Cairo - Egypt announced on Monday the discovery of the remains of a Greco-Roman temple in North Sinai.
In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said that an Egyptian archaeological mission unearthed the remains of a temple for Zeus at the site of Tell el-Farama in North Sinai.
Mustafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt, said the location of the temple was determined after excavators found remains of a huge gate on the surface of the earth at the site.
The gate consisted of two pink granite columns, each about 8 meters long and 1 meter thick, in addition to a granite lintel that was installed at the top of the gate, Waziri added.
Meanwhile, the head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Ayman Ashmawy, said the temple was built of mud bricks on a raised platform.
The Greco-Roman Period in Egypt (332 BC -395 AD) marks the end of Persian rule over Egypt.
In the meantime, Egypt announced last week that South Africans travelling to Egypt for tourism no longer have to acquire a visa in advance from Egyptian embassies.
They can now get their visa upon arrival at Cairo International Airport.
Although Egyptian tourists travelling to South Africa still need to get a visa in advance, Egypt’s Ambassador to South Africa, HE Ahmed El Fadly, hopes that this move will encourage South Africa to consider following Egypt’s example.
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