January 10, 2025
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A tourist carrying a child shakes the paw of a stray dog at the Hypostyle Hall in the ancient Egyptian temple complex of Karnak in the southern city of Luxor. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
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Voice of America
20-02-2025
- Voice of America
First Egyptian pharaoh's tomb discovered since King Tut's
Archaeologists in Egypt say they have unearthed the ancient tomb of King Thutmose II, the first discovery in 100 years of a tomb of an Egyptian royal. The discovery near Luxor is the first of a pharaonic royal tomb since the treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb were found over a century ago in 1922, Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said Tuesday. Thutmose's tomb was found west of the Valley of the Kings, one of the world's most important archaeological sites and home to the burial sites of many ancient Egyptian royals and nobles, including Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut. Thutmose, an ancestor of Tutankhamun, lived nearly 3,500 years ago. His wife, Queen Hatshepsut, was one of the few women known to have ruled Egypt. Her mortuary temple is on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, not far from where her husband's tomb was found. Thutmose was a king of ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty. His tomb was the last undiscovered tomb of that group. An archaeology team found the entrance to Thutmose's tomb in October 2022, according to the online magazine Archaeology News, but they thought it was likely the burial site of a queen. As they dug deeper, they found inscriptions referring to Thutmose II as the "deceased king" and Hatshepsut. The tomb flooded soon after the king's burial, damaging most of its contents, but some funerary furniture was recovered. Egypt's antiquities ministry said Tuesday the discovery of the tomb is "one of the most significant archaeological breakthroughs in recent years." Professor Mohamed Abdel-Badel, who heads Egypt's Antiquities Sector, told Archaeology News that the team "recovered and restored fallen plaster fragments" that had blue inscriptions on them, including from the Book of the Amduat, which the website described as "a key funerary text used in royal burials." Thutmose's tomb can now be listed among the wonders of ancient Egypt that draw hordes of tourists to the country. Last year, Egypt hosted 15.7 million tourists and aims to attract 18 million visitors in 2025, according to Agence France-Presse. Egypt may reach that goal with the long-awaited opening this year of the Grand Egyptian Museum at the foot of the legendary pyramids in Giza. Some information for this report came from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Voice of America
19-01-2025
- Voice of America
Indonesia's Mount Ibu erupts more than 1,000 times this month
A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted at least a thousand times this month, according to an official report Sunday as efforts were underway to evacuate thousands of villagers living near the rumbling mountain. Mount Ibu, on the remote island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, sent a column of smoke up to four kilometers (2.5 miles) into the sky in an eruption Wednesday. Indonesian officials raised its alert status to the highest level and called for the evacuation of 3,000 people living in six nearby villages. It was one of 1,079 eruptions by the volcano recorded since Jan. 1 by Indonesia's Geological Agency, sending columns of ash reaching between 0.3 and 4 kilometers above its peak, according to the agency's data gathered by AFP. The latest big eruption occurred Sunday at 1:15 a.m. local time as it spewed a towering cloud of ash 1.5 kilometers into the air. "The ash was grey, with moderate to thick intensity, drifting southwest. A loud rumbling sound was heard all the way to Mount Ibu Observation Post," the agency said in a statement. It added that the volcano had erupted 17 times on Sunday alone. Despite deciding to evacuate affected villagers, local authorities had only managed to evacuate 517 residents as of Sunday, pledging to persuade those who remained to stay in safe shelters. Many have refused to evacuate, arguing that they were used to the situation and were in harvest season. "There might be economic considerations, as many residents are in the middle of harvesting crops. However, we will continue to educate the community and encourage them to evacuate," said Adietya Yuni Nurtono, Ternate district military commander in charge of a safe shelter. Mount Ibu, one of Indonesia's most active volcanos, has shown a significant increase in activity since last June. Residents living near Mount Ibu and tourists have been advised to avoid a five- to six-kilometer exclusion zone around the volcano's peak and to wear face masks in case of falling ash. As of 2022, around 700,000 people were living on Halmahera island, according to official data. Indonesia, a vast archipelago, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity as it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Last November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703-meter (5,587-foot) twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores erupted more than a dozen times in one week, killing nine people in its initial explosion. Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times last year, forcing thousands from nearby islands to evacuate.
Voice of America
10-01-2025
- Voice of America
January 10, 2025
4 A tourist carrying a child shakes the paw of a stray dog at the Hypostyle Hall in the ancient Egyptian temple complex of Karnak in the southern city of Luxor. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
