The Nubian language should be taught in schools until age seven to preserve the heritage and language and protect it from extinction, said Bassem el-Shamaa, an Egyptologist and member of the Geographical Society of Egypt, to Dr. Ahmed Gamal el-Din Moussa, Minister of Education. El-Shamaa also appealed to Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour on the importance of promoting tourism in Nubia and by increasing the establishment of tourist villages and land development. He also urged Zahi Hawass, Minister of Antiquities, to search for antiquities bearing the Nubian language, not only those written in Greek. The statements came during a symposium held yesterday evening at Sawy Culture Wheel under the title, "The Genius of Nubian civilization," organized by the Youth Coalition of Nubia. El-Shamaa said the Nubian civilization preceded the Pharaonic civilization by nearly 2,000 years, citing a 1974 discovery of an area 100km west of Abu Simbel which shows the skill of the Nubians in the invention of astronomy, the compass and in calculating the rates of rainfall and predicting the summer and winter seasons. The bones of animals found in the area revealed the animals were slaughtered in a specific way, meaning the people of Nubia followed the rites and rituals of a certain religion, said el-Shamaa. There are also 15 dwellings, meaning the Nubians invented roads and streets before the Romans. Members of the Coalition of Nubian youth announced that there will be more symposia and other meetings organized in Cairo and elsewhere in order to educate people about Nubian heritage.
