Old And New Qurna Visit Options

[Ann from Belgium]

We got back home about one week ago from a week’s trip to Luxor. One of the things that struck me most is how the face of Qurna has changed. I had read Jane’s blog on the Qurna move and on “new-Qurna” so having been there many times before I had kind of an idea of what to expect.
But then we arrived by bike near the ticket office and I got a first glimpse of reality. Many houses in ruin, destroyed, all uni-sand-colour, and no more joyful colours. I couldn’t stop telling my mother and brother how everything had changed. Hiking further to the noble-tombs parking we saw many other places where there used to be houses. Walking to Ahmed’s working place near the Ramose-tomb was also very strange, as here too houses had disappeared. Fortunately Ahmed was still in place. But he told me he also got a visit of people of the governor’s office. He was offered a new working spot near the King’s Valley. He refused and – for the time being at least – could stay. He knows they will come back, and hopefully he can bargain for better conditions for his move. He sounds disappointed and sad for all the changes.
An other longtime friend of whom I lost track since before last Christmas has moved, so I heard. His house still stands though. I found his father, on the ruins of his old house. A smile lit his face as soon as he recognized me. Although we can not reality talk to each other as his knowledge of English is as limited as mine of Arabic, it is heartwarming that we kind of communicate by body language and trying to explain ourselves with gestures. When I tell him I am so sorry for him he had to move and to see his house destroyed he starts staring at the ground, trying very hard to hide his sadness. It may sound corny but it brought tears to my eyes. It must be very hard for elder persons having to leave their home, as the proverb says : remove an old tree and it will wither to death.
Having said that, a couple of days later Ahmed took us to new Qurna, so that we could see for ourselves. In the middle of the desert, off the road we saw the clusters of all those new houses. As they all look exactly the same, but tidy it gave me very much the feeling of a military compound, kind of as the flats in former East-Berlin gave me. The lack of colour does not really help either (and I was told it is forbidden to paint the houses??). The town is still un-alive (better than being dead I mean), it is a very young village and there is no sign of shops, school or any other public amenity, but I assume this will get better in time. The flats I saw were very clean. Of course this must be a culture shock for the elderly people who lived all their lives in a mudbrick house, but you can’t possible deny this is a huge step ahead for comfort. How hot it will get in these houses remains of course to be seen in the months to come. The lady who showed us around said she was happy with her new home (and she really did look happy too), but she would have liked some extra space. I can imagine that. I heard that if you want to run a shop you can do this from your flat (I mean : you can use of the scares rooms in your flat as your shop). I am curious to feel this town in a year or two.
The only person I talked to who was 99,9% positive was my “lost” friend, a 32 year old young man. He is convinced it is for the best in the long run, also for the monuments. He was also the first living on the Westbank who talked about the monuments and the possibility of new discoveries.
Well, I guess only time will tell, but it was very interesting to see for myself and to hear both sides of the story.

[Karen In Egypt]

Hi, Ann, welcome back! Thanks for posting that report, it made sad reading. I feel sorry for the residents, but I understand the logic (if you can call it that) behind the move. As always, change happens so slowly in Egypt, and sustainable progress is even slower!

[Jane Akshar]

I am continually torn in two by the move. As an Egyptologist I appreciate that there was damage being done by the weight of the houses above the tombs and other aspects but as a local living here I wish they had been given like for like on house size AND SOME WORK. If only they had built a factory or something out at New Gurna so people had work. The only work they have is by selling to tourists and if they don't live where the tourists go it is hard for them. Actually if you investigate the Hassan Fathy village you will find that that was a much better option for them in terms of location and house size bu again it didnt have work. So people didnt want to go there.

I wish there had been a better solution that would have made everyone happy

[Kelly]

Here is a post from Andie Byrnes' blog in case anyone didn't see it. I found the video very interesting, having never been to Egypt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iqWa01ekpA

Many thanks to Ingeborg Waanders for the above video link on You Tube. It consists of footage of the house of one of Qurna’s residents, in use by his family, and views of other areas of Qurna too. Due to poor lighting conditions it is not always easy to see what you’re looking at, at the start of the video. The footage lasts for just under 10 minutes, and if you’ve ever wanted to know what Jane Akshar looks and sounds like, you will find her here a couple of times from about 4 minutes onwards! There is no accompanying commentary, but there is a musical feed that runs throughout. The view one gets is of a rather battered and untidy, but colourful and attractive place. The fact that Mohammed apparently used to live in one of the tombs (which used to have a doorbell) gives you a good insight into why the authorities wanted the villagers to move away, but it also highlights how difficult it must be to adapt to life in an apartment block with no provision for animals.

[Jane Akshar]

Mohammed's 200 year old house featured in the video was torn down today. The video is part of a great blog and the entry about Mohammed is here http://ancientcivilization-geology.blogspo...e-villages.html