Author: Athanasios Koutoupas

Grand Egyptian Museum construction to be completed by the end of 2016

The Ministry of Antiquities is planning to finish construction of the first phase of the Grand Egyptian Museum before 2016’s end.

The ministry aims to have the museum partially-opened by mid-2017, keeping in mind several suggestions to increase its resources. According to dailynewsegypt.com, the Minister of Antiquities, Khaled El-Anany has discussed new sources of revenue for the ministry, such as offering package ticket deals to tourists, which include several archeological sites at discounted rates.

El-Anany also mentioned that the ministry is promoting Egyptian antiquities globally through media, as well as opening new archeological sites and several other museums and palaces that have been shut down in 2011. Prime examples of such are the Pyramid Complex of Unas in Saqqara and the Tombs of Nefertari in Luxor. Ticket prices have also been lowered for tourist groups.

As for the Egyptian Museum, the ministry plans on keeping it in full operation even after the opening of the new Grand Egyptian Museum, on account of only some of its monuments being transferred to the new one.

(www.traveldailynews.com)

September 4, 2016
Archaeo Delta Photography Exhibition
The exhibition is curated by the BA Alexandria Center for Hellenistic Studies in collaboration with the Ministry of Antiquities and Padua University and it will take place from 8 September until 30 September.

The exhibition aims to document archaeological expeditions in various sites located in the Egyptian Delta in a rather unprecedented manner. The exhibition includes various photographs of archaeological sites and other landscapes, as well as photographs of two non-deltaic sites.

The exhibition will also display pictures of the following archaeological expeditions:
- Kom al-Ahmer and Kom Wasit in Beheira: Padova University, Italy.
- Quesna, Sais- Mutubis in Kafr el-Sheikh: Durham University, United Kingdom.
- Tell Timai, Daqahlyia: Hawaii University, USA.
- Tell Murra, Sharqyia: Jagiellonian University in Poland.
- Athribis, Sohag: Egyptian-German mission organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the University of Tübingen.
- Demeit al-Sebba, Fayoum: Salento University, Italy.
  Contact Person: Randa Ahmed
  Phone: 1942
  Email: [email protected]
September 4, 2016
Pavlopoulos: Turkey must apologize for Pontic Greek genocide

Ankara must offer a “sincere apology” for the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Black Sea, or Pontic, Greeks by Turks almost a century ago, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said on Monday.
During a visit at Panaghia Soumela monastery near Veria, in northern Greece, to mark this year’s August 15 feast day in the Greek Orthodox calendar commemorating the Dormition of the Virgin, Pavlopoulos said that the nation would continue to fight “until the recognition of the genocide of Pontic Greeks and the expression of a sincere apology by the descendants of the perpetrators, Turkey.”
Greece has officially recognized the murder of up to around 370,000 Greeks who lived on the shores of the Black Sea between 1914 and 1923 as genocide since 1994, designating May 19 an annual day of remembrance.
The Greek President also criticized a recent decision by Turkish authorities to refuse permission for a religious ceremony to mark the day at the historic Monastery of Panaghia Soumela in the mountainous Trabzon region – known to Greeks as Trapezounta – of Turkey, citing building repair works.
Pontic Greek associations have expressed doubt over the intentions of Turkish authorities and have linked the suspension of the religious ceremony to the conservative wave enveloping Turkey following last month’s failed coup.

(www.ekathimerini.com)

September 4, 2016
Egypt Government Approves Five Oil And Gas Exploration Deals

Egypt’s government has approved five oil and gas drilling and exploration agreements with foreign companies, Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said on Wednesday.

Once an energy exporter, Egypt has turned into a net importer because of declining oil and gas production and increasing consumption. It is trying to speed up production at recent discoveries to fill its energy gap as soon as possible.

Four of the deals are offshore Mediterranean gas exploration and drilling agreements between Egypt’s state gas board EGAS and BP, Eni, Total, and Edison.

The fifth deal, which is an oil drilling deal in the Gulf of Suez, is between state petroleum board EGPC and local company Trident Petroleum.

Egypt currently produces about 3.9 billion cubic feet of gas per day and imports another 1-1.1 billion cubic feet per day.

(www.rigzone.com)

August 24, 2016