Times have changed in Egypt. I read on Facebook about the theft from the Amenhotep III storerooms and phoned Mostafa Wazery to find out what had happened. I immediately got the entire story and he invited me to go to his office. There he showed me pictures of the stolen objects. What a change from pre revolutionary days when everything would have to be referred to Cairo for permission. The story. At 3:35 am the 4 guards at the storeroom at Kom el Hetan, the area behind the colossus of Memnon were attacked. Two objects were stolen.. One statue was 38 cms high and a portrait of Amenhotep III the other was more damaged. Armed men attacked the guards with sub machine guns and chloroform, the guards defended the storeroom but were unable to stop the robbery. Mostafa Wazery was on site by 4am and has been there ever since. While I was there he was having to field calls from journalists and other interested parties. My Arabic is not good enough to understand what was said but it seemed he was getting tip offs. I know he is doing all he can to get the objects back. Just as I left Dr Hourig Sourouzian arrived so you can be assured everything is being done. Mostafa was so disappointed as up until now Thebes had been secure and he was proud of his guards for doing their best to fight off the attack. Three of them ended up in hospital.
This is the storeroom where the theft took place.
Mostafa Wazery
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