By Akram Medhat
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism, and Dr. Khaled El-Enany, Minister of Antiquities, accompanied African ambassadors and diplomats on a tour of Abu Simbel Temple to watch the phenomenon of the sun aligning with the face of King Ramses II in his temple, which recurs twice a year, on February 22 and October 22. Dr. Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, gave the ambassadors an archaeological explanation during the tour, and about 6,500 foreign and Egyptian visitors witnessed the phenomenon this morning.
The event was attended by Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation; Dr. Inas Abdel Dayem, Minister of Culture; Eng. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications; Maj. Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim, Governor of Aswan; Tarek Radwan, head of the African Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives; Maged Abul Kheir, the committee's deputy head; and Ambassador Maher El-Adawy, Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs.
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The Ministry of Tourism organized a dinner for the African ambassadors and diplomats and their families aboard a Nile cruise ship in Abu Simbel, in cooperation with the Ministry of Communications, under the slogan One Africa... One Heart.
For her part, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat stressed the importance of organizing this event in conjunction with Egypt's chairmanship of the African Union for 2019, as well as its hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations, set to kick off next June, in addition to President El-Sisi's declaration of Aswan as the Capital of African Youth, noting the importance of making use of these various events to promote Egypt as a tourist destination.
The Ambassador of Cameroon, dean of the African ambassadors, delivered a speech thanking the Ministry of Tourism for hosting him and his fellow ambassadors, noting the importance of the role Egypt plays through its chairmanship of the African Union in bringing African brothers together for cooperation and integration. He said, "For the first time we feel that we are one entity," which is what President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi champions, noting that this is the first time African ambassadors have been involved in such a major event.
The delegation members attended a folklore festival organized by the Ministry of Culture with 20 troupes from a number of Arab, African and Asian countries, including Egypt, China, Jordan, Sudan, Mauritius, Lebanon and Palestine, and then watched a sound and light show in front of the temple.
The delegation included 22 African ambassadors and diplomats and their families, most notably from Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Mali and Côte d'Ivoire, among other African ambassadors.
For their part, the African ambassadors expressed their happiness at seeing this unique astronomical phenomenon, which reflects the greatness of Pharaonic civilization and the genius of the ancient Egyptians, and took souvenir photos with the ministers in front of the two Abu Simbel temples and Lake Nasser.
On another note, EgyptAir Express, EgyptAir's domestic and regional airline, announced 15 additional flights carrying about 1,000 tourists to Abu Simbel Airport from February 20 to 22, to transport tourist groups and representatives of international news agencies covering the phenomenon of the sun aligning with the face of King Ramses II, as part of boosting inbound tourism and contributing to promoting Egypt's tourism assets.
