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CAIRO: Egyptians reacted with outrage this week after officials said that a 3,000-year-old bracelet that had belonged to an ancient pharaoh was stolen from Cairo’s famed Egyptian Museum and then melted down for gold.
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy said in televised comments late Saturday that the bracelet was stolen on Sep. 9 while officials at the museum were preparing artifacts for an exhibit in Italy. He blamed “laxity” in implementing procedures at the facility and said that prosecutors were still investigating.
The bracelet, containing a lapis lazuli bead, belonged to Pharaoh Amenemope, who reigned about 3,000 years ago. Authorities said it was taken from a restoration lab at the museum and then funneled through a chain of dealers before being melted down. The minister said the lab didn’t have security cameras.
Four suspects have been arrested and questioned, including a restoration specialist at the museum, the Interior Ministry said.
According to the Interior Ministry, the restoration specialist who was arrested confessed to giving the bracelet to an acquaintance who owns a silver shop in Cairo’s Sayyeda Zainab district. It was later sold to the owner of a gold workshop for the equivalent of about $3,800. It was eventually sold for around $4,000 to a worker at another gold workshop, who melted the bracelet down to make other gold jewelry.
The suspects confessed to their crimes and the money was seized, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The ministry also released security camera video showing a shop owner receiving a bracelet, weighing it, and then paying one of the suspects.
The loss of a treasure that had survived for three millennia was painful to many people in Egypt, where there is great esteem for the nation’s ancient heritage.
Some questioned security measures at the museum and called for tightening these measures around the country’s treasures.
Monica Hanna, a prominent Egyptian archaeologist, called for suspending oversees exhibits “until better control” is implemented to secure the artifacts. Hanna is the dean at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport, and campaigns for the return of Egyptian artifacts exhibited in museums overseas.
Malek Adly, an Egyptian human rights lawyer, called the theft “an alarm bell” for the government and said better security is needed for antiquities in exhibition halls and those in storage.
Amenemope ruled Egypt from Tanis in the Nile Delta during Egypt’s 21st Dynasty. The Tanis royal necropolis was discovered by the French archaeologist Pierre Montet in 1940, according to the Egyptian Museum.
The necropolis’ collection exhibits about 2,500 ancient artifacts, including golden funerary masks, silver coffins and golden jewels. The collection was restored in 2021 in cooperation with the Louvre Museum in Paris.
The theft reminded some of past cultural losses, including the brief disappearance of a Vincent van Gogh’s “Poppy Flowers” — then valued at $50 million — from another Cairo museum in 2010. That painting was recovered within hours.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has the capacity to generate an annual revenue of $30-40 billion via tourism through its diverse landscape and various offerings, the Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Tourism Sardar Yasir Ilyas said on Sunday. 

Pakistan is home to some of the tallest mountains in the world, picturesque valleys, historical monuments built by ancient civilizations and religious sites that attract thousands of tourists every year. 

However, surging militancy and poor infrastructure have hampered Islamabad’s attempts to tap into its tourism potential and generate revenue enough to boost its economy. 

In an exclusive interview with the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Ilyas said Pakistan will host its first international “Tourism Road Expo” in November to showcase the country’s local attractions, traditional cuisine and cultural diversity. 

“Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Tourism, Sardar Yasir Ilyas has said that Pakistan, with its natural beauty, historic monuments, rare cultural heritage, ancient festivals, and diverse religious sites, is a paradise for travelers and has the capacity to generate $30–40 billion annually through tourism,” APP reported. 

He said the Tourism Road Expo will feature cooking competitions with international chefs, adding that similar expos were planned for London, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and ����ֱ��. 

Ilyas said tourism had long been neglected in Pakistan, especially after the 18th constitutional amendment, which granted autonomy to provinces on matters such as education, health, tourism and others. 

“To ensure national-level coordination, the government is reviving and restructuring the National Tourism Coordination Board,” APP said. 

Speaking about the government’s measures to attract investment, Ilyas revealed that “unused government properties” will be leased to local and foreign investors for 50–60 years. This would be done to establish modern tourist facilities. 

He said digital e-portals are being developed to provide tourists with details of destinations, hotel bookings, weather updates and travel guidance.

However, the official cautioned that deforestation and climate change are major threats to tourism. 

“Large-scale plantation drives and removal of encroachments along rivers and lakes are necessary to preserve our environment and protect tourism,” the official stressed. 

On religious tourism, Ilyas said Pakistan is committed to providing more facilities for Sikh pilgrims, while gurdwaras and Buddhist heritage sites will be restored and handed over to the respective communities for their care and upkeep.

He regretted that Pakistan had never marketed its tourism potential effectively, pointing out that Central Asian states such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan attract millions of visitors annually despite offering less diversity. 

“Pakistan, with its four seasons and greater geographical variety, has far more to offer,” he said.