Cypriot President delegation returns 14 smuggled artifacts to Egypt

CAIRO – 3 May 2018: The accompanying delegation of Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has handed over to Egypt 14 Pharaonic artifacts that were smuggled from Egypt in the 1980s, said Egyptian Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Radi on Thursday.

Director of Cyprus' Department of Antiquities, Marina Solomidou, handed over 14 artifacts to Egypt on Tuesday. The delivery came during on the sidelines of the initiative entitled “Nostos: Reviving Roots,” which was launched by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and his Cypriot and Greek counterparts in Alexandria on Monday.

Egypt expressed his thanks to the Cypriot authorities for their continuous cooperation with Egypt to restore these artifacts; the process of repatriation began in 2017 when Interpol conversed with the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, said Director General of the Retrieved Antiquities Department of the Antiquities Ministry Shaaban Abdel Gawad in a statement on Wednesday.

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice and the International Cooperation Office coordinated to send urgent letters to Cyprus, stressing Egypt’s right to retrieve the artifacts, especially considering that the Cypriot law allows for antiquities trafficking.

Upon invitation from the Cypriot authorities, Abdel Gawad travelled to Cyprus to inspect these pieces, which were kept at the Cypriot antiquities museum in Nicosia. Gawad delivered a lecture highlighting the efforts exerted by the Ministry of Antiquities to restore the smuggled artifacts and to make new archaeological discoveries in Egypt.

“Nostos: Reviving Roots” initiative is a cultural festival, which is scheduled to be held from April 30 to May 6 in Alexandria, Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh.

The festival will give the opportunity for Greeks and Cypriots, who once lived in Alexandria, to participate in this event, returning to their old homes and reviving their memories.

Sisi said on Monday that the ancient city of Alexandria has a special place in the hearts of Egyptians, as well as the people of the Mediterranean region. He expressed his great pleasure for hosting this celebration in Alexandria.

Sisi said that Alexandria has been witness to the deep ties binding the people of Egypt, Greece and Cyprus throughout ancient and modern history. He noted that Alexander the Great laid the first pillars of the city of Alexandria in 332 BC, establishing a point of convergence of civilizations and an incubator of cultures and heritage on the Egyptian Mediterranean shores.

"Alexandria remains an embodiment of the values of tolerance, coexistence and human communication. These values encouraged hundreds of thousands of people in the region to choose to live in Egypt, where they were embraced without discrimination," he added.

Thousands of Greeks and Cypriots were among those who chose to live in Egypt, where they integrated into the Egyptian fabric, the president said, adding that they were a major addition to the economic, scientific and cultural movements in Egypt.

The Greeks and Cypriots, together with their Egyptian brothers, contributed to the renaissance of trade, culture and art and worked to promote various aspects of economic life, Sisi said, remarking that Egypt witnessed the establishment of organizations for the Greek communities in many governorates, including Minya in 1812, Zagazig in 1850, Cairo in 1856, Mansoura in 1860 and Port Said in 1870.