The routes within the Umayyad Project draw considerable attention during their presentation to local and regional authorities in its fourth Steering Committee meeting in Alexandria
The Umayyad Project’s fourth steering committee took place in Alexandria (Egypt) from the 15th until the 17th December. It lasted three days and a field visit was organized on the 17th. The partners visited the most relevant and interesting places in Alexandria city such as the Library of Alexandria, the Roman Amphitheatre and the Citadel of Qaitbay, built in the 1480s on the site of the former Alexandria's lighthouse.
During the first day, the partners reviewed the project’s progress. The most important activities lately implemented are the training sessions organized in Portugal, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia involving entrepreneurs and stakeholders from the tourism sector. Furthermore, the Umayyad museum to be developed in Anjar, Lebanon was presented and it is planned to be inaugurated at the end of 2015.
During these days, a Euro Mediterranean Tourism Forum has been organized by the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce, one of the Egyptian partners. during which as the project’s coordinator, Mr. Cid, presented the project to the participants. The forum, that had a great press coverage and was attended by tourist enterprises and stakeholders, received an excellent institutional support. Among the speakers were, H.E. Mr. James Moran, Ambassador of the European Union to Egypt, Gen. Tarek Mahdy, governor of Alexandria, Mr. Ahmed Al-Wakil, head of FEDCOC and representatives from the Tourism and Religious Affairs ministries, took part in the event and share their ideas on tourism in Egypt and the Euro Mediterranean region.
Finally, the project website (www.umayyad.eu), in which the Umayyad Route in Andalusia is available, has been promoted. In the near future, the information referred to the other countries of the transnational Umayyad route: Portugal (Algarve), Italy (Sicily), Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan will be uploaded on this website, so the tourists can may have an overall view of it.
The Umayyad project started in June 2013, when the kick-off meeting took place in Granada. The final output is the creation and launch of a transnational itinerary in order to promote the Umayyad heritage at tourist level in the countries involved, under the Umayyad common brand.