The Monastery of Saint Anthony, located 250 km east of Cairo, on the Red Sea, is the oldest active monastery in the world. It was founded in AD 356, and remains an important part of the Coptic history of Egypt. I recently visited to reopen the monastery after an eight-year restoration project.

On December 4, 2009, Diana Craig Patch, who is co-director of the mission to Malqata, spoke about her work at the site of Amenhotep III’s palace. I was asked to provide a few words about the project and my good friend, the late James Romano. I gave them these words, which were read aloud at the conference. I was glad to be able to give a tribute to this great man.

The Sphinx has always been an object of fascination for people for thousands of years. Today, new technology allows us to study it in more detail than ever. We recently cooperated with a team from the Mubarak Scientific City using laser technology to scan the entire Sphinx from nose to tail. The laser scanning was even able to make a detailed record of the face of the Sphinx. We then used the information gathered by the scanning and create the most accurate 3D model of the Sphinx ever.

Egypt’s Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, and Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), along with the governor of Luxor, Samir Farag, will embark today on an inspection tour along the Avenue of Sphinxes that extends between Luxor and Karnak temples.

Recently I went to Dashur to investigate the tomb of the vizier Sa-Iset and lift the huge sarcophagus lid to discover what it contained.

Recently we celebrated the fourth annual Festival of Archaeologists at the Cairo Opera House. I began the idea four years ago of having a day to celebrate the achievements of Egyptian archaeologists, and making a place for them to meet together and with their foreign colleagues.

I travelled recently with Omar Sharif to the Dominican Republic by personal invitation of the president, Leonel Fernandez. I was invited to receive an honorary doctorate degree from the Catholic University in Santo Domingo, as well as to give a public lecture. 

An archaeological mission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) led by Dr. Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, Head of Antiquities of Lower Egypt, discovered the remains of a temple of Queen Berenike, the wife of king Ptolemy III (246-222 BC), along with a cachette of 600 Ptolemaic statues.

Recently I travelled to the Dominican Republic to receive an honorary doctorate degree from the Catholic University of Santo Domingo. The President of the University, Father Ramon Alonso, gave a very touching speech during the ceremony. His beautiful speech meant so much to me, I would like to share it.

In August 1990, an American tourist was riding a horse, when it stumbled over a mud brick wall. Investigation led to one of the most important recent discoveries in Egypt: the tombs of the pyramid builders.