EGYPT:Egypt hopes discovery of ancient tombs will spark tourism revival

Egypt yesterday announced the discovery of two small tombs in the southern city of Luxor that date back some 3,500 years amid hopes it will help the country's efforts to revive its ailing tourism sector.

The tombs, located on the west bank of the river Nile in a cemetery for noblemen and top officials, are the latest discovery in the city famed for its temples and tombs spanning different dynasties of ancient Egyptian history.

"It's truly an exceptional day," said Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani.
"The 18th dynasty private tombs were already known. But it's the first time to enter inside the two tombs."

Al-Anani said the discoveries are part of the ministry's efforts to promote Egypt's vital tourism industry, partially driven by antiquities sightseeing, that was hit hard by extremist attacks and political turmoil following the 2011 uprising.
The ministry said one tomb has a courtyard lined with mud-brick and stone walls and contains a six-metre burial shaft leading to four side chambers.

The artefacts found inside were mostly fragments of wooden coffins. Wall inscriptions and paintings suggest it belongs to era between the reigns of King Amenhotep II and King Thutmose IV, both pharaohs of the 18th dynasty.
The other tomb has five entrances leading to a rectangular hall and contains two burial shafts located in the northern and southern sides of the tomb.

Among the artefacts found inside are funerary cones, painted wooden funerary masks, clay vessels, a collection of some 450 statues and a mummy wrapped in linen who was likely a top official.
A cartouche carved on the ceiling bears the name of King Thutmose I of the early 18th dynasty, the ministry said.

Afterward, al-Anani headed to a nearby site where the famous Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is located to open for the first time the temple's main sanctuary known as the "Holy of Holies".

Since the beginning of 2017, the Antiquities Ministry has made a string of discoveries in several provinces across Egypt - including the tomb of a royal goldsmith, in the same area and belonging to the same dynasty, whose work was dedicated to the ancient Egyptian god Amun.

In November, scientists announced that they had found a hidden chamber in Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, in what would be the first such discovery in the structure since the 19th century, sparking a surge of interest in the pharaohs.

What could have galvanised this governor into such an honour-spree, extravaganza? Okorocha may have dug deep into the moral anatomy of Nigeria and have found it an easy haven for misplaced, mischievous honours. And it was so cheap! Nigeria made! To make certain that Okorocha was not alone in this enterprise, the APC-led administration acknowledged his feat for honouring a serving president battling with allegations of corruption in his own country. And Nigeria thus endorsed it. The late Chinua Achebe remains unassailable in the Nigerian context of honouring. Twice he could deconstruct the narrative box of Nigeria’s honours. The first from for President Olusegun Obasanjo and the next from ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. For those were suborn honours. Achebe’s refusals were to be a sober moral reincarnation for Nigeria, a hard kick on the jurisdiction of honours and honouring. This year is four years since Achebe’s death, and what he stood for, still a strong stare in the face of a nation that is heading down the precipice. I thought Achebe was teaching us how to honour and the substance of what we should honour in these refusals? He was! We didn’t wish to learn! Almost everyone in Nigeria has one title or the other. Those who don’t have soon get indoctrinated on why and how to get one. People seek after titles or its tokens, as either social instruments or psycho tools, required to coerce themselves or others into some form of social acceptance or endearments or to provide facelifts for themselves in an attempt to sublimate a severely damaged self-reputation. For whatever reason, Nigeria and Nigerians falls for it. The danger, again, that accompanies this kind of frivolities, is the death of the society. Death doesn’t entirely connote cessation of physical life. It is the accompanying numbness and loss of sensation in the inner core of the human conscience. Nigeria has attained that inglorious threshold of moral anarchy. This is the kind of social and ethical doctrine Okorocha has further enshrined in the annals of our honouring history as society. This is the same thread of narrative that reinstated Maina, ex-pension administrator who allegedly duped Nigeria to humungous sums of money. He was not only reabsorbed into the mainstream of Nigeria’s public workforce, he was also honoured with a perk of promotion. Some ministers in Buhari’’ administration with corruption charges are not merely in office, they have gone further to become the poster child of a government that vowed to fight corruption. Achebe even in death interrogates Nigeria. His last conversation with Nigeria may have ended abruptly. But as we dig into the repertoire of his legacies, we would find fitting lessons enough to renounce the current moral apathy and shambolic display of statesmanship. Even when Nigeria has not deemed it fit to bestow on Achebe a fitting national honour due his life and significance, at the moment, his moral essence continues to offer a redeeming backdrop on the nation he gave his honest best.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/12/chinua-achebe-four-years-honour/

What could have galvanised this governor into such an honour-spree, extravaganza? Okorocha may have dug deep into the moral anatomy of Nigeria and have found it an easy haven for misplaced, mischievous honours. And it was so cheap! Nigeria made! To make certain that Okorocha was not alone in this enterprise, the APC-led administration acknowledged his feat for honouring a serving president battling with allegations of corruption in his own country. And Nigeria thus endorsed it. The late Chinua Achebe remains unassailable in the Nigerian context of honouring. Twice he could deconstruct the narrative box of Nigeria’s honours. The first from for President Olusegun Obasanjo and the next from ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. For those were suborn honours. Achebe’s refusals were to be a sober moral reincarnation for Nigeria, a hard kick on the jurisdiction of honours and honouring. This year is four years since Achebe’s death, and what he stood for, still a strong stare in the face of a nation that is heading down the precipice. I thought Achebe was teaching us how to honour and the substance of what we should honour in these refusals? He was! We didn’t wish to learn! Almost everyone in Nigeria has one title or the other. Those who don’t have soon get indoctrinated on why and how to get one. People seek after titles or its tokens, as either social instruments or psycho tools, required to coerce themselves or others into some form of social acceptance or endearments or to provide facelifts for themselves in an attempt to sublimate a severely damaged self-reputation. For whatever reason, Nigeria and Nigerians falls for it. The danger, again, that accompanies this kind of frivolities, is the death of the society. Death doesn’t entirely connote cessation of physical life. It is the accompanying numbness and loss of sensation in the inner core of the human conscience. Nigeria has attained that inglorious threshold of moral anarchy. This is the kind of social and ethical doctrine Okorocha has further enshrined in the annals of our honouring history as society. This is the same thread of narrative that reinstated Maina, ex-pension administrator who allegedly duped Nigeria to humungous sums of money. He was not only reabsorbed into the mainstream of Nigeria’s public workforce, he was also honoured with a perk of promotion. Some ministers in Buhari’’ administration with corruption charges are not merely in office, they have gone further to become the poster child of a government that vowed to fight corruption. Achebe even in death interrogates Nigeria. His last conversation with Nigeria may have ended abruptly. But as we dig into the repertoire of his legacies, we would find fitting lessons enough to renounce the current moral apathy and shambolic display of statesmanship. Even when Nigeria has not deemed it fit to bestow on Achebe a fitting national honour due his life and significance, at the moment, his moral essence continues to offer a redeeming backdrop on the nation he gave his honest best.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/12/chinua-achebe-four-years-honour/

What could have galvanised this governor into such an honour-spree, extravaganza? Okorocha may have dug deep into the moral anatomy of Nigeria and have found it an easy haven for misplaced, mischievous honours. And it was so cheap! Nigeria made! To make certain that Okorocha was not alone in this enterprise, the APC-led administration acknowledged his feat for honouring a serving president battling with allegations of corruption in his own country. And Nigeria thus endorsed it. The late Chinua Achebe remains unassailable in the Nigerian context of honouring. Twice he could deconstruct the narrative box of Nigeria’s honours. The first from for President Olusegun Obasanjo and the next from ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. For those were suborn honours. Achebe’s refusals were to be a sober moral reincarnation for Nigeria, a hard kick on the jurisdiction of honours and honouring. This year is four years since Achebe’s death, and what he stood for, still a strong stare in the face of a nation that is heading down the precipice. I thought Achebe was teaching us how to honour and the substance of what we should honour in these refusals? He was! We didn’t wish to learn! Almost everyone in Nigeria has one title or the other. Those who don’t have soon get indoctrinated on why and how to get one. People seek after titles or its tokens, as either social instruments or psycho tools, required to coerce themselves or others into some form of social acceptance or endearments or to provide facelifts for themselves in an attempt to sublimate a severely damaged self-reputation. For whatever reason, Nigeria and Nigerians falls for it. The danger, again, that accompanies this kind of frivolities, is the death of the society. Death doesn’t entirely connote cessation of physical life. It is the accompanying numbness and loss of sensation in the inner core of the human conscience. Nigeria has attained that inglorious threshold of moral anarchy. This is the kind of social and ethical doctrine Okorocha has further enshrined in the annals of our honouring history as society. This is the same thread of narrative that reinstated Maina, ex-pension administrator who allegedly duped Nigeria to humungous sums of money. He was not only reabsorbed into the mainstream of Nigeria’s public workforce, he was also honoured with a perk of promotion. Some ministers in Buhari’’ administration with corruption charges are not merely in office, they have gone further to become the poster child of a government that vowed to fight corruption. Achebe even in death interrogates Nigeria. His last conversation with Nigeria may have ended abruptly. But as we dig into the repertoire of his legacies, we would find fitting lessons enough to renounce the current moral apathy and shambolic display of statesmanship. Even when Nigeria has not deemed it fit to bestow on Achebe a fitting national honour due his life and significance, at the moment, his moral essence continues to offer a redeeming backdrop on the nation he gave his honest best.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/12/chinua-achebe-four-years-honour/