Wednesday, April 01, 2009

BUSTED!
Egypt arrests Turk with ancient Coptic relics: report

(Hurriyet Daily News)

Customs officials on Tuesday arrested a Turkish man at Cairo airport after they found ancient Coptic Christian relics in his luggage, an airport official said.

The 72-year-old traveler is suspected of trying to smuggle three Coptic bibles, two illustrated papyrus scrolls and fabrics dating back to the 6th century.

The man reportedly said he had bought the relics at Cairo’s Khan el-Khalili bazaar for 150 dollars (113 euros).

[...]
Not sure if it's just the fabrics or the scrolls too that date back to the sixth century. Anyway, I'm glad they were recovered. Hats off to those alert customs officials.