A video showcasing the ongoing renovation efforts at Egypt’s Menkaure pyramid in Giza has sparked criticism on social media, with one expert denouncing the project as “absurd.”
Head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, countered the negative sentiment, hailing the endeavor as “the project of the century.”
The video, posted on Facebook last Friday, displays workers placing granite blocks on the pyramid’s base, situated alongside the sphinx, as well as the larger Khafre and Cheops pyramids at Giza.
Originally encased in granite, the pyramid had lost part of its covering over time. The renovation aims to restore the structure’s original style by reconstructing the granite layer.
Waziri, leading the Egyptian-Japanese mission overseeing the project, stated that the three-year undertaking would serve as “Egypt’s gift to the world in the 21st century.”
Despite his optimism, dozens of upset individuals left critical comments under the video.
🇪🇬#مصر تعلن عن بدء "مشروع القرن" وهو كساء الهرم الثالث منقرع بالأحجار الجرانيت القديمة وإعادته لشكله الاصلي منذ بنائه في عهد الفراعنة
— 💡 Aboelعla🤺 (@A3A3A3A123) January 27, 2024
🇪🇬#Egypt announces the start of the “Project of the Century”, which is to cover the third pyramid of Menkaure with ancient granite stones and… pic.twitter.com/AszcALX5ij
Renowned Egyptologist Monica Hanna expressed disbelief, stating, “The only thing missing was to add tiling to the pyramid of Menkaure! When are we going to stop the absurdity in the management of Egyptian heritage?” She called on archaeologists to “mobilize immediately,” citing international principles on renovations that prohibit such interventions.
Other commentators opted for sarcasm, questioning when a project to straighten the Tower of Pisa would be planned and suggesting wallpapering the pyramids instead of tiles.
The preservation of heritage in Egypt, a country deriving 10 percent of its GDP from tourism, is a frequent topic of heated debate. Recent destruction in Cairo’s historic area triggered strong mobilizations by civil society, which, largely banned from political activity, now focuses its fight with the government on urban planning and heritage issues.
The latest controversy centers on the fifteenth-century Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi mosque in Alexandria, Egypt’s second-largest city. Local authorities launched an investigation after a contractor, responsible for renovation, opted to repaint the ornate, carved, and colored ceilings of the city’s largest mosque in white.
