Two weeks ago Ahmed Eissa, a former dean of the Faculty of Archaeology at Ganoub Al-Wadi University, became minister of state for antiquities in the long anticipated cabinet reshuffle. Eissa is no stranger to the Ministry of State for Antiquities (MSA). After graduating in Islamic archaeology from Assiut University he worked for several years in the Egyptian Antiquities Authority (EAA) which subsequently became the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and eventually the MSA, where he served as an antiquities inspector in the Islamic and Coptic sections. He continued his education by studying for a master's degree at Cairo University, specialising in Coptic art and architecture, and was later awarded a doctorate by Assiut University. His thesis focussed on the impact of Islamic building practice during the years of Ottoman rule on church architecture in the governorates of Qena and Aswan. In 1993 Eissa joined the academic staff at Ganoub Al-Wadi University, first as a teaching assistant and then as an instructor. He became dean of the Faculty of Archaeology in 2011. The 53-year-old minister is reportedly a member of the moderate Islamist Wasat Party. Following his appointment as minister Eissa let it be known he would be refusing press interviews until he had had time to review outstanding files in his portfolio and develop an action plan. He faces many challenges, the lack of security at archaeological sites, their baleful condition two years after the revolution, and the much publicised resentments of MSA employees amongst them. This week Eissa finally convened a press conference at which he unveiled his strategy to preserve, protect and develop Egypt's heritage. “My goal is to work together with all MSA employees to protect Egypt's heritage, whether ancient Egyptian, Graeco-Roman, Coptic or Islamic. We will consolidate existing archaeological programmes and work towards reactivating projects on hold and to upgrade the skills of archaeologists and curators,” Eissa told reporters. “Preserving Egypt's priceless heritage is no easy task. My job is to embody a new vision and carry out an action plan to properly direct, develop, guard, protect and preserve them for future generations.” To ensure that the action plan he has drawn up is executed consistently, Eissa has embarked on inspection tours of sites and museums across the country, from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to Alexandria, Luxor and Aswan. During his visits he meets with employees and listens to their problems. These tours, says Eissa, have a spin-off benefit, demonstrating that Egypt and its archaeological sites are safe destinations for tourists. Plugging security gaps at archaeological sites and removing all encroachments made during the last two years are high on his list of things to do, Eissa added. “We could work towards this end in collaboration with the Tourism and Antiquities Police by providing better trained and armed security guards at all archaeological sites and museums and introducing the ministry's guards to state-of-the-art security equipment. Archaeological inspectors should also be allowed to carry firearms in order to deter any attempted attacks on archaeological sites,” said Eissa. Until 1986, he pointed out, inspectors routinely received firearms training. Eissa also raised the possibility of calling on the Armed Forces to protect archaeological sites in instances where “the police fail to protect Egypt's monuments”. Key to the battle to end further encroachments, he argued, is to initiate a programme designed to raise cultural and archaeological awareness. This could be achieved by adding an archaeology course to the standard school curriculum. An additional benefit of such a move would be the job opportunities provided within the education sector for graduate archaeologists. The MSA is financed by income accrued from the sale of tickets to museums and archaeological sites. As tourism declined in the aftermath of Egypt's revolution so did the ministry's available funding. Eissa promised to review the MSA's finances and speed up construction, development and restoration work put on hold in the last two years. Stalled projects include construction work on the Grand Egyptian Museum overlooking the Giza Plateau, the National Museum for Egyptian Civilisation at Fustat and the decades-long restoration of the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria. Over the coming couple of months Eissa expects to be busy inaugurating archaeological sites and museums, including the newly restored National Police Museum and the Royal Automobile Museum at the Citadel and the first section of the Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor. “We plan to begin removing encroachments on sites within weeks,” said Eissa, beginning with Dahshour. The police and army are now protecting Dahshour around the clock, he said, and plans have already been drawn up to offer Dahshour village residents an alternative site for their modern cemeteries. Similarly, “chaos created on the Giza Plateau by horse stable attendants will end within the month.” The MSA is seeking to regulate the presence of souvenir hawkers at archaeological sites by allocating kiosks to them within designated areas. “Vendors who violate MSA regulations or seek to work away from the allotted booths will have their licences withdrawn and be prevented from entering the archaeological area again,” said Eissa. New regulations to safeguard tourists at archaeological sites from any harassment are also being drawn up in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism. On the bureaucratic front, Eissa is keen to inject new blood into the MSA Administrative Council, replenishing and adding to existing areas of expertise. “We are seeking to furnish the council with the means to furnish new and innovative ideas and to provide an institutional system that allows for independent archaeological work not personally linked to the minister to be pursued,” Eissa told Al-Ahram Weekly. Other reforms include dividing the MSA into four main sections: Ancient Egyptian and Graeco-Roman and Islamic and Coptic archaeology and the Museums and Heritage sections. On recent rumours that Fatimid mosques would be handed to Shia groups for restoration Eissa pointed out that while they were perfectly free to contribute to the costs of any restoration the donations would be purely altruistic. It was not a question of buying influence. In response to claims that the MSA is allowing the Bahara group to hold religious ceremonies in some mosques Eissa stressed that his ministry was mandated to protect architecturally significant mosques. The forms of ceremony they hosted were a matter for the Ministry of Religious Endowments.
