in the National Museum in Cairo.

He claimed that proceeds from the hats went to children's charities, of which Mrs Mubarak was patron.

At one stage, while protesters were flooding Tahrir Square and the road outside the Television Centre, archaeologists were staging their own strike outside the offices of the Antiquities Council.

Matters were made worse when the extent of damage and looting to the poorly guarded museum and other historic sites during the demonstrations became clear.

The prime minister, Essam Sharaf, this weekend bowed to renewed protests by young activists who claim that the interim Supreme Military Council, which is overseeing the country until new elections, is keeping too much power to itself. Mr Sharaf removed half his cabinet, including Dr Hawass, on Sunday afternoon.

It is unlikely that the Egyptian government will drop its campaign for the return of the Rosetta Stone. But the scandals surrounding his removal will remove some of the pressure on the British Museum, as the financial crisis in Greece has over its other controversial exhibit, the Elgin Marbles.

Dr Hawass’s sacking will be mourned by colleagues around the world, many of whom worked with him closely for decades.

John Baines, professor of Egyptology at Oxford University, said: “Over the years he did a lot of good for Egyptian archaeology and in many cases for the Egyptian monuments, but recently he had become very domineering, and an eclipse became increasingly likely.”


Replaced by Professor in Restoration
"He was the Mubarak of antiquities," said Nora Shalaby, an activist and archaeologist. "He acted as if he owned Egypt's antiquities, and not that they belonged to the people of Egypt."

And archaeology students and professors blasted him for what they saw as his lack of serious research.

Shalaby said Hawass didn't tolerate criticism. She said most his finds were about self-promotion, with many "rediscoveries" in search of the limelight.

In one of Mubarak's final official acts as president, Hawass' position was elevated to that of a Cabinet minister. After Mubarak's ouster, Hawass submitted his resignation but he was reinstated before finally being removed Sunday.

Hawass was replaced by Abdel-Fattah el-Banna, an associate professor in restoration. He was frequently present in Tahrir Square during the protests.
 
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Goodeknight

New member
Wow. Last month he's on the cover of Biblical Archaeology Review. This month he's in the job line with the rest of Mubarak's guys.
 

Goodeknight

New member
Rocket Surgeon said:
I have the strange feeling he's tucked some money away for a rainy day...

Yeah. By Egyptian standards he must be fabulously wealthy. Certainly getting American rates for all the big tv gigs in a country where the dollar goes about three times as far. Lecture tour honorariums, etc., and he's swimming in loot.

I checked his Facebook page (1200 other people and I are Zahi's closest buddies....). No new posts since July 14. No place to post fresh comments, either, but you can still post to old comments.

Wonder if he'll stay in Egypt, come to the States for a while, or go elsewhere. Must be kind of sketchy for anyone associated with Mubarak. Could be a good idea to tuck tail and lay low in another country, but pride might keep him there.

He's probably already gotten a few dozen emails with offers for university positions, lecture tours, and the like. I'll be curious to see what he does.
 

Goodeknight

New member
Rocket Surgeon said:
Considering his health and love of the hookah, could he go very far?

ZahiHawass2.jpg


"It's not the years. It's the...well, it's mainly the hookah. But it's also the mileage."

He's up there in years, but I don't think he does too bad climbing and crawling around the monuments. That's certainly tougher than going on a worldwide lecture tour.

Many profs working summers in Egypt are in a lot worse shape.
 
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You had to do it! How about something more fitting, like Mola Ram?
goodeknight said:
"It's not the years. It's the...well, it's mainly the hookah. But it's also the mileage."

He's up there in years, but I don't think he does too bad climbing and crawling around the monuments. That's certainly tougher than going on a worldwide lecture tour.

Many profs working summers in Egypt are in a lot worse shape.

It should prove interesting to be sure...
 

Gabeed

New member
Rocket Surgeon said:
You had to do it! How about something more fitting, like Mola Ram?

Aw man. He does kinda look a bit like Mola Ram, and the both of them can talk about how the British stole their precious relics from their respective peoples. :D
 

China Jim

New member
Zahi Update

Wanted to check and see what had happened to Dr Hawass since my AIA magazine has not ran any info update on him. does the group think that the non-egyptian teachers at the various universities will be safe.Many of the folks involved in the work that Dr Hawass was involved in were either non- muslim ie egyptian or not devout at all I draw as example and its been a bit I believe her name is Dr Selim beautiful dark tressed british accented archaeologist I think Montana Smith may know who I am talking about.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
China Jim said:
...does the group think that the non-egyptian teachers at the various universities will be safe...

Stirring, stirring, stirring.

To answer your initial question, as couched in panicky editorializing as it is, Dr. Hawass doesn't appear to be up to much. He received an award from the Cairo Chapter of the Lions Club in March, and is expected to be facing new charges according to Al-Arham. The paper is reporting that Dr. Hawass...


Al-Arham said:
...admitted in a television talk show that he had a 17 million dollar deal with the American Geographical Society with regard to a Tutankhamun exhibition to raise donations for Suzanne Mubarak's association, wife of former president Hosni Mubarak. Suzanne Mubarak's association was a private association not a state body, and as such Hawass was not legally allowed to use his position as a state minister to raise funds for it.

I expect that they flubbed the translation and mean the National Geographic Society. Any "charges" I would take with a hu-uge grain of salt. It sounds like they're related to the traveling Tutankhamen exhibit that he helped arrange with the National Geographic Society.

Full article is viewable here.
 

Goodeknight

New member
China Jim said:
does the group think that the non-egyptian teachers at the various universities will be safe.

I haven't heard of any big faculty changes (like a mass exodus of foreign or non-Muslim profs) from my alma mater, the American University in Cairo. So it seems they're pretty safe. And, more telling, I believe they are still accepting study abroad students. They do have lots of safety guidelines for them, though. AUC's old campus (still in use) is right on Tahrir Square.
 

China Jim

New member
Good to hear Goodknight

Thanks for the info Goodknight with little to no info coming out concerning our interest I had little to draw from but since I saw all those Prof. doing digs and the majority were not Arabic on the National Geo and History channel specials I was just concerned Zahi is ethnocentric but I dont believe he is a practicing Muslim so he may be persona non grata with the new ruling party but maybe they will leave are brothers and sisters in archaeology and history alone and we can work with out worrying about getting our heads shot off.
 

Archaeos

Member
China Jim said:
Wanted to check and see what had happened to Dr Hawass since my AIA magazine has not ran any info update on him. does the group think that the non-egyptian teachers at the various universities will be safe.Many of the folks involved in the work that Dr Hawass was involved in were either non- muslim ie egyptian or not devout at all I draw as example and its been a bit I believe her name is Dr Selim beautiful dark tressed british accented archaeologist I think Montana Smith may know who I am talking about.

I might be mistaken, but do you mean Dr Salima Ikram, the Pakistani-born (and Muslim) Egyptologist? She is still Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo, doing well, and working on all her projects, including AMP and NKOS. By the way, there was a nice interview with her in the magazine Minerva, January/February 2012. Check it out.

This year's excavation season went ahead without many extraordinary difficulties, so the probable Islamisation of Egypt's government and state hasn't produced insurmountable problems that would hinder archaeological research, yet.

In fact, Zahi's departure as Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, and then notoriously as 1st Minister of Antiquities, allowed lots of good people at the SCA to come forward and fill his shoes. Many people would say that this was long overdue. What looks certain is that his "retirement" this time is quite definite.
 

China Jim

New member
Zahi Hawass update

Archaeos,
Thank you for the update I wasn't over reacting after seeing all the trouble in Egypt and how much power the Muslim Brotherhood was starting to weild that they may push a ethnocentric mentality and throw out all foreigners or limit what they can do. I figure I will get a little grief on my next statement but after hearing Glenn Becks speech about the brotherhood and double checking his statements I surmised I had grounds to be concerned> But once again thanks for the update and contact me if you need any info on ancient or classical history.
 

Archaeos

Member
There are grounds to be concerned re. Egypt (and Libya, Leptis Magna damage :eek:), but let's say it's Yellow Alert, and not Red Alert. :)

China Jim said:
Archaeos,
But once again thanks for the update and contact me if you need any info on ancient or classical history.

(y) I will!
 

foreverwingnut

New member
I've seen Zahi in so many specials that I've lost count. At first I really liked and respected him, but by the time he got his own series, "Chasing Mummies", I began to see the real Zahi and lost much of my respect of him. His power had become too great before he was demoted, once having authority that prevailed even over Alexandrian discovery. Cleopatra's kingdom of Alexandria was really a kingdom unto itself, so it's difficult for me to understand how Zahi managed to garner complete autonomy in Alexandria in the interest of Egyptian authority. He is a glory hound and prefered the limelight to be on himself rather than the amazing discoveries. Case in point: he didn't like that a pylon from the waters of Alexandria was nearly lost when it slipped because camera crews were there to capture his humility. He didn't like being made to look bad in front of the press. For Zahi to demand that all Egyptian antiquities be returned to Egypt is quite petty when you consider how much funding Egypt has obtained from other countries. How can Zahi assume that no other nationalities have the right to cherish Egyptian antiquity when it was his own countrymen who raided the Cairo museum last year and destroyed much of their own history? The Middle East is the Cradle of Civilization from which we all sprang, so it's OUR history, not just a select few. I respect his devotion to archeology, but I can't respect his power-high.
 

Archaeos

Member
foreverwingnut said:
His power had become too great before he was demoted, once having authority that prevailed even over Alexandrian discovery. Cleopatra's kingdom of Alexandria was really a kingdom unto itself, so it's difficult for me to understand how Zahi managed to garner complete autonomy in Alexandria in the interest of Egyptian authority.

I am terribly sorry, but I don't fully understand what you mean by that. Would you care to elaborate? Do you mean that the SCA is only responsible for stuff up until 332/1 BC, leaving the Ptolemaic Dynasty out? :confused:
 

foreverwingnut

New member
I'm sorrry if I caused confusion, but you are on to my meaning. Alexandria was under the rule of the Ptolemaic Dynasty throughout the Hellenistic period. They even refused to speak Egyptian, hence the creation of the Rosetta Stone as a means to translate. Alexandria had become a marriage of Greek, Roman and Egyptian cultures, making it a kingdom unto itself. Therefore, Egypt (Zahi) should have little or no authority over Alexandrian antiquity. It would have been certainly wise to have asked for Zahi's expert advice in the recovery and care of Alexandrian relics, but giving him the free-reigns to lord over Alexandrian discovery in the name of the Egyptian government was misplaced and unnecessary in my opinion. Alexandria possesses many capable and competent archeologists to oversee their own affairs. Alexandria's discoveries belong to their own people, not Egypt. And while the pylon that I mentioned will be displayed in Alexandria, there is little doubt that Zahi would have eventually demanded that it and other Cleopatra-age discoveries be sent to Cairo.
 
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