Egypt: Ancient Avenue of the Sphinxes reopened after being remodelled in Luxor city

In a ceremony aimed at enhancing the profile of one of Egypt's biggest tourist attractions, a rebuilt road connecting two ancient Egyptian temple complexes in Karnak and Luxor was unveiled, as per the reports of The Guardian. The Avenue of the Sphinxes, also known as the Way of the Rams and the Path of the Gods, links the famous Karnak and Luxor temples in Thebes. Pilgrims are thought to have walked this way to visit temples and pay their respects to the gods.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi marched down the route. The road was lined with pharaonic chariots and around 400 young performers were costumed in pharaonic garb, according to The Guardian. Since its discovery in 1949, the road has gone through many restorations, the most recent of which began in 2017.

It's still unknown who actually constructed the road

Some academics believe that the road dates back to the time during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, who lived around 3,500 years ago, but Dr Mustafa Al-Saghir, who is the director-general of the Karnak monuments claims that there is no archaeological evidence on the route to support this theory, according to CBS News. Many also believe that it was erected a few hundred years later, during the reign of King Amenhotep III. Dr Al-Saghir believes the Avenue of Sphinxes was started by Egypt's most famous ancient pharaoh, who stood on the throne roughly 3,000 years ago.

According to CBS News, Dr Al-Saghir also stated that the road's oldest monument dates back to the period during King Tutankhamun's rule, who walked the first 300 metres from the 10th pylon of the Karnak Temple to the Mut Temple gate. The majority of the road was built during the reign of King Nectanebo I, founder of Egypt's 30th and final native dynasty, about 2,400 years ago.

Egypt makes determined effort to entice visitors

Egypt has made a determined effort to get people to visit the country, who have been kept away due to the Coronavirus pandemic, as tourism is a vital source of jobs and hard currency in the country, according to The Guardian. Twenty-two ancient royal mummies were assembled from Cairo's Egyptian Museum to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in April. Egypt's tourism revenues fell from $13 billion in 2019 to around $4 billion in 2020.

Image: AP