The Faiyum to become a tourist site for prehistoric whales
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref)
In the parched desert on the westernmost edge of the Fayoum Depression stretches Wadi Al-Hitan (Whales Valley), its invaluable fossil remains of the earliest and now extinct sub-order of whales, the Archaeoceti, scattered among wind-eroded pillars of rock surrounded by sand dunes, cliffs and remnants of low shale hills and a limestone plateau of petrified sea-shells and corals.
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site and nominated as the first natural heritage site in Egypt in July 2005, Wadi Al-Hitan is one of the most important sites in the world for demonstrating one of the iconic changes that make up the record of life on Earth: the evolution of the whales.
Remains at the site vividly portray their form and mode of life during their transition from being land animals to taking on a marine existence. It exceeds the value of other comparable sites in terms of the number, concentration and quality of the fossil remains found there, as well as their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape. The site also accords with key principles stated in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) study on fossil World Heritage Sites, and represents features currently absent from the World Heritage List.
Following its nomination, a three-year-long site management project was implemented in Wadi Al-Hitan in an attempt to protect it from urban encroachment or human destruction. The project includes a well-equipped visitors centre with an audio-visual theatre, an open-air fossil museum, a cafeteria and toilets, as well as a parking zone outside the protected area and a small barn for camels used by visitors in touring the site.
See the above page for the full story.
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