LUXOR, Egypt: A restored road connecting two ancient Egyptian temple complexes in Karnak and Luxor was unveiled on Thursday in a lavish ceremony aimed at raising the profile of one of Egypt’s top tourist spots.
The procession to reopen the 2.7 km (1.7 mile) road included a reenactment of the ancient Opet festival, where statues of Theban deities were paraded annually during the New Kingdom era in celebration of fertility and the flooding of the Nile.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi marched along the road at the start of the ceremony. Pharaonic chariots and more than 400 young performers dressed in pharaonic costumes paraded along the avenue.
The 3,400-year-old road linking the ancient centers of Karnak and Luxor, also known as Road of the Rams or the Avenue of the Sphinxes, is lined with hundreds of ram- and human-headed sphinxes, though over the years many have been eroded or destroyed.
The road has undergone several restoration efforts since being discovered in 1949, and the latest began in 2017.
Tourism is a crucial source of jobs and hard currency for Egypt, which has made a concerted effort to lure back the travelers kept away by the coronavirus pandemic.
In April, 22 ancient royal mummies from Luxor and the nearby Valley of the Kings were borne in procession Egyptian mummies paraded from Cairo’s Egyptian Museum to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization.
Egypt’s tourism revenues plunged to about $4 billion in 2020, down from $13 billion in 2019.
Egypt revives ancient road connecting Luxor and Karnak
https://arab.news/2s445
Egypt revives ancient road connecting Luxor and Karnak
- The procession to reopen the 2.7 km road included a reenactment of the ancient Opet festival
- Pharaonic chariots and more than 400 young performers dressed in pharaonic costumes paraded along the avenue
First lady Melania Trump to preview new film at private White House screening
- Film offers rare behind-the-scenes access to Melania Trump
- First lady to ring NYSE opening bell to promote film
WASHINGTON: First lady Melania Trump will host a private White House screening on Saturday of a new film documenting her life in the 20 days leading up to President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, an adviser said.
The movie, “Melania,” is set for a global release on January 30. Saturday’s showing will be the first time the president, her family and close friends see the film in full, said Marc Beckman, the first lady’s outside adviser and agent.
The film offers rare behind-the-scenes access to the first lady, who has kept a low public profile during her husband’s second term. The trailer opens on Inauguration Day in January 2025, showing her donning a navy wide-brimmed hat for the ceremony at the US Capitol. It also depicts her role as an adviser to the president, including a moment in which she encourages him to emphasize “peacemaker and unifier” in his inaugural address.
Beckman, who produced the film, oversaw the $40 million movie deal with Amazon’s MGM Studios, plus a follow-up documentary series set for release later this year focusing on some of Melania Trump’s priorities, including children in foster care.
“This is not a political film at all,” Beckman said in an interview, adding that the first lady spearheaded the film’s creative direction.
The movie highlights her fashion choices, diplomatic engagements and the operations surrounding her Secret Service protection. Beckman said viewers also will see moments that capture the president’s sense of humor.
Ahead of the public theatrical release of the film next week, the president and first lady will attend a premiere on Thursday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center by the Trump-appointed board of directors.
The first lady is also scheduled to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday to promote the film, Beckman added.
