Though it has not had the same gee-whiz, almost non-stop media attention that the 1977 "Treasures of Tutankhamun" exhibit enjoyed, this year's King Tut show at Chicago's Field Museum has all the signs of being a blockbuster in its own right.

Visitors — including those who also saw the 1977 show — seem pleased with the new extravaganza that features selected riches buried with the boy king 3,400 years ago. Lines to get in have been long and constant, forming before the museum opens at 8 a.m.; tickets usually sell out by early afternoon every day, often by 9 a.m. on weekends.

"Your best bet is to get here early in the morning to buy a ticket for the same day," spokeswoman Pat Kremer said recently as she walked through the Field Museum's air-conditioned east entrance hall, where people waited to enter the exhibit. "We have lines waiting outside every morning before we unlock the doors."

To accommodate weekend crowds, the museum has begun opening its doors at 7:30 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, a half-hour earlier than on other days of the week...

Visitors queue up to see latest Tut exhibition, William Mullen, The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, Indiana, August 01, 2006.

A replica of the statue of Ramses II, weighing 83 tons, went through its last “rehearsal” to substitute the original before it is moved to the new Egyptian museum. The gigantic replica, 11.5 meters high, was transported from the centric plaza of Tahir to the new Great Egyptian Museum, near the pyramids, in a nightly voyage that took eight hours.

With this rehearsal, the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt wants to be sure that no unexpected risks are taken when they move the original piece next August 25 [2006].

Archaeologists expect that the transportation of the statue of Ramses II will preserve it since it has been severely deteriorated by acoustic and environmental contamination that it has suffered since it was installed in 1954 in front of the main railway station in El Cairo.

At 02:00 local time (00:00 GMT) the replica of the statue started its journey of 30 kilometres, the same that the original Hill cover, sculpted 3,000 years ago with granite blocks from Aswan situated 950 kilometres to the south of El Cairo...

Ramses II Went through a Rehearsal for its Move, Art Daily, Mexico, July 31, 2006.

Hygiene standards on board a so-called "luxury" cruise ship popular with British tourists are seriously endangering passengers' health.

An investigation into conditions aboard one Nile cruise liner, which continues to sail, has disclosed "hazardous" levels of harmful bacteria in living areas and in the food served to passengers.

The findings will raise questions over the industry's attempts to blame passengers for a spate of recent virus outbreaks on ships. The investigation — part of ITV1s Holidays Undercover series — looked into standards on board The Karim Palace, a cruise liner based in Luxor, Egypt, following reports of passengers falling ill once on board.

James Francis, a microbiologist, posed as a tourist in June while carrying out a series of tests...

Nile cruise hygiene hazards exposed by TV scientist, The Telegraph, UK, July 24, 2006.