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Festival of Russian culture meets with success in two Egyptian cities

The events took place last weekend in the palaces of culture in Quena and Luxor

CAIRO, November 21./TASS/. The festival of Russian culture ‘Bridge of Friendship’ was successfully staged in two cities of Upper Egypt - Luxor and Quena, Russia’s Consul-General in Hurghada Viktor Voropayev told TASS on Monday.

"The events took place last weekend in the palaces of culture in Quena and Luxor. We were glad to introduce a piece of Russian culture to the Egyptian audience in two provinces in the south of the country," Voropayev said. This was the first such visit of Russian performance groups to the provinces of southern Egypt in the past 30 years, he added.

Young performers from the Hurghada-based Sabirova Dance School and Classic Dance Academy schools, led by Russians, performed in two concert halls. The winner of a children’s contest in Vitebsk, Diana Vakhiba, sang in both the Russian and Arab languages, while the Elite school presented a photo exhibition on the traditional garments of Russia’s peoples.

Quizzes in Arabic were also part of the festival of Russian culture, devoted to the visit of the first man in space Yuri Gagarin to Egypt in 1962 and his meeting with Gamal Abdel Nasser, the then president, the sights of Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as interesting facts about the Red Sea and Lake Baikal. "Such events help to strengthen the traditionally friendly relations between Russia and Egypt, build a strong bridge of cooperation between our peoples and raise interest among the Egyptian youth in the history, culture and modern life in Russia," Voropayev stressed.

The festival was organized by creative teams of Russian compatriots in Hurghada with the support of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation, the Russian House in Cairo, the Egyptian-Russian Friendship Society, and Ural Federal University. Taking part in the events were officials from the two provinces and the rector of Luxor University.

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