Egypt unveils a restored 2,500-year-old processional way with ram-headed statues and sphinxes

Friday, November 26, 2021

Egypt unveiled a restored 2,500-year-old processional way that has ram-headed statues and sphinxes at a glittering ceremony. This is Egypt’s latest step in reviving the tourism industryand recover from the pandemic.

Hundreds of performers wearing ancient Egyptian attireparticipated in the tightly choreographed evening performance, parading and dancing on the 2,700-meter (2,950-yard) sandstone Avenue of Sphinxes, which links the famed temples of Luxor and Karnak in the historic settlement of Thebes on the Nile River’s eastern bank.

Fireworks lit up the night sky with beautiful orchestral score during the ending of the event in the Upper Egyptian city of Luxor attended by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and important government ministers.

Construction of the original avenue was complete during the reign of Nectanebo I (380-362 BC), one of Egypt’s last native pharaohs whose armies fought with Persian invaders. It was then renovated by the Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra, and later used by the Romans.

Foreign visitors comprise one of main sources of foreign currency for Egypt. But with thepandemic freezing global travel, income dropped by half in the fiscal year ending in June, falling to $4.9 billion from $9.9 billion in the previous 12 months, according to the central bank.

A recovery is on the go, with the hospitality sector expanding 182% during the July-September period.
Luxor, known as ‘The City of a Hundred Gates’ during ancient times, is considered an open-air museum due to its extensive cultural riches.

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