The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities () is the Egyptian government organization which serves to protect and preserve the heritage and ancient history of Egypt. In December 2019 it was merged into the Ministry of Tourism with Khaled al-Anani retaining his function. He was replaced by

Ahmed Issa Ahmed Issa (July 17, 1943 – 1983) was a middle-distance runner who competed for Chad. Issa was part of the two-man team that first ever represented Chad at the Summer Olympics when he competed at the 1964 Games held in Tokyo, he competed in t ...

as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities in a cabinet reshuffle on 13 August 2022.

History

It was formed from the

Supreme Council of Antiquities The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA; ) was established in 1994, responsible for the conservation, protection, and regulation of all antiquities and archaeological excavations in Egypt. From 1994 to 2011, the SCA was a department of the Egyptia ...

in 2011 during the presidency of

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...

to deal with the security and theft of Egyptian

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean such as the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt, and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures such as Ancient Persia (Iran). Artifact ...

. Grave robbers have been looting ancient Egyptian tombs nearly continuously for well over 4 thousand years. The Ministry of Antiquities works to get the items restored back to Egypt, whenever possible. Over the years, thousands of stolen antiquities have made their way back to Egypt. For instance, in late 2016, the ministry recovered and repatriated two of four Islamic era lamps which had been stolen in 2015. In 2018, a carving in the shape of Osiris which had been hidden in furniture and shipped to Kuwait was repatriated to Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities. In 2023, the ministry prohibited a group of archaeologists from the National Museum of Antiquities in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

from conducting excavations in

Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...

after the museum unveiled an exhibit about ancient Egyptian music that Egyptian authorities criticized for its Afrocentric depictions of certain figures, claiming it was

historical negationism Historical negationism, also called historical denialism, is falsification or distortion of the historical record. This is not the same as '' historical revisionism'', a broader term that extends to newly evidenced, fairly reasoned academic rein ...

Projects

From 2009 to 2014, the ministry worked with the

Getty Conservation Institute The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), located in Los Angeles, California, is a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust. It is headquartered at the Getty Center but also has facilities at the Getty Villa, and commenced operation in 1985.J. Paul Gett ...

on the management and conservation of the

tomb of Tutankhamun The tomb of Tutankhamun (reigned ), a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, is located in the Valley of the Kings. The tomb, also known by its List of burials in the Valley of the Kings, tomb number KV ...

Past ministers

Zahi Hawass Zahi Abass Hawass (; born May 28, 1947) is an Egyptians, Egyptian archaeology, archaeologist, Egyptology, Egyptologist, and former Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt), Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, a position he held twice. He has ...

31 January 2011 – 3 March 2011 *

Mamdouh Eldamaty Mamdouh Mohamed Gad Eldamaty (; born 6 December 1961) is an Egyptian Egyptologist who has served in the government of Egypt as Minister of Antiquities from 2014 until 2016. He has also worked as Professor of Egyptology at the Department of Archa ...

June 2014 - March 2016 * Khaled al-Anani 23 March 2016 - 13 August 2022

Duties and goals

In 2016, the minister, Khaled El-Anany, stated his primary focus would be on solving the budget deficit of the ministry, given that many projects were stalled for lack of funding.

References

External links

Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' Official website

Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities on Facebook

Egypt's Cabinet Database
{{authority control Tourism and Antiquities