On the Nubia salvage operations in the 1960s  

Labib Habachi confidently expected to be asked to take a place on the sub-committee. He was confident that his knowledge of Nubia and familiarity with the monuments would be valuable; that his opinion would be sought.  But when the delegation of worthy Egyptologists went to Nubia to see the wealth of the ancient heritage he was not in their congenial midst. “He didn’t stand a chance,” said Gamal Mokhtar…. 

On Egyptian society 

Egypt’s rigid class distinction lay deep within the archaeological profession… despite the revolutionary call for equality, the new leaders were no less class conscious than their predecessors under the monarchy. This was perhaps not so surprising since many began their careers in that era. Selim Hassan’s work at Giza, for example, earned him royal honors; King Farouk had bestowed on him the title of pacha and his archaeological reports were  published under the name of Selim Bey Hassan. Far from such obsolete Turkish titles being abandoned after the revolution, appendages like “bey” and “pasha” became commonplace…..  These were, and remain, meaningless titles but they continue to be used because no appropriate words in Arabic denote professional distinction. 

On Labib Habachi’s marginalization 

 “Labib was a field man, not a cocktail man. When pressed to put on a tie he’d say I’ll suffocate! He made no attempt to cultivate social norms... 

“…  Nasser’s socialization rewarded conformity, not creativity. Labib’s ideals were squelched by resentful peers, perhaps fearful of his taking innovative steps or jeopardizing their own positions.…

On foreign missions 

(Foreign missions in Nubia) could not risk collaboration with individuals apparently blacklisted by the Antiquities Department.  “I could not blame them,” Habachi said. “Missions were obliged by law to obtain official approval for every member of their team and because my reason for leaving the department was not clear, no responsible institution could risk taking me on and offending those in power. Their concessions after all depended on goodwill and they were duty bound to pay lip service”.