Egypt's ancient pyramids at Giza get makeover

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Egypt's ancient pyramids at Giza get makeover

The Associated Press

Published: August 11, 2008

CAIRO, Egypt: The monuments may be glorious, but visiting Egypt's famed Giza Pyramids has long been a nightmare, with hawkers peddling camel rides and pharaonic trinkets hustling tourists relentlessly at every turn.

But now the hustlers are gone, as Egypt unveiled on Monday the first stage of an elaborate project to modernize the site and make it more tourist-friendly, complete with security cameras and a 12-mile fence with infrared sensors surrounding the site.

"It was a zoo," Zahi Hawass, Egypt's chief archaeologist, said of the usual free-for-all at the pyramids. "Now we are protecting both the tourists and the ancient monuments."

The three Giza Pyramids have long been unusually open for a 5,000-year-old Wonder of the World, especially compared to other world-renowned sites like Greece's Acropolis, Jerusalem's Western Wall or Rome's Colosseum, where security is tight and the movement of visitors is controlled.

The pyramids stand on a desert plateau that was once isolated, but in the capital's expansion in past decades slums have been built right to its edge, separated only by a low stone wall in parts. The rest of the area was wide open to the desert.

Hawkers — many from the nearby impoverished neighborhoods looking to benefit from the tourist dollar — have had free rein, and have become notorious. Tourists undergo a constant barrage from peddlers selling mock-ups of pharaonic statues and scarabs, T-shirts and other trinkets, or are followed by men on camels selling rides or photos — and rarely taking no for an answer. Young men even try to force their way into taxi cabs carrying foreigners toward the pyramids, looking to steer them to nearby horse stables for a ride around the site.

Tourists have had taken their own liberties as well. Since the 19th Century, climbing the Pyramid of Khufu, the biggest of the three, was a favorite past-time for visitors, continuing into the 1970s — with the occasional fatal fall of an inebriated tourist.

Since then, authorities have cracked down on climbing the giant 2.5-ton blocks, though visitors can still freely ramble around the pyramid grounds, where many tombs and other archaeological sites remain only partially excavated and vulnerable to damage.

The new technology will do away with shenanigans by both sides.

The long metal fence encircling the site is peppered with infrared and motion detectors. Tourists enter through a new brick entrance building, with half a dozen gates equipped with metal detectors and X-ray machines. Once inside, their every step is closely watched by 199 closed-circuit cameras covering every corner of the sprawling plateau.

"It looks clean and beautiful," said Michael Schmidt, 43, a real estate agent from New York City, as he visited the site Monday. "They did a good job."

Shaban Abdel-Gawad, head of the Egyptology department at Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the plateau now only has one entrance point, the front gates. "We are making it much nicer for the tourists," he said and pointed to the new bathrooms at the entrance, which he said were of "much better standard."

As Hawass and antiquity authorities showed off the changes Monday, trinket sellers were nowhere to be seen, apparently ordered off the plateau. Three lone camel riders in male Arab headscarf and the traditional galabeyah robes were standing at the edge of the plateau. Instead of chasing customers, they waited for the tourists to come to them for a photo opportunity.

As a reporter walked up, one of them said: "Go away, the police told us not to talk to you."

"I've been working here for 25 years," said a second one, but would not give his name for fear he could lose his permit. "Now I don't know if I will be here tomorrow. I have five children, a wife. What will happen to us?"

It was not clear whether the trinket dealers were pushed out just for the day or whether they would return in a more controlled fashion. Kamal Wahid, the site's general director, said phasing out the hawkers will not be sudden or "unkind."

"Two years from now, you won't see them inside the site," he said. He added that a special area nearby will be designated for horse and camel riding for tourists — with the pyramids serving as a dramatic backdrop for photos.

The changes also increase security.

In 1997, amid a wave of Islamic militant violence, gunmen attacked tourists at a desert temple in the southern city of Luxor, killing more than 60. The militant campaign and most attacks ended in the late 1990s, but bombings in Sinai beach resorts in the past four years have kept officials wary.

The changes are part of a $26 million project that began seven years ago to improve the site, Hawass said. Still to come are a new lighting system, a cafeteria, and a visitors center and bookshop that will give better information on the pyramids, where tourist guidance is sparse.

Once the project is complete, golf cars will drive tourists around the site, similar to those in use in the Valley of the Kings at Luxor and other ancient sites in Egypt.

Exactly how much a future visitor would be able to roam around freely is unclear, but on Monday, Ramish Bissoon, 59, a teacher from Trinidad, felt unrestricted as he explored the plateau with his wife, Molly.

"I don't know what it was like before, but I feel very comfortable and secure," he said. "There are a lot of policemen around."

Hawass insisted none of the innovations will diminish the experience of the visit. "We are giving back the magic of the pyramids," Hawass said.

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/11/...over.php?page=2

[JeanneVictoria 55]

It's about time!!!

[Nothing1234 2]

It's about time!!!

I agree. I understand the need for change. My only fear is turning it into a Disney theme park. Its bad enough that their is a Pizza Hut across the street. What's next? I happen to enjoy hanging out with my friends at night going for a horseback ride past the pyramids.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I know what you mean Nawal. Something about the freedom being restricted and constantly being watched bothers me a little, but the freedom to not be hassled by the hawkers and camel guys feels good too.

[Henia 11]

Who knew history needed a makeover LOL! But I guess getting rid of all the huslters is great LOL!

[Nasturtium 500]

This is a good thing.. it will help to preserve them much longer. Hassel-free sounds nice too!

[Aymsgirl 0]

Nice to know the pushy hustlers will be gone. They made us miserable when we were there. Thanks for sharing!

[Imua 0]

Olivia - I thought of you when I read this in the NY Times this morning. Good for them, wish they would do the same for Durbar Square in Kathmandu - you can't even enjoy looking at the beautiful old Newari buildings without some tout trying to sell you Tiger Balm or getting run over by a cycle rickshaw....