Cairo poised to surround pyramids Eight-lane highway threatens to turn the Giza area into high-density suburb Final Edition

To the alarm of archaeologists and U.N. cultural authorities, the Egyptian government is building an eight-lane highway across the desert plateau that includes the site of the three pyramids of Giza, one of the world's most famous tourist destinations and also the home of the Sphinx. Critics sa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inToronto star
Main Author By John Lancaster SPECIAL TO THE STAR
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Toronto, Ont Torstar Syndication Services, a Division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited 07.01.1995
Subjects
CAIRO
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Summary:To the alarm of archaeologists and U.N. cultural authorities, the Egyptian government is building an eight-lane highway across the desert plateau that includes the site of the three pyramids of Giza, one of the world's most famous tourist destinations and also the home of the Sphinx. Critics say a land rush is sure to follow. The new highway, if completed as planned, will pass within about three kilometres of the Giza pyramids. It violates both Egyptian law and an international convention protecting such globally significant sites, according to Said Zulficar, director of safeguarding activities of the cultural heritage division of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Egyptian government has never been accused of overzealous zoning. Haphazardly and often illegally built apartment houses block the pyramids from view on the main road approaching from downtown Cairo. A warren of tourist shops selling perfumes and paintings on papyrus sprawls to within a few hundred metres of the Sphinx. Recently, a dead horse, partially burned and covered with straw, lay in the nearby desert.
ISSN:0319-0781