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Journalism of Courage
Egypt launched a major operation on Sunday to drain off water from the Nile threatening two prized Pharaonic temples in the Luxor region.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities, responsible for the country’s historical monuments, said the river’s watertable had risen due to extensive irrigation of nearby fields, posing imminent danger to the Karnak and Luxor temples in one of the most popular tourist areas of Egypt.
In recent decades, the encroaching salty water has already done extensive damage to the 5,000-year-old complexes. In certain areas, the waters have risen by five feet, submersing the base of the renowned columns and jeopardising the foundation. The salt has faded the brilliant colour of the temples and the exquisite statues flanking the columns.
The council’s chief engineer, Khaled Abdel Hadi, said the Aswan Dam, which stabilised the level of the Nile, had largely created the problem. The dam, by fixing the level of the watertable throughout the year, has increased the temples’ exposure to salt. — PTI
