Blog Post

Update from Egypt

In the wake of the recent unrest in Egypt, we would like to confirm that the Theban monuments are intact, and that our mission continues to work at Kom el Hettan without any incident and without threat of imminent danger.

Some missions were asked to leave by their universities or embassies, but those who were not obliged to stop work, like Chicago House, the French mission at Karnak, the Polish Mission at Deir el Bahari, and we the Memnon Amenhotep III project, have remained and continue to work peacefully in Luxor, Karnak, and Thebes West respectively.

Our mission is composed of international team members (Egyptian, Armenian, Germans, Spanish, Austrian, Swiss, Canadian, American, etc.) and none of us was obliged or wanted to leave.

The Theban monuments were not attacked and when threats were heard, the inspectorates of Karnak, Luxor and Thebes West defended the monuments and sites, with army units at Karnak , Luxor, and Luxor Museum, and with the help of young men from the surrounding villages, spontaneously and perfectly organized. They were coordinated by the respective Supreme Council of Antiquities representatives, Mansour Boreik, Ibrahim Soliman, Sultan Mohamed, and in the West, Mustafa Wazery.