The restored ancient road linking Karnak Temple to Luxor Temple expects to dazzle visitors with its ram-headed sphinxes and cultural significance
A 3,000-year-old walkway in upper Egypt is set to reopen with a spectacular ceremony this Thursday (25 November), Egypt's Tourism and Antiquities Ministry has announced.
First rediscovered in the 1940s, the Avenue of Sphinxes, also known as Rams Road, has been under and extensive period of stop-start excavation.
The road is an extension of the popular Karnak Temple Complex and links to Luxor Temple, totalling 2,700m in length and up to seven metres wide.
Lining each side of the avenue are the remarkable restored sphinx statues, with approximately 700 ram-headed and traditional sphinxes standing guard of those who walk between the temples.
The opening will celebrate the revival of the avenue with a grand parade of people dressed in Egyptian period costumes marching from Luxor Temple towards Karnak temple.
This restoration project is part of Egypt’s larger plan to reinvigorate the country’s tourism sector, which was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This opening of the avenue is expected to bring a boom of visitors to Luxor, and claims to be the world’s largest ancient site.
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