CAIRO: Workers dig and ferry wheelbarrows laden with sand to open a new shaft at a bustling archaeological site outside of Cairo, while a handful of Egyptian archaeologists supervise from garden chairs. The dig is at the foot of the Step Pyramid of Djoser, arguably the world’s oldest pyramid, and is one of many recent excavations that are yielding troves of ancient artifacts from the country’s largest archaeological site.
As some European countries re-open to international tourists, Egypt has already been trying for months to attract them to its archaeological sites and museums. Officials are betting that the new ancient discoveries will set it apart on the mid- and post-pandemic tourism market. They need visitors to come back in force to inject cash into the tourism industry, a pillar of the economy.
But like countries elsewhere, Egypt continues to battle the coronavirus, and is struggling to get its people vaccinated. The country has, up until now, received only 5 million vaccines for its population of 100 million people, according to its Health Ministry. In early May, the government announced that 1 million people had been vaccinated, though that number is believed to be higher now.
In the meantime, authorities have kept the publicity machine running, focused on the new discoveries.
In November, archaeologists announced the discovery of at least 100 ancient coffins dating back to the Pharaonic Late Period and Greco-Ptolemaic era, along with 40 gilded statues found 2,500 years after they were first buried. That came a month after the discovery of 57 other coffins at the same site, the necropolis of Saqqara that includes the step pyramid.
“Saqqara is a treasure,” said Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Anany while announcing the November discovery, estimating that only 1 percent of what the site contains has been unearthed so far.
“Our problem now is that we don’t know how we can possibly wow the world after this,” he said.
If they don’t, it certainly won’t be for lack of trying.
In April, Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s best-known archaeologist, announced the discovery of a 3,000-year-old lost city in southern Luxor, complete with mud brick houses, artifacts and tools from pharaonic times. It dates back to Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty, whose reign (1390–1353 B.C.) is considered a golden era for ancient Egypt.
That discovery was followed by a made-for-TV parade celebrating the transport of 22 of the country’s prized royal mummies from central Cairo to their new resting place in a massive facility farther south in the capital, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
The Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is now home to an archaeological museum, as is Cairo’s International Airport, both opened in recent months. And officials have also said they still plan to open the massive new Grand Egyptian Museum next to the Giza Pyramids by January, after years of delays. Entrance fees for archaeological sites have been lowered, as has the cost of tourist visas.
The government has for years played up its ancient history as a selling point, as part of a yearslong effort to revive the country’s battered tourism industry. It was badly hit during and after the popular uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak and the ensuring unrest. The coronavirus dealt it a similar blow, just as it was getting back on its feet.
In 2019, foreign tourism’s revenue stood at $13 billion. Egypt received some 13.1 million foreign tourists — reaching pre-2011 levels for the first time. But in 2020, it greeted only 3.5 million foreign tourists, according to the minister el-Anany.
At the newly opened National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Mahmoud el-Rays, a tour guide, was leading a small group of European tourists at the hall housing the royal mummies.
“2019 was a fantastic year,” he said. “But corona reversed everything. It is a massive blow.”
Tourism traffic strengthened in the first months of 2021, el-Anany, the minister, told The Associated Press in a recent interview, though he did not give specific figures. He was optimistic that more would continue to come year-round.
“Egypt is a perfect destination for post-COVID in that our tourism is really an open-air tourism,” he said.
But it remains to be seen if the country truly has the virus under control. It has recorded a total of 14,950 deaths from the virus and is still seeing more than a thousand new cases daily. Like other countries, the real numbers are believed to be much higher. In Egypt, though, authorities have arrested doctors and silenced critics who questioned the government’s response, so there are fears that information on the true cost of the virus may have been suppressed from the beginning.
Egypt also had a trying experience early on in the pandemic, when it saw a coronavirus outbreak on one of its Nile River cruise boats. It first closed its borders completely until the summer of 2020, but later welcomed tourists back, first to Red-Sea resort towns and now to the heart of the country — Cairo and the Nile River Valley that hosts most of its famous archaeological sites. Visitors still require a negative COVID-19 test result to enter the country.
In a further cause for optimism, Russia said in April that it plans to resume direct flights to Egypt’s Red Sea resort towns. Moscow stopped the flights after the local Islamic State affiliate bombed a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula in October 2015, killing all on board.
Amanda, a 36-year-old engineer from Austria, returned to Egypt in May. It was her second visit in four years. She visited the Egyptian Museum, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and Islamic Cairo, in the capital’s historic center.
She had planned to come last year, but the pandemic interfered.
“Once they opened, I came,” she said. “It was my dream to see the Pyramids again.”
El-Rays, the tour guide, says that while he’s seeing tourists starting to come in larger numbers, he knows a full recovery will not happen overnight.
“It will take some time to return to before corona,” he said.
Egypt bets on ancient finds to pull tourism out of pandemic
https://arab.news/8uf74
Egypt bets on ancient finds to pull tourism out of pandemic
- Egypt continues to battle the coronavirus, and is struggling to get its people vaccinated
- The government has for years played up its ancient history as a selling point
Gulf oil exports could stop within weeks, warns Qatar energy minister as Iran war continues
RIYADH: Gulf oil producers could halt exports within weeks due to the ongoing Middle East war, sending crude prices to $150 a barrel, according to Qatar’s energy minister.
In an interview published on Friday, Saad Al-Kaabi warned oil could hit the figure in two to three weeks if ships and tankers were unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is the world's most vital oil export route as it connects the biggest Gulf oil producers with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Hostilities between US-Israeli forces and Iran, which began with strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, has continued to cause widespread disruption across the region, and led to the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the shutdown of multiple national airspaces.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Al-Kaabi said that “everybody that has not called for force majeure we expect will do so in the next few days that this continues. All exporters in the Gulf region will have to call force majeure.”
As well as the $150-a-barrel oil price warning, the minister also expects gas prices to rise to $40 per million British thermal units.
He added that if the war continues for a few weeks, “GDP growth around the world” will be impacted.
“Everybody's energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply,” Kaabi said.
Qatar halted its liquefied natural gas production on March 2, as Iranian retaliation for US and Israeli strikes continued to target Gulf countries. The halt takes a major facility offline that accounts for roughly 20 percent of global supply, a key resource that balances demand in both Asian and European markets.
Al-Kaabi said even if the war ended immediately it would take Qatar “weeks to months” to return to a normal cycle of deliveries.
Oil continues to rise
Oil prices rose again on Friday, with Brent crude up 2.77 percent to $87.78 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 4.41 percent to $84.36 at 11:47 a.m. GMT
The price surge followed the start of the war on Feb. 28, which halted tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that typically carries approximately one-fifth of the world’s daily oil supply, or about 20 million barrels per day.
The conflict has since spread across the key Middle East energy-producing region, causing disruptions to oil output and the shutdown of refineries and liquefied natural gas plants.
The US Treasury Department indicated it would announce measures to combat rising energy prices from the Iran conflict, including potential action involving the oil futures market, a move that would mark an unusual attempt by Washington to influence energy prices through financial markets rather than physical oil supplies.
The Treasury also granted waivers for companies to start buying sanctioned Russian oil stored on tankers to ease supply constraints that have pushed Asian refineries to reduce fuel processing.
“To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil. This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on X.
He emphasized that India is an “essential partner” and expressed anticipation that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of US oil. “This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage.”
Imad Salamey, professor of political science and international affairs at the Lebanese American University, told Arab News that such measures “may work as short-term shock absorbers by calming markets and preventing immediate price spikes.”
However, he warned that financial engineering cannot permanently compensate for disrupted physical supply.
“If the Strait of Hormuz remains impaired, markets will eventually adjust to the reality of reduced flows. Relying too heavily on financial tools risks creating distortions where prices no longer reflect actual supply conditions,” Salamey explained.
If the war drags on and global economic costs continue to rise daily, Salamey added, the impact will spread far beyond the region. “Substituting Gulf oil with supplies from Russia or Venezuela could severely damage Gulf economies and shift long-term market dynamics,” he warned.
In an interview with Arab News, economist and Lebanese University professor Jassem Ajaka noted that “US President Donald Trump would not allow an internal uprising to undermine him before the midterm elections, suggesting he would make strategic reserves available if needed.”
He added that the US also has the capacity to ramp up shale oil production, as higher prices make extraction more economically viable. Trump said on March 4 that the US Navy may escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
Aramco pricing reflects return of geopolitical risk premium
Saudi Aramco’s crude oil differentials for April 2026, reflect the severe fragmentation of the regional energy market. The OSPs showed significant premiums for light crude grades across North America, Northwest Europe, Asia, and the Mediterranean.
In the Asian market versus Oman/Dubai, Super Light crude commanded a premium of $4.15 in April, up from $2.15 in March, a change of plus $2. Extra Light crude in Asia rose to $3 from $1, while Light crude reached $2.50 from zero. Medium and Heavy grades in Asia saw smaller increases but remained in positive territory for April.
Ajaka said: “Saudi oil giant Aramco has demonstrated its ability to deliver oil through alternative routes, specifically via pipelines to the Red Sea, despite supply disruptions caused by the ongoing war.”
This, he explained, highlights how Saudi Arabia is leveraging its position as a “reliable supplier” in a region where many other producers are either sanctioned, directly targeted, or logistically constrained.
Salamey said Iran aims to widen the conflict to make it globally costly: “By threatening Gulf infrastructure and shipping, Tehran hopes GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) states will pressure Washington to negotiate and end the war.”
According to the expert, Tehran seeks sustained disruption of energy markets rather than a full blockade, since a total closure would “almost certainly” trigger a major military response. The strategy risks backfiring if direct harm to Gulf states pushes them to join the war.
Airlines grapple with airspace closures
The region’s aviation sector has faced its most severe test since the COVID-19 pandemic, with carriers across the Middle East announcing mass cancelations and emergency schedule adjustments.
Etihad Airways said it would resume a limited commercial flight schedule from March 6, operating between Abu Dhabi and a number of key destinations, while Emirates Airline anticipates a return to 100% of its network within the coming days, subject to airspace availability and the fulfilment of all operational requirements.
Qatar Airways announced that its scheduled flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace, and it would provide a further update on March 7.
Saudi low-cost carrier Flynas confirmed it is operating limited exceptional flights between Saudi Arabia and Dubai starting from March 6.
Saudia Airlines, however, canceled flights to and from Amman, Kuwait, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Bahrain, effective until March 6 at 23:59 GMT.
In Beirut, Middle East Airlines’ spokesperson Rima Makkaoui told Arab News that the carrier is “operating flights to all destinations normally, except those that have their airspace closed such as Iraq and Kuwait.”
MEA announced a strict new No-Show policy, imposing a $300 fee for economy class and $500 for business class passengers who fail to cancel bookings within the specified timeframe.
The move comes in response to passengers and travel agents booking multiple seats simultaneously, then failing to show up without cancelation, depriving other travelers of seats during this critical period.
Royal Jordanian continued operating flights to Beirut as scheduled, while flights to Doha and Dubai remained canceled according to the Queen Alia International Airport website.
