Not disappointed with the accomplishment of this year’s target, Egypt’s tourism officials are hopeful that next year it will be able to lure 9.5 million tourists. Despite of the bombings, the land of Pharaohs saw a 5 percent increase in tourist arrivals up to this year. The target of a higher growth could not be achieved because of a stronger currency, weaker European economies and bombings in news agencies quoted Sharm el Sheikh, the tourism minister.

Ahmad Al Maghrabi said the government had aimed for nine million tourists in 2005 as part of its strategy to create more jobs in an industry that already employs 10 percent of Egypt’s work force. But by the end of the year, the number of visitors will stand at 8.5 million. “It’s the currency, the slowing down of the main exporting markets to us and the situation in Sharm,” Maghrabi said to explain the shortfall...

Egypt aims for 9.5m tourists in 2006, TravelVideo.TV, Ontario, Canada, December 20, 2005.

Forget all those newfangled video games this Christmas. Forget the enemy armies and drooling zombies. Block your ears to the . Go back to the future of a far more profound adventure. Enter the tomb of Thutmose III.

In his day (1479-26 BC), Thutmose was a great and glorious pharaoh. The Napoleon of the New Kingdom, he was a military genius, a judicious administrator and a wise statesman to boot.

While his body was being mummified, the walls of his tomb were painted with a complete depiction of the Amduat: a key Egyptian text that chronicles the passage of the Sun god, hour by hour, through the darkness of night. His journey — made on a barque through a land of solar baboons, scarabs and serpents — is beset by dangers that must be overcome by incantatory magic if he is to be reborn the next day...

Immortal Pharaoh, a show that combines original artefacts with a full-scale replica of the burial chamber, is open at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh. This stereo-optical adventure is far more enthralling than any stocking-filler video game...

You'd better hurry though as this exhibition finishes on the 8th January 2006 and is closed on 25th and 26th of December and the 2nd January.

Step into the world of the pharaohs through this 21st-century tomb, Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times, UK, December 22, 2005.

By Zahi Hawass

The tomb of the great 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep I, which could be supposed to lie in the Valley of the Kings, has never been found. Amenhotep I was a very important member of this dynasty, and his tomb is one of the few undiscovered so far. Up to know all the evidence suggests that he is not buried with other royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and Daniel Polz, who represents the German Institute in Cairo, believes that he is buried in the cemetery of Draa Abu Al-Naga. Polz has been excavating in this area for a long time.

Three years ago, when I became secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), the Polish scholar Niwinski came to see me and asked what my plans were for the following week. When I asked him why, he replied that he was going to find an intact tomb and would like me to accompany him. He was convinced that the tomb of Amenhotep I was in the cliff of Deir Al-Bahri.

A year ago, I was visiting the Deir Al-Bahri area and entered the cache where the mummies were discovered by the Abdel-Rasoul family in 1871. These mummies were transferred to the Cairo Museum in 1881. While I was there, I noticed workmen removing huge stones from the cliff. I was worried because this was very dangerous work that could threaten the temple of Hatshepsut, which was directly underneath them. I learnt that this excavation was under the Polish scholar, Niwinski. The SCA permanent committee immediately stopped the work at this site to ensure the protection of the temple of Hatshepsut. Niwinski came to see me and I told him that the work above was dangerous and could ruin the first level of the temple. He said he was about to find the tomb, and we had just stopped him...

Dig days: Quest for the tomb of Amenhotep I, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 774, December 22 - 28, 2005.

Why do so few Egyptian and foreign tourists visit the Nubia Museum in Aswan, asks Jill Kamil.

In his press release on the occasion of the opening of the Nubia Museum in Aswan in 1997, Ahmed Nawar, head of the museum sector of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), wrote that the setting up of new museums in the provinces was based on sound research into the singular identity of each chosen area "because museums are expected to play a cultural role and contribute to the tourist industry".

Today, while Nubians regularly flock to the museum, singly or in groups, on family or school outings, they outnumber by far foreign and Egyptian tourists and sightseers. It is worth looking into the reason why the museum is failing to fulfil its role as an income-generating destination for tourism.

The loss of Nubia was one of the world's great tragedies. Not only did it mean the inundation of an entire land and the loss of its ancient monuments, but it uprooted an entire population from its native soil. Nubia was one of the few places remaining on earth that was unspoiled by humanity...

Misplaced museum, Al-Ahram, Egypt, Issue No. 774, December 22 - 28, 2005.

by Zahi Hawass

I received this week a proposal for collection of the pins and debris sampling inside the shafts leading from the so-called Queen's Chamber inside the Great Pyramid from Dr. Tc Ng, an independent researcher from Hong Kong.

As many know, we received a proposal for a robotic exploration of the shafts from National University in Singapore (NUS). But this proposal described devices that can developed that could be added to the NUS robot with resistible impact, that will significantly enhance the upcoming robotic exploration, by reliably collecting the pins as well as other small artefacts.

The Honk Kong robots are totally self-contained and require no resources. Their umbilical wires will add negligible mass to the Singapore robot. The Honk Kong expert said to me: "they added in their robots devices that are carefully designed to protect the pyramid's shafts." He added that all of the robots have been tested on slopes up to 45 degrees, on a variety of materials, including polished limestone. However, it is known that the floor of the shafts is the region of the pins and debris is rough and as such are ideal for maximizing the grip of our miniature rovers.

Now that the two robots have been studied we will make a decision soon...

News on the Robot and the Secret Doors inside the Great Pyramid of Khufu, The Plateau: Official Website of Dr. Zahi Hawass, December 2005.