The Egyptian cabinet has said that EGP 1.3 billion has been allocated to renovate a number of archaeological sites across the country, and not only Jewish heritage sites, as the media had reported.
A statement by the cabinet’s media centre on Friday said that the reports that the whole amount had been allocated to renovate Jewish heritage sites solely were “unsubstantiated rumours.”
Last week, several local and international media outlets reported the Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany as saying that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi had allocated the amount as part of the ministry’s plan to renovate Jewish heritage sites in Egypt.
“The Ministry of Antiquities has allocated EGP 1.3 billion to renovate a number of archaeological sites in Egypt, including the Jewish synagogue in Alexandria,” read the Friday statement.
“The Egyptian government gives equal attention to Egypt’s entire heritage, whether Pharaonic, Jewish, Coptic or Islamic,” it added.
According to the cabinet, some of the archaeological sites included in the renovation plan are the Baron Empain Palace in Heliopolis, Mohamed Ali Pasha Palace in Shubra, the Giza Pyramids, the Jewish synagogue and the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria, Alexan Pasha Palace in Assiut governorate, and King Farouk’s lounge near the Giza Pyramids.
source: Ahram online
