Pyramids Partially Closed in face of New Age “Threat”

The Egyptian Antiquities authority partially closed the Pyramids to foreign tourists on Friday, in an attempt to prevent Western New Age groups from holding rituals there. Egypt has been awash in rumors that the “Freemasons” or “the Jews” have designs on the Pyramids.

The brouhaha was kicked off because of Friday being 11/11/11, a number that some of the New Age congregations see as especially sacred.

In contrast, Egyptian nationalists see the Pyramids as a national symbol of past greatness, and they said they were determined to stop Western groups from appropriating that symbol.

The April 6 protest movement, famed for helping organize the Tahrir Square rallies last January and February that helped ease Hosni Mubarak out of power. So April 6 threatened to peacefully “Tahrir” any New Age forces that showed up.

As it happened, no great numbers of tourists showed up on the allegedly sacred day.

The minor conflict underlines the ongoing struggle between those who see themselves as upholding Egypt’s authentic past for national purposes, and those interested in the structures for the purposes of Western self-realization.