Egypt Landmarks

New evidence that Egypt's Great Sphinx may be twice as old as had been thought has triggered a fierce argument between geologists who say it must be older and archeologists who say such a conclusion contradicts everything they know about ancient Egypt. Geologists who presented their results at the Geological Society of America convention here Tuesday said that weathering patterns on the monument are characteristic of a period far older than had been believed.

As Israel faces what many fear could turn into its most serious national security threat in decades, fault lines are widening over how it should respond and some critics say the government appears ill prepared. With the resignation Friday of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was widely seen as Israel's most predictable Arab ally, a quiet panic is spreading here as Israelis debate their next move. "This whole situation is making Israel's hawks more hawkish and the doves more dovish," said Yossi Alpher, a former government peace talks advisor and co-editor of Bitterlemons.

Egypt announced the REOPENING OF THE PYRAMIDS and all antiquity sites and museums. The government had ordered the tourist venues closed during the Gulf War for fear of terrorist attacks. The government-run Middle East News Agency said the loss from the closures was about $28 million. Egypt, which was part of the coalition against Iraq, heightened all security for fear of retaliation.

The Sphinx is at least 45 centuries old, but the last few years have been tough ones. First, there was a disastrous restoration project in the early 1980s in which many of its ancient stones were discarded and its north side was shored up with a layer of concrete 9 feet thick in spots. It later was found that, besides being ugly, the salt-laden concrete harmed the Sphinx's limestone core.

A chunk of limestone has fallen off the 4,600-year-old Great Sphinx, and authorities said Thursday that if the cracking monument is left untreated, its entire right shoulder will collapse. The first significant break on the statue since 1981 occurred Sunday, six days after a sandstorm battered the Great Sphinx and the famed Giza Pyramids nearby. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni surveyed the damage Thursday and said the monument must be studied to decide what restoration efforts should be taken.

Choreographer Maurice Bejart stood at the Pyramids and imagined a tableau of dancers swooning to the rhythms of the East, framed only by the starry night sky, the tombs of ancient kings and, like an eerie, whirling backdrop, the Egyptian desert. Back home in Switzerland, he set about creating a mystic, sensual ballet to give movement to the splendor of ancient Egypt and the modern Islamic faith. Belgian promoter Michel Reculez contracted with an Egyptian company to construct the stage.

"I am not afraid," boasted Sami. "I go where I please, and no one can stop me." With that, the young rider kicked his camel hard in the flanks and galloped off toward the forbidden zone, disappearing in a cloud of dust. The older men remained behind, shaking their heads in amusement at the folly of youth. But they were also bitter. "It is not nice what they do. Not nice," said Fuad Abdel Ati Fayed, speaking for the others. "This is a tourist place.

After 4,600 years of mystery, the chief riddle about the Sphinx is what went wrong with it. Crumbling, in some places collapsing, sand-swept and shrouded in scaffolding, the majestic half-man, half-lion that crouches inscrutably at the entrance to the historic Pyramids plateau is dying, and no one has quite been able to say why. Some blame ground vibrations or exhaust fumes from the tour buses that lumber past it each day.

The Sphinx is at least 45 centuries old, but the last few years have been tough ones. First, there was a disastrous restoration project in the early 1980s in which many of its ancient stones were discarded and its north side was shored up with a layer of concrete 9 feet thick in spots. It later was found that, besides being ugly, the salt-laden concrete harmed the Sphinx's limestone core.

As Israel faces what many fear could turn into its most serious national security threat in decades, fault lines are widening over how it should respond and some critics say the government appears ill prepared. With the resignation Friday of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was widely seen as Israel's most predictable Arab ally, a quiet panic is spreading here as Israelis debate their next move. "This whole situation is making Israel's hawks more hawkish and the doves more dovish," said Yossi Alpher, a former government peace talks advisor and co-editor of Bitterlemons.

New evidence that Egypt's Great Sphinx may be twice as old as had been thought has triggered a fierce argument between geologists who say it must be older and archeologists who say such a conclusion contradicts everything they know about ancient Egypt. Geologists who presented their results at the Geological Society of America convention here Tuesday said that weathering patterns on the monument are characteristic of a period far older than had been believed.

Egypt announced the REOPENING OF THE PYRAMIDS and all antiquity sites and museums. The government had ordered the tourist venues closed during the Gulf War for fear of terrorist attacks. The government-run Middle East News Agency said the loss from the closures was about $28 million. Egypt, which was part of the coalition against Iraq, heightened all security for fear of retaliation.

Choreographer Maurice Bejart stood at the Pyramids and imagined a tableau of dancers swooning to the rhythms of the East, framed only by the starry night sky, the tombs of ancient kings and, like an eerie, whirling backdrop, the Egyptian desert. Back home in Switzerland, he set about creating a mystic, sensual ballet to give movement to the splendor of ancient Egypt and the modern Islamic faith. Belgian promoter Michel Reculez contracted with an Egyptian company to construct the stage.

After 4,600 years of mystery, the chief riddle about the Sphinx is what went wrong with it. Crumbling, in some places collapsing, sand-swept and shrouded in scaffolding, the majestic half-man, half-lion that crouches inscrutably at the entrance to the historic Pyramids plateau is dying, and no one has quite been able to say why. Some blame ground vibrations or exhaust fumes from the tour buses that lumber past it each day.

"I am not afraid," boasted Sami. "I go where I please, and no one can stop me." With that, the young rider kicked his camel hard in the flanks and galloped off toward the forbidden zone, disappearing in a cloud of dust. The older men remained behind, shaking their heads in amusement at the folly of youth. But they were also bitter. "It is not nice what they do. Not nice," said Fuad Abdel Ati Fayed, speaking for the others. "This is a tourist place.

A chunk of limestone has fallen off the 4,600-year-old Great Sphinx, and authorities said Thursday that if the cracking monument is left untreated, its entire right shoulder will collapse. The first significant break on the statue since 1981 occurred Sunday, six days after a sandstorm battered the Great Sphinx and the famed Giza Pyramids nearby. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni surveyed the damage Thursday and said the monument must be studied to decide what restoration efforts should be taken.