CURSOR
Resurrection
In medieval times, AI Muizz li Din Allah Street was the heart of Cairo. Today, however, this is like an alley with chaotic traffic and shabby workshops. Suffering from misuse and lack of cleanliness, it per- haps houses the largest number of monuments on anyone street anywhere. But now, plans are a-foot to restore the past glory to these neglected monu- ments. Abdul Halim Noor- uddin, head of Egypt's Supreme Council for Antiquities, is determined to turn this legendary street into a museum. With the help of the German Archa- eological Centre. workers have already refurbished a 750-year old AI-Salihiya School which has a beauti- fully designed stone facade and minaret.
Past continuous
No matter how much progress we make towards the future, our past seems to still fascinate many of us because we still don't have all the answers. Graham Hancock, the author of Fingerprints of Gods, has made a unique attempt to rewrite history. Taking evi- dence from science, theolo- gy, geology, cartography and archaeology, he has written history in the form of a mystery novel. He has unearthed maps as old as 4000 BC, to show that there might have been a civilisation on Antarctica before the ice age covered it with snow. Fingerprint of Gods is full of many such clues to old mysteries. But at the same time, these raise even more difficult questions regarding past civilizations.