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Egypt has nowhere near enough money to pay for such an ambitious restoration program by itself. But it could generate significantly more revenues with one simple move: raising the laughably low entrance fees charged tourists. Tombs, for example, are often free, and visitors to the pyramids are charged only about $1.25. There are plans to double that fee, but it could be doubled again and still remain a bargain.
There need to be governmental changes as well. The EAO, now just a department within the Ministry of Culture, should be raised to full ministerial status. The agency cannot hold its own politically against the Ministry of Tourism, which favors expanded access to ancient sites. At the same time, the standing of Egypt's poorly paid archaeologists should be elevated.
Meanwhile, the Egyptians will have to continue depending on foreign expertise as well as money. That generates suspicion in a country whose treasures for years have been spirited away by scholars and souvenir hunters. Such removals have become rare, but most visitors still have little interest in preservation. A few foreign groups, however, have made major contributions. The University of Chicago's Oriental Institute has been documenting and helping to preserve the temples and tombs at Luxor since the late 1920s. And perhaps the model project is the spectacular effort to restore Nefertari's tomb. The 32-century-old mausoleum, discovered in 1904, has been officially closed since the early 1950s because of its fragile condition. Beginning in 1986, the Getty Institute, in partnership with the EAO, started the delicate, painstaking salvage of the remaining wall paintings.
First, an international team assessed the damage to the tomb and surveyed the local geology and climate. Next, restorers pasted mulberry-bark paper and cotton gauze over the most precarious wall paintings to ensure that they would not collapse. Eventually, the covering was removed, and the paintings were fortified with acrylics and cleaned. To prevent water damage from recurring, the Getty researchers may install waterproof insulation. It has taken nearly two years to treat 60% of the tomb; the project may be completed by mid-1991.
Such efforts will not keep pace with the inexorable deterioration of the monuments unless the Egyptians can speed up their preservation drive. That is why Mubarak's visit to Luxor, the first since he took office in 1981, was so significant. He not only called for a restoration of the Luxor Temple but also a halt to urban encroachments on all archaeological sites. If Mubarak does throw his power behind preservation, he may encourage the Egyptians to take charge of their own priceless heritage and other nations to lend a hand as well. After all, if the monuments of the Pharaonic civilization are allowed to crumble, the whole world will share the loss.