During the 24th Heliopolis International Water Polo and Synchronized Swimming Tournament held at the Heliopolis Sporting Club (HSC) from 16-20 September, the HSC organised a cultural tour for the international water polo and synchronised swimming teams, which participated in this tournament.
The HSC aims to promote cultural tourism in Egypt in this way.
The international water polo clubs included the Hungarian clubs of Szentes and KSI, Partizan Serbian club and the German Potsdam club. As for the synchronised swimming, the international clubs were the Russian club of St Petersburg. Also synchronised swimming players from Greece participated.
The two-day tour included visits to the Giza Pyramids, the Egyptian Museum, the Saladin Citadel of Cairo, the Coptic complex located in Mar Girgis. The sports players were so delighted by the tour as the Russian synchronised swimmers requested to visit the Egyptian museum once more.
According to Ahmed Yehia, Mahmoud Fadl and Ahmed Megahed, souvenirs sellers in the Saladin citadel, after the 2011 revolution tourism in Egypt, especially the cultural one, has witnessed a remarkable decline. Fadl added that tourism in the citadel was recovering in 2012, but after the Itihadiya Palace clashes in 2012, tourism dropped back.
Sabry El-Said, public relations and members affairs’ officer at the HSC, told Daily News Egypt that a country that has 1/3 of the world’s monuments should not be facing this tourism decline. This was the motive behind organising this two-day cultural tour, he said.
It was a good opportunity to promote for the cultural tourism in Egypt, especially for the Hungarian and Serbian teams. In previous statements to Daily News Egypt, the Hungarian Ambassador to Egypt, Peter Kveck pointed out that Hungarian tourism to Egypt is mainly a coastal one. He expressed his hope to increase the Hungarian cultural tourism in Egypt. In this regards the Serbian Ambassador to Egypt, Dragan Bisenic said before that Serbian tourism in Egypt is mainly concentrated in the coastal areas.
By Maydaa Abo El-Nadar
