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Egypt changes stance: King Tut's tomb will stay open (for now)
The famous tomb of King Tutankhamun in Egypt will remain open for the time being, the chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of AntiquitiesZahi Hawass announced.
While earlier this week he stated that it and two other tombs in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor would close by the end of the year, now he's saying that they'll close at some undetermined time in the future.
Egypt plans to build a Valley of the Replicas to show off exact duplicates of King Tut's tomb and those of Seti I and Queen Nefertari. These and other tombs are suffering damage due to the large numbers of people passing through. The extra humidity from their breath is causing mold to grow and is damaging the ancient paintings that adorn the walls. The number of visitors to Tutankhamun's tomb has already been limited to 1,000 a day, down from a peak of 6,000 a day.
Once the Valley of the Replicas is open, and there's no set date for that yet, King Tut's tomb will close to everyone except those paying an extra fee that will probably run into the thousands of dollars. The pharaoh's mummy will remain in its tomb.
[Photo courtesy user Kounosu via Wikimedia Commons]
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Learning, Africa, Egypt, News, Middle East
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bryan Ellis Jan 23rd 2011 3:13AM
We just flew back to Costa Rica from Cairo last week. It is a shame that this is one thing we missed on or week long tour. I am glad that they are keeping his tomb open to the public, but do understand them limiting the number of visitors per day.
Great info, keep up the good work
Dare Sue Jan 27th 2011 11:03AM
Personally I think Zahi should have closed the tomb sooner. I agree that those who wish to see the tombs should have a right to but I think the Replica Tombs are long over due. They should have been done years ago. I don't however agree that the tombs should remain open for a larger fee if they are building the replicas then the original tombs should be closed forever. The tombs are so old and people going in them that want to see them is damaging them personally they should have more respect to not go through them. Take this into account if there's an ancient tomb of your ancestors that you uncovered and it was 3-4 thousand years old would you want people going through it breathing on it and bringing in more damage than what's already been caused? No you wouldn't. I have wanted to visit Egypt since I was 2 but I have enough respect for the mummies and their tombs than to risk damaging them. Guess it's to bad that more people can't be like me.