A big, round, 4,000-year-old stone building discovered on a Cretan hilltop is puzzling archaeologists and threatening to disrupt a major airport project on the Greek tourist island. Greece’s Culture Ministry said Tuesday that the structure is a “unique and extremely interesting find” from Crete’s Minoan civilization, famous for its sumptuous palaces, flamboyant art and enigmatic writing system. Resembling a huge car wheel from above, the ruins of the labyrinthine, 1,800-square-meter (19,000-square-foot) building came to light during a recent dig by archaeologists. The site was earmarked for a radar station to serve a new airport under construction near the town of Kastelli. Set to open in 2027, it’s projected to replace Greece’s second-biggest airport at Heraklion, and designed to h...
Read MoreTag: ancient sites
Greece shut more ancient tourist sites in Athens on Thursday and elderly people took refuge at designated air-conditioned spots as the first heatwave of the summer persisted for a third day. The famous Acropolis, set on a rocky hill overlooking the capital, and other nearby tourist attractions were closed on Thursday afternoon as winds from North Africa pushed temperatures towards 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit). Tourists visit the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill archaeological site before it closes due to a heatwave hitting Athens, Greece, June 13, 2024. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi Many primary schools and nurseries across the country were closed to protect students from the heat, which was expected to recede on Saturday. In Athens, tourists stopped at drinking ...
Read MoreWith tourists slow to return, Egypt’s resorts and ancient sites face tough winter
At the Pyramids of Giza, just a handful of tourists walks among the ancient wonders. Twelve people showed up to admire Luxor’s towering colonnades the day it reopened this month. At Egypt’s Red Sea resorts, visitor numbers are well below previous years. Even as international flights and tourist spots open up and Egypt’s coronavirus cases remain in check, officials, hotel owners and tour guides concede that the key winter season starting in October is going to be tough. That could be bad news for the economy. Tourism accounts for up to 15% of Egypt’s national output, and officials said it was losing around $1 billion each month after the sector all but shut down from March as the coronavirus pandemic struck. Egyptian officials say they are making every effort to reassure touri...
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