During his visit to the Saqqara archaeological area to inaugurate the Imhotep Museum upon completion of its development project, Mr. Ahmed Issa, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, took the opportunity to inspect the new entrance to the archaeological area located on the Central Ring Road. He also visited the newly equipped museum store in the archaeological area designed for the preservation of coffins, mummies, and treasures discovered there, ahead of the museum’s opening.
Accompanying him during the tour were Dr. Mustafa Waziri, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Colonel Hisham Sameer, Assistant Minister for Antiquities and Museums Projects and Supervisor of the Museums Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Khaled Shareef, Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Digital Transformation and General Supervisor of the General Administration for Services at Tourist and Archaeological Sites and Museums, Mr. Sabry Farag, the General Director of Saqqara Antiquities, and Dr. Bassem Ibrahim, the General Director of the General Administration for Services at Tourist and Archaeological Sites and Museums.
During the tour of the new entrance, Mr. Minister received a detailed explanation from Dr. Mustafa Waziri about the entrance and the completed works. It has been provided with informational signboards introducing ticket prices for entering the archaeological area, some tourist and informational guidelines about the area as a whole, and visitor routes. Additionally, the entrance has been equipped to accommodate facilitated tourism for people with disabilities, including pathways and dedicated restroom facilities for them, ensuring accessibility in the archaeological area.
The tour also included a visit to the administrative building, where the rooms of archaeologists, workers in the area, tourist and antiquities police, and electronic surveillance control rooms are located.
Mr. Ahmed Issa commended the efforts made to develop the archaeological area, emphasizing the need to ensure the provision of all tourist services for visitors to enhance the tourist experience. This aligns with the national strategy to develop the tourism industry in Egypt, especially the cultural tourism product, which is one of the main products targeted by the ministry. It is commensurate with the importance of the historical and archaeological area amid the growth in tourist arrivals.
Dr. Mustafa Waziri also briefed Mr. Minister on the significance of the new museum store, covering an area of 750 square meters with 13 storage rooms and 2 restoration laboratories equipped to the highest standards. A plan has been prepared to enhance the efficiency of all stores, including security systems for fire and theft alarms and fire control. The Minister praised the importance of this museum store and restoration laboratories as part of the ministry’s and the Supreme Council of Antiquities’ scientific mission. He commended the efforts of the team at the Supreme Council of Antiquities in implementing a package of projects that allows the council significant growth in spending in the current fiscal year on restoration projects and improving the efficiency of various archaeological sites and museums, preserving Egyptian antiquities and enhancing the tourist experience.
Dr. Khaled Shareef indicated that the coming period will witness the start of a project to digitize the archaeological pieces in all the stores and museums of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. This will be done after a 3D scan of the pieces and the establishment of a digital information center for all archaeological pieces, made available to researchers worldwide through a portal created for this purpose. Currently, 30 museum stores have been connected to this portal, and the rest of the stores and museums are in the process of being linked.
