CAIRO – 14 July 2022: Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has completed a mega-project to raise the efficiency of visitor services in 13 archaeological sites and museums in Aswan Governorate.
The Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities has launched a mega-project aiming to raise the efficiency of visitor services in archaeological sites and museums Nationwide. During the upcoming period, the quality of visitor services in 30 sites and museums will be upgraded as a first phase.
General Supervisor of Services Development at Archaeological Sites and Museums Iman Zeidan explained that the ministry pays great attention to this project, in line with the importance of these sites and museums historically and archaeologically, which will improve the visitors’ experience and encourage them to repeat their visit.
She added that these sites and museums included the temples of Edfu, Philae, Kom Ombo, Kalabsha, Isis, Abu Simbel, Amada, and Wadi es-Sebua, in addition to the area of Gebel el-Silsila, Seheil Island, the Unfinished Obelisk, and the Crocodile and Nubia Museums. These areas have been provided with all necessary guiding and explanatory services and means in proportion to its nature and historical value.
They are being aligned with the Aswan Visual Identity Project, which is currently being implemented, similar to what is happening in Luxor Governorate, in addition to developing visitors’ centers.
She added that the project included placing a number of signs guiding the roads leading to these sites and museums, which were implemented in coordination with the governorate. It was also provided with maps that highlight the tourist and archaeological sites in Egypt in general and Aswan Governorate in particular.
The itineraries of the visit and the location of the ticket offices were also identified and prepared, and they were provided with panels implemented with the unified code, such as the visit policy, appointments and ticket prices, as well as the hotline for complaints and suggestions (19546).
That is in addition to placing direction panels to facilitate visitors for easy transformation within the archaeological site or museum, as well as preparing the parking lots in Abu Simbel and Kom Ombo to receive visitors' cars and tourist buses.
These works were carried out under the auspices of Inertia as a silver sponsor for the development of services through the Commercial Sponsorship Regulations approved by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, which allows cooperation with the private sector in accordance with the regulations and conditions set in this regard.
For his part, Director General of the General Administration of Services for Tourist and Archaeological Sites and Museums Bassem Ibrahim said that the project also included the implementation of 50 explanatory panels in Arabic and English equipped with a QR code.
This enables visitors to visit a specific website and view more historical and archaeological information, pictures of the site and its components, the itinerary of the visit and the places of services, in addition to the means of interpretation of the distinctive architectural and technical elements of the site, supported by schematic drawings and archival photos.
He added that the temples registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List were provided with panels containing information, archival photos and illustrations about the project to save them during the sixties and the stages of documentation, dismantling, transportation and installation in their current sites.
These sites have been made available to individuals with special needs to encourage accessible tourism, as movement paths for wheelchair users and signs explaining in Braille have been provided. This is in addition to the interest in improving the services accompanying the visit by providing places for visitors to rest with seats, umbrellas and baskets with a garbage separation system.
The Abu Simbel Visitors Center has been developed to be more spacious and provide visitors with information that simulates the story of building and saving temples in an attractive way, in addition to providing the visitor centers at the Unfinished Obelisk, Abu Simbel, and Edfu Temples with new screens to screen films about each site respectively.
The Projects Sector of the Supreme Council of Antiquities has also finished lighting a number of archaeological sites in the governorate, including the Abu Simbel Temples, in addition to renovating and replacing toilets.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has intensified its efforts to develop the services provided to visitors in many archaeological sites and museums nationwide, including those in Aswan, in accordance with the objectives of the Ministry’s strategy for sustainable development 2030 and the trend towards green tourism and digital transformation.
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