Egypt gets new antiquities chief, Mohammed Abdel Fattah

Egypt gets new antiquities chief, replaces Zahi Hawass : Bikya Masr | Independent news for the world: Abdel Fattah is not a well-known figure across Egypt, but archaeologists told Bikyamasr.com that they believe he will be a solid replacement and is not as controversial as Hawass.

One German researcher in the country said that Abdel Fattah is “known to be a fair and honest man and is open to different opinions, unlike Hawass.”

A number of archaeologists are excited with the change, hoping that it will enable greater discourse, which they say was stifled by Hawass’ rule, where “too often opinions that were not in line with what he [Hawass] thought true were ridiculed and sometimes foreign workers were barred from digging.”

Abdel Fattah told local newspapers that he would complete several unfinished construction projects, while cautioning that others would have to be postponed because of a lack of money. Much of the council’s budget comes from ticket sales to museums and archaeological sites, and tourism to Egypt has been decimated by the revolution.

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