A pillar of the Egyptian economy, tourism has been at a standstill since the start of the pandemic a year ago. South of Cairo, the city of Luxor is hit hard by this crisis.
The Luxor temple is deserted by tourists. The number of foreign travelers to Egypt fell from 13 to 3.3 million between 2019 and 2020.
KEYSTONE
Erwan Valazza, a 29-year-old musician from Geneva, has been unemployed for a year, a collateral victim of the restrictive measures linked to the coronavirus pandemic. When this guitarist found discount plane tickets to Egypt, he jumped at the chance. “In this complicated period, you have to change your mind,” smiles the young man, walking with his companion between the colonnades of the temple of Karnak, the largest in Egypt.
“This is the opportunity to discover this country in a quieter moment.”
In Luxor, a city-museum located 500 km south of Cairo, this pharaonic religious complex spread over nearly 2 km2 represents a must visit. This morning, however, the Geneva couple is browsing this site almost alone. “A privilege”, recognizes Erwan Valazza. “This is the opportunity to discover this country in a quieter moment,” adds his partner, Cora Aguirre, a 28-year-old psychologist.
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