Ministry of Antiquities to restore archaeological buildings in siwa

CAIRO- 17 September 2017: The head of the Islamic and Coptic archaeology department at the Ministry of Antiquities, Al-Sayed Helmy, visited Shali village in Siwa Oasis, which contains a number of archaeological buildings, in order to start the restoration and development project for these buildings.

Helmy explained that the village is of great importance, as it dates back to the year 600 AH/1203 AD when some people agreed to establish a village to protect them from Bedouin raids at that time. He pointed out that the village contains the ancient mosque, which is characterized by its minaret built in the style of silos, as well as the remains of houses and a well of water.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Antiquities started in the project of protecting, promoting and developing the Saqqara archaeological site to raise the efficiency of the area in order to attract a larger segment of tourists to visit the archaeological area of Saqqara. The project is one of the aspects of Egyptian-French cooperation in the field of museums and archaeology, where the French Development Agency (AFD) has fully financed the project, which costs €500,000 ($597,235) for seven years.