Sand and sarcophagi go hand in hand west of Cairo, with a string of oases that provide insights into Egypt’s golden past being found amid the world's greatest expanse of desert.

Amr Elezabi, Canadian director of the Egyptian Tourist Authority, says the outposts of greenery found amid Saharan sand enable tourists to see another side of Egypt that is overshadowed by such famed ancient landmarks as the Sphinx and the Pyramids.

Among those oases is Bahariya, found four hours from the Egyptian capital, and home to the Valley of the Golden Mummies, so named because an Egyptian archaeologist four years ago uncovered decorated sarcophagi dating back to the Greco-Roman period – a find that drew international attention to the site...

Greenery In The Desert: The Other Side of Egypt, Mathaba, UK, November 17, 2005.

Egypt is to recover more than a 100 stolen antiquities, smuggled out by a massive trafficking ring, from the United States, Canada and Germany.

Some of the antiquities were located after Egypt's largest-ever trafficking trial in August, which led to heavy prison sentences for seven people, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass told the official Mena news agency on Thursday.

He said members of his Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) had found some of the missing pieces on the websites of several auctioneers across the world...

Egypt to Recover 100 Stolen Antiquities, Egypt Election, UK, November 17, 2005.

Italian researchers have found a pig-related disease in a mummy, squashing a common belief that Ancient Egyptians had a dietary ban on pork.

Until now historians have found evidence suggesting ancient high priests in Egypt prohibited pig meat, in common with many Middle Eastern peoples who still don't eat pork today.

"It has hitherto been thought that there was a sort of religious-hygienic ban on eating pork in Ancient Egypt," said Pisa University historical pathologist Fabrizio Bruschi...

No pork ban in Ancient Egypt, ANSA, Italy, November 15, 2005.

Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni has ordered the removal of the makeshift theatre at the Giza Pyramids, used for performances of the opera Aida. The theatre was built in 1998 as a temporary measure. This decision has come in the light of an urgent request made to the Minister by Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass to remove the theatre, as it poses a threat to this famous archaeological area. Mansour Beirk, responsible for the Pyramids Archaeological Area, stated that the dismantling of the theatre will take place in the next few weeks.

Pyramids bid farewell to Aida, The Egyptian Gazette, Egypt, November 18, 2005.

cf. Opera Aida bids farewell to Egypt's pyramids, People's Daily, China, November 18, 2005.