By Marina Villen

Luxor, Egypt, May 30 (EFE).– Temples that are almost empty and docked cruise ships unlikely to sail the Nile anytime soon are elements of the image presented by the Egyptian cities of Luxor and Aswan, whose Pharaonic ruins wait impassively for tourists to return.

The dispirited inhabitants of these historic sites dedicate themselves – or rather dedicated themselves – to a sector that until a few years ago was one of the chief strengths of the Egyptian economy.

Luxor Gov. Mohamed Badr admitted to reporters that his city has depended on tourism for decades and that of the 1.5 million overnight stays and 3.5 million one-day visits in 2010, it now receives only 15 percent.

The fact is that since the 2011 revolution, tourism has tanked, but the final blow was the terrorist attack on a Russian airliner over the Sinai Peninsula that killed the 224 people on board last October.

The recent Egyptair crash in the Mediterranean is the latest damage done to the country’s image, though many who make their living from tourism believe it will have little impact since it is now impossible to make the situation any worse than it already is.

“Tourism is doomed and it’s our principal source of income. More than 20,000 Egyptians make their living directly or indirectly from tourism,” Mustafa Mahdi told EFE next to his store at the Karnak Temple Complex.

Mahdi, who has run this business for 15 years, reminisces about the golden years when the streams of tourists who came to Karnak eagerly snapped up the Pharaonic souvenirs he was selling.

Among the numerous causes of his present misfortune, the shopkeeper noted the tragedy of the Russian airliner.

Before that, and with the scarcity of European visitors afraid of the endless outbreaks of violence in Egypt, Luxor depended on Russian tourists who tended to spend a day at this city as part of their sun, sea and sand vacations at resorts on the Red Sea.

Spanish tourists, who before 2011 were frequent passengers on cruises up the Nile, have virtually disappeared from the map, as have Latin Americans after an Egyptian army attack that took the lives of eight Mexicans last September, Mahdi said.

Most foreign visitors now are Chinese, but they hardly take any notice of the Pharaonic souvenirs, say the vendors, who watch their merchandise gather dust while neighboring stores are shut down completely for want of customers. EFE