Chair of the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, has condemned the transfer of antiquities from Luxor’s temple to be resettled in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. In a statement shared with local news outlet Cairo24, Al Khalifa’s said that “any amendment to a site of this importance must be preceded by consulting with the UNESCO World Heritage Center, submitting reports that evaluate the impact on the site itself, and other matters stipulated in the operational guidelines of the World Heritage Convention.” As such, the chair also suggested for experts from the Center and Egypt to meet and find an alternative solution to the proposed plan. At the end of December, a controversial decision was issued to move four ram sphinx statues from Luxor’s processional avenue, as well as an obelisk, to Tahrir Square. However, the decision was met with criticism from experts, MP Ahmed Idris and archeologists for the damage that might occur on the archeological remains. “The sphinxes are made of sandstone, they are part of the dry environment in Luxor, when they would be moved to Tahrir Square with all the pollution, they…
Arab Regional Center for World Heritage Condemns Transfer of Sphinxes from Luxor to Tahrir
January 3, 2020
