The Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities inspects the restoration of Karnak temples and calls for an enhanced tourist experience in Luxor.

 Durinyg his Luxor day tour to the opening and inspection of antiquities projects in a number of archaeological sites in the governorates of Qena and Luxor, in preparation for the winter tourism season, Ahmed Essa, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, inspected the latest developments in the restoration work of the Great Hall of Columns in the Karnak temples, accompanied by Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Dr. Fathi Yassin, Director of General of the Antiquities of Upper Egypt, and Dr. Mustafa Al-Saghir, Director General of the Antiquities of Karnak, in addition to inspecting the visitor center of the temple and following up the implementation of the non-monetary transfer sstem in it. 

During the Egypt day tour, the minister listened to a detailed explanation from the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities about the stages of the restoration work of the Great Hypostyle Hall, which contains 134 columns, with the aim of removing dirt and soot and showing the original colors of the temple, pointing out that all the work was done by the pure Egyptian hands of young restorers. And archaeologists are under the supervision of the projects sector of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

Dr. Mostafa Waziri provided an update on the restoration progress of the Great Hall of Columns in the Karnak temples. He stated that the restoration of the southern side of the column hall, comprising 65 out of 134 columns, had been successfully completed. The restoration work involved mechanical and chemical cleaning, injection in specific areas, and strengthening weak parts. To protect the colors, a suitable material was applied to isolate them from the damaging effects of sunlight and weather conditions. The ongoing efforts are now focused on restoring the northern side of the hall, with the goal of completing the restoration of all columns promptly. This significant progress in the restoration of the Great Hall of Columns enhances the appeal of Egypt Christmas tours and Egypt Easter tours, offering tourists a remarkable experience during the next tourism season at the Karnak temples.

He added that the southeastern part of the hall was covered with a wooden ceiling, after the approval of the Permanent Committee for Egyptian Antiquities, to preserve the colors from damage from direct sunlight and the influence of weather factors.

The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities expressed his full pride in the work team of restorers and his appreciation for their efforts, which resulted in these great results, describing the work as a huge achievement and stressing that the ongoing restoration work in the Karnak temples coincides with the approaching start of the winter tourist season and the increasing growth that Luxor governorate will witness. In the incoming tourist movement, it will contribute significantly to improving the Egypt travel package experience, especially because the Karnak temples represent great importance as one of the most important Egyptian tourist destinations in Luxor.

During his Egypt tour on the Western Bank of Luxor, the Minister pointed out the need to provide larger parking spaces for cars and tourist buses in the area of the Colossi of Memnon in order to ensure that the expected growth in Egypt shore excursions that the governorate will witness during the winter tourist season is accommodated.

The Minister also called on the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers and the Chamber of Travel and Tourism Agencies to direct tourism companies to organize the arrival of tourist groups to some archaeological sites with a small carrying capacity, such as the Edfu Temples Area, which accommodates about 800 people per hour, in order to ensure the improvement of the Egypttour itineraries tourist experience.