Egypt: Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt, Ahmed Issa has recently shared an update regarding the commencement of a temporary photographic exhibition at Baron Imban’s Palace showcasing “The Journey of Queen Elizabeth Queen Belchika – In Egypt.”
According to the updates, the exhibition is the first of its kind displaying the films that documented Queen Elizabeth’s trip to Egypt. In addition, during the event Minister of Tourism and Archaeology, Mr Ahmed Issa, received the Queen of Belgium and the Duchess of Brabant Province in Belgium at the Palace of Baron Imban.
Furthermore, Minister Issa also delivers a welcome speech to address the visitors and tourists, during which his speech emphasizes that:
– The depth of relations between Egypt and Belgium.
– The Baron Palace hosting this exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of the visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, Queen of Belgium, to Egypt in 1923.
Moreover, under the title “1923-2023: Queen Elizabeth Queen of Belchica – In Egypt”, Matilda Queen of Belgium, Princess Elizabeth Duchess of Brabant, Belgium, and Mr Ahmed Issa, Minister of Tourism and Archaeology, opened a temporary exhibition of photographs at Baron Imban Palace in New Egypt.
The event was hosted as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary one year to the visit of Queen Elizabeth, Queen of Belgium and her son Prince Leopold to Egypt to attend the official opening of the Golden King Tutankhamun’s tomb in February 1923.
As per the updates, the exhibition is held under the leadership of the Belgian Royal Palace and the Embassy of Belgium in Cairo and in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Monuments, and the exhibition is scheduled to last from March 14 to April 14.
In addition, the opening ceremony was attended by the Ministry of Tourism and Archaeology, Mr Ghada Shalabi, Deputy Minister for Tourism Affairs, Dr Mustafa Waziri, S.G of the Supreme Council of Archaeology, Mr Amr Al-Qadhi, Executive Chairman of the Egyptian General Authority for Tourism Activity.
Along with Mr Ahmed Obaid, Assistant Minister for Affairs of the Minister’s Office Sector, Deacon Engineer Hisham Samir, Assistant Minister for Archaeology and Museum Projects, General Supervisor on the Historic Cairo Project, Mr Moomen Othman, Head of the Museum Sector at the Supreme Council of Archaeology.
Additionally, Mrs Nashwi Jaber, Head of the Department of Foreign Expeditions and Chairman of the Standing Committees of the Supreme Council on Archaeology, and Advisor Amr Abdullah, General Supervisor of the General Administration for International Relations and Agreements in the Ministry and a number of businessmen, public figures and some members of the Belgian Embassy in Cairo were also present.
Mr Ahmed Issa received the Queen of Belgium and Princess Duchess of Brabant County at Baron Imban Palace. He delivered a welcome speech, expressing his happiness at welcoming Queen and Her Royal High Highness to Egypt, especially in this magnificent Palace, “Baron Imban’s Palace”, which emphasizes the Egyptian Belgian relations that Link Egypt and Belgium built by Belgian engineer Edward Imban.
On his part, the minister talked about the state of Belgium’s interest in contributing to this Palace’s restoration project when the Egyptian government decided to start the project. An agreement was signed between Egypt and Belgium in 2019.
Reports confirmed that the President of the Republic, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, inaugurated the Palace on June 29, 2020, after the completion of the restoration project.
The Baron’s Palace hosted today this exhibition, which was opened in honour of the Queen of Belgium and the Duchess of the County of Brabant in Belgium, the minister pointed out, marking the 100th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth Queen of Belgium’s visit to Egypt in 1923 and celebrating the friendship and cooperation between Egypt and Belgium.
Minister Ahmed Issa concluded his speech by thanking everyone who participated in organizing this exhibition, wishing the Queen of Belgium a happy stay in Egypt.
Ambassador Francois Cornier, the Belgian Ambassador to Cairo, also welcomed the Queen and the Princess in advance, thanking Minister Ahmed Issa for the good and warm reception they witnessed during their visit today to the Palace and for the efforts of the Ministry in organizing this exhibition.
The ambassador pointed out that Queen Matilda would follow in the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth during her visit to Egypt in 1923. Queen Matilda will visit the same areas that Queen Elizabeth visited, so she will travel to Luxor to visit the tomb of King Tutankhamun.
Subsequently, Mr Ahmed Issa accompanied Queen Matilda, Queen of Belgium, and Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Brabant, Belgium, on a tour inside the Palace, which included various showrooms.
Through a variety of photographs, films and paintings, the exhibition is set to highlight the long-standing friendship between Egypt and Belgium, especially by highlighting the Belgian Queen’s journeys to Egypt in 1923 and 1930.
The exhibition will highlight one aspect of Queen Elizabeth and her son Leopold’s visit to Egypt during the official opening of King Tutankhamun’s Tomb in 1923, where they were received by Abdul Hamid Suleiman Pasha, Minister of Public Works on behalf of King Fouad, and also Lord Carnarvon, who financed the excavations.
About the cemetery, British archaeologist Howard Carter the tomb explorer, as well as highlighting the Queen’s Resurrection and the accompanying delegation on a blue trip to visit archaeological sites in Egypt.
In 1930, King Albert and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, returned to Egypt again on an official visit followed by a private trip, during which the Queen visited several of her archaeological sites.
During the exhibition, films documenting Queen Elizabeth’s two journeys to Egypt will be shown for the first time, preserved since they were filmed at the Royal Belgian Film Archive (Cinematek) and recently converted into a digital edition to be revived and shown again.
Other parts of the exhibition also highlight King Fouad’s visit to Brussels in 1927, a side of the “Egyptian festivals” organized in Brussels in 1926, Egypt in New Egypt in 1927, and the establishment of the “Egyptological Queen Elizabeth” in 1923.
A famous association in Belgium that researches and studies civilization. Ancient Egyptian and its library and photographic archives contain some of the most unique and magnificent collections of Ancient Egypt worldwide.
The exhibition will also see an exhibition of photos taken from the Queen’s photo albums, some photographs taken highlighting the wonderful stay of the Belgian royal family in Egypt, as well as an exhibition of photos from their travels from the Royal Palace archives in Brussels, the Royal Library of Art and History in Brussels, private archives, etc.
The exhibition focuses on the close cultural and economic relations between Belgium and Egypt dating back to the nineteenth century, much of which highlights the story of “Baron Imban’s Palace in New Egypt”, built by Belgian Baron Edward Imban in 1929.
The Egyptian government began the restoration project of the Palace at the end of 2017 through The Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces Department and some different local companies under the supervision of experts, specialists and consultants in the field of restoration, archaeology, architecture and construction, the state of Belgium has contributed to this by signing an agreement with the Ministry of Tourism, Monuments and Investment in Egypt to cooperate on this project.
