The new fossil museum of Wadi Al Hitan “Whale Valley” will open soon in Fayoum to display the valuable fossil remains of whales and sharks unearthed in the area bearing the same name, Environment Minister Khaled Fahmy said.

Due to the importance of the site, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had declared it a “World Heritage” property, a strictly protected area, the minister told MENA.

The globally important fossils of Whale Valley, in the Western Desert, provide dramatic evidence of one of the iconic stories of evolution: the emergence of whales as ocean-going mammals, from their previous life as land-based animals, he said.

The area is occupied by numerous excavation sites of whales, sharks, petrified mangrove bushes and corals, a wide variety of fossil plants and various other remains of the prehistoric sea.

Fahmy said he will hold a press conference on Tuesday to announce a new discovery of a Basilosaurus skeleton, the whale resembling a giant sea snake.