Egypt has reopened many of its museums and historical sites, which were hit by sporadic looting during the uprising that led to President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster, Reuters reported.
On Sunday, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which is just off Tahrir Square and which served as an embattled backdrop during the protests, opened its doors again, and museum workers handed roses to the few visitors who came to see its treasures. The galleries of the museum, which are usually bustling, were nearly empty throughout the day, however, as tourism continues to suffer in the wake of the unrest, Reuters added.
“It was very important for us to open the museum to stop the rumors like ‘the mask of King Tutankhamun was stolen’ or there had been an orgy of looting,” said Tarek El Awady, the museum’s director. “This is a chance for visitors to see for themselves.”
During the protests and in the days after the government’s fall, there were conflicting accounts of how much damage the museum and other sites of ancient art had suffered. Egypt’s antiquities minister, Zahi Hawass, initially said that most of the country’s treasures were secure, but he later changed that account, announcing on his blog that 18 valuable artifacts were missing from the museum after a break-in on Jan. 28. Among the most important items were a gilded wooden statue of Tutankhamen and a limestone statue of the god Akhenaten, which Mr. Hawass said was later discovered near a trash bin outside the museum. He also announced that tombs at Saqqara and Abusir and storage buildings at Saqqara and at Cairo University, among other sites, had been broken into.
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