Egypt is one of the go to tourism destinations in Africa, with the North African country receiving well over 300, 000 tourists monthly in 2021 despite the effect of the coronavirus pandemic.
Famous amongst its tourism offerings are the Red Sea, beaches, Nile River, especially aged long pyramids which attracts thousands of tourists yearly.
But archaeologists are of the view that as much as the country benefits from the throng of tourists visiting these sites, if could be injurious to archaeological monuments if not properly control and managed.
According to english.ahram.org.eg, proper site management could go a long way towards solving the problems of conservation, restoration, and tourism at Egypt’s archaeological monuments.
Archaeologists in Egypt are generally unaware of the pressing need for the protection of archaeological sites from tourism.
The term “site management” might profitably be introduced to those involved in the administration of these sites throughout the Middle East, for it could save them from the inherent dangers that mass tourism introduces.
It could also be used to prepare sites for conservation and restoration, artefact recording, and training programmes, and it may be of considerable use to archaeologists doing scholarly work. One successful example of it has been applied to the Giza Plateau in Egypt.
The only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that remains standing today is the Pyramids of Giza. The site contains the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Khafre, the Pyramid of Menkaure, eight subsidiary pyramids, and thousands of Old Kingdom tombs. The Great Sphinx also lies on the site in an Old Kingdom quarry. This was carved out of the bedrock core that was left after the rock around it was cut away to build the temples and tombs in the various pyramid complexes.
An example of the success of proper site management at the Giza site concerns admissions, which used to be handled in such a way that tourists who had not purchased a ticket could still wander around the Plateau, though they were not allowed to enter the monuments. Tour companies were famous for bringing visitors to walk about without paying any fees. The site-management plan thus called for an entrance gate to monitor buses and cars and to ensure that all tourists on the plateau had purchased admission tickets.
The decrease in foot traffic and the increase in revenues were more than worth the cost and maintenance of the entrance gate.
The site of the Giza Pyramids is the only site in Egypt for which a site-management plan has been put into effect to date, with this taking place in 1988. Carrying out the plan proved to be difficult due to the growth of adjacent urban villages, the number of Egyptian visitors flocking to the site during national holidays, the tourist-carrying camels and horses which at present have uninhibited use of the site, and other tourist and conservation problems.
Before 1988, a plan for site management had not, to my knowledge, been applied to any site in Egypt. Four phases were planned for Giza, as I explained in an earlier article. But Giza is only one of several major sites in Egypt that are in indisputable need of protection. Two of the most important are Abu Simbel and Luxor.
Abu Simbel: The site of Abu Simbel in Upper Egypt contains two important temples, those of Ramses II and his queen Nefertari.
In the 1960s, the UN cultural body UNESCO sponsored a worldwide campaign to save these monuments when they were threatened by the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The campaign demonstrated how many nations were willing to cooperate to preserve their common human heritage.
UNESCO also deserves credit for saving these temples from the destruction that is all too often a byproduct of urban development. The damage caused by tourism to the temples of Abu Simbel is well documented. At one time, it was not uncommon for more than 2,000 tourists to visit the temples in an hour and a half. At one point, a large stone fell from the ceiling of the Ramses Temple, no doubt loosened by the loud voices of tour guides, visitors touching the temple walls, camera flashes, and the heat and humidity introduced by so many bodies in a small place.
In addition, the exhaled carbon dioxide affects the durability of the stone itself.
Complicating the problem has been the lack of communication between the tourist authorities and antiquities personnel. The site of Abu Simbel is easy to manage, however, and a site-management plan could be readily applied to benefit both tourism and temple preservation. The authorities of the Aswan governorate, tourism officials, the antiquities police, development authorities, and the airlines should meet and discuss a preliminary plan for site management and its relation to tourism.
A sensible plan for Abu Simbel would include a cultural centre near the site to explain the history and archaeology of the temples and the story of the modern technology involved in moving and saving them by UNESCO. The story might be explained through a short documentary or giant-screen Imax film. The centre should contain guidebooks and sell copies of artefacts related to Ramses II, thus becoming an attraction to tourists while at the same time providing funds for preservation.
There should be a safe zone around the two temples, in which motor traffic would not be permitted. This should also be applied to other sites, such as the temples of Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Esna, also in Upper Egypt. These temples, surrounded by modern towns, are threatened by such byproducts of urbanisation as a lack of proper sewage disposal, fumes from cooking and baking, and vehicle exhaust. The temple of Esna also suffers from moisture from a high water-table. These three sites urgently need a management plan.
The promotion of the village of Abu Simbel, a wonderful place well worth more than the usual two-hour visit, could also be included in the plan. It is very important that a tourist plan be made for this site, which would include the building of more hotels and the provision of evening entertainment, such as Nubian folk dancing. Tourists could also fish in Lake Nasser.
Sound and light shows, which are being planned in various languages, should be overseen by site-management officials.
There should be immediate action to limit the tourist influx by creating a timetable to spread visits out during the day. In 1996, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) decided to require tourist guides to explain the temples from the outside before their groups entered, thereby preventing the carnival atmosphere that can prevail within.
Such decisions, while helpful, should ideally be discussed by both tourism and cultural authorities rather than being unilaterally imposed, however. When a final schedule is drawn up, travel agencies should be required to cooperate.
Luxor, Valley of the Kings: For both archaeology and tourism, the site of Luxor in Upper Egypt may well be the most important in the world.
Situated on the banks of the Nile, Luxor was called Thebes by the ancient Greeks and Waset by the ancient Egyptians. Thebes reached its peak during the New Kingdom (1570-1085 BCE). The west bank of the Nile across from Luxor contains royal mortuary temples and approximately 400 private tombs, occupying an area of about 7.5km. The tombs are located in Draa Abul-Naga, Deir Al-Bahari, Al-Khokha, Asasif, Sheikh Abdel-Quna, Deir Al-Medina, and Qurnet Murai.
The east bank of the Nile contains the great temples of Karnak and Luxor, the places of worship of the ancient Egyptian gods Amun, Montu, Mut, and Khonsu. On the west bank are found the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, Al-Tarif, and the Valley of the Queens.
This crucial site requires an urgent management plan. Funded by the World Bank, many experts have studied the problems of the site and found that the tombs on the west bank need further protection. They established a visitor centre to control the number of tourists permitted to visit the tombs at any one time. But for undisclosed reasons, the centre was closed, and the building is now being used as a mummy museum.
The tombs most affected by the tourist flows are the most popular ones, those of Tutankhamun and Seti I in the Valley of the Kings, Senndjem in Deir Al-Medina, and Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens, followed by the tombs of Ramses VI in the Valley of the Kings, much visited because it is near the entrance to the valley.
Although there have been many ideas about the preservation of the sites and their development as tourist attractions, there is no single, well-thought-out, comprehensive plan for the management of the site as a whole. Scholars and officials, who discuss and formulate the plans, should bear in mind the following points.
First, Luxor is a unique city. Its atmosphere of quiet, ancient streets and culturally special people should be preserved. It would be of great aesthetic value if buses and cars were prohibited from driving along the Nile in the evening. Then one could imagine the pleasant appearance and sound of carriages rolling along the Corniche.
Second, a conservation centre should be created on the west bank of the Nile where archaeologists could study and diagnose problems and plan solutions, oversee tomb excavations, and determine the opening and closing times of tombs to tourists. This centre would be ideal as a central location for the archaeological management of the Luxor area.
Third, a conservation laboratory should be established and staffed by scholars in the field of conservation and restoration. It could serve as a focal point for collecting and recording data on the tombs and temples in the valley. A visitor’s centre is also required to meet the needs of tourists and also to provide educational and cultural information.
Fourth, certain tombs should be replicated at a site away from the valley. These replicas would allow tourists to see the inside of the tombs without damaging them. The original tombs of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens, Seti I and Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, and Senndjem at Deir Al-Medina, if replicated, would be easier to protect.
It is important to understand that scholars and experts estimate a mere 200-year life expectancy for the world’s archaeological monuments. The majority of tourists worldwide want to see ancient cultural sites, especially those in Egypt. But as was mentioned at a 1996 UNESCO conference on the matter, “tourism may be the best and the worst of things.”
I believe that because there exists a great propensity for teamwork among the personnel responsible for archaeological sites and the tourist authorities in Egypt, solutions are within reach. Site management, once applied, could go far towards solving the problems of conservation, restoration, and tourism of the archaeological monuments of Egypt. We have completed a significant amount of work already in terms of site management, but there is always more to be done.
