During his current visit to Luxor, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Sherif Fathy made an inspection tour of a number of archaeological sites, including the mortuary temple of King Amenhotep III, Medinet Habu temple and the tomb of Queen Nefertari.
He was accompanied on the tour by Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities; Dr. Hisham El-Leithy, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Conservation and Registration Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities; Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities; Dr. Bahaa Abdel Gaber, Director General of the West Bank Antiquities Area; and a number of Supreme Council of Antiquities officials in Luxor.
At the temple of King Amenhotep III, the minister inspected the excavation, documentation and restoration work carried out on the temple's elements over the past years, as well as the statues and stelae that have been reassembled and re-erected as a result of excavation work at the site.
He listened to a detailed explanation from Dr. Nairy Hampikian, the site director, on the stages of work in the open courtyard of the temple's columned hall since 2016, through the information panels added to the courtyard, which include a comprehensive explanation of the excavation and restoration work.
The minister and his accompanying delegation also inspected the Medinet Habu temple restoration project, where Dr. Mohamed Ismail Khaled reviewed the restoration work under way at the temple, the work completed so far and the project's future work plans.
In addition, they visited the tomb of Queen Nefertari to review the latest developments in the work and the humidity levels in the tomb, especially in light of the work of the specialized committee recently tasked by the Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities with measuring humidity levels in the tomb, as part of studying the possibility of reopening it under specific rules so that it is not affected by increasing visitor numbers.
