12 May 2014
Former Egyptian army general calls for demolition of ancient UNESCO heritage site
BY Tom Anstey
A retired army general has filed a court case pushing for the demolition of a UNESCO heritage site in Egypt, citing a threat to national security and claiming the ancient monastery was only built in 2006.
Built between AD 548 and AD 565, Saint Catherine’s Monastery is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world, according to UNESCO. A small town, called Saint Katherine City has been built around the monastery, with a number of hotels and pools for tourists.
In May 2012, Ahmed Ragai Attiya obtained 71 administrative orders regarding the demolition of the monastery's multiple churches, monk cells, gardens and other places of interest on the grounds, which he claims were all built in 2006 and thus not historic, according to Ihab Ramzy, the monastery's lawyer.
In an interview with private channel ONTV last month, Attiya said that he has now used the 71 orders to file an official demolition suit with Ismailiya's Administrative Court against the monastery and 10 of the Egyptian authorities concerned, including the president, ministers of tourism and antiquities and the governor of South Sinai.
Attiya added that the area has become “a haven for foreigners” and urged the deportation of the monastery’s Greek monks, claiming they were jeopardising the security of Egypt.
The retired general said the monks tried to hide an underground water source known as Moses’ Well and expressed agitation over the monastery’s raising of the Greek flag and foreigners occupying Egyptian land, which he described as a breach of national security and the country’s sovereignty.
The complex houses irreplaceable works of art: mosaics, chalices and reliquaries to name a few. It also preserves the second largest collection of early codices and manuscripts in the world, outnumbered only by the Vatican Library.
Since Attiya needs to provide evidence for his allegations, the court has referred the case to a panel of experts to decide whether or not the monastery is historic and if Moses’ Well lies beneath the site.
The case has been postponed until June 2014, pending the findings of the panel.
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