Cairo Inaugurates the First Phase of Renovations on the Venerable Egyptian Museum

The building in Cairo’s Tahrir Square first opened in 1902 and has long ranked as one of the world’s greatest museums, with its vast displays of Pharaonic artefacts that stretch over 3,000 years of history.

Tourism is a major dollar earner in Egypt’s cash-strapped economy and has been gradually recovering from multiple hits, including political turmoil after a popular uprising in 2011, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which cut off a substantial flow of tourists from both countries.

Egypt hopes to grow its tourism industry by 25% to 30% a year, Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa said at the inauguration ceremony on Monday. The renovation, financed by the European Union and assisted by five major European museums including the Louvre and British Museum, was designed to modernise the presentation of the objects. Some of its display cases dated to the mid-19th century.

SOURCE: REUTERS