Thursday March 28th, 2024
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Egypt Turns to UNESCO to Get Rid of Fake Sphinx in China

It seems like China didn't get the message the first time.

Staff Writer

Egypt Turns to UNESCO to Get Rid of Fake Sphinx in China

Egypt has filed an official complaint to UNESCO after China erected a duplicate of OUR great Sphinx of Giza, according to Egypt Independent. Shit just got real.

The “Chinese Sphinx” stands at 60 meters in height and 20 meters in length, and has nearly the same proportions as our Sphinx. "The Ministry of Antiquities is taking measures through UNESCO as this is a violation of Egypt’s intellectual property. Eventually China must remove the fake Sphinx,” Ashraf Mohi al-Din, General Manager of Giza Pyramid Plateau, told The Daily Telegraph.

It’s not the first time that they try to pull this off either; in 2014, Egyptian authorities complained to UNESCO and expressed "strong disapproval of the unauthorized full-size replica," with minister of antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim stating that the replica was a “bad imitation that disfigures the original.” Its head was torn down in 2016, 2 years after it was erected.

But It doesn’t seem like China got the message. They re-erected the Sphinx’s head last month, causing outrage once again. Mohamed Ibrahim wasn’t shy to express his discontent, while highlighting that it's NOT about concerns that they might steal our tourists. "No one will leave the original Sphinx and go to visit this fake one. This is the third replica Sphinx that China has built.”

China doesn’t just imitate Egyptian historical monuments – they’ve also replicated France’s Louvre, erected several Eiffel towers and a mini-version of Moscow’s iconic Kremlin. After all, they are the kings of imitation. But you just can’t imitate a 4,000 year old monument.  

Main Image from Thenanfang