Egypt’s International Marathon kicks off in Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir El-Bahari

 

 

 

 

 

CAIRO - 16 January 2021: From  the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir El-Bahari, activities of the 28th Egypt’s International Marathon, organized by a private company, kicked off on Friday under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities represented by the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the city of Luxor.

 

 23 Arab and foreign countries participated in the race, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United States of America, Canada, France, Switzerland, Australia, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Poland, Ireland, Brazil, Japan and China.

 

 Eng. Ahmed Youssef, CEO of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board, indicated that the board’s sponsorship of this event came after the approval of the Internal Events Committee, which the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities recently formed to discuss the ministry’s support and sponsorship for various local events and evaluate.

 

 

He added that the board  supports such important events and competitions taking place around the various archaeological and touristic places, to shed light on the Egypt’s tourism potential.

 

 Iman Abdel-Rahman, Director head of Local Tourism in the ETPB, explained that the activities of this race began without an audience, and that the race was limited to participants only, with all precautionary measures implemented.

 

 The contestants set off in 4 races, 42 km, 22 km, 12 km and 5 km, crossing various archaeological sites in the city of Qurna, passing through the city of Habu and the Colossi of Memnon, then heading north to the Valley of the Kings Road, passing through the Temple of Seti I, and then returning again to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut,  the end point of the race.

 

 The marathon was attended by the Deputy Governor of Luxor, the President of the Marathon, the President of the Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, the President of the City of Gourna, the Vice President of the Egyptian Athletics Federation, the Director of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board in Luxor, a number of officials of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Chamber of Tourism Companies and a number of security and executive officials in Luxor.

 

 On the sidelines of this event, Mr. Ashraf Galal, Director of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board in Luxor, met with Mr. Gennadiy Chyzhykov, President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, to welcome him and he presented him with a souvenir and promotional materials about Egyptian tourist destinations.