Walking past the swollen belly of Rome’s Pantheon, living in the trailing outskirts of Athens, or tilting back to look at the majesty of an Aztec ziggurat: global heritage is stitched into the human experience. However, an increasing number of historic sites now strain under the weight of over-tourism and unsustainable practices, making the need to reform touristic etiquette not only apparent, but critical. Between the butchering of Peru’s Nazca Lines for a politically-charged stunt, to storming Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque with muddied boots—some UNESCO World Heritage sites have lost the respect they most certainly deserve. Egypt alone has seen countless cases of disrespect, such as the vandalizing of monuments and the filming of porn on sacred grounds. As home to thousands of these heritage sites—and thousands more cases of blatant irreverence—Egypt is a prime place to put dialogue in motion. The need to discuss the ethics of how these sites are visited, treated, and maintained is essential to securing their longevity. Revisiting the macro-practices led by larger institutions and governmental powers is crucial, what with attacks on the Tahrir Sphinxes and the use of temples as party venues, but as…
Visiting Heritage: Respectful Ways to Explore Touristic Sites in Egypt
July 29, 2022
