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Reopening of the Ancient Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor
Reopening of the Ancient Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor
"Today, Luxor shone on the world in its new dress after continuous effort and work that will continue, with the hands of the Egyptians, and thanks to His Excellency the President of Egypt
Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for the continuous support."
General Secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities,
Dr. Mostafa Waziry.
On Thursday, November 25, 2021, at sunset, Egypt re-discovered the 2.7-kilometer Avenue of the Sphinxes, connecting the ancient quay of the Nile with the first pylon of the Karnak Temple in Luxor, one of the world's largest open-air museums. The ceremony was prepared in the same style as the Pharaoh's Golden Parade, which took place in April 2021 in Cairo as the historical event of a global scale.
The Avenue of the Sphinxes was built about 2400 years ago during the reign of the King Nectanebo I, the founder of the XXXth (the last) Dynasty of Egypt.
The long-awaited event was attended by President of Egypt Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, First Lady Entissar Amer, ministers, including the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Enani, and 35 foreign ambassadors.
The ceremony passed by the 1057 sphinxes, arised from under the desert sands along the both sides of the alley. Today it is 250 cryosphinxes and 807 sphinxes, sitting on their sandstone pedestals. According to the Minister of Antiquities and Tourism, Dr. Khaled El-Enani, the archaeological work has not yet been fully completed and will continue for several more years.
The ceremony also showed a reconstruction of the Ancient Egyptian Opet Festival, when dozens of artists in the costumes of Priests walked along the Great Processional Road, carrying three golden Shrines in the form of Holy Barks with the deities Amon-Re, Mut and Khonsu.
The entire grandiose event was accompanied by the musical accompaniment of the United Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir under Maestro Nader Abbasi, who also directed the orchestra during the Pharaoh's Golden Parade in April.
The event was attended by about 160 musicians, dozens of engineers, Egyptologists and specialists in ancient Egyptian writing.
The event was covered by about 200 accredited foreign media correspondents.
Archeological History of the Alley of the Sphinxes
