Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, today chaired the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. During the meeting, Dr. Hisham El-Leithy, Secretary-General of the Council, reviewed the work achieved across the various sectors over the past month, which saw a number of important archaeological discoveries by Egyptian and foreign missions at a number of archaeological sites across the country.
El-Leithy pointed to the completion of the scientific recording of the tomb of "Amenemhab" in the Asasif area on Luxor's West Bank, along with starting the recording of another group of tombs in the Saqqara archaeological area, following the completion of the scientific recording of the first group there.
He also reviewed the latest developments in the project to restore the first pylon of the Ramesseum temple in Luxor, carried out in cooperation with a mission from the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage in South Korea.
The Board of the Supreme Council of Antiquities approved a number of cooperation protocols, including renewing the cooperation protocol with the Aga Khan Cultural Services – Egypt regarding the European Commission-funded project to restore the Mosque of Altunbugha al-Maridani and rehabilitate the tourist route in the area, in order to complete the remaining components of the project, which include developing infrastructure and developing heritage and traditional crafts along the visit route, achieving a positive economic return for craftspeople in light of the expected increase in visitor numbers.
The Council also approved a proposed cooperation protocol with OPPO mobile phones, aimed at supporting efforts to highlight Egypt's cultural and civilizational identity by launching the cartoon character "Ollie" in ancient Egyptian dress.
The protocol aims to launch a long-term initiative in photographic documentation and supporting young talent, allowing talented young Egyptians to document museums and archaeological sites using only mobile phones, under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, ensuring historical accuracy and the preservation of civilizational identity.
This will be achieved by organizing field trips to archaeological sites and museums and enabling participants to try the advanced photography technologies of OPPO phones to produce innovative visual content highlighting Egyptian heritage.
A number of decisions by the standing committees for Egyptian antiquities and Islamic, Coptic and Jewish antiquities were also approved, regarding the registration of a number of artifacts resulting from the excavation work of archaeological missions, as well as lending part of the bands and covering (Kiswa) of the Holy Kaaba kept in the storerooms of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization to the Al-Azhar Library Museum, along with approving the registration of King Farouk's rest house in the Pyramids archaeological area as an Islamic, Coptic and Jewish monument.
