Egyptians Look to Make Quick Fortune from Bats' Nests

A wall of a chamber of the tomb of Mehu near Egypt's Saqqara necropolis in Giza. (Reuters)
A wall of a chamber of the tomb of Mehu near Egypt's Saqqara necropolis in Giza. (Reuters)
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Egyptians Look to Make Quick Fortune from Bats' Nests

A wall of a chamber of the tomb of Mehu near Egypt's Saqqara necropolis in Giza. (Reuters)
A wall of a chamber of the tomb of Mehu near Egypt's Saqqara necropolis in Giza. (Reuters)

In Upper Egypt, the so-called "red mercury" fever has emerged again. People obsessed with this substance have been looking for it in bats' nests, looking to make a fortune.

The red substance is estimated to be worth millions of Egyptian pounds in the markets of archaeological treasures seekers. 

Some have associated the red mercury with bats because their nests are located in the columns and ceilings of ancient Egyptian temples in Luxor and Aswan. 

Many wealthy people, especially in the Arab world, believe that red mercury can extend a person’s life and preserve youth.

Red mercury was rumored to be found in an ancient coffin found in the suburb of Sidi Gaber, Alexandria in July. 

At the time, Dr. Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, refuted the rumors, saying the liquid found inside the coffin was "not the juice of immortality that belongs to mummies," or the so-called red mercury, but rather sewage water.

Sewage had seeped into the coffin through a small leak from the local sewage network.

Archaeologist Mohamed Yehia Oweida told the German news agency that red mercury is "just a myth" and it was never used in ancient Egypt.

The so-called Egyptian or Pharaonic red mercury does not exist, he stressed.

Moreover, until this date, there is no archaeological or scientific evidence that proves that ancient Egyptians used it in mummification.

He denied the rumored discovery of the ancient Egyptians’ so-called "immortality code", which has been sought by humans for centuries.

Oweida highlighted many popular fake myths related to red mercury, such as the discovery of a bottle containing red liquid at the Museum of Mummification in Luxor.

People obsessed with the liquid say the bottle contains red mercury, which can turn cheap metals into precious ones.

He explained that the bottle contained brownish-red liquid. It was found under the mummy of Amun Tefnakht, commander of Egyptian armies who lived during the 27th Dynasty.

The liquid was in fact a residue of some of the materials used in the mummification process, such as sawdust, and resin, aromatic fats and linen rolls.



Reports: Helmsman of Cargo Ship Run Aground in Norway Was Likely Asleep

 Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)
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Reports: Helmsman of Cargo Ship Run Aground in Norway Was Likely Asleep

 Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Johan Helberg stands next to his house, with the container ship NCL Salten in the background, after the 135-meter-long ship ran aground in the Trondheimsfjord, outside Byneset, in Trondheim, Norway, Thursday May 22, 2025. (Jan Langhaug/NTB Scanpix via AP)

The helmsman of a huge container ship that ran aground in Norway just a stone's throw away from a cabin as its owner slept was probably asleep as well at the time of the accident, Norwegian media reported Friday.

"Only one person was on the bridge at the time. He was steering the vessel, but didn't change course when entering the Trondheim fjord as he should have," the news agency NTB reported.

"Police have received information from others who were on board that he was asleep," police official Kjetil Bruland Sorensen told NTB.

The 135-metre (443-foot) NCL Salten sailed up onto shore just meters from Johan Helberg's wooden cabin around dawn on Thursday.

Helberg discovered the unexpected visitor only when a panicked neighbor who had rung his doorbell repeatedly to no avail gave up and called him on the phone.

"The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don't like to open," Helberg told television channel TV2.

His neighbor, Jostein Jorgensen, said he was roused at around 5:00 am by the sound of a ship heading at full speed toward land and immediately ran to Helberg's house.

None of the cargo's 16 crew members were injured, and Norwegian police have opened an investigation.

"We are aware of the police stating that they have one suspect, and we continue to assist the police and authorities in their ongoing investigation," the NCL shipping group said Friday.

"We are also conducting internal inquiries but prefer not to speculate further," it added.

Efforts to refloat the ship have failed so far, and the massive red and green container ship remained stuck, looming over the small cabin.