Friday, August 26, 2005

The Destruction of Luxor's Heritage

Jane Akshar, Luxor resident and writer of the Tour Egypt website's Luxor Blog, has written an article highlighting the damage caused by water and tourism to Luxor monuments: "This is not a new story. It has been happening for some time and has been widely reported in the news, but perhaps many see these ancient monuments, having survived for so many thousands of years, as indestructible. They are not, and many could disappear in our lifetime, with increased irrigation and the impact of the Aswan (high) Dam together with Lake Nassar increasing humidity in the region. The water table is rising annually and the porous limestone and sandstone soak it up. This not only dissolves the rock but also leaves salt deposits".
See the full article for more - it is accompanied by photographs which demonstrate the damage being done.

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