As promised, I am going to keep you updated on the recent events in Egypt. Though there is still rioting going on, most of the violence, looting and other issues have calmed down.

To be honest, National Geographic’s Jeffrey Bartholet, a veteran foreign correspondent,   is doing the best job covering the non-political aspects of the uprising, and they have recently posted several updates. I am going to summarize them for you here, but I will also share the links to the articles.

In the first, Jeffrey Bartholet had an exclusive interview with the director of the Egyptian Museum. According to Bartholet, curators have finally found some relief. A recent survey of the museum’s artifacts has shown that looters who broke into the museum on January 28 did less damage than was previously believed. According to the report, “Two small statues of King Tutankhamun are the most important items that were damaged. One portrays Tut standing on the back of a black leopard; in the other, he is standing on a small boat.” Click here for the whole article.

In the second, Bartholet describes the archaeological site of Saqqara, an ancient burial ground known for its pyramids and many surrounding tombs, that was broken into January 29. According to Bartholet, “The government has stated that Saqqara may open to tourists again on Sunday, February 5. Whether there are any tourists left in Egypt is another matter. Even if there were, parts of downtown Cairo are potentially dangerous: Men, armed with crude weapons, have set up makeshift roadblocks.” Click here for the whole article.

The final post from Bartholet is an interesting story about a thief who entered the Egyptian Museum through the skylight but was unable to get away. It is a very interesting story that I definitely recommend checking out. The story does a good job of detailing some of the damage and some of the more interesting artifacts. Click here to read the post.

Anyway, since most of the turmoil in Egypt is clearing up, this is going to be my last update, unless there are any more outbreaks of archaeological looting. Let me know what you think of the articles and check back soon for more travel profiles.

Bon Voyage,

Ryan