Friday March 29th, 2024
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CAI Airport to Become Museum

The Ministry of Antiquities has announced a plan to exhibit ancient artifacts at the capital's main airport, as well as other plans to entice and entertain travellers.

Staff Writer

The road to Egypt's recovery relies heavily on the return of tourists. In an attempt to entice tourists to come back or at least fly through Egypt, Mohamed Ibrahim, Antiquities Minister, has decided to make a permanent exhibition of ancient Egyptian artefacts at Cairo International airport.

The announcement was made on Sunday, at the same time that the minister welcomed back three stolen ancient Egyptian artifacts that were recovered from Germany. Among the antiquities recovered were a small Old Kingdom obelisk, a New Kingdom Shrine, and a set of female statues believed to be from the Late Period. The retrieved artifacts have been in custody since 2009 at Germany's Stuttgart Airport.

It is always great news when Egypt retrieves pieces of history, but even better is that Ibrahim told Ahram Online that the CAI exhibition is the first of several that will be established in every airport across Egypt. The goal is to entice and entertain passengers in transit to acquaint them with Egyptian civilisation.

At the same time, the Cairo International Airport is working close with ministers to implement a programme that will provide travellers with direct access from the airport to three of Cairo's most famous sites; the Giza Pyramids, the Egyptian Museum and the Salaheddin Citadel.

Egypt has always had more artifacts than could physically be displayed at any one museum. By displaying antiquities at their airports, they will finally have the opportunity to showcase pieces of history that would otherwise be stored somewhere collecting dust. Coupling the airport exhibit with packages that allow travellers to see historic sites outside the airport means that even if tourists are still too afraid to stay in Egypt, they will have opportunities to see one of the wonders of the world, making Cairo very appealing hub for travellers connect from.