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Khaled El-Enany on the site of The bating complex in Kom Al-Dikka
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The
area had been undergoing excavation and restoration since 1960 by an
Egyptian-Polish mission from Warsaw University.
Mahmoud
Afifi, head of the ministry's Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department, said
that the newly inaugurated area will be included within the Kom Al-Dikka
tourist path, which includes the Roman amphitheater, the bird villa and
residential houses from the Hellenistic period until the Islamic era.
El-Enany
describes the bathing complex as "one of the finest edifices of its
time," and that the bathing halls had welcomed hundreds of bathers at a
time.
The
complex also includes palestrae for physical exercises, colonnade passages and
amenities such as public latrines. Water
was supplied to the complex using huge cisterns and heated by a complex system
of furnaces and pipes.
The
minister and the parlimentary delegates also paid a visit to the planned Mosaic
museum in downtown Alexandria to inspect the ongoing work and address any
obstacles to its completion.
During
the tour, Mohamed Abdel Maguid, director-general of the Underwater
Archaeological Department, introduced a three-phase plan to develop the Qayet
Bey Citadel and its surroundings.
Abdel Maguid
also reviewed a plan for the construction of the first underwater museum
beneath the city's eastern harbour, which once was the ancient Alexandria royal
area. AbdelmMaguid
suggests the building of an underwater park to promote diving as well as the
establishment of a training centre for underwater archaeology.
