Egypt’S Culture Minister Enas Abdel Dayem and her French counterpart Françoise Nyssen opened the exhibition “Suez Canal epic: From the pharaohs to the 21st century,” organized by the Arab World Institute in Paris.
The exhibition is celebrating 150 years since the first inauguration of the Suez Canal and was attended on Friday by the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Egypt’s ambassador to France Ehab Badawi.
Dayem discussed with Nyssen ways to support cooperation in cultural and technical exchange between the two countries and preparations for declaring 2019 the year of Egyptian-French culture.
Dayem said the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Suez Canal reflects the rich history shared by Egypt and France.
The exhibition includes photographs, antiques and recorded films telling the history of Egypt and the canal since the pharaonic civilization through the digging of the new Suez Canal.
The exhibition highlights the opening of the modern Suez Canal in 1869 and the nationalization of it in 1956 by late President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
The exhibition also reviewed Queen Hatshepsut’s trip to Puntland during the ancient Egyptian civilization to highlight Egypt’s connection with the outside world.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
