The Supreme Council of Antiquities and National Telecom Regulatory Authority agree to provide telecommunications services at archaeological sites.
Shanghai’s “On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt” exhibition receives 1.2 million visitors from July 23 to December 2024.
Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy chaired a meeting of the Supreme Council of Antiquities’ board. Secretary-General Mohamed Ismail reviewed the preceding month’s achievements, including 26 archaeological discoveries at sites across Egypt.
He outlined ongoing restoration, maintenance and rehabilitation projects. Work at Karnak’s Great Hypostyle Hall in Luxor was 90% complete; restoration of the Nut chapel and Nectanebo’s birth house at Dendera in Qena was 80% complete; and restoration at Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria reached 90%. Architectural surveying and digital photography of Amenhotep II’s tomb in Luxor’s Valley of the Kings were continuing, while the Egyptian Antiquities Documentation Center inspected other tombs ahead of similar documentation.
Projects in the Islamic, Coptic and Jewish Antiquities Sector included restoration of part of Cairo’s eastern wall to Al-Gaafari Street and part of the northern wall to Al-Zafar Tower, at 84% completion, and Manasterly Palace, at 65%.
The board reviewed temporary overseas exhibitions. “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” recently ended in Cologne, Germany, and preparations were under way to move it to Japan. It attracted approximately 200,000 visitors between July 19 and December 31, 2024. The ongoing “On Top of the Pyramid: The Civilization of Ancient Egypt” exhibition at Shanghai Museum in China received nearly 1.2 million visitors from its July 23 opening through December 2024.
The council’s financial position from July 1 to the end of December 2024 and its draft 2025–2026 budget were also reviewed.
The meeting approved a cooperation protocol between the Tourism and Antiquities Ministry, represented by the council, and the Communications and Information Technology Ministry, represented by the National Telecom Regulatory Authority, to provide telecommunications at Egyptian archaeological sites. Technical and environmental requirements will protect antiquities while supporting digital transformation and modern visitor services.
The board also approved decisions by the permanent committees for Egyptian antiquities and for Islamic, Coptic and Jewish antiquities concerning registration of artifacts, alongside decisions governing archaeological missions at several sites.
