Luxor's West Bank necropolis is at last rid of an intrusion that has lasted almost a century. Nevine El-Aref witnessed the relocation of 3,200 families from the village of Gurna, which local residents had constructed on top of the ancient Tombs of the Nobles The serenity and divinity which for 5,500 years has been a feature of the Theban necropolis, where Tutankhamun and his ancestors, as well as generations of the nobility, were laid to rest for eternity, has been restored. On Saturday bulldozers smashed through the Valley of the Nobles and tore down a dozen of Gurna's simple mud-brick houses, many of them brightly- painted with scenes from nature, animals and Qur'anic verses. This is the second major relocation that the government has implemented in 40 years. The first was during the 1960s when several Nubian settlements were emptied to make way for the construction of the High Dam, a time when world attention was focused on the salvage operation of Nubian temples. Relocating the Gurna villagers to more suitable premises has been debated since 1948. There have been several attempts to persuade them to move. The government commissioned the renowned Egyptian architect Hassan Fathi to build the village of New Gurna, five kilometers away and on the edge of the cultivation, much preferable, it was thought, to the barren desert of the Valley of the Nobles. The villagers, however, had other ideas: they found fault with the houses, considering them to be built to an idealised plan of what a rural house should be but without any real respect for their needs. Now, with a budget of LE180 million provided by five ministries and governmental bodies, New Gurna, or Al-Taref, has been extended and follows a similar design to the original Gurna but with improved facilities and services. The 600 vaulted houses incorporate those built by Fathi but with some modifications. There is a youth centre, two schools, a hospital, a modern market, a police station and a telephone and post office, a cultural centre with a small cinema, a children's playground and a football field. The streets are wider than in the old village, and the houses are equipped with running water and are connected to Luxor sewage system. Villagers' reactions to the bulldozers were a mix of trepidation, anxiety, anger and contentment. This time round some were finding it easy to leave their homes to the archaeologists, who will now move into the area, bent on unearthing no less than 100 ancient tombs which they believe lie underneath. Other villagers stood in mournful silence, while a third and more vitriolic group cursed from the rooftops. A significant number of residents strongly oppose the resettlement plan, which will cut them off from contact with the tourists on whom most depend for a living. They claim they are only moving by force -- "over my dead body," in the words of one 25-year-old man, requesting anonymity. He threatened that if anyone tried to move them, he and his friends would meet them with rifles. A middle-aged man who complained in detail about the house allocation system said his concern centered on a complete lack of trust in the government. "Officials always make promises in public, but nothing materialises," he said. According to the Luxor Supreme Council, only four people signed up for the resettlement programme. Meanwhile others complained that the 180-square-metres houses, with about 80 square metres of room space and the rest an open court, were too small for large families. Dawi Mohamed Ahmed, who owns a workshop making alabaster vases and statuettes in Gurna, said if he moved he would lose his customers. The governor has said the workshops would have to move but the shops could stay. Many people, however, are glad to take up the government's latest offer. Among these is Nawal Mohamed, a housewife and mother. "Most of them want to leave and are asking to leave," she insists. She says New Gurna has better houses with the basic necessities of living that are missing from the old village. "The government prohibited the installation of modern plumbing and sewage systems in an effort to preserve the ancient tombs underneath, so we had to bring drinking water uphill on donkeys or on our heads," Mohamed said. She says the few families that are still resisting will come to realise that they were being offered a new and better life. "We are happy, but at the same time unhappy," resident Hamid Mahmoud said. Mahmoud likes the fact that his new house is much better for his family than the old one, but he admits he will be sad to leave the village which carries so many memories and has also provided his main source of income. Samir Farag, head of Luxor Supreme City Council, announced that 120 houses had already been demolished and that over the next month the rest of the houses would also go, with the exception of three dozen of the most attractive buildings which will be retained as examples of the local cultural tradition. These houses will be handed over to the Supreme Council of Antiquities for conservation under an agreement with UNESCO. "We've been looking to end this matter for the past 100 years," Housing Minister Ahmed El-Maghrabi says. "Our success today comes from the fact that the residents were part of the planning process. They are happy to go to a new village with all the modern comforts." El-Maghrabi said the different government bodies had extended help to ensure the success of the project. In addition to LE50 million from the general government budget, LE50 million from the Ministry of International Cooperation, LE30 million from the Ministry of Culture and the same amount from the Ministry of Tourism, as well as LE7 million from the Ministry of Electricity, LE5 million from the Ministry of Education and LE6 million from the Ministry of Communications. Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the SCA, described the move a dream come true. "I feel that archaeology is regaining its rights," Hawass said, adding that it was now time to assess and redress the 'dreadful damage' that had been levied on the tombs of Gurna.
