Egypt increases efforts to preserve royal tombs in Luxor's Valley of the Kings

Egypt has had a new plan to preserve the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings on the western bank of the Nile River in the southern city of Luxor, the official MENA news agency reported on Saturday.

According to the plan by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, touring times and duration will be limited and tour revenues will be funneled into restoration projects of the tombs.

Meanwhile, the council has recently opened a visitors' center at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, over 700 kilometers south of Cairo.

According to local daily The Egyptian Gazette on Saturday, there had been no facility to provide visitors with the overall view of the Valley of the Kings and the expertise on individual tombs.

There was also concern that large number of visitors may damage the paintings and walls inside the tombs, which prompted the Egyptian government to formulated the project to address these problems.

The Valley of the Kings is house for 63 tombs, including 26 tombs belonging to Ancient Egyptian dynasties.

Having the tomb of Tutankhamun, the valley is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Egypt, attracting more than 2 million visitors annually.

Source: Xinhua