The new governor of Luxor is making a real effort to improve Luxor and one of his initiatives was to have a meeting with ex-pats living here to find out their views. The first meeting was Wednesday night which I missed as I had guests arriving but the follow-up meeting was today. General Khaled Fouda explained exactly who he is, his military background and experience, he had spent sometime in the US and although his English was not bad he had a translator there as well. He has been in Luxor 2 ½ months and is very happy to be here.
On Wednesday he had been asked if he would still be in position after the autumn elections and he said he would (personally I am not sure how he can say that).
At the moment he is concentrating on complete certain projects started by the last governor Sphinx Alley, the Corniche, the area behind the Sheraton, the Cultural Palace and the Olympic Swimming pool. These are all scheduled to open 30th October. There were lots of other project but he is concentrating on those .
He wants
• to restart something called tourist friend which stopped in 1990
• change the behaviour on the streets, the hassle, but he did point out that at the moment this is driven by hunger and extreme poverty because of the lack of tourists
• education is the key and he will start with the schools, children need to be taught to respect their country and take pride in it
A number of points were raised from the floor which he responded to
• Pollution of waterways and streets with rubbish
• The main rubbish dump was being poorly maintained and there was fly tipping
• Recycling
• The police are not active, he has a meeting planned and wishes to get them back to pre revolution standards
• New work opportunities were being made at Tod, north Karnak and Esna. There will be a boat marina north of the Hilton
• Traffic rules and regulations to be enforced
• Caleches to display their licence
• Hassle
• Treatment of Animals, both Brook and Ace operate in Luxor and a representative of Ace was at the meeting and gave the governor an information pack and invited him to visit. The governor is a pet lover and has many animals. Ace invited anyone to visit their centre and see their work
There is a major clear up of Luxor taking place on Sunday at 9am, please assemble at Abu Haggag square if you want to help. Equipment and free hats and t-shirt will be available. This is taking place Armant, Esna and all over Luxor. The meeting raised an important point that the men who are paid to do this job need to understand they are not losing their jobs and this was to help them. The waterways as well as the streets are included in the clean up.
The Governor has a Twitter account khaled_foda and an email account luxor_governorate@yahoo.com
The foreigner advice office is under construction and details will be announced on Facebook
I agree with all the points raised...but the clean-up has to be on-going,not just a one-off. The problem with hassle has definitely got to be addressed as it actually stops tourists buying anything. there are such beautiful things to buy but the tourists daren't even have a peek or they are totally mobbed.....it's such a SHAME!!! we want to buy souveneers but are too scared. It doesn't happen in Marrakech as it is against the law and so shopping there is a pleasure. Let's hope the Egyptian people realise this soon and they then will make more money.
ReplyDeleteSounds like some very positive steps.
ReplyDeleteLove the new look as well!
James
A friend of mine who lives in Luxor sent me a text telling me about this meeting and to be honest I just could not understand why he would do this.Surely his main concern should be for the local people who under the last governor lost many homes and businesses and if the truth be known were never fully compensated.For expats they have Mr Gaddis the British Consul to go to.Mind you I feel that he should be replaced as he seems to be devoid of any integrity.I will not name the website but the new governor should check out a certain website and form a conclusion as to whether any concerns are warranted for expats.If he types in Luxor he will see 226 entries type in Aswan none likewise Alexandria none.Speaks volumes in my mind.I wish for all the many good people of Luxor a quick return to happier times.
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