Zahi supports my campaign for disabled access

I have to admit I am over the moon, just got this email

Dear Jane,

I am so sorry that I have not answered your email. I do not know why that happened as I always answer all my emails.

I do hope that you will accept my apologies.

I am going to do the following.

1) First, I will talk to dr. Khaled El-Enany and see how we can push to make this project work because it is a great idea and I do thank you for all your efforts.

2) I am finishing a guidebook called "Zahi Hawass' Secret Egypt" and Noreen Doyle is the one editing it, so she will contact you for details about your project.

I am also going to write about your project in El Masry Al Youm newspaper.

Finally,

I am going to be in Luxor most of the time because I am going to start the new season of my excavations in the Valley of the Kings starting September 1st. Hope to see you there.

Thanks

Best,

Zahi



Back in the day when I could walk I met Zahi and Noreen has stayed at Flats in Luxor. 

Me, #motr, Noreen

Me and Zahi

 

Top Tips for Toilets in Luxor and Egypt

Top Tips for Toilets

A point was just made to me which I had not considered. Loos (UK expression) the John (American expression I believe). I would really appreciate any comments about good and bad and I will update this post

First point, most toilets have internal bidets which wash your bum so toilet paper is only used to dry yourself hence the request to place it in the bin. Reach down right hand side and you will find a tap. I love it, so fresh and clean and miss the system when I go back to the UK. Sometimes there is a hose instead. Sometimes both. The water comes from the mains.

Second, various experiences but I would like more. I don’t often go while I am out, especially on the west bank, so have little experience. Please email me jane.akshar @ gmail.com

The toilets just before the Open Air Museum at Karnak are ground floor but not wheelchair accessible
Valley of the Kings accessible and great
Kitchener island toilets well signposted “WC” signs
Suhail Nubian Village near Aswan dam excellent

Nobody seems to mind/notice tourists using hotels and restaurants so ones I have snuck in and used in Luxor
•    Nile Palace Hotel ground floor, in the lobby to your right as you enter.
•    Snack time overlooking Luxor temple has a lift, toilets are 1st floor
•    Ramasseum café, ground floor, very basic
•    Fayrouz Hotel ground floor but steps involved, basic
•    Winter Palace Hotel, 1st floor but you can get the lift by going in the luggage entrance under the stairs

Carter House visit on the mobility scooter

As this is quite a recent addition to the sites on the west bank it was a bit disappointing that access was so tricky but with the help of the guardian we did get round. The big problems were getting from the car park to the walkway (step), entrance into the Carter House itself (several steps), a bad ramp on the way from the Carter House to the replica tomb and the entrance into the tomb itself(step). I would say the grounds and replica tomb are 80% accessible but forget the Carter House

Steps meant the scooter could not travel along and the guardian had to lift the scooter (he was strong) but he was very willing. The ramp(?) was awful, I couldnt use it.

There were so many steps into the Carter House we had to leave the scooter in the hall. I made Marion pose at Carters desk

Actually inside the replica tomb was great once we were in. Nice wooden flooring and ramp. The pictures and story boards are excellent and you do wonder how on earth everything was put inside the tomb. I love the replica done from the Harry Burton pictures of part of the decoration that had to be destroyed. We wondered where those bits are now

Timeline of my disable access campaign

Aug 2016 I bring a mobility scooter back from the UK and start doing site visits.
Sept 2016 I blog my site visits with the scooter
Oct 2016 First paper produced and presented to Minister and Governor at the world tourism conference
Apr 2017 Email Response from Ministry
May 2017 Site visit with men from Ministry
May 2017 Site visit with John Sherman of ARCE
Jul 2017 Proposal produced with Joanne Stables
Jul 2017 Meeting with Helm
Jan 2018 News reports improvement planned at Karnak and Luxor
Feb 2018 Evidence of improvements
Mar 2018 Flats in Luxor introduces ramps to our apartments
Apr 2018 Site visit to Karnak to view the improvements and meeting with the minister 

Jun 2018 Zahi Hawass supports the campaign!

To go from idea to implementation in less than two years is amazing and makes comments about Egyptian time redundant :)

To read all the blog entries http://luxor-news.blogspot.com.eg/search/label/Disabled
 

Site Visit with the men from the ministry

Site visit with John Sherman

Meeting with Helm

Article in Nile Magazine

Improvements start at Karnak

Ramps at added at Flats in Luxor

Meeting with the Minister to review changes

Free Wheelchairs at Karnak Sound and Light

This is so exciting, things are really moving in Luxor on the disabled front. When President Sisi said 2018 was the year of the disabled he was not kidding Go Ya Masry

Karnak Disabled Access - Update

Accessibility Path

Mohamed A Fahmy has been keeping his Facebook friends up to date with the changes at Karnak. It looked like work had finished so we decided to do a site visit to check out the improvements. Sharon Davidson came as my personal photographer lol. She is a very good photographer with a good camera. Mohamed also met up with us with his camera.

Outside the temple there are still the same problems getting from the car park to the visitor centre. A few signs shown the best route for wheelchairs would have helped.

Inside the temple there were huge improvements, ramps and smooth flooring in the main tourist route. But the more remote places had no changes so my previous report on Karnak is still accurate. http://luxor-news.blogspot.com.eg/2016/10/hidden-luxor-east-bank-disabled-report.html But as we were going round Mohamed heard that the Minister was coming on a visit. Dr. Khaled Anany the Egyptian Minister of Antiquities was one of the first people I approached with my ideas about improving access.

I was lucky enough to give him all our feedback from the morning visit and he told us that this was the first stage and more improvements were coming. The access is being extended and will cover more of the temple. It was a lucky coincidence to meet him and to be able to chat. I also got interviewed about the campaign I started in 2016

Access from the car park

Ramp hidden in the shop

Look out for the ramp leading to the entrance

New Ramp

Gentle Slope

New Accessible Path

Loose surface causes wheels to bog down

Some ramps are still too steep

Ramp to Festival Hall of Tuthmosis

The Minister observes the ramp in use

Being interviewed about the campaign

"Karnak is 80% accessible"

Mohamed A Fahmy has just posted the most exciting picture. Looks like I need to pay another visit to Karnak. Hope there is more planned at other temples.

Flats in Luxor is now disabled friendly

We have installed a ramp into our ground floor apartment at Al Gezera which means wheelchair users can access the flat independently. Our doors are 30 inches wide and apparently standard wheel chairs are 26 inches wide. So we are the first flats in Luxor to cater for the needs of wheelchair users. If this proves popular we will make changes at our other apartments to make them disabled friendly.

Floor tiles of Karnak Temple are not ‘ancient’ as rumored: official

There was a bit of reaction to the picture posted last week of the disabled access but those that were worried will be relieved to read this

In response to photos circulating on Egypt’s social media outlets that have alleged the removal of the archeological tiles of Karnak Temple located inside Luxor, head of Karnak Temple’s remnants Mostafa El Seghair denied the claims.
He said in media statements that new modifications were added to the tiles of the temple to put a path for handicapped people to facilitate their access inside the temple.
He further explained that the tiles located inside the temple are not the archeological ones as rumored, noting that new tiles were put in 2008.

 

Credit Barbara Clark

http://www.egyptindependent.com/floor-tiles-karnak-temple-not-ancient-rumored-official/

Result of the disabled campaign

Thanks to Mohamed Famy posting the first results of the disabled campaign

Aug 2016 I bring a mobility scooter back from the UK and start doing site visits
Oct 2016 First paper produced and present to Minister and Governor at confernece
Apr 2017 Email Response from Ministry
May 2017 Site Visit with men from Ministry
Jul 2017 Proposal produced with Joanne Stables
Jul 2017 Meeting with Helm
Jan 2018 News reports improvement planned at Karnak and Luxor
Feb 2018 Evidence of improvements

Egypt's archaeological sites to be made more accessible to people with disabilities

Luxor and Karnak Temples are among the first ancient sites to see improvements, with wooden ramps and paths for wheelchairs, along with information boards accessible to those with impaired sight and hearing.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/288996/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/Egypts-archaeological-sites-to-be-made-more-access.aspx

Whoop Whoop It would seem that they listened, I am so excited.

 

Improvements Start in Luxor

Obviously I still have my fingers crossed about disabled access and I dont think we want the cable car, yuck

http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/9/31639/Have-a-Look-at-upcoming-projects-in-Luxor

Disabled Luxor????

Over the past weeks, Luxor started paving all the roads and routes to welcome and receive tourists, equipping the temples with all services and supporting visitors with special needs. 

http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/9/27015/Luxor-atop-of-Egyptian-touristic-cities

I am crossing my fingers and toes but this sentence seems to indicate my campaign is having an effect. I had not heard a thing but I am hoping all the information I having been pouring into peoples ears, like the governor, might have been listened too. Can you let me know if you see results and send a picture?

HELM and Disabled Access in Luxor

I have just had a meeting with Helm(dream in Arabic) http://www.helmegypt.org/ This wonderful
organisation started as a little club in AUC and is now an award winning  (two scholarships one from MIT and one from Havard) organisation making things happen all over Egypt. They have done loads
of accessibility projects in education and corporates in Cairo and are now looking at Luxor. It must be serendipity that they got my email just before they came.  And we found we had spoken to
the same person at the minisitry plus in their meeting with the governor he had
been briefed and we think it was from one of my early papers.

They also want to make the temples accessible, change the perception of Luxor and make some public roads more disabled friendly. They are going to be coming to Luxor a lot of the next few months and we are going to work together.

We talked together for hours, I explained my interest, they
explained theirs and we talked about what they had done and what they are
hoping to do in Luxor. They understood my interest in the project is both a
general and a business one. They thought this was a perfect example, as what
they are trying to do explain to businesses the benefits of catering to
disabled people. They also loved my guide book with its addition of access tips
for disabled plus site onformation. They thought it was unique in Egypt and would
like to see it done elsewhere. They want to promote that as well, as another example
of how catering for the disabled helps you.

And they loved the logo

A great start to the project.

About | Helm



Helm, translating to “Dream”, is a non-profit organization that aims to
promote the full inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in all aspects
of life, and specifically, to facilitate their employment and ensure
that private and public premises are accessible to all. Helm is proud to
be the first prize-winner in Negma Social Entrepreneurship Competition
in MIT, USA in 2013, and was also awarded the Rise Egypt Fellowship,
Harvard University, USA for 2014-2016.

Fantastic News on the disability front

I just an email from these people Helm Do have a look at their website.

I cant explain how excited I am as I really wanted an Egyptian organisation to pick this up and run with it.. 

The email said "Your email is actually spot on! This is exactly our focus for 2017/2018 we will be working on Luxor temples and other main locations to become more accessible. We will be in Luxor maybe next week or the week after to discuss the project further wit the Governor of Luxor.

I'll email you when we know the exact date so we can meet during our visit to Luxor"


Whoop whoop whoop