Thousands visited the Upper Egyptian city of Aswan on Tuesday for the solar alignment phenomenon which takes place at the city’s famed Abu Simbel temple twice a year.
The Egyptian tourism ministry organised large-scale festivities on Monday night to mark the occasion, which were enjoyed by local and foreign tourists, as well as some of the country’s top officials.
A large screen displayed a historical documentary detailing the discovery of Abu Simbel temple in 1813 by a Swiss Egyptologist. The film also told the story of how the entire temple was dismantled in the 1960s to save it from the rising waters of the nearby Lake Nasser.
The temple was then reassembled 60 metres from its original location.
The event was marked by live music performances. Photos shared by the antiquities ministry showed dozens of sky lanterns being released to illuminate the night sky above the four gargantuan statues of Ramses II at Abu Simbel.
Widely regarded as a feat of pharaonic engineering, the biannual solar alignment sees the sun passing over the face of the statue of Rameses II at Abu Simbel for about 20 minutes, once on February 22 and again on October 22.
Egyptologists believe the location for the temple of Abu Simbel was chosen by the ancient Egyptians so that the sun would pass over Ramses’ face once at the start of the harvest season in February and again to mark the start of the flooding season in October.
The Aswan solar alignments draw attention to the city and its pharaonic landmarks.
This year, the alignment took place in the middle of Aswan’s annual arts and culture festival. The festival, in its ninth year, is another of the city’s celebrated events.
One of the festival’s most popular folkloric events was performed at Abu Simbel on Monday night in celebration of the solar alignment.
The solar alignment previously took place on the 21st days of both February and October, before Abu Simbel's relocation in the 1960s.
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Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
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When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
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Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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