Pyramids, Tutankhamun masks, Nefertiti busts Egypt's souvenir-makers are pinning their hopes on a new lease of economic life after tourism was battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the shadow of the magnificent Giza Pyramids, Eid Yousri manufactures polyester Pharaonic figurines from a humble workshop erected on the roof of his family home.

Hundreds of small business owners and artisans have been forced to mothball much of their activity, choked by cancelled flights and movement restrictions around the world.

In a recent interview with AFP, Tourism Minister Khaled El-Enani welcomed a partial recovery in visitor numbers.

Around 500,000 have flown in monthly since April this year, more than double the number in January and up from an average of just 200,000 tourists per month in 2020. 

In a souvenir market that was for many years flooded by cheap Chinese imports, the government is seeking to meet demand for quality products sought out by tourists.

On the eastern outskirts of Cairo, a new antique reproduction factory has since March been preparing to capitalize on the much hoped for post-pandemic era. 

The factory, named Konouz (treasures in Arabic), produces furniture, statuettes and paintings that retrace four major periods of Egyptian heritage: Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic and Islamic.

Reproductions, in 1:1 scale or miniaturized, are accompanied by an official government-issued certificate of authenticity.

The vast 10,000 square meter factory is run by Hisham Sharawi, a retired general, who supervises around 150 workers, painters, cabinetmakers, sculptors and designers. 

Most of the factory's replica objects are cast in polyester, plaster or metal. Specialized machines give a "final touch" to the replicas before they are painted by hand or covered with gold leaf.