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Egypt Promotes New 100-Pound Banknote at COP27

View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh town, Egypt October 20, 2022. REUTERS/Sayed Sheasha
View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh town, Egypt October 20, 2022. REUTERS/Sayed Sheasha
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Egypt Promotes New 100-Pound Banknote at COP27

View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh town, Egypt October 20, 2022. REUTERS/Sayed Sheasha
View of a COP27 sign on the road leading to the conference area in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh town, Egypt October 20, 2022. REUTERS/Sayed Sheasha

Egypt promoted a new 100-pound banknote during the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27). The banknote displays the logo of the COP27 and its name in both English and Arabic on one side, and the form of the 100 pounds on the other.

The banknote was launched by the Egyptian finance ministry, represented by the Public Treasury and Mint Authority, to mark the launching of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.

The Public Treasury and Mint Authority is partaking in an exhibition held at the ministry of finance’s pavilion, in the COP27’s Green Zone, to promote the Egyptian heritage, and to ensure taking part in such a high-level event, as an official body responsible for a wide collection of releases including medals, coins, and copper motifs that depict historic events, figures, and occasions.

Egyptian finance minister Mohamed Maait said releasing a 100-pound commemorative banknote highlights the importance of the climate conference.

The Public Treasury and Mint Authority has made all efforts to produce auxiliary coins, and commemorative banknotes that document historic occasions and national projects, he added.

For his part, Hossam Khodr, head of the Public Treasury and Mint Authority, said the authority offers various creative works for Egypt’s visitors from around the world, including the “Tutankhamun Medals Collection” celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of his cemetery, featuring six medals depicting the most known possession of Tutankhamun and old Pharaonic treasures; 11 medals of Muhammad Ali dynasty; the Collection of Historic Cairo, which was released to commemorate the 1050th anniversary of the establishment of historic Cairo, consisting of six medals featuring the capital’s most known landmarks such as Al-Azhar Mosque, the Aqmar Mosque, the Mausoleum of Imam al-Shafi’i, the Mosque of Sultan Hasan, and the Muhammad Ali Mosque.

It also displays commemorative coins depicting former presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, both released to celebrate the presidents’ 100th anniversary.

The Egyptian government has given the green light to issue uncirculated commemorative silver coins to celebrate 200 years on deciphering the ancient Egyptian language, and the emergence of Egyptology, as well as 100 years on the discovery of the Tutankhamun cemetery in Luxor Valley.

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Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
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Greece's 'Instagram Island' Santorini nears Saturation Point

Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP
Tourists queue as they wait to take a picture from one of the balconies. Aris Oikonomou / AFP

One of the most enduring images of Greece's summer travel brand is the world-famous sunset on Santorini Island, framed by sea-blue church domes on a jagged cliff high above a volcanic caldera.
This scene has inspired millions of fridge magnets, posters, and souvenirs -- and now the queue to reach the viewing spot in the clifftop village of Oia can take more than 20 minutes, said AFP.
Santorini is a key stopover of the Greek cruise experience. But with parts of the island nearing saturation, officials are considering restrictions.
Of the record 32.7 million people who visited Greece last year, around 3.4 million, or one in 10, went to the island of just 15,500 residents.
"We need to set limits if we don't want to sink under overtourism," Santorini mayor Nikos Zorzos told AFP.
"There must not be a single extra bed... whether in the large hotels or Airbnb rentals."
As the sun set behind the horizon in Oia, thousands raised their phones to the sky to capture the moment, followed by scattered applause.
For canny entrepreneurs, the Cycladic island's famous sunset can be a cash cow.
One company advertised more than 50 "flying dresses", which have long flowing trains, for up to 370 euros ($401), on posters around Oia for anyone who wishes to "feel like a Greek goddess" or spruce up selfies.
'Respect Oia'
But elsewhere in Oia's narrow streets, residents have put up signs urging visitors to respect their home.
"RESPECT... It's your holiday... but it's our home," read a purple sign from the Save Oia group.
Shaped by a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago, Santorini's landscape is "unique", the mayor said, and "should not be harmed by new infrastructure".
Around a fifth of the island is currently occupied by buildings.
At the edge of the cliff, a myriad of swimming pools and jacuzzis highlight Santorini is also a pricey destination.
In 2023, 800 cruise ships brought some 1.3 million passengers, according to the Hellenic Ports Association.
Cruise ships "do a lot of harm to the island", said Chantal Metakides, a Belgian resident of Santorini for 26 years.
"When there are eight or nine ships pumping out smoke, you can see the layer of pollution in the caldera," she said.
Cruise ship limits
In June, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis floated the possibility of capping cruise ship arrivals to Greece's most popular islands.
"I think we'll do it next year," he told Bloomberg, noting that Santorini and tourist magnet Mykonos "are clearly suffering".
"There are people spending a lot of money to be on Santorini and they don’t want the island to be swamped," said the pro-business conservative leader, who was re-elected to a second four-year term last year.
In an AFP interview, Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni echoed this sentiment and said: "We must set quotas because it's impossible for an island such as Santorini... to have five cruise ships arriving at the same time."
Local officials have set a limit of 8,000 cruise boat passengers per day from next year.
But not all local operators agree.
Antonis Pagonis, head of Santorini's hoteliers association, believes better visitor flow management is part of the solution.
"It is not possible to have (on) a Monday, for example, 20 to 25,000 guests from the cruise ships, and the next day zero," he said.
Pagonis also argued that most of the congestion only affects parts of the island like the capital, Fira.
In the south of the island, the volcanic sand beaches are less crowded, even though it is high season in July.
'I'm in Türkiye
The modern tourism industry has also changed visitor behavior.
"I listened (to) people making a FaceTime call with the family, saying 'I'm in Türkiye," smiled tourist guide Kostas Sakavaras.
"They think that the church over there is a mosque because yesterday they were in Türkiye."
The veteran guide said the average tourist coming to the island has changed.
"Instagram has defined the way people choose the places to visit," he said, explaining everybody wants the perfect Instagram photo to confirm their expectations.