The Spanish ambassador to Egypt Ramón Gil-Casares Satrústegui held a special meeting with the head of the Cultural Tourism Marketing Committee Mohamed Othman, to discuss supporting cultural tourism in Luxor and Aswan.
The meeting centered around the new Civilizations Bridge project, which aims to revitalize and increase tourism in the upcoming season, Othman said.
The project will run from October 2021 to March 2022. Egypt will invited a number of international artists, including painters and photographers, to reside in Luxor at the expense of the committee to create painted and illustrated artwork that captures the ancient spirit inspired by the life of the ancient Egyptians.
Following their visit, the artists will display their works in their home countries, in hopes of inspiring more tourism to the country.
The concept of art-inspired tourism is not new- it was around in the 1960s when Egypt asked its graduating fine arts students to create pieces inspired by ancient Egyptian art on the western mainland of the Nile.
The project will use Luxor’s New Gourna Village by architect Hassan Fathy, a UNESCO monument known for its distinctive architectural elements, he said.
Othman added that the committee is coordinating with Supreme Council of Antiquities, headed by Mostafa al-Waziry on the project.
Luxor is also witnessing other tourism-focused work, including the restoration of the columns of Karnak Temple and the Rams Road.
According to Othman, Egypt and Spain have been closely communicating in regards to tourism, with Spanish tourists having a recent and helpful impact on tourism in the country.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
