Cairo (AFP) – A video showing renovations to the Menkaure Pyramid in Giza, Egypt has sparked criticism on social media, with one expert calling it “absurd”.
Publication of: change:
1 minute
In contrast, Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, called it “the project of the century.”
In a video posted to Facebook on Friday, Waziri showed workers installing granite blocks at the base of the pyramid, next to the Sphinx and the larger pyramids of Khafre and Khufu at Giza.
When it was first built, the pyramid was covered with granite, but over time some of that covering has been lost. The renovation aims to restore the structure’s original style by reconstructing the granite layers.
Work is expected to last three years and will be “Egypt’s gift to the world in the 21st century,” said Waziri, head of the Egyptian-Japanese mission in charge of the project.
However, below the video, dozens of upset people left comments critical of the work.
“Impossible!” writes Egyptologist Monica Hanna.
“The only thing missing was tiling Menkaure’s pyramid! When are you going to stop this absurdity in the management of Egyptian heritage?” she asked.
“All international principles regarding restoration prohibit such intervention,” Hanna added, calling on all archaeologists to “mobilize immediately.”
Other commentators responded with sarcasm.
“When will the project to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa be planned?” one person asked.
“Why not put up pyramid wallpaper instead of tiles?” said another.
The issue of heritage protection in Egypt, which derives 10 percent of its gross domestic product from tourism, is often the subject of intense debate.
The recent destruction of the entire historic center of Cairo has led to strong mobilization by civil society, which is largely prohibited from political activity and currently focuses much of its fight against the government on urban planning. and focuses on heritage issues.
Discussion has recently focused on the 15th-century Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque in Alexandria, Egypt’s second-largest coastal city.
Local authorities announced an investigation after contractors responsible for renovations decided to repaint the ornately carved and colored ceilings of the city’s largest mosque white.
© 2024 AFP
