in Egypt, the renovation of a Giza pyramid tears specialists apart

For some, it is “the project of the century”, for others, it is the height of absurdity: in Egypt, the renovation of a pyramid creates controversy.

It all started with a video shot on site and published on Friday January 26. We see the very media boss of Egyptian Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, in front of the pyramid of Mykerinos, the lowest of the three pyramids of the Giza plateau. Around him, workers are installing a facing of granite blocks. Five rows are already laid.

A “dysneylandization” of the site

Mostafa Waziri says that almost 5,000 years ago, the pyramid, built of limestone blocks, was partially covered at its base with red granite stones, 16 or 17 rows in total, which have since of course disappeared. The project he is responsible for (in cooperation with Japan) aims to restore Mykerinos to its original appearance. Three years of work are planned and at the end, he says, “a gift from Egypt to the world of the 21st century”.

But this renovation arouses a lot of incomprehension, as well as mockery: “Rather than tiles, we could put wallpaper”, quips an Internet user. Another wonders if, according to this principle, we will not look tomorrow “to straighten the tower of Pisa”. Egyptologists don’t want to laugh at all. They denounce a transformation to “Disneyland”, intended to attract tourists and their selfies. “All international principles on renovations prohibit such interventions”, explains renowned archaeologist Monica Hanna, who wonders when the absurdity in the management of Egyptian heritage will end. This subject regularly gives rise to intense debates.

Old buildings razed without notice

In Egypt, tourism represents 10% of GDP. Heritage preservation, which is managed by the State, focuses less on protecting the history of civilization than on making it profitable. Since 2020, in the historic center of Cairo, tombs in the City of the Dead have been razed to make way for an expressway. However, it is the oldest necropolis in the Muslim world, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the beginning of January 2024, an art center, a true institution for culture lovers and nestled in historic Cairo’s pottery district, has just been destroyed without notice to widen a road.

In the sprawling capital of more than 20 million inhabitants, the regime is increasing spectacular road works. Civil society, almost banned from political activities, only has this terrain of town planning and heritage to confront power. But in December, the country renewed Abdel Fattah al Sissi as president until 2030. This fight is lost in advance.