A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Monday, October 28, 2013

Is NatGeo in Trouble Over Hawass Deal?

More than two years after he left office in the wake of the fall of Mubarak, the once inescapable celebrity archaeologist Zahi Hawass (and his hat) seem to be the gift that keeps on giving. Now, at least according to this story, the National Geographic Society is being investigated for possible bribery in its controversial multi-year deal with Hawass as a consultant while he was still an official of the Egyptian state.





Hawass has already dodged several bullets of this sort in Egypt, either being acquitted or having the charges dropped. You may recall that when we last heard from him in this space, the always self-effacing Hawass was comparing himself to the God Osiris and indicating he was planning to rise again.

The article (whose headline inevitably calls him "Egypt's Indiana Jones,") notes what not all my overseas readers may know, that the National Geographic Society is a venerable and highly respected institution once known for exploration and scientific discovery.





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