San Al-Hagar Visitors Center - Min. of Tourism & Antiquities
CAIRO – 11 December 2022: On December 10, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mustafa Waziri, Deputy Governor of Al-Sharqia Ahmed Abdel Moati, and French Ambassador to Cairo Mark Peretti, inaugurated the visitors center of the ancient San Al-Hagar area in Al-Sharqia Governorate.
The inauguration was attended by Director of the French Institute of Oriental Antiquities in Cairo Laurent Colon, Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities Ayman Ashmawy, Advisor to the Projects Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities Waad Allah Abul Ela and a number of members of the House of Representatives in the governorate.
Waziri explained that the preparation and opening of the visitors center comes within the project to develop the archaeological area of San Al-Hagar, turning it into an open museum, and placing it on the map of local and international tourism.
The project was implemented through the cooperation between the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the French Excavation Mission in San Al-Hagar, the French Institute of Oriental Archeology (IFAO), and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Waziri added that the visitors center was established with the aim of promoting the exceptional value of the archaeological site, which contributes to the growth of tourism in the eastern Delta region, and the development of the local community. He also thanked all the parties that cooperated to make the implementation of such project possible.
The French ambassador indicated that France attaches great importance to Egyptian-French cooperation in the field of antiquities. He stated that the opening of the visitors center after its renovation comes as evidence of this cooperation, which aims to develop tourism in the eastern Delta region.
For his part, Head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities Ayman Ashmawy said that the center will acquaint visitors with the archaeological site through a number of informatory panels in its spacious hall explaining the history of the site and the treasures and tombs it contains. The center also contains a large screen playing a short film about the city of San Al-Hagar and its history as the capital of ancient Egypt in the 21st Dynasty, in addition to a model of the archaeological site.
Furthermore, a part of the center has been allocated to be a small exhibition hall that includes a number of artifacts from the excavation work at the site.
It should be noted that the Supreme Council of Antiquities began developing the San Al-Hagar archaeological area in 2017.
The city of San Al-Hagar (Tanis) was the capital of Egypt during the 21st Dynasty and was called "Thebes of the North". The city's temples were mainly dedicated to the ancient Egyptian deities Amun-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu.
A number of French archaeologists carried out excavations at the site, which resulted in the discovery of a number of tombs of the kings of the 21st and 22ndDynasties.
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