With Sissi, Egypt Sees a Return of the Pharaohs Ever since Sissi began his presidential term, he has frequently spoken of the Egyptian people as a single entity – not Muslims, not Christians, but Egyptians. Elie Podeh and Elad Giladi Aug 17, 2015 9:11 AM On August 6, the new Suez Canal was inaugurated with great pomp and circumstance. In honor of the historic event, there were two ceremonies, attended by both Egyptian and foreign dignitaries, that recalled the festive dedication of the original canal in 1869. Numerous media reports discussed the political and economic aspects of this event, but they missed the aspect that was simultaneously most interesting and most surprising: Islamic and Arab identity are both out, while pharaonic culture is returning in a big way. One could say the most salient trend at both ceremonies was their presentation of the new Egypt as marching forward while also connecting to its pharaonic past. As President Abdel-Fattah al-“issi put it iŶ his speeĐh, EgLJpt is a gƌeat ĐouŶtƌLJ and has a ĐiǀilizatioŶ of 7,000 LJeaƌs. As expected, the army was the focus of the ceremony, which included a military parade and an air show, both as a mark of appreciation for the enormous effort it made in digging the canal and because of its role and stature in Egyptian society. Even Sissi, the hero of the event, was in uniform. But alongside the militarist motif, one could also detect pharaonic ones. The most prominent was the line of trumpeters dressed in pharaonic garb that greeted the president. To this we can add the design of the ceremonial stage: the official emblem of the Suez Canal Authority along with the date of its nationalization, July 26, 1956, plus the emblem of the new Suez Canal along with the date of its inauguration, born aloft by the hands of two pharaonic figures. Not far from the stage, on the banks of the new canal, a new sculpture was unveiled for the first time. Its offiĐial Ŷaŵe is the “tatue of AǁakeŶiŶg, ďut it is ďetteƌ kŶoǁŶ as the ǁiŶged ladLJ oƌ the ǁiŶged peasaŶt ǁoŵaŶ. The focus of the sculpture is a woman who resembles the pharaonic goddess Isis, thanks mainly to her wings, which symbolize strength, freedom, protection and security. Behind her is a large obelisk, and at her feet are two sphinxes. The sculpture clearly symbolizes the integration of modern and ancient Egyptian tradition, each of which preserves the other: The sphinxes, pharaonic lions, protect the eternal Egyptian woman, while she spreads her wings over them. In 1928, Egyptian King Fuad inaugurated a sculptuƌe Đalled EgLJpt’s AǁakeŶiŶg, ďLJ the faŵous sĐulptoƌ Mahŵoud Mokhtaƌ, iŶ oŶe of Caiƌo’s ŵaiŶ sƋuaƌes. The statue ǁas supposed to sLJŵďolize the staƌt of a new era – the rebirth of the Egyptian nation on the basis of its glorious pharaonic past. The similarity between this sculpture and its new counterpart, from the standpoint of both their names and their characteristic motifs, is striking.