News: Egypt World’s Second Fastest Growing Tourist Destination For 2017 - UN World Tourism Organization

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) released a report this week ranking Egypt’s tourism market as the second-fastest growing in the world in 2017, right after Palestine.

Despite UK and Russian flights ban to Egypt since 2015, international tourist arrivals to Egypt witnessed a 51 percent hike this year, following Palestine which ranked in the first position with a 57.8 percent increase in international tourist arrivals this year.

“That hasn’t stopped other nationalities flocking to the country, which has witnessed a 51 per cent spike in international tourist arrivals this year and is on course to welcome nearly eight million holiday travelers in 2017,” the report said, adding that the number is still well below the 14 million who visited in 2010.

Egypt is followed by the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean and Iceland ranks fourth. The latter’s 35 percent surge is thought to be in part due to the popular TV series “Game of Thrones,” which was filmed on the island, and partly thanks to the Icelander policy of offering free stopovers in Iceland to people en route between Europe and North America.

Source: Egypt Independent

News: Restoration Work Begins On Al-Mahaly Mosque In The Delta city of Rosetta

The long-awaited restoration project will see cracks filled, structures strengthened and problems with water and sewage fixed. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

Al-Mahaly Mosque

The Ministry of Antiquities has begun restoration and development work on Al-Mahaly Mosque in the Delta city of Rosetta, part of a plan to preserve the city's monuments and transform it into an open-air museum of Islamic art.

Engineer Waadalla Aboul Ela, head of the ministry's projects department, said the mosque is in a bad condition, with numerous cracks, a high rate of humidity and a high level of groundwater.

Aboul Ela said that the restoration work will include fixing the poor sewage system in the area, which has negatively impacted the mosque, while preventing the leakage of sewage into the walls.

Cracks will be filled, the walls, columns and ceilings will be consolidated and the foundations strengthened, while a new lighting system will be installed, he said.

The development and restoration work is expected to last for nearly three years, costing EGP 86 million in total. Once the work is completed, the mosque, which has been closed for years, will be opened to the public once more.

Mohamed Abdel Latif, Assistant to the Minister of Antiquities for Archaeological Sites, explained that the mosque belonged to Sheikh Ali Al-Mahaly, who died in Rosetta and was buried in 495 AD.

The mosque is located in the city center and has a wooden ceiling embellished with gilded decorations and supported by 99 pillars of different shapes.

Source: Ahram Online

Opening Soon, Marsa Matrouh: Marsa Matrouh Archaeological Museum Set To Open In August

Work At The Marsa-Matrouh Library To Prepare The Halls To Host Artifacts

A museum displaying the history of Egypt's northern Marsa Matrouh governorate is set to open at Matrouh's National Library at the end of August. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The project is part of a cooperation protocol signed between the Ministry of Antiquities and Marsa Matrouh governorate.

Marsa Matrouh governorate has offered part of its National Library to the ministry for the establishing of an archaeological museum that relates the history of the governorate through all the artifacts discovered within its borders, head of the Museums Sector at the Ministry of Antiquities Elham Salah told Ahram Online.

Work At One Of The Museum's Hall

The project is entirely financed by Marsa Matrouh governorate.

The museum will consist of two levels and exhibit 1,000 artifacts excavated in Marsa Matrouh over the years.

The exhibit aims to highlight the role Marsa Matrouh, the country's northwest governorate which borders Libya, has played along the span of Egyptian history, with a focus on its role as a hub for trade with neighbouring countries and as a border city.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Giza: More Egyptian Artifacts Transported To The GEM

A soft opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum is planned for April 2018. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

One Of The Senefru's Blocks

A collection of 33 artifacts were transferred to the new Grand Egyptian Museum, known as the GEM, from a store gallery in the Giza Plateau.

A soft opening of the museum is planned for April 2018.

Tarek Tawfiq, general supervisor of the GEM, said that the artifacts includes three limestone columns of King Djedka Re Isesi, a fifth dynasty king of the Old Kingdom, as well as 30 stone blocks from the western wall of the temple of King Senefru, the founder of the fourth daynasty, which had been put in storage in 1960.

"The most important of these blocks are those belonging to the lower carved part of the wall," Tawfiq said.

The carvings on the blocks depict a group of women carrying offerings as they perform religious rituals inside the temple, while walking towards the king. There is also a cartouche in the name of King Senefru. These women, he said, represent Egypt's various regions in the Old Kingdom, which included 42 regions in the reign of King Senefru.

Akiko Nishasaka, the director of the project from the Japanese side, said that the project was carried out within the framework of the Egyptian-Japanese project to transfer 71 artifacts to the GEM in cooperation with the Japanese International Cooperation Authority (JICA).

She said that within the project, a number of items from King Tutankhamun's treasured collection had been transported, including a bed, a chariot, and three pieces of textile.

Eissa Zidan, the director-general of restoration at the GEM, said that the conservation team used advanced scientific methods and high-tech equipment in packing and transportation.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Minya: King Seti II -Era Blocks Discovered At Illegal Excavation Site in Egypt's Minya

A Newly Discovered Clay Pot

By - Nevine El-Aref. The Tourism and Antiquities Police have caught red-handed an Egyptian citizen conducting illegal excavation beneath his home in the Upper Egyptian city of Minya, where he uncovered a collection of stone blocks dating back to the reign of ancient Egyptian King Seti II, officials said on Sunday. 

The suspect has been arrested and all the excavated items have been confiscated, said Ayman Ashmawi, the head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department at the Ministry of Antiquities.

From Left: The Roman Basin, The Relief With Half Crown, The Relief Of King Seti II 

Cartouche & A Large Clay Pot

Gamal El-Semestawi, head of the antiquities ministry's Middle Egypt Antiquities Department, told Ahram Online that the seized items include two limestone reliefs; one engraved with the cartouche of King Seti II and the second bearing the half crown of the king.

A Roman-era basin and a collection of clay pots were also discovered.

An archaeological committee has been assigned with conducting further excavation at the site.

Source: Ahram Online

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News, Alexandria: Restoration of Alexandrian Jewish Synagogue is Underway - Antiquities Ministry

Restoration of the synagogue is expected to take 8 months and cost EGP 100 million. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

The Jewish Synagogue

Restoration work is beginning at the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in Alexandria now that the required archaeological, engineering and scientific studies have been completed, Mohamed Abdel Aziz, director general of the Historic Cairo Rehabilitation Project, told Ahram Online.

Abdel Aziz said that Arab Contractors and Orascom Construction, assigned to the task by the Armed Forces Engineering Authority, are now on site to install all the required equipment in order to prepare the site for restoration.

He said that the restoration work is being executed under the supervision of the antiquities ministry and will take eight months. The budget of EGP100 million is being provided by the Egyptian government.

According to Abdel Aziz, the government has allocated EGP 1.27 billion to complete eight restoration projects: the Jewish synagogue and the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria; the Development of the Giza Plateau; the restoration of King Farouk’s resthouse in the plateau; the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat; Baron Empain Palace in Heliopolis; Mohamed Ali Pasha Palace in Shoura; and Alexan Palace in Assiut.

“The antiquities ministry is keen to restore all Egypt's archaeological sites, including Jewish, Coptic and Islamic sites, which represent the country's heritage,” Abdel Aziz said.

Waadalah Abul-Ela, the head of the Projects Department at the ministry, said that the restoration work at the synagogue aims to restore the synagogue's architecture and fine decorative elements, as well as the lighting and security systems.

The Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue is located in Nabi Daniel Street in downtown Alexandria and is the oldest synagogue in the city.  It was originally built in 1354 but was subjected to destruction by the Napoleon expedition to Egypt in 1798, in order to build a defensive wall from the Kom El-Dikka area to the Mediterranean. In 1850, the synagogue was reconstructed with contributions from the royal family.

Source: Ahram Online

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News: Zahi Hawass Awarded Golden Gala of Magna Graecia Film Festival in Italy

Renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass receives the Golden Gala award of the Magna Graecia Film Festival held in Catanzaro in Italy. Written By/ Nevine El-Aref.

In a gala event attended by more than 3,000 spectators at the Magna Graecia Film Festival in Catanzaro in Italy, former minister of antiquities and renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass was awarded the festival's Golden Gala for his devotion to archaeology.

During the award ceremony, Hawass said that Egyptians and Italians love one another and he believes that Italy and Egypt can rebuild relations.

"I know that there are big problems between our two countries, and I feel very unhappy to not see an Italian ambassador in Cairo or an Egyptian ambassador in Italy, but I believe our two nations can work hard to be able to reestablish a strong relationship," Hawass said, speaking at the Magna Graecia Film Festival in the southern Italian town of Catanzaro.

Hawass spoke at the screening of the film "Il Loto e Il Papiro" (The Lotus and the Papyrus) written by Francesco Santocono and announced that the film will be screened in Egypt at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina on 10 September.

"I know that many think Egypt isn't a safe place right now, but it's not so," Hawass said, adding that "Our country Egypt, is actually a safe one. In three years I have received 3,000 American visitors and I want Italians to return to Egypt. There's not any danger, I assure you."

He also pointed out that there are several new discoveries that would be announced within the coming months, among them latest results of the Scan Pyramid Project started almost two years ago to explore the interior design of the Khufu pyramid and whether it houses other hidden chambers or corridors, as well as the results of the scan of the Valley of the Kings in September undertaken by an Egyptian-Italian team from Turin University.

Magna Graecia Film Festival has become one of the most anticipated film festivals for Italian cinema lovers. The 2017 edition was dedicated to late renowned Italian actor Marcello Mastroiann.

Source: Ahram Online

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