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Alexandria Library Inaugurates World Heritage Simulation Initiative

Alexandria Library, Egypt. (Getty Images)
Alexandria Library, Egypt. (Getty Images)
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Alexandria Library Inaugurates World Heritage Simulation Initiative

Alexandria Library, Egypt. (Getty Images)
Alexandria Library, Egypt. (Getty Images)

As part of its efforts to encourage young Egyptians, develop their capacities and spread heritage and cultural awareness, the Alexandria Center for Hellenistic Studies, in collaboration with the Raquda Foundation for Art and Heritage inaugurated the "Alexandria World Heritage Simulation" initiative.

The initiative offers many educational and cultural opportunities that allow the participants to learn about heritage and culture management from the best experts in the field.

Delegates are responsible for discussing and developing solutions for the management of tangible and intangible heritage in Alexandria, as well as for plans to include Alexandria in the world heritage list.

The project is a cultural platform aimed at raising awareness of the importance of heritage and culture, and their management among the young generation through a series of lectures, during which the participants learn how to use the various information sources available in this domain, along with some field trips related to the program's goals.

They will then have the chance to apply what they learned in a technical project and the UN's World Heritage Simulation Conference.

Emad Khalil Helmy, who oversees the Hellenistic studies in the Library of Alexandria, told Asharq Al-Awsat: "The simulation initiative intends to train over 50 youth within the coming month, following personal interviews with the applicants."

"The simulation sample will not only include theoretical lectures about Alexandria's heritage and antiquities, but also extends to cover the technical field through visits to the city's key historical sites in cooperation with the Raquda Foundation for Art and Heritage," he added.

Helmy explained that the participants will be divided into different categories, including heritage restoration, tourism, advertising, media, and marketing. The members will carry out research on the Alexandrian heritage that will be published later.

The Raquda Foundation for Art and Heritage is an academic and technical institution covering various areas related to art and heritage. It aims at spreading cultural awareness to preserve and revive the Egyptian patrimony, and organizes training sessions and conferences, along with exhibitions and art-related events. The institution has a learning facility, including both digital and traditional libraries specialized in sciences, arts, antiquities and literature.

The institution, founded by a group of Egyptian youths, opens its doors to all the talented and creative people seeking to introduce their skills to the Alexandrian community and spread cultural awareness.

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A Rare Gold Medal from the 1904 St. Louis Olympics Is up for Auction

This Nov. 2024 image provided by RR Auction shows a rare gold medal from the 1904 Olympics at the intake office of RR Auction, in Amherst, N.H. (RR Auction via AP)
This Nov. 2024 image provided by RR Auction shows a rare gold medal from the 1904 Olympics at the intake office of RR Auction, in Amherst, N.H. (RR Auction via AP)
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A Rare Gold Medal from the 1904 St. Louis Olympics Is up for Auction

This Nov. 2024 image provided by RR Auction shows a rare gold medal from the 1904 Olympics at the intake office of RR Auction, in Amherst, N.H. (RR Auction via AP)
This Nov. 2024 image provided by RR Auction shows a rare gold medal from the 1904 Olympics at the intake office of RR Auction, in Amherst, N.H. (RR Auction via AP)

A gold medal awarded to the winner of the 110-meter hurdles at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, the first Games hosted on US soil, is being auctioned off as part of hundreds of lots of memorabilia representing various Olympics over the decades.

The medal bears the inscription "Olympiad, 1904" and shows a victorious athlete holding a wreath on the front. On the other side, Nike, the goddess of victory in ancient Greek mythology, is shown alongside Zeus, the pantheon's king of gods, and the words for the hurdles event it was awarded. The medal, awarded to American Fred Schule, includes the original ribbon and leather case.

This was the first Olympics where gold medals were awarded and the Americans took advantage, winning 78 of 96 events. Unlike Olympic medals these days which are mostly made of silver with gold plating, these were smaller and made entirely of gold.

Bobby Eaton, an Olympic specialist at Boston-based RR Auction, said it is unusual for a medal of this kind to come up for auction though this particular one came from Schule's family’s collection.

"No one really knows exactly how many 1904 Olympic gold medals are still out there," Eaton said. "What we do know is they’re exceedingly rare. Of the roughly 100 gold medals awarded in St. Louis, many have been lost to time or are tucked away in private collections and museums."

Beyond the gold medals, the 1904 Games also were remembered for plenty of controversy and oddities.

The Games were originally awarded to Chicago, but organizers of the World’s Fair in St. Louis feared competition for attendance and protested against a second international event held simultaneously. Fair organizers threatened to host their own athletic events. It took the founder of the modern Olympic movement, Pierre de Coubertin, to forge peace by moving the Olympics 300 miles (483 kilometers) south.

If that drama weren't enough, Fred Lorz looked to have won the marathon race until it was discovered he rode partway in a car.

Organizers ran "Anthropology Days," when members of indigenous tribes from across the globe on hand for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, the formal name of the St. Louis World's Fair, were plucked from the fair and told to compete with no warning.

The Games also saw the debut of boxing and freestyle wrestling, sports that have clung to the Summer Olympics until the present day, along with long-since-forgotten croquet and tug-of-war events.

"These medals aren’t just about the competition — they’re a snapshot of the early days of the modern Olympics," Eaton said. "To have one like this, in such exceptional condition, is truly remarkable and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for collectors."

The sale is part of hundreds of Olympic items that were up for sale at the auction, including a bronze medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics, as well as gold medals from the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, 1964 Tokyo Olympics, 1998 Nagano Olympics and 2012 London Olympics.

Olympic memorabilia has long fetched a good price.

In 2022, the silver medal captured by Luz Long, the German long jumper who befriended Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, sold at auction for more than $488,000. A first-place silver medal awarded at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 sold for $180,111 when it was put up for auction in 2021 and a gold medal from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver sold for $68,750 in 2019.

Athletes also have auctioned off their medals for charity, including two-time canoe champion Yuri Cheban from Ukraine whose two golds and a bronze were auctioned for $109,451 in 2022 to help the war effort. Swimmer Ryan Lochte auctioned off his six Olympic silver and bronze medals the same year, with the $166,779 raised going to an organization benefitting children. He kept his gold medals.

The next summer Olympics will be in Los Angeles in 2028, marking the third time the city has hosted the Games. It also hosted the Games in 1932 and 1984.