Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations

Major Museum Upgrades in Egypt

There has already been some press buzz about the new $350 million Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which will replace the aging one in the city center and will be larger than the Metropolitan Museum in New York or the British Museum in London. But this press release says there are many new museums and upgrades on the way.

“The Culture Ministry aims to build a museum in every city in Egypt to preserve its heritage and raise cultural and archaeological awareness among residents and visitors.” Others include a new Coptic museum, one in Saqqara, and a major expansion and renovation in Alexandria.

Here’s an idea to really improve tourism in Egypt though: take all those aggressive touts at the pyramids and put them to work as museum employees and guides. They already learned how to say “camel ride” and “special price for you” in 18 languages, so the training shouldn’t take very long…