Khaled
El-Enany is supervising inter-ministry efforts to meet the World Heritage
Committee's deadline of February 2018, says senior antiquities official.
Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.
Minister
of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany has met with representatives of various other
ministries and departments in order to facilitate the addition of Pharaoh
Island in Taba to the UNESCO World Heritage list, a senior antiquities official
told Ahram Online.
The
ministry of antiquities is preparing the final archaeological file needed to
register the site with UNESCO, with a February 2018 deadline for submission to
the World Heritage Committee (WHC). The
file is being compiled in cooperation with the ministries of interior, foreign
affairs, tourism, international cooperation, defence and environment, as well
as Homeland Security.
According
to Ahmed Ebeid, Supervisor General of the Technical Office at the antiquities
ministry, El-Enany meet with representatives of the other ministries and
departments in order to resolve obstacles that arose in compiling the
preliminary file, which was submitted in October. The
high-level meeting also reviewed the WHC's recommendations relating to the site
in South Sinai, which incorporates a historic fortress.
Yasmin
El-Shazly, general supervisor of the antiquity ministry's International
Organizations Department, told Ahram Online that before the final file can be
submitted, the ministry must develop the island's visitor centre, provide more
facilities and services, and ensure safe access roads.
She
said that the minister has already created an action plan to develop the site
in a way that reflects its historic and environmental value. “When
Egypt succeeds in registering Pharaoh Island on the Word Heritage List, this
will be Egypt’s first site to be registered since 2002,” El-Shazly said.
Pharaoh
Island, located some 250 metres from the shore of Taba in South Sinai, includes
of a fortress built by the Ayyubid prince Salaheddin to protect the Islamic
empire from the Crusades. It was the second of several such fortresses built in
Egypt by Salaheddin.
Built
in 1171 AD, the citadel is strategically located on Pharaoh Island on a steep,
difficult-to-climb hill high above sea level – and with a beautiful, blue sea
view. The citadel played an important role in protecting the Sinai Peninsula
from invasion during the Crusades.
It
was capable of stand-alone defense in case of siege, with towers and defensive
walls part of the citadel’s strategy. Water tanks built into the rock provided
protection and sustenance. Archaeologists have also identified a bakery, mill
and bathroom, as well as a furnace for producing weapons, a meeting room and
accommodation for soldiers.
Pharaoh
Island attracts all types of tourism, including eco-tourism, cultural visits
and safaris. With beautiful views of the warm, Red Sea, it also boasts
untouched coral reefs. Tours visit both the citadel and the neighbouring Valley
Taiwibh, which has ancient Egyptian inscriptions of the early Egyptians who
lived in Sinai, as well as inscriptions from Arab Nabataeans of the second
century BC.
