A bright show with a visit of the “first persons” of the state and a huge number of tourists – opened in Egypt a restored monument of 5000 years ago – the famous Sphinx Alley, which connects two ancient Egyptian temple complexes in Karnak and Luxor.
The main purpose of the magnificent ceremony is to increase the interest of tourists in sightseeing in Egypt, and separately – in Luxor and Karnak, which were among the most popular tourist destinations in Egypt.
The 2.7 km long road opening show was a kind of reconstruction of the ancient Opet festival, which existed five thousand years ago – during this holiday statues of deities annually “traveled” between the temples in honor of the fertility and flooding of the Nile. Opet was an annual holiday that fell on the 2nd month of the flood season. In modern Egypt, they plan to revive it – as, of course, a tourist show.
It was opened by “first persons”, among them the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his wife. The show featured more than 400 popular Egyptian performers dressed in pharaoh costumes. They also passed the Sphinx Alley, named after the statues that frame it – hundreds of sphinxes with the heads of a ram and a man.
The road was discovered in 1949, but many were destroyed – as a result, it has been restored several times. The latter began in 2017.
The ceremony also included a light show, which included lighting of the Luxor Temple, Hatshepsut Temple, the statue of Memnon and all three kilometers of the road. During the “government” part, the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Enani also spoke, explaining all the stages of restoration. It was followed by performances by popular artists in Egypt, a film about Luxor, horse shows and much more. Those present also saw the “reconstruction” of the ancient holiday, during which the ceremonial boat “transported” the trinity of the sacred gods Amun, Mut and Hons. A separate element of the program was a show of boats on the Nile and balloons. The program ended with a grand fireworks display.
As promised by the Minister of Tourism, Egypt will revive the holiday of Opet as a regular show for tourists. At least for the first festival, their hopes came true – in Luxor, the load of hotels and cruise ships rose to 90%. Read the details in the link.