Egypt is teaming up with 25 other nations in stretching their muscles in an attempt to retrieve artifacts in foreign hands.
Egypt’s antiquities chief, Zahi Hawass, warned foreign museums on Thursday that he would “make their lives miserable,” f they fail to meet his demands, AP reported. The nations, which came together for a two-day conference discussing their cooperation in retrieving the antiquities, are now drafting a combined list of items that the countries would like to see returned.
These are often items that were stolen or given as gifts. “Greece was fighting alone, and Italy was fighting alone, now for the first time we are united. We will fight together,” said Hawass.
Egypt itself is especially keen on seeing the over 3,000 year-old bust of Nefertiti, which is on display at the ‘Egyptian Museum of Berlin,’ returned to Egypt. Hawass says he himself has recovered 5,000 Egyptian artifacts since 2002.
Friends Read Free