Following comprehensive renovation, Egypt’s Royal Chariots Museum reopens October.

Egypt’s Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri announced Saturday that the Royal Chariots Museum will be reopened in October, following comprehensive renovation work.

Waziri told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the preparation of several artifacts inside was finalized through a new museum display scenario.

The Royal Chariots Museum houses rare and unique artifacts that illustrate the various means of transportation utilized by the kings and rulers of the Muhammad Ali dynasty, in addition to vehicles used in many official occasions.

The Royal Chariots Museum was established during the reign of Khedive Ismail (1863-1879).

The restoration project began in 2001 and halted entirely several years ago.

The museum is only the fourth of its kind in the world, with others in Russia, England and Austria.

The comprehensive development and restoration process stopped several times until it was effectively resumed in 2017.

Work included general rehabilitation of the building, its structural support, restoring the facades and the completion of architectural finishes – all at a total cost of about LE63 million.

The museum displays about 42 royal chariots that were used by members of the Muhammad Ali dynasty in the royal eras.

Source: Egypt independent

Direct flights resume between Cairo and Moscow.

CAIRO: EgyptAir is resuming direct flights between Cairo and Moscow from Sept. 17 following a halt to services amid the pandemic.

The company will operate the flights three times a week on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

EgyptAir said Moscow-bound travelers should obtain a medical certificate with a negative COVID-19 result from an approved lab in Egypt, issued no more than 72 hours before the date of arrival.

A result certificate must be in Russian or English to allow passengers to board their flight.

The company will also ask passengers to follow other health measures on arrival as part of coronavirus precautions.

Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsiya said that Russian and foreign airlines could begin regular flights to Egypt, the UAE and the Maldives from Sept. 8.

“According to the Russian government’s decision, specific Russian and foreign airlines can start operating regular flights to and from Cairo at a rate of three flights per week,” it said in a statement.

Ihab Nasr, Egypt’s ambassador to Russia, said that coronavirus cases are declining in Russia.

Nasr added that Egypt is Russia’s second-most frequent destination among the three countries resuming flights.

“The return of flights at this time will be in the interest of our attempts to reinforce and promote new Egyptian tourist destinations,” he said.

For the past two decades, beach travel has been a favorite of Russian tourists.

Nasr said the first trip to Egypt has been fully booked.

He added that signs of a tourism comeback are promising after a decline in Egyptian virus cases.

Source : Arab News

Egypt’s Min. of Tourism & Antiquities embarks on inspection tour at Grand Egyptian Museum on Sept. 8.

CAIRO – 9 September 2020: On September 8, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism & Antiquities Khaled el-Anani inspected the Grand Egyptian Museum in El-Remaya Square to follow up on the developments of the museum’s exhibiting scenario.

During the tour, Anani was accompanied by General Supervisor of the Grand Egyptian Museum and the surrounding area project Atef Muftah, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri, Director General of archaeological affairs at the museum Al-Tayeb Abbas, and Issa Zaidan, director general of executive affairs for the restoration and transfer of antiquities at the museum. 

The inspection tour included the lobby, the great staircase and the exhibition halls of the treasures of King Tutankhamun.

During the tour that lasted 3 hours, the minister praised the efforts exerted by the museum's work team to transfer, install and display the artifacts, stressing that the team has taken care of the smallest details to enrich the exhibiting scenario and highlight the beauty of the ancient Egyptian civilization.

It is worth noting that the Grand Egyptian Museum is the largest museum of antiquities dedicated to one civilization, the ancient Egyptian civilization.

For the first time, all the personal belongings of King Tutankhamun, which exceed 5,000 pieces, will all be housed in one place, the GEM. This is in addition to housing a number of artifacts that date back to various ancient eras from prehistoric times to the Greek and Roman eras.

Source:Egypt today

Egypt tourism to recover by Q1 2021: Cultural Tourism Association.

Egypt’s tourism sector is expected to recover from the stagnation of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by February and March 2021, according to Ehab Abdel Aal, Treasurer of the Cultural Tourism Association.
The Upper Egypt towns of Luxor and Aswan will see a particular recovery by this time frame, so long as the pandemic does not worsen.
“We are not in a phase of promoting or marketing, rather we are seeing countries give permissions for their citizens to travel, which will see tourists return,” Abdel Aal said, “Also, Europe is now seeing a second wave of COVID-19, so even if countries permit travel, most the European tourists will be waiting to see what happens regarding the second wave before deciding whether to travel or not.”
He noted that this is a global crisis, and the Egyptian government is undertaking its best efforts in facing the crisis.
Abdel Aal said that Minister of Tourism Khaled Al-Anani had earlier announced that 100,000 tourists visited Egypt since tourism resumed on 1 July. He added that, if the number of tourists who have so far visited Egypt is divided by 120 days, this will show a daily average of 750 tourists to Egypt, a considerable downturn on the country’s tourism position.

Egypt suspended international flights at all airports nationwide on 19 March, as part of government efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Inbound tourism flights only resumed on 1 July to three governorates as part of a first stage, namely the Red Sea, South Sinai, and Matrouh Governorates. Tourism activities to Luxor and Aswan resumed in early September.
Abdel Aal noted that visitor numbers and occupancy rates at Luxor and Aswan remain limited following the resumption of tourism to the two cities. He added that most of the tourists currently making visits to Luxor and Aswan were travelling on one-day trips from Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh. The majority of visitors are arriving from Eastern Europe, with only one flight coming in from the UK.
Abdel Aal attributed the limited numbers to the ongoing coronavirus-related travel restrictions that are still present in many European countries.

Source: Daily News Egypt

Egyptian Embassy in Russia announces resuming international flights to Cairo on Sept. 9.

CAIRO - 9 September 2020: Media Advisor of the Egyptian Embassy in Moscow Ahmed Abdel Moez said that the embassy has exerted great efforts to resume flights between Cairo and Moscow amidthe coronavirus pandemic and that these efforts resulted in the resumption of flights between the two countries on Wednesday, September 9.

Abdel Moez pointed out that Egypt is one of the few countries towhich Russiahas restored flights.

 

The traffic between the two countries will resume after being stopped for nearly six months due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

He reiterated that Egypt is the fifth country towhich Russia resumes flights, at an average of 3 flights per week, a rate that exceeds the number of flights allocated to most other countries.

 

On the other hand, a Russian television delegation is visiting Egypt to shoot a documentary program entitled "The Lives of Others" that sheds light on the daily life in post-corona Egypt and provides information on the most important archaeological sites, Egyptian tourist attractions, and safety measures followed in Egypt to protect tourists, to help attract more Russian-speaking tourists and bypassthe negative effects resulting from the suspension of tourism due to the pandemic.

Source:Egypt Today

El-Montazah and Al-Alamein: Future Destinations of Sustainable Tourism in Egypt.

2020 has been a year that forced us all to be more socially conscious. Every step, every move and every direction we take will ultimately have an effect on others’ lives. Not just in regards to health, as made obvious by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in all other sectors, particularly in tourism.
The idea of ‘sustainable tourism’ has become more than ever increasingly relevant. It is essentially about taking into consideration the current as well as the future economic, social and environmental impacts, while addressing the needs of the community and the environment. It can also be defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education.”
As a sector, it can play a major role in accelerating progress for the achievement of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. By redirecting the focus towards local communities, sustainable tourism help achieve national poverty reduction goals through entrepreneurship and small businesses, it can also be a powerful tool for reducing inequalities when local populations are deeply engaged, allowing rural development to flourish and giving people the chance to grow in their own habitat without having to travel to urban areas.
However, it’s important to also differentiate between “shallow ecotourism/sustainable tourism” and “deep ecotourism.” Shallow sustainable tourism uses natural views and reserves as a source of aesthetic pleasure to tourists to obtain revenue, completely diminishing the role of local communities. 
On the other hand, “deep ecotourism” destroys the idea that nature and humans are separate, and instead calls for more community participation and valuing local cultures in their own habitat and environment. 

Egypt has a lot of potential to become the main destination for sustainable tourism, as it is endowed with diverse cultures, communities and natural resources. Recently, there have been developments in promoting sustainable and community tourism over the years. In 2018, Egypt’s former Minister of Tourism Dr. Rania Al Mashat announced that the ministry is keen on promoting eco-friendly hotels, which would control water and energy consumption and reduce amounts of carbon dioxide emissions.

One most famous example is the government’s support for Bedouin-managed tourism enterprises in Sinai, such as ‘The Sinai Trail’, which presents a useful model on how to conserve natural and cultural resources along with supporting local communities.

In fact, there are 16 ecotourism attractions in Egypt identified by UNICEF and UNDP, which include: Farafra Oasis, Dakhla Oasis, Kharga Oasis, Bahariya Oasis, Siwa Oasis, Dahab, Marsa Alam, Nuweiba,  Taba, Ras Mohamed and Nabq in Sharm El Sheikh, Fayoum and many others.
Yet there is still a greater need to increase their visibility, train local communities and raise the awareness on what sustainable tourism entails. More partnership and cooperation among several stakeholders in society to support sustainable tourism would ensure that efforts are upscaled and that adequate assistance is being provided.

On August 13, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with CEEBA (The Confederation of Egyptian European Business Associations) hosted an online event on ‘Developing Slow and Sustainable Tourism in Egypt’, presenting the EU-funded ENI CBC MED Med Pearls Project, which aims to develop the Mediterranean as a future destination of sustainable tourism.

Located at the north-eastern edge of Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast, El-Montazah is a district popular for its nature reserves (forests), attractions like the Abu Qir neighbourhood, the royal landscape, as well as the sunken cities of Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus.

El-Alamein is also another important site inhabited by Bedouin communities, where visitors have the chance to witness different cultural experience, engage with the communities in their own local habitat, and also protect natural and biosphere reserves such as el Omayed, which is protected by UNESCO.

To enhance the international visibility of these sites, the Med Pearls projects aims to set up a cross-border cooperation scheme between public and private actors in which a comprehensive strategy will be developed based on four main themes: innovation, diversification, deseasonalisation and inclusiveness while contributing to the local economy development.

The end result is expected to see the creation of 26 slow tourism products co-designed with local communities, which will also include six digital solutions and will also aim towards protecting the environment to tackle climate change.

Juana Mera-Cabello, European Delegation to Egypt, noted the importance of focusing on the environment as it is a key element in sustainable travel.

“Fifty percent of our portfolio is climate related, such as waste water management, improving the quality of the air and access to clean energy. This is not just for the benefit of the Egyptian citizen, but also to make the touristic experience more attractive, as research shows that there is more interest in eco-tourism,” she stated.

ENI CBC Med is considered to be the largest Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) initiative implemented by the EU under the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI). It brings together 14 countries across the Mediterranean to foster partnership and finance projects that help create a more inclusive and sustainable Mediterranean area.

Source:Egyptian Streets

 

New Discovery in Saqqara "2": Egyptian Authorities Have Discovered 13 Completely Sealed 2,500-Year-Old Coffins.

An unusual cache of at least 13 wooden coffins dating back to 2,500 years ago has been discovered in the desert necropolis of Saqqara in Egypt.

What makes these coffins so special among the thousands interred in the tomb complex is the fact they have remained intact for millennia, and are still completely sealed - hundreds of years after their inhabitants died.

According to Egypt's recently minted Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the coffins were found in a burial shaft 11 metres (36 feet) below the ground, stacked on top of each other. They're so well preserved, even some of the colours painted on the wood are still intact. An initial analysis has found that the coffins have likely been sealed since they were buried.

Inside the burial shaft, three sealed niches were also found. Minister Khaled Al-Anani said that it's likely there are more coffins in the shaft yet to be discovered.

Saqqara is believed to have served as the necropolis for Memphis, once the capital of ancient Egypt. For 3,000 years, the Egyptians interred their dead there; as such, it's become a site of much archaeological interest.

It's not just the high-ranking nobility and officials buried there, with their grave goods, their cartouches, their mummified animals, and their richly appointed tombs. Those are more likely to be found, since their interment was more elaborate - but recent excavations have turned up simpler burials, likely of people from the middle or working class.

Even the rich burials are not immune to outside influences. Over the millennia, many such tombs have been looted. So finding a cache of coffins that have been undisturbed and unopened for all that time means the possibility of untouched grave goods inside.

Given that the coffins are made of wood, and were buried in a dry location, the possibility of any eerie liquid preserved within is probably quite low.

The potential grave goods, however, could not only tell us who was buried, but how important they were. The discovery is likely to add to our ever-growing understanding of ancient Egyptian funerary customs.

The names and identities of the people buried in the coffins are yet to be discovered. But, as excavation work at the site continues, this information is expected to be found soon, as well as the total number of coffins buried in the shaft.

Meanwhile, the Ministry is set to release a series of promotional videos on the discovery - the first adventure-themed promo you can watch above features Indiana Jones-esque music, complete with a cliffhanger about a future announcement.

Egypt reopened cultural tourism to museums and archaeological sites on 1 September, so we can probably expect more announcements from the Ministry in the coming days and weeks, as the government works to renew tourist interest in visiting Egypt's antiquities.

Source: Sciencealert