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The Pyramids of Giza is undergoing a major revamp with new visitor amenities

Aug 20, 2020

2 MIN READ

Many major sights, including the Pyramids of Giza, offer significant discounts for students © Anton Belo / Shutterstock

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A new cafe, restaurant and lounge with up-close views of the 4500-year-old Pyramids of Giza will soon open as part of a site-wide revamp of Cairo’s most famous attraction and the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. The space, called 9 Pyramids Lounge, will be located on the southern end of the complex and will be the closest cafe to the pyramids for a much-deserved post-visit break. The cafe is expected to open this month.

9 Pyramids Lounge is the first part of a wider redevelopment scheme for the Pyramids of Giza site. Other planned amenities include a new visitors centre, cinema, public toilets, site-wide signage, food trucks, photo booths, free Wi-Fi, tickets that can be purchased through an app and a hop-on-hop-off electric bus route that will circle the area and drop travellers off at designated stops. Animal handlers who offer rides on horses and camels, often using aggressive tactics, will be trained to ‘better deal with visitors’, according to a recorded presentation given in March.

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"The Pyramids represent a powerful symbol for the future of Egypt, connecting our rich legacy to our exciting future", Ashraf Halim, CEO of Orascom Pyramids Entertainment, the investment group that’s leading the redevelopment, said in a statement.

Pyramids of Giza and camel caravan in desert. ©Mark Brodkin Photography/Getty

Tourism officials in Egypt are expecting a surge of visitors when the nearby and much-anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum opens in 2021, delayed yet again, this time by the coronavirus pandemic. The museum was originally slated to open in 2011. The proceeds from the travelling Tutankhamun exhibition, which has been attended by millions in Los Angeles, Paris and London, will help fund the museum.

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Egypt reopened its borders to international visitors in July, and the government has temporarily slashed the cost of tourist visas and ticket prices for the country’s attractions.

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Lauren Keith
Writer
Kansas City, MO
I'm a US/UK-based freelance travel writer and guidebook author specializing in off-the-beaten-track and underloved places from the Midwest to the Middle East. For several years, I worked as Lonely Planet’s editor for Middle East and North Africa, and I continue to travel the region widely, from scouting out traces of the Islamic empire on the southernmost tip of Spain to walking alongside nomads in the remote mountains of Iran. Originally from Kansas, I also lived in Germany for a year and …

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