Association of British Travel Agents: 2008 is set to be another bumper year for Egypt as visitors flock to see the mummy of the famous boy king, Tutankhamun, who had been under wraps in his stone sarcophagus since the tomb’s discovery in the 1920’s.
Egypt has experienced incredible growth over the last few years, with UK visitor numbers increasing 26% in 2006 to 1.03 million. Most of the increase in growth to Egypt has been driven by the development of resorts on the Red Sea including Sharm el Sheikh, Dahab and Hurghada. Next year visitors will also be able to enjoy the new resort at Port Ghalib and Almaza Bay seaside resort on the Mediterranean coast.
However, this year the rate of visitor growth has been much slower – a 1.5% increase so far from January to September 2007. But the removal of Tutankhamun from his sarcophagus to a climate-controlled glass case will renew interest in Luxor, which itself is undergoing a £250 million facelift.
The historic Islamic street of Al-Muezz in Cairo and the country’s oldest
pyramid, Saqqara Djoser, are also undergoing restoration.
The top 7 sights of Egypt:
1. The Pyramids of Giza. These ancient architectural wonders, just
outside Cairo, attract visitors in their thousands. Nearby sits the 50 meter
long Sphinx.
2. Luxor. Often referred to as the world s greatest open-air museum, Luxor
has more well-preserved ancient buildings and monuments than almost
anywhere else, and includes the Temples of Karnak. Across the river, at Thebes
is the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, where Tutankhamun and his
tomb are situated.
3. Cairo. The capital is one of the most hectic, unpredictable and
exciting cities in the world. The Cairo Museum, where all the treasures and
most of the mummies - of Egypt’s famous tombs are displayed.
4. Sharm el Sheikh. Egypt’s most developed resort on the Sinai peninsula
with five star hotels, casinos and some of the world’s best dive spots.
5. Aswan. Egypt’s southernmost city on the banks of the Nile can be
used as a base to see the Tombs of the Nobles and Abu Simbel.
6. Lake Nasser. This huge lake was created during the construction of the
Aswan Dam and is best seen from the decks of a cruise ship!
7. Alexandria. A historic Mediterranean city combining archaeological
treasures with beaches.
Egypt will restrict the number of visitors to the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings to 400 a day from next month. It also plans to close the tomb to visitors indefinitely from May next year in order to carry out restoration work, the Supreme Council’s for Antiquities secretary general Zahi Hawass said in a statement. "The tomb receives a lot of visitors and is considered one of the most famous pharaonic tombs in the valley of the kings," Hawass was quoted by AFP as saying.
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