Queen Mathilde of Belgium and Duchess of Brabant, Princess Elisabeth, toured several ancient sites in Luxor on Wednesday, on the side-lines of their current visit to Egypt.
The queen and the princess were welcomed in the southern Egyptian city by Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziry.
The tour took the queen and the princess to the work sites of Belgian missions in Deir el-Medina, and the Tombs of the Nobles, in addition to the tomb of King Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, Waziry said.
During the tour, he explained the history of the tomb and the story of its discovery by British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1923.
Waziry also offered the queen and the princess papyri as a souvenir to commemorate their visit to Egypt.
Queen Mathilde and Princess Elisabeth then visited the Lost Golden City of Luxor.
They were accompanied in the visit by renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass.
The 3,000-year-old city was built by Amenhotep III (1388–1351 BC) and continued to be used by king Tutankhamun.
On Tuesday, Queen Mathilde, Princess Elisabeth and Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa inaugurated an exhibition titled ‘1923-2023: Queen Elisabeth of Belgium in Egypt’.
The opening of the exhibition coincided with the 100th anniversary of a visit by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and her son, Crown Prince Leopold, in February 1923 to Egypt to attend the official opening of King Tutankhamun’s tomb.
The exhibition is being held at the Baron Empain Palace, which was built in 1911 by Belgian industrialist Baron Édouard Empain in the then new city of Heliopolis, which he established in the desert northeast of Cairo.
The exhibition runs until April 14, 2023.
