Developing historical areas in Egypt

Outgoing Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim spent his second-last day in office Sunday touring the Giza Pyramids, and stressed their further development as a key to developing tourism. A Tuesday ministry press release said current projects include paving lands surrounding the Sphinx, creating safe paths for visitors to enjoy the monuments in the region, and banners that guide tourists with information in different languages. Ibrahim expressed happiness for seeing turnout from Arab and Foreign visitors, saying “this turnout came after Egypt taking serious steps to execute the roadmap to achieve stability and democracy.” The former minister also stressed on the importance of specializing special places for street vendors and taking the necessary measures to provide safety and security for tourists. Ibrahim also met the Mission Director of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Egypt, Mary Ott, Sunday and the two discussed methods to cooperate and prevent risks of rising levels of underground water affecting historical areas, including Fustat and Abydos, the ministry stated. He called on experts in USAID to contribute in conducting studies to save these areas, in addition to mechanisms to rehabilitate the Islamic Museum that was damaged early this year due to explosion targeting Cairo Security Directorate. Ibrahim visited the headquarters of the ministry Tuesday to welcome new minister Mamdouh el-Damaty, and urged the employees to cooperate with him in order to achieve future goals of the ministry.