Ambassador of Egypt in Belgrade, Amr Aljowaily, hosted a working lunch for the directors of major Serbian museums and friendship societies with world renowned Archaeological Professor Dr. Zahi Hawass in the presence of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia, Dubravka Filipovski, President of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Egypt, and Aneta Djermanovic, Acting President of the Egyptian-Serbian Friendship Association.
“We expect to make new discoveries during the current Egyptian excavation mission in the “Valley of the Kings””, Hawass announced at the gathering, expressing “his hopes to have some results by the end of this month”, in his current visit to Serbia organized by Dr. MirJana Šajković Creator, Author, and founder of Recreate Life. He highlighted that the secret of dazzling ancient Egyptian civilization is the promotion of a ‘national project’ which united the entire population behind one objective. Hawass invited his audience to enjoy what he described as the codification of human civilization in Egypt, enjoying the safety that is now prevalent and contributing to the tourism that has now rebounded. “The activities of Club Cleopatra, which brings together a number of foreign ambassadors accredited in Cairo, interested in the civilization of ancient Egypt, are a unique experience to which the Ambassador of Serbia participated, He revealed . Hawass also praised the fond interest of the Serbian people towards ancient Egyptian civilization, noting that spoke about it in the chapter titled “Serbia by Pharonic Eyes”, in the book titled “Serbia in Egyptian Eyes”, which presents the memories of the former ambassadors of Egypt in Belgrade, and the memoirs of senior intellectuals with Serbia, and edited by Ambassador Aljowaily.
The Ambassador of Egypt in Belgrade said that the working lunch marked the expansion of the campaign launched by the Embassy this year entitled “#EgyptALLogy”, to include the different ways and means to present Ancient Egyptian civilization through all kinds of arts, including theater, music and paintings. He revealed that the discussions at this important gathering included talks with Director of the National Museum “Bojana Boric Breskovic” to explore possibilities to create a pavilion for Antiquities of Egypt, as well as cooperation with the Center for the Restoration of the new Grand Egyptian Museum to restore the funerary mask available in Serbia. “We also discussed with the Director of Director of Etnographic Museum Mrs. Tijana Colak-Antic on collaborating with the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, given its unique role in exhibiting the continuity of the Egyptian culture through the various historical eras”, Aljowaily added noting that there are consultations with the Director of the Museum of Contemporary Arts Mr. Slobodan Nakaradaon on featuring how artists see the history of ancient Egypt.
The Egyptian ambassador revealed that there are current discussions with the Cultural Secretariat of the City of Belgrade, to organize an exhibition of the replicas of the antiquities, as well as with and the cultural secretariat of the City of Uzice, Nemanja Nesic, within the twinning project with the city of Aswan. Aljowaily added that the gathering was an opportunity to reach out to Professors of Archeology at the University of Belgrade, Branislav Andjelkovic and Vera Vasiljevic to translate their publixations on ancient Egypt from Serbian to Arabic, in preparation for Egypt’s participation as a guest of honor at the Belgrade Book Fair next year.
Dr. MirJana Šajković Creator, Author, and founder of Recreate Life, and organizer of the Zahi Hawass visit, said that this diversity of media will enhance the appreciation of the ancient civilization of Egypt within wide circles of the Serbian people, in different age brackets and social strata.