’Pharaohs' Golden Parade’, ‘Sphinx Avenue’ increase Google searches about traveling to Egypt by 15%

This is provided that an announcement is made well in advance of the event’s date, to give tourists enough time to attend it and enjoy a roam along a festive Al-Kebbash Road.

This decision comes within the framework of the ministry's strategy to organize a variety of touristic events and activities throughout the year.

On November 25, 2021, the world’s eyes turned to Egypt as the Upper Egyptian governorate of Luxor witnessed the opening of the Avenue of the Sphinxes connecting two huge temples, Luxor Temple & Karnak Temples, in a spectacular ceremony that was attended by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Egypt’s First Lady Intissar Amer.

The Pharaonic Avenue of Sphinxes (Rams Road) was a road of major processions for the Pharaohs, and various holidays were celebrated on it, including the renowned Opet Festival and the coronation feast of the king.

 

It connects the Karnak Temple in the north with the Luxor Temple in the south, bringing the total lengths of the road to 2,700 meters, with nearly 1,200 statues on both sides.

 

FILE - A few of the Rams at the Al-Kebbash Road 

 

 

 

The weight of each of the statues with rams heads or man heads ranges between 5 and 7 tons with a length that reaches 3.7 meters.

 

 

 

 

Each of the statues represent a lion’s body with a ram’s head and they embrace the statue of Ramses II, the symbol of protection.

 

 

 

 

The shape of the ram expresses the Pharaonic god Amun, whose restoration work was completed by Egyptian hands, along with a number of workers specialized in lifting stones. The original colors of the statues of rams were restored.

 

 

 

 

The road is divided into 3 main parts; the first starts from the tenth edifice of Karnak Temple and heads south for a distance of 300 meters until the gate of the Temple of Mut.

 

 

 

 

This part of the road was built in the era of King Tutankhamun, and it is considered the oldest part of the road visible so far.

 

 

 

 

 

Along the road, you can see sphinxes with a lion's body and a ram's head, sitting on bases.

 

 

 

 

The second part of the road includes statues of whole rams in front of the Temple of Khonsu, one of the Karnak temples. It dates back to the era of Amenhotep III, who started the construction of the Luxor Temple.

 

 

 

 

They were brought to this place during the reign of King Herihor, one of the kings of Dynasty 21.

 

 

 

 

 

The third part of the road extends from the Temple of Mut first towards the west or towards the Nile for a distance of about 200 meters and then deviates south at a distance of 2000 meters until it reaches the Luxor Temple.

 

 

 

 

 

The statues in this part are smaller than in the previous two parts, and take the form of a lion's body and a human head bearing the features of King Nectanebo I.

 

 

 

 

The legendary “Luxor – The Sphinx Avenue” event aimed to convert Luxor into an open museum. The event targeted revitalizing tourism in Egypt in general and Luxor in particular, placing it in the rank it deserves as the most important archaeological city in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

The spectacular event took months of vigorous preparations, and will no doubt captivate the entire world, as it will highlight the beauty and luster of Egypt’s Luxor; The City of the Sun.

 

 

 

 

 

The event was covered by hundreds of international & local media agencies, and was attended by prominent statesmen and ambassadors of foreign countries to Egypt.

 

 

 

 

The event also witnessed  unprecedented artistic performances.

The historic event that the world witnessed on April 3, 2021, in the presence of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, is considered one of the most important historical events ever.

It is the event that was entirely supervised by a distinguished Egyptian team who brought out this day in a manner that befits the status of the ancient Egyptian kings and queens, the status of modern Egypt and its great future.

The highly anticipated Pharaohs’ Golden Parade kicked off from Cairo’s Tahrir Square on April 3, 2021 at exactly 6:30 p.m.

The Pharaohs’ Golden Parade moved from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to its final destination in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, arriving at exactly 8:30 p.m. as scheduled.

The number of mummies and coffins transported is 22 royal mummies and 17 royal coffins, dating back to the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties. 18 of the mummies are for kings, while 4 belong to queens. 

Among the mummies transferred are mummies of King Ramses II; King Seqenenre Tao; King Thutmose III; King Seti I; Queen Hatshepsut; and Queen Meritamen, the wife of King Amenhotep I; and Queen Ahmose Nefertari, the wife of King Ahmose I. 
 

The royal mummies were transferred to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in a large march, in-line with the inauguration of the museum and the opening of three halls that include the Central Exhibition Hall and the Mummies Hall.

The Golden Pharaohs’ Parade was preceded in an earlier date by the transferring of 17 sarcophagi of the greatest kings of Egypt, dating back to the era of the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Dynasties, to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, in preparation for displaying them with their mummies respectively.

“With all pride and joy, I highly anticipate the Pharaohs' Golden Parade,” commented Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on his official Twitter account minutes before the launch of the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade.

“This majestic scene is evidence of the greatness of the Egyptian people; the guardians of this unique civilization extending deep into the depths of history,” continued El-Sisi in a separate tweet describing the parade.

“I invite all Egyptians and the whole world to follow this unique event, inspired by the spirit of the great ancestors, who preserved the nation and created a civilization in which all humankind are proud, to continue our path that we started: The path of construction and humanity,” concluded Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Also, Egypt’s first lady Entissar El-Sisi commented on Twitter saying, “Egypt will witness today an exceptional event that will dazzle the entire world.”

Egypt’s first lady described the event by commenting: “The event is a reflection of the grandiose ancient Egyptian civilization that offered the world a unique legacy and heritage.

As the countdown of the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade was counting, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism & Antiquities Khaled el-Enany took President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in a quick tour around the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in which the latter inaugurated minutes before the parade embarked from Tahrir Square.

The Tourism & Antiquities Minister gave the President a brief tour around the museum, explaining what it will house and the numerous halls it consists of. 

Enany explained that The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization is one of the most important national projects adopted by the state, as it is one of the largest international museums, as well as the only museum of its kind in Egypt, the Arab world, the Middle East and Africa, as it includes all the manifestations of the richness and diversity enjoyed by the Egyptian civilization during various eras starting from pre-eras  to the present time.

Enany also explained that the museum will house several antiquities belonging to various different civilizations, such as the Islamic, Coptic, Roman, Greek and of course, the Egyptian civilization.

Egypt’s Minister of Tourism & Antiquities explained that the royal mummies transported in the Pharaoh’s Golden Parade will be housed in a new hall in the NMEC labelled Royal Mummies Hall, stressing that the museum, with all its details, will be a highly interesting destination for all visitors, whether locally or internationally, which in turn increases the importance of the museum and its tourism and economic return, and will contribute to making the place more lively and attractive.

Moreover, Enany explained that the artifacts in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat expresses all the manifestations of the richness and diversity that the Egyptian civilization enjoyed during the various eras, starting from prehistoric times to the present day, and it will contain among its flanks very rare monuments.

When speaking about the new halls inaugurated in the NMEC inline of the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade, Enanyexplained that the Central Exhibition Hall includes the main display of the museum. The visitor can get an integrated idea of ​​the Egyptian civilization and its most important achievements throughout its different eras, starting from prehistoric times through the Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic and Islamic eras and up to the modern and contemporary ages, in addition to what the Egyptians inherited from the traditional culture or what is known as the popular heritage.

He also stated that the Royal Mummies Hall, which was specially designed to display the mummies of the kings and queens of Pharaonic Egypt, takes the visitor to the atmosphere of the Valley of the Kings, where these mummies were found, in a manner befitting their high status, and preceded by an introductory presentation explaining how the Egyptians practiced the science of mummification and their superiority in it.

Enany also stated that the Glass Pyramid Hall, called the Capital Museum, displays the history of the  present-day Greater Cairo. It is located in the glass pyramid that rises above the central display area. Through it, using modern technological methods, the visitor can see all the landmarks of ancient and modern Cairo.

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization is one of the most important projects carried out by Egypt in cooperation with UNESCO and is one of the largest museums of civilization in the world.

Egypt’s Minister of Tourism & Antiquities Khaled el-Enanyagreed to grant a 5o percent discount on NMEC’s entry tickets for Egyptians and foreigners from April 4-17, to visit the Central Exhibition Hall (Main Exhibition).

Preceding the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade, Egypt’s Minister of Tourism & Antiquities Khaled el-Enany and Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) Zurab Pololikashviliinspected the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Egypt’s first Islamic capital, Al-Fustat, to which the mummies were moved at the end of the parade.

In a different context, Chairman of the "Kenouz Egypt for Archaeological Replicas" Hisham Shaarawy indicated that a 20 percent reduction will be granted on all of the company's products up to May 5, 2021 in celebration of the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade.

Egyptian people are always determined to fulfill their ambitions. This is not a dream, this event is a beautiful reality. The Royal Pharaohs' Parade can only be described as "Legendary". The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir was first opened in 1902. It housed the royal mummies for many decades. More than 400 international media outlets are covering the event. Such an event can only be seen in Egypt.

The secrets of the ancient Egyptian civilization and mummies will always be a source of astonishment for the world. The mummies were previously hidden in Der el-Bahari and Valley of the Kings.

“Seqenenre Taa dubbed “The Brave”, ruled southern Egypt during the Hyksos occupation that seized the delta in northern Egypt for a century (1650-1550 BC). His mummy was discovered in the Deir el-Bahari cache in 1881.

It was examined for the first time at the time, and was examined by X-ray in the 1960s. Queen Hatshepsut's Temple is an engineering miracle. Thutmose III is one of the most important Kings that ruled Egypt, thanks to his military expertise.

Thutmose IV documented his achievements in a stone panel located near the Sphinx. Seti I's tomb is one of the most beautiful ancient tombs of ancient Egypt. Ramses II and Ramses III are one of the most significant Kings of Egypt. Ramses II ruled Egypt for over 6 decades.

Ramses III signed the first peace treaty in history. Ramses III protected Egypt from many invasions. Egypt's history is the source of our strength and power.

The royal mummies arrived safely to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat at exactly 8:30 p.m. It was received by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and where saluted with 21 canon shots upon their arrival.

Many beautiful ladies humbly stood in front of the special vehicles that carried the royal mummies, holding a tribute in their hands. 

The Pharaohs’ Golden Parade came out to light after months of extensive and endless efforts were exerted, to come out with an event that befits the grandeur of the ancient Egyptian civilization.

The royal mummies were displayed in the NMEC according to the latest scientific methods for all the world to enjoy.

It was our duty to protect our history that still and will always continue to dazzle the world.