In celebration of World Heritage Day, the BA Alex-Med Center, in cooperation with the Alexandrina International Book Fair, and the Abu Simbel 50 Campaign, will host the Golden Jubilee of the Brilliance behind Saving the Eighth Wonder for the fourth year in a row, on Monday, 2 April 2018 at 1:00 pm at the BA.
The celebration will include a lecture by architect Hamdy al-Sotohy, Founder of Abu Simbel 50, on the brilliance behind saving the Temples of Abu Simbel. In cooperation with the Cultural Development Fund, a screening will be held for the film The Eighth Wonder by director John Feeney and concept by Dr. Tharwat Okasha, which was lost for over 40 years and has been restored. The film documents the paintings of the artist Hussein Picard about Abu Simbel before and after the rescue. The film contains 80 paintings and many sketches. The film includes 80 paintings and numerous discoveries, followed by commentary from critic Dr. Yasser Munji. Picard belongs to the second generation of Egyptian artists and his oil paintings are characterized by their high level of composition, coloring and the power of expression.
The event will conclude by honoring Dr. Ahmed Othman, in the presence of some members of his family. He is the founder of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Alexandria, its first dean, and the man behind the idea of saving the temples by cutting, transporting and reconstructing them.
It is worth mentioning that the Abu Simbel 50 campaign started its activities in 2013 and will continue until the end of 2018. It coincides with the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the rescue project, aiming to achieve a set of developmental and awareness objectives through the establishment of several events at Abu Simbel and other Egyptian cities along with activities in foreign countries that had a role in the rescue, under the title of the Evocation of Civilization.