Head of Islamic and Coptic Antiquities Visits Al Qoseir’s Monuments

By: Ali Abu Dashish and Maydaa Abo El-Nadar

CAIRO, Dec. 30 (SEE)- Head of the Islamic and Coptic Antiquities at the Minister of Antiquities Gamal Mostafa visited the monuments of Al Qoseir’s city, located in the Red Sea governorate.

This visit was paid to check the steps taken for the city’s development project. The tour included checking Al Qoseir’s monumental citadel. Studies are being prepared to restore the citadel and utilize it for cultural and tourism purposes.

Mostafa declared that a complete project is being studied, in cooperation with the Red Sea governorate, to develop the city’s monuments. He added that all necessary procedures were taken to solve the obstacles that prevent starting the project, and to improve water and sanitation nets that interfere with the monumental sites.

Worth noting is that Al Qoseir’s citadel is one of the city’s most important monuments. It is one of the Ottoman monuments built in 1571 to protect the city and its coast, observe Al Qoseir’s port, organize and protect pilgrimages that were heading to Mecca. In the 18th century, the fortress was abandoned, till the French campaign occupied it in 1799. The English ships bombed the fortress, but the French faced the attack. In 1820, Mohamed Ali Pasha, followed by his son Ibrahim Pasha, fixed and restored the citadel, during their campaigns against the Arab peninsula. The coastal guards were taking advantage of the citadel until 1975 when it was registered as a monument.