More re lighting on Luxor's West Bank

Sunday, December 05, 2010


Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref)

THE NEW lighting system on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor is in operation, providing a dramatic view of the famous monuments in the area, Nevine El-Aref reports.

The night landscape on the west bank has totally changed. Visitors to the historical Upper Egyptian city of Luxor have a view of Hatshepsut's Temple, the Valleys of the Kings and Queens and the Tombs of the Nobles as they enjoy an evening stroll along the Cornice on the east bank of the river.

The lights were installed with a budget of LE56 millions provided by the Ministry of Culture, the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), Egypt's Sound and Light Organisation and the foremost French lighting company, Architecture Lumière, which was chosen from several international lighting organisations. The consortium has installed 922 lighting units in various locations on the mountains of the west bank, offering a new service to Luxor's visitors.


Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the SCA, said that the aim of the project was to preserve the tombs and temples on the west bank.
 The SCA had finished the lighting system project of west bank, Luxor with a budget of 56 million Egyptian pounds. The project was done in co-operation with Egypt sound and light company and Architecture Lumiere (French company).Dr.Zahi Hawass said that the point of the project is to protect the tombs of the west bank as the huge number of visitors will be distributed on longer hours of the day from 7am till 8pm which will decrease the humidity that affects the tombs badly.Posted by Andie at 9:33 AM 
Al Ahram Weekly (Ingrid Wassman)
The darkness surrounding the temple and the whispers from the eager visitors are quickly submerged by a masterful interplay of music, narration and light. As the show begins, the massive 37-metre-high pylon is splashed with colourful laser beams, while an amplified voice begins the fabulous story of Edfu's Temple of Horus, dedicated to the god of the sky.
This new sound-and-light show at Edfu Temple was inaugurated on 1 June, an impressive LE35 million project managed and completed in 18 months by Misr Company for Sound, Light and Cinema, headed by Chairman and Managing Director Essam Abdel-Hady.
"We added a sound-and-light show in Edfu for three main reasons," explains Abdel-Hady. "The Temple of Horus is one of the best preserved in Egypt," and he adds that passengers on a Nile cruise docked overnight in Edfu previously had very few evening sightseeing options. "This project is also a way to develop the economy of Edfu, which is not a wealthy town," says Abdel-Hady.
Posted by Andie at 3:19 PM 

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