Egypt’s Giza and Saqqara Among World’s Greatest Places 2023: AM
Even after so many years, the world has never let go of the splendor and marvel of the pyramids in Giza. Rising high above the desert sands, the iconic site has once again been listed on TIME’s 2023 World’s Greatest Places to visit, along with the rich historical site of Saqqara.
Out of another 50, both destinations were deemed worth visiting, according to a network of international correspondents to TIME.
Visiting the Pyramids of Giza will no longer involve riding horses or camels, but today will include a visit to the new Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza, which is currently open for limited tours. The first phase of the museum’s opening is referred to as a “special operations trial period,” it provides access to the commercial area, gardens and the Atrium. However, all of the permanent exhibition halls will finally be fully operational in 2023.
The Great Pyramid can be seen from the 5.2 million square foot museum on the outskirts of Cairo. The GEM contains 100,000 items, many of which have been relocated from the overcrowded, recently restored museum in Tahrir Square and some of which have never before been seen by the general public. About 5,000 of King Tutankhamun’s artefacts discovered 100 years ago are displayed in two of GEM’s exhibition halls.
Egypt’s tourism boomed in 2023, as Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Issa Taha announced on Wednesday, March 15 that Egypt saw 11.7 million tourists in 2022 with an expected increase of 28 percent in 2023.
The boom follows a series of directives implemented by the Egyptian government to boost tourism, one of which eased the process of obtaining a tourist visa. By September 2022, hotels in Egypt had increased by 63.3 percent from the previous year, and the number of nights spent by tourists was 52.6 million.
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