Luxor's Avenue of Sphinxes Opens with Grand Ceremony

A spectacular ceremony featuring dances, songs, parades, performances, and fireworks marked the inauguration of Luxor's Avenue of Sphinxes, also known as Rams Road or the Path of the Gods. The event was broadcast on Egyptian television and internationally in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, France, and South Africa, with drone footage capturing the temple area. The lavish media operation aims to revive international tourism after the 2011 civil unrest and the pandemic. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attended, guided by Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani. The 3,000-year-old avenue connects the Karnak and Luxor temples in what was once Thebes, the pharaonic capital from the 16th to 11th centuries BC. Located on the east bank of the Nile in southern Egypt, it features about 1,200 sphinxes—traditional and criosphinxes (lion body, ram head)—lining both sides. The ancient road was believed to be a pilgrimage route for worshippers visiting temples. Mustafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, stated that excavation and restoration continue daily, with sphinx heads being reattached to original bodies. The celebration included performances, singing, classical music, percussion, and a procession of figurants dressed as priests carrying golden boats on litters, surrounded by dancing vestals, inspired by an ancient Egyptian annual rite in Thebes.