Plans to develop Rashid (Rosetta) into Egypt's new tourist spot

Although it lies a mere 65 km east of Alexandria, few tourists venture out to its neighboring city of Rosetta, known in Egypt as Rashid.

Home to the Rosetta Stone, which French scholar Jean-Francoise Champollion used to decipher ancient hieroglyphics, Rashid was the scene of the first encounter between East and West in modern times. Napoleon Bonaparte made Rashid one of his main fortifications when he invaded Egypt in 1798.

The historic city is making a slow transition from a mostly agricultural society to a tourist destination. The plan would have the city’s infrastructure rebuilt and its Islamic monuments restored between 2007-11, all as part of a nationwide scheme to revamp 222 Egyptian cities by 2027.

Besides the creation of a sea-front promenade on the southern part of the city, the Rashid Fort in the north and several traditional houses have also undergone massive restoration. The city is home to 22 old Arabic houses, 12 mosques and a traditional Turkish bath, and according to archaeologists, it houses the second largest number of Islamic antiquities in Egypt after Cairo.

Daily News Egypt: Read more about this tourism development project and its pros and cons.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 7:55 am and is filed under Tourism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.