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Egypt Tourism ‘Will Recover,’ Return to Pre-2011 Levels Next Year: World Travel Council Official

Egyptian tourism will “return rapidly” to its pre-2011 levels by early 2017, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTO) chairman David Scowsill said during the fifth Global Summit on City Tourism, held in Luxor.

According to privately-owned El-Watan newspaper, Scowsill praised the newly imposed security measures at Egypt’s airports and said he would report what he has witnessed in that regard to British travel agencies. The chairman also said he will visit the Red Sea resort town of Sharm El Sheikh soon to encourage the resumption of flights.

Earlier this week, the 104th meeting of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) kicked off in Luxor, one of Egypt’s foremost tourist destinations.

“Egypt is a worldwide leader in tourism and will continue to be so. The high level of attendance at this meeting is a confirmation of the confidence of the international tourism community in Egypt. Supporting tourism to Egypt is supporting its future and that of the Egyptian people,” UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said at the meeting.

The country’s tourism industry, once the flagship of the economy and the second most important earner of hard currency, has been struggling greatly since the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak from power.

Several incidents, including the accidental killing of eight Mexican tourists and the downing of a Russian passenger plane last year, in addition to the brutal murder of Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni in January, have taken their toll on the country’s tourism flow.

More than 14.7 million tourists traveled to Egypt in 2010, with that number falling to 9.8 million in 2011. Tourist arrivals have largely failed to pick up during the course of 2016; according to statistics from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the number of tourists traveling to Egypt in June dropped by nearly 60 percent year-on-year to reach a meager 320,000.

According to a report from Egypt’s Ministry of Planning, the tourism trade in the country shrank by 34 percent during the first nine months of the 2015/2016 fiscal year.

The falling tourism revenues have been amplified by the dwindling foreign currency reserves that negatively affected the budget deficit.

However, some hope that the recent steps taken by Egyptian authorities, including the Central Bank of Egypt’s surprise move to devalue the Egyptian pound and the expected USD 12 million loan from the International Monetary Fund, will help set the country on the right track and bring back foreign investments and tourists.

Despite Egypt’s dwindling tourism revenues, which have played a part in triggering the country’s ongoing foreign currency crisis, Egypt aims to attract 12 million tourists by the end of 2017 by way of implementing an ambitious six-point plan, which will include increasing the presence of the national airline EgyptAir abroad, cooperating with low-cost airlines and improving services.

(egyptianstreets.com)

November 10, 2016
Stavros Niarchos Foundation: 20 years of grantmaking activity

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary, fulfilling the original purpose of its establishment: to contribute, with all the means at its disposal, to the improvement of the lives of those less privileged and to support organizations and projects that are expected to achieve a broad, lasting and positive impact for society at large.

The SNF’s philanthropic activity, to date, has spread across 111 countries, with particular emphasis on Greece which—among other grants and programs—is where some of the most important initiatives of the Foundation are being developed, such as the development of the SNFCC, alongside Initiatives Against the Greek Crisis and for Recharging the Youth.

Since the commencement of its activities in 1996, to date, the SNF has made grant commitments of $1.9 billion (€1.56 billion), through 3,646 grants to nonprofit organizations across the world, in four main areas: Arts and Culture, Education, Health and Sports, and Social Welfare.

Specifically, during the last 20 years, the SNF has committed the following, in total:

▪ Arts & Culture: 752 grants (totaling €387 million), with the key strategic objective of broadening public access to the Arts, promoting Greek art and culture worldwide, encouraging creative partnerships between institutions, organizations and artists on a national and global level, as well as strengthening the social role of cultural organizations.

▪ Education: 1,107 grants (totaling €484 million), supporting the implementation of innovative educational programs, the establishment of new, innovative education centers in Greece and abroad, and the creation of significant capacity building opportunities for the benefit of numerous social groups.

▪ Health & Sports: 672 grants (totaling €287 million), which aim to improve the quality of life of society as a whole, while simultaneously helping to widen accessibility to comprehensive health care services for all.

▪ Social Welfare: 1,115 grants (totaling €409 million), mainly focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable groups (children, the elderly, the homeless, refugees, the disabled, etc.).

Initiatives: Against the Greek Crisis & Recharging the Youth

In addition to its regular grant-making activities, and in order to contribute towards the efforts to address the multifaceted effects of the crisis on the Greek society, the Foundation, beginning in 2012, launched initiatives totaling €300 million, with the aim of providing immediate relief to those mostly affected by the crisis, as well as creating new opportunities and better employment prospects for the younger generation, which has been severely impacted by one of the highest percentages of youth unemployment in Europe.

As part of the Grants against the Greek Crisis, the SNF has made 494 grants, totaling €164 million, in order to address the effects of the crisis. The purpose of this initiative is twofold: through the supported programs, it aims, on the one hand, to contribute to the immediate relief of those impacted more severely from the crisis and, on the other hand, to create those necessary conditions which will ensure long-term benefits. In this context, a series of grants were designed, based on a strategic and long-term perspective. The majority of grants supported the development, adaptation and expansion of existing social programs and the operation of grantee organizations. Additional grants were made for the purchasing of equipment or vehicles, as well as the construction and renovation of social structures.

As part of the Recharging the Youth Initiative, the SNF has made 57 grants, totaling €38 million, focusing on programs aimed at the development of entrepreneurship, the creation of skills, as well as education, while it continues to develop and assess programs—in collaboration with various local and international partners—which have the potential to provide a boost in youth employment.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

In addition to the SNF’s 3,646 grants and the special initiatives, the Foundation’s philanthropic activity is complemented by the creation of a new landmark for the city of Athens: the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). The SNFCC is the Foundation’s largest single gift, with a total budget of €617 million, and it has already recorded some significant successes, even before its official delivery to the Greek State, which will be the project’s legal owner.

▪ The SNFCC’s construction was completed within 4 years, adhering, without any major deviations, to the original project timetable, despite the project’s scope and complexity.

▪ Designed by the Renzo Pianο Building Workshop, the SNFCC is one of the few projects worldwide, which houses two national cultural and educational institutions, namely the Greek National Opera and the National Library of Greece, complementing them with the Stavros Niarchos Park, with a total surface area of 210,000 m², which connects the city center with the urban waterfront.

▪ According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group, during the project’s construction, the SNFCC added €1.1 billion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (0.2% of GDP per year), contributing €57 million in tax revenues. According to the same study, the construction of the SNFCC created more than 13,000 jobs, in total.

▪ During the project’s implementation, best practices were used in terms of construction, alongside a mix of traditional and innovative materials, which ensured the SNFCC’s innovation and functionality. The SNFCC earned the prestigious Platinum LEED certification, the highest possible rating for environmentally conscious and sustainable buildings.

▪ Beginning in mid-August of 2016, when the project opened its doors to the public through a series of free events, funded exclusively by the SNF, the SNFCC welcomes on a weekly basis more than 35,000 visitors.

Andreas Dracopoulos, Co-President of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, stated: “At a first glance, the 20-year course of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation may reflect the innumerable needs of society worldwide. For us, however, it also reflects people’s possibilities and prospects, for which we should all strive more. We feel proud that after 20 years of grant making activity, we have managed to evolve and strengthen our initiatives, while at the same time remain flexible to respond to all kinds of challenges, from the greatest ones, such as the creation of the SNFCC, to supporting a small organization that demonstrates vision and commitment. We hope to continue in the same way in the coming years, helping to make our world a better place, to the best of our abilities.”

(www.snf.org)

November 10, 2016
Two new pharaonic cemeteries discovered in Aswan

Two rock-carved cemeteries belonging to the Late Period of ancient Egypt have been discovered close to the shrine of Agha Khan, located west of Aswan, the Antiquities Ministry said in a press release on Monday.

Nasr Salama, head of the ministry’s department for Aswan and Nubia antiquities, said the two cemeteries were badly preserved, with no inscriptions were found on the walls.

However, the remains of tombs and mummies were found inside. Salama said that stairs were discovered that lead to a small, square burial chamber.

The discovery was made by the ministry’s school for excavations. Adel Tohamy, head of the school, said the archaeologists trained at the school were using modern equipment for archaeological excavation and documentation.

(www.egyptindependent.com)

November 5, 2016
Egypt’s Grand Museum, National Museum of Egyptian Civilization to have separate management

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued a ministerial decree to establish two independent General Authorities for the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) under the supervision of the antiquities ministry.

Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany said the decree states that every authority would have its own board of trustees composed of a group of Egyptian and prominent international public figures with experience in the field.

Every board would draft the museum’s general policies, setting up a work programme and managing the museum’s budget through studying the grants, donations and gifts provided from international, regional and local parties, within the articles of law and regulations that organise them.

The board of trustees, he added, would also appoint the museum director and his two assistants.

GEM’s Supervisor General Tarek Tawfik described the decree as ideal because it would facilitate administrative work in both museums as well as decrease its bureaucracy.

He went on to say that the board of trustees would push the work forward to make the dream of both museums come true.

(english.ahram.org.eg)

November 5, 2016
Funding Entrepreneurship in Cairo

Although the Egyptian government has long been an enthusiastic promoter of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), up until recently, financing institutions did not have a unified definition of what makes an SME. According to Haytham Waguih, Head of Private Equity (PE) at the Arab African International Bank (AAIB) and board member at the Egyptian Private Equity Association (EPEA), the absence of a single unified definition for SME has meant that investment funds and banks across Egypt often use very different parameters. Last December, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) released a circular re-defining small, medium and micro-enterprises – a move that Waguih lauds as key to establishing a solid foundation for funding entrepreneurs moving forward.

In January of this year, the CBE launched a program to finance 350,000 SMEs for EGP 200 billion (US $22.5 billion) over the next four years, with a declining interest rate of 5% annually, and introduced a policy that will oblige banks to commit 20% of their total loan portfolio to SMEs. But in spite of these recent policies, the government still lacks a systematic and methodical approach to address entrepreneurship, which, according to Waguih, is one of the keys to fostering a climate for the growth of the sector. “There is urgency and pragmatism in terms of developing a methodology and mechanism on the ground that are still lacking,” he notes.

According to Ayman Ismail, Assistant Professor and Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship and Director of the American University in Cairo’s Venture Lab, reform of the macroeconomic environment is key to attracting more entrepreneurs and businesses to Egypt – although he prefers a more minimalist role when it comes to government. “There are two types of interventions by the government: one is doing things themselves and the other is creating the environment to help people start doing things. I believe that the government should be a catalyst for more private accelerators and incubators by supporting them and creating a conducive environment for startups,” he says. “The biggest thing the government can do for entrepreneurs is to clear the bureaucratic hurdles. This helps all companies, but more so the younger ones that are more vulnerable.”

(egyptianstreets.com)

November 5, 2016
3,800-Year-Old ‘Tableau’ of Egyptian Boats Discovered

More than 120 images of ancient Egyptian boats have been discovered adorning the inside of a building in Abydos, Egypt. The building dates back more than 3,800 years and was built near the tomb of pharaoh Senwosret III, archaeologists reported.

The tableau, as the series of images is called, would have looked upon a real wooden boat said Josef Wegner, a curator at the Penn Museum at the University of Pennsylvania, who led the excavation. Only a few planks remain of the wooden boat, which would have been constructed at Abydos or dragged across the desert, Wegner said. In ancient Egypt, boats were sometimes buried near a pharaoh’s tomb. [In Photos: Tomb Painting Discovered Near Great Pyramid of Giza]

Etchings and a boat

Archaeologists found that the tableau was incised on the white plaster walls of the building.

The largest images are nearly 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length and show “large, well-rendered boats depicted with masts, sails, rigging, deckhouses/cabins, rudders, oars and in some cases rowers,” wrote Wegner in an article published in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. Some images are small and simple, the smallest reaching only about 4 inches (10 centimeters) in length, wrote Wegner.

Though 120 boat images survive today, there would have been more incised on the building walls in ancient times, Wegner wrote. In addition to the boats, the tableau contains incised images of gazelle, cattle and flowers, he noted.

Near the entranceway of the building — whose interior is about 68 feet by 13 feet (21 by 4 m) — archaeologists discovered more than 145 pottery vessels, many of which are buried with their necks facing toward the building’s entrance. “The vessels are necked, liquid-storage jars, usually termed ‘beer jars’ although probably used for storage and transport of a variety of liquids,” wrote Wegner in the journal article.The existence of the building was first noted in a 1904 report by an Egypt Exploration Fund (EEF) team that worked at Abydos between 1901 and 1903. However, that team didn’t have time to excavate the building and didn’t know what was in it; “they came down on the very top of the boat building. They saw the vault of it but abandoned work,” Wegner said.

Many mysteries

The discoveries leave archaeologists with a series of mysteries that future excavations may help solve. [7 Amazing Archaeological Discoveries from Egypt]

The archaeologists don’t know who drew the tableau or why they created it. “We can’t conclusively answer that on the basis of what’s preserved,” Wegner told Live Science. However, the researchers think multiple people created the tableau within a short period of time, he added.

One possibility is that the people who built the boat also created the tableau, he said. Or, perhaps, a group of people taking part in a funerary ceremony after the death of pharaoh Senwosret III etched the images onto the building walls. Yet another possibility is that a group of people gained access to the building after the pharaoh died and created the tableau. Archaeologists found that a group of individuals entered the building at some point after the pharaoh’s death and took the boat apart, reusing the planks.

Archaeologists are also puzzled over the purpose of all the pottery found near the entrance of the building. It’s possible that those attending a funerary ceremony could have spilled liquid from the pots on the ground on purpose. “Potentially a massive decanting of liquid, likely predominantly water, at the entrance of the building was a way of magically floating the boat,” Wegner wrote in the paper. The boat would not have been literally floated if this ceremony took place.

Another possibility is that the wooden boat was transported on a wooden sledge across the desert. In that case, “water and other liquids may have been used to lubricate and solidify the ground along the path of the boat as it was pulled from the floodplain to its desert resting place,” wrote Wegner, adding that “the ceramic vessels used in this journey may themselves have taken on a ritual significance, and both boat and jars were then buried together as ceremonial interment of objects associated with royal mortuary rites.”

The team plans to carry out excavations in the future that may help solve the various mysteries, he said.

Wegner’s team, in cooperation with Egypt’s Ministry of State for Antiquities, carried out the excavations of the building between 2014 and 2016.

(www.livescience.com)

November 5, 2016
Greek Doctor Afksendiyos Kalangos has saved the life of over 15,000 children

This amazing Greek defines humanity and filotimo. He has received various awards and has been named the “Modern Missionary of Medicine”. However, he is not interested in titles, awards, or money. Dr. Afksendiyos Kalangos loves to save lives and restore the smiles of desperate poor children with heart problems. Dr. Kalangos has performed over 15.000 surgeries in the last decade to poor children all over the world for FREE. He is the Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the University Hospital of Geneva.

In 1998, Dr. Afksendiyos Kalangos founded the charity institution «Coeurs pour tous» (Hearts for All), and since then he is surrounded by a group of surgeons with common ideals, offering valuable medical services to people in need around the world.

He graduated in 1984 at the age 23, from the American Medical Faculty of Istanbul, he specialized himself in surgery in London and then he spent five additional years of study in order to be devoted to heart surgery for children and babies in Paris and in the U.S. Eventually he became a professor at the University of Geneva at his early 40s.

He loves the smell of cinnamon and he always has a bottle of it in his office. He says that cinnamon regenerates him, but it also reminds him of the place of his origin Constantinople.

As a son of a doctor, his father was a physician, head physician of the paediatric hospital in Istanbul Baloukli, he followed his father’s words, to make his life’s goal the works and not the money. It’s no wonder that a road in Istanbul has been named after his father, who died in 2004, having completed 65 years of devotion to patients. “A man, who could cure any disease” as the Turks say even today.

As a son of a doctor, his father was a physician, head physician of the paediatric hospital in Istanbul Baloukli, he followed his father’s words, to make his life’s goal the work and not the money. It’s no wonder that a road to Istanbul has been named after his father, who died in 2004, having completed 65 years of devotion to patients. “A man, who could cure any disease” as the Turks say even today!

(www.greekgateway.com)

November 5, 2016
Central Bank of Egypt Floats the Egyptian Pound

In a surprise morning announcement, the Central Bank of Egypt announced that it has floated the Egyptian pound against all foreign currencies.

“The CBE hereby announces its decision to move, with immediate effect, to a liberalized exchange rate regime in order to quell any distortions in the domestic foreign currency market,” the bank said in a statement.

Against the US dollar, the Egyptian pound was floated to EGP 13.00 per USD 1.00. Selling a US dollar, however, yields EGP 13.50. Prior to the devaluation, the US dollar’s official selling price was EGP 8.88, while the buying price stood at EGP 8.85. On the parallel market, however, the greenback reached an all-time high of EGP 18 earlier this week, before the pound strengthened amid calls for a boycott of the parallel market to drive down the rates.

Following the devaluation, the Commercial International Bank (CIB) has placed the USD buying rate at EGP 13.25 and the selling rate at EGP 14.3, while it place the rate for euros at EGP 14.661 for buying and EGP 15.913 for selling. Other banks have yet to update their websites with the new rates.

The Egyptian pound will be allowed to fluctuate (either positively or negatively) in value by 10 percent for a short period before it is set.

In a separate announcement, the Bank Misr and Al-Ahly announced that buying Egyptian pound certificates will provide customers with an interest rate between 16 and 20 percent, depending on the duration that the certificates are kept.

This story is developing.

(egyptianstreets.com)

November 5, 2016
The Alexandria International Conference on Maritime and Underwater Archaeology
Egypt has provided humanity with a majestic concrete civilization that continued for thousands of years since the break of dawn. Historians and archaeologists have been interested in studying this civilization and its endlessly creative, accomplished legacy. Marine archaeology is considered one of the new sciences that studies the Ancient Egyptian Civilization throughout its different ages through archaeological findings, either underground or underwater. Egypt witnessed an attention paid to underwater and marine archaeology for many years, since several institutes and individuals were keen on finding underwater antiquities and affiliating marine cities and active and obliterated harbors, and getting to know the old navigation methods, and the related trade and marine activity. Consequently, researchers delved in this infinite science full of mystery and joy of discovering.

Not only had the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities paid attention to afford the opportunity to excavations in Egypt by foreign missions specialized in underwater and marine archaeology and collaborated in their scientific and archaeological work, but also founded the Department of Underwater Antiquities in Alexandria in 1996 to be the specialized annex of the Ministry entrusted with enriching Egyptian archaeological and scientific research in the field, and the section responsible for revealing the secrets of this amazing, deep world of Egyptian legacy. This was until the Department became a central department of underwater antiquities, thus in charge of more practical and scientific responsibilities including the organization of archaeological work and specialized scientific collaboration in the field of underwater and marine archaeology, not only in Alexandria, but all over Egypt, whether in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, or the River Nile. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, since its foundation, also paid attention to reviving the rich Egyptian civilizational legacy represented in the Ancient Bibliotheca Alexandrina. It paid attention to archaeology in general, and marine and underwater antiquities specifically. Thus, galleries, meetings, workshops, and others were organized; books and prints tackling this important subject were published, either via Alexandria Project, which documents the Ancient Bibliotheca Alexandrina and its legacy, or other activities of the New Bibliotheca Alexandrina and its research centers.

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, represented in the Alexandria Project, and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, represented in the central Department of Underwater Antiquities, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the central Department of Underwater Antiquities, realized that together Underwater and Marine Archaeology should be celebrated through calling for holding the Alexandria International Conference for Underwater and Marine Antiquities, 31 October – 2 November 2016, in Alexandria, Egypt, to present the different aspects of this field, and to study the latest specialized archaeological findings. The three-day Conference tackles the following topics:
1. Archaeological harbors:
  - Marine ports and harbors
2. Ancient shipbuilding:
  - Boats and ships in Ancient Egypt
  - Boats and ships in Ancient Mediterranean
  - Ships in the Islamic Era
3. Underwater archaeological sites:
  - Archaeological findings in Egypt.
Those in charge of the Conference were honored to participate with the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) headed by Professor Franck Goddio, and the Centre for Alexandrian Studies (CEAlex) headed by Archaeologist Mary Dominick Nina, in terms of financial support and organization.

The Conference is honored to have an elite of Egyptian and international historians and archaeologists specialized in studying underwater and marine antiquities in several archaeological missions, inside and outside Egypt. Twenty-five scientists and archaeologists from Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States of America, participated in the Conference.

The Conference also honors pioneer individuals and institutions in underwater and marine archaeology, who exerted distinguished and distinct efforts, enriched this archaeological work in Egypt, and contributed in establishing its bases. The Conference honors the following:
- Name of Prince Omar Tousson
- Name of Mr. Kamel Abou el-Saadat
- Name of Archaeologist Honor Frost
- The Archaeological Society of Alexandria
- Dr. Ibrahim Darwish
(www.bibalex.org)
November 2, 2016
Cyprus and Egypt reaffirm their will to further enhance their relations

Cyprus and Egypt have reaffirmed their will to further enhance their relations.
According to an official press release, House President, Demetris Syllouris, received on Tuesday the Ambassador the Arab Republic of Egypt in Cyprus, Hussein Mubarak. Syllouris reaffirmed close relations between Cyprus and Egypt at all levels, referring to the cooperation between the two countries at the bilateral level and in the framework of the Trilateral Cooperation among Egypt, Cyprus and Greece.
He reiterated his invitation to the President of the Egyptian Parliament, Ali Abdel Aal, for an official visit to Cyprus. Mubarak referred to the historic and friendly relations between Egypt and Cyprus, underlining the importance of the close cooperation between the two countries in various fields, as well as their joint support in the framework of international organisations.
The Egyptian Ambassador underlined that there is common will for further enhancement of the already close relations between the parliaments of Egypt and Cyprus and expressed the belief that these relations will be reinforced through more frequent exchange of visits.
Mubarak reiterated his country`s steadfast support to efforts to reach a Cyprus settlement, on the basis of UN Security Council relevant resolutions and the international law, and expressed hope that this aim will soon be achieved.
Syllouris and Mubarak also discussed issues of mutual interest in relation to the latest political developments in the region.

(famagusta-gazette.com)

November 2, 2016