DUBAI: Egypt’s temporary exhibition "Tutankhamun ... Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh" will return to Egypt from London, marking the end of its third stop after Paris and Los Angeles, local daily Egypt Today reported.
The French media said the exhibition in Paris “broke records of turnout of the French cultural exhibitions,” the report said. The international media also said it was the most visited exhibition in the country.
The Egyptian exhibition in Paris finished on Sept. 22, 2019, having received more than 1.4 million visitors since March 23 of 2019 at the Grand Hall de la Villette.
Minister of Antiquities Khaled Al-Anani said that in 1967, when France hosted the exhibition for the first time, it attracted 1.2 million visitors.
Anani added that despite the success of the exhibitions, only a small portion of the Golden King and ancient Egyptian civilization treasures were on display.
"Tutankhamun: The treasures of the Golden Pharaoh" exhibition included 150 artifacts from the collections of the young king and a number of wooden boxes, canopic pots, a gilded wooden Ka statue and alabaster pots.
The exhibition was launched by Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Al-Anani and the French Minister of Culture Franck Riester in March of 2019.
Egypt’s temporary Tutankhamun exhibition marks the end of third London visit
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Egypt’s temporary Tutankhamun exhibition marks the end of third London visit
- The Egyptian exhibition in Paris finished on Sept. 22, 2019, having received more than 1.4 million visitors
- Minister of Antiquities Khaled Al-Anani said that in 1967, when France hosted the exhibition for the first time, it attracted 1.2 million visitors
Fans bid farewell to Japan’s only pandas
TOKYO: Panda lovers in Tokyo said goodbye on Sunday to a hugely popular pair of the bears that are set to return to China, leaving Japan without the beloved animals for the first time in half a century.
Loaned out as part of China’s “panda diplomacy” program, the distinctive black-and-white animals have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972.
Some visitors at Ueno Zoological Gardens were left teary-eyed as they watched Japan’s only two pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao munch on bamboo.
The animals are expected to leave for China on Tuesday following a souring of relations between Asia’s two largest economies.
“I feel like seeing pandas can help create a connection with China too, so in that sense I really would like pandas to come back to Japan again,” said Gen Takahashi, 39, a Tokyo resident who visited the zoo with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
“Kids love pandas as well, so if we could see them with our own eyes in Japan, I’d definitely want to go.”
The pandas’ abrupt return was announced last month after Japan’s conservative premier Sanae Takaichi hinted Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of any attack on Taiwan.
Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory.
The 4,400 lucky winners of an online lottery took turns viewing the four-year-old twins at Ueno zoo while others gathered nearby, many sporting panda-themed shirts, bags and dolls to celebrate the moment.
Mayuko Sumida traveled several hours from the central Aichi region in the hope of seeing them despite not winning the lottery.
“Even though it’s so big, its movements are really funny-sometimes it even acts kind of like a person,” she said, adding that she was “totally hooked.”
“Japan’s going to be left with zero pandas. It feels kind of sad,” she said.
Their departure might not be politically motivated, but if pandas return to Japan in the future it would symbolize warming relations, said Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and expert in East Asian international relations.
“In the future...if there are intentions of improving bilateral ties on both sides, it’s possible that (the return of) pandas will be on the table,” he told AFP.
