To the tunes of the operetta "Sing to the Sun", which is sung for the first time in Abu Simbel Temple Square, the tourist city south of Aswan celebrated the night when the sun perched on the face of King Ramses, at the conclusion of the Aswan International Festival of Culture and Arts in its ninth session.
On Monday evening, 18 international and local artistic troupes performed their shows on the night when the sun was perpendicular to the face of King Ramses II in his great temple in Abu Simbel, with the participation of about 430 male and female artists representing the participating teams from 9 different countries, on the sheep of the opera "Sing to the Sun".
These 18 groups will present their performances within the ninth session of the Aswan International Festival for Culture and Arts, which is held on the sidelines of the sun’s alignment, their distinctive and different artistic performances in the city of Abu Simbel and in front of the Temple Square, at the end of the festival’s activities, in which 8 international teams participate: “Mexico, Greece, Poland, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Fallujah.” Palestinian and Sudan”, in addition to the participation of 10 local bands, namely: “Aswan, Sharqia, Minya, Matrouh, Arish, Sohag, Hurriya, Alexandria, Port Said, Reda Troupe for Folklore, and the National Troupe for Folk and Performing Arts.”
Major General Ashraf Attia, Governor of Aswan, confirmed that the phenomenon of the sun’s perpendicularity to the Holy of Holies in Abu Simbel Temple will witness a special kind of celebration characterized by many different activities and forms, in a cheerful and honorable atmosphere in front of foreign guests and Egyptian visitors who are keen to watch the sun perpendicular to Abu Simbel Temple every year during this timing.
Officials of the Ministry of Culture stressed that soft forces are a tool for preserving identity, and that the festival is one of the aspects of cooperation between the Ministries of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, and aims to shed light on the arts and heritage cultures in various countries. .
The concert, which was directed by the artist Hisham Atwa, began with the launch of the luminous flying balloons to decorate and beautify the sky of Abu Simbel in a message of love and peace to the whole world from the Abu Simbel temple. It was presented in Arabic and English, reviewing the story of the discovery of the temple of King Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the process of saving it, dismantling its stones, transporting and reinstalling them in its new location in front of Lake Nasser in the 1960s, through the use of modern and advanced technologies. The presentation also shed light on the life story of the king. Ramses II and the Battle of Kadesh and the first peace treaty concluded in the world and written on the walls of the temple.
It is noteworthy that the festival is organized by the General Authority for Cultural Palaces headed by the artist Hisham Atwa, and it was held from 15 to 22 February, and its activities were organized in 13 locations in villages and centers in Aswan Governorate, and was attended by more than 15,000 spectators from the people of the governorate and Egyptian guests from foreigners, and the course was held in cooperation with the Relations Sector. Foreign cultural affairs headed by Sabri Saeed, the Artistic House of Folk and Performing Arts headed by Adel Abdo, and the Tourism Promotion Authority headed by Amr El-Qadi, under the supervision of the Central Administration for Artistic Affairs headed by the artist Ahmed El-Shafei, head of the festival, and 18 bands from 8 Arab and foreign countries participated in it, “Palestine, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mexico, Poland, Greece" in addition to the Egyptian groups "Aswan, Sohag, Minya, Port Said, Arish, Sharkia, Hurriya in Alexandria, Matrouh" for folk arts, and the automatic bands "Toshka and Shalateen", in addition to the first participation For the Reda Folklore Bands and the National Folklore Band of the Technical House for Folk and Performing Arts.
Tue, Feb. 22, 2022
