عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Egypt's Luxor Sees Tourism Boom Ahead of Sphinxes Avenue Opening

Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt's southern city of Luxor on March 10, 2020. Photo: AFP
Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt's southern city of Luxor on March 10, 2020. Photo: AFP
TT
TT

Egypt's Luxor Sees Tourism Boom Ahead of Sphinxes Avenue Opening

Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt's southern city of Luxor on March 10, 2020. Photo: AFP
Tourists visit the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt's southern city of Luxor on March 10, 2020. Photo: AFP

Tourism is recovering in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor with the opening of the Sphinxes Avenue just around the corner. Also known as "El Kebbash Road", the project's launch is scheduled to take place in a few days.

Tourists have flocked to the archeological sites and temples in the district, and hotels have seen a remarkable increase in reservations.

"Hotels occupancy rate in the district jumped 20 percent in November," said Mohamed Osman, head of the Cultural Tourism Promotion Committee in Luxor in a press statement on Wednesday, noting that "more tourists are expected to visit the country after the opening the Sphinxes Avenue."

"The region is witnessing a high tourist turnout in the current period. Over 5,000 visitors are visiting Al Karnak Temple every day, a number that hadn't been seen in the site since 2013," Saleh al-Masekh, director of Al Karnak Temple told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Al-Masekh attributed this growth to the huge advertising campaign of Sphinxes Avenue, expecting "the turnout to grow further following the public opening of the project."

Asharq Al-Awsat made a tour in the area where the main route leading to the project is still closed with some security checkpoints set as part of preparations for the grand opening, which will be attended by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The development project of the Sphinxes Avenues was first planned in 2006 after the Ministry of Culture announced its plans to revive the route. The project faced many obstacles due to many construction violations that obstructed the route linking Luxor and Al Karnak temples, which had to be removed.

The project was suspended in 2011, and then resumed in 2017.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

In Freezing Temperatures, Swimmers in China Plunge into a River for Health and Joy

A resident swims in a pool carved from ice on the frozen Songhua river in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP)
A resident swims in a pool carved from ice on the frozen Songhua river in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP)
TT
TT

In Freezing Temperatures, Swimmers in China Plunge into a River for Health and Joy

A resident swims in a pool carved from ice on the frozen Songhua river in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP)
A resident swims in a pool carved from ice on the frozen Songhua river in Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP)

Even as the mercury dropped below freezing, enthusiasm soared among about a dozen hardy swimmers during an annual ritual in northeast China’s ice city of Harbin.

The swimmers had trained daily throughout the year for this moment.

They first had to carve out a pool in the Songhua River, thawing the 10-centimeter (4-inch) thick ice that froze overnight. Then they stripped down and, one by one, plunged into the bone-chilling waters of the pool about 10 meters (33 feet) long.

Some said their limbs were already numb when the air temperature fell to minus 13 degrees Celsius (8 degrees Fahrenheit).

Chen Xia, from the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, dived into the river even though she was suffering from a cold. She said the waters in her home city were warmer than those in Harbin, where the temperature was about 0 C (32 F).

The experience strengthened her confidence in winter swimming, a sport she has been devoted to for about two decades.

“I felt prickling all over my body,” said Chen, 56. “But it still made me feel blissful."

Harbin resident Yu Xiaofeng said winter swimming in her city can be dated back to the 1970s, after locals saw Russian Orthodox faithful being baptized in the river. In 1983, the city's winter swimming association was established.

Yu, 61, said she found a sense of a big family and joy during her 30 years of swimming.

“Since the pandemic, we came up with a slogan: Rather suffer through winter swimming than line up at the hospital,” she said, adding that winter swimmers appeared to have better health than others.

You Decang, 76, said swimming kept him healthy and he had never caught a cold.

"If I go just one day without winter swimming, I feel quite uncomfortable,” he said.