Giza Plateau Goes Into Lockdown
From the Associated Press story:
“The long chain-link fence around the plateau reaches a height of 13 feet at some points, and it is dotted with infrared sensors and motion detectors that set off alarms at a control room on the plateau.
“Intruders can’t jump over this,” said Kamal Wahid, the site’s general director.
Tourists enter through a new brick entrance building, with half a dozen gates equipped with metal detectors and X-ray machines. Once inside, their every step is closely watched by 199 closed-circuit cameras covering every corner of the sprawling plateau. The footage goes back to the control room, where guards monitor a bank of 24 screens around the clock.
As Hawass and antiquity authorities showed off the changes Monday, trinket sellers were nowhere to be seen, apparently ordered off the plateau. Three lone camel riders in male Arab headscarf and the traditional galabeyah robes were standing at the edge of the plateau. Instead of chasing customers, they waited for the tourists to come to them for a photo opportunity.
As a reporter walked up, one of them said: “Go away, the police told us not to talk to you.”
“I’ve been working here for 25 years,” said a second one who would not give his name for fear he could lose his permit. “Now I don’t know if I will be here tomorrow. I have five children, a wife. What will happen to us?”
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Tags: Giza
