Sorry for such a long gap in between blogs, I did not have access to the internet for about a week. I hope everyone is enjoying their time so far this school year!
I have been seeing a lot of ancient sites lately, the Great Pyramids of Giza, The Valley of the Kings (tombs of pharaohs from a few thousand years ago), the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (worlds largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts), and Karnak Temple (the largest enclosed worship center in the world). All of these places have been packed with tourists. People have flocked from everywhere in the world to visit these places and check another item off of their bucket list. Tourism is one of Egypt’s four largest industries; with thousands of people migrating to the ancient remains of an amazing civilization. What are the other three major industries in Egypt? How many tourists do you think go to Egypt every year? And where are they mostly from do you think? Can you find the actual numbers?
There are some major problems that the Egyptian government and the ancient relics are facing though. First off, the tourism industry will never see very much increase in the revenue for the government. Most people will not travel to see the same ancient wonders more than once. So the industry does not have the same return of customers as a beach resort would receive. Another major problem the government is facing is no enthusiasm when it comes to the preservation of many of the ancient sites. In the general populace, people don’t care as much anymore about their monuments. They would rather see them replaced by new futuristic buildings. This general feeling in the Egyptian communities could be the downfall of these great monuments. The monuments are also in trouble of falling to pieces because of the exposure to tourism. The flash of cameras can make many preserved drawings fade and fall apart. And many tourists enjoy touching everything, which also is very bad for the monuments. So how can the great monuments survive if they aren’t wanted and are falling apart? Luckily there are still many people who have dedicated their lives to learning about and preserving the Ancient Egyptian culture. Hopefully these people can stand fast and keep discovering, restoring and loving this amazing area! Brainstorm as a class or in small groups what you think the pros and cons of tourism to ancient sites might be!
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