10-02-2010: “Athens Mayor attends Alexandria street naming ceremony honouring Cavafy”

A deeply
moving historic ceremony was held today in the vicinity of Constantine P Cavafy's
home in Alexandria, Egypt, during which Sharm El Sheikh Street
was renamed Constantine P Cavafy
Street.




During the course
of the ceremony, Athens Mayor Nikitas
Kaklamanis, Alexandria Governor General Adel Labib, His Beatitude Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria and All Africa,
Greek Community of Alexandria chairman Yiannis Siokas and a City of Athens
delegation comprising Deputy
Mayor for International Relations Sophie
Mytilineou-Daskalaki, Deputy
Mayor for Town Planning Nikos Avramidis and
Athens City Councillors Rigas Axelos and Zoi Valasi were taken on a tour of
Cavafy's home by Hellenic Foundation for Culture Alexandria branch chairman Manolis
Maragoulis. Arab students of the Foundation recited poems by the great
Alexandrian poet in Arabic and Greek. Afterwards, Mayor Kaklamanis,
General Labib and Patriarch Theodoros II exchanged greetings at the venue,
where a plaque bearing the name C.P. Cavafy was unveiled.




Before the
street naming ceremony, the City of Athens and
City of Alexandria
signed a Protocol of Friendship and Cooperation at the city's government house.




Alexandria Governor General Adel Labib noted that he was very pleased to receive his friend, Mayor Kaklamanis, on
such a significant occasion for Hellenism in Alexandria and invited him to visit the city,
which has been named Arab Tourism Capital 2010, in July.




For his part, Mayor
Kaklamanis thanked General Labib on behalf of the municipal
delegation for the warm hospitality and underlined that the visit strengthened
both the ties between Athens and Alexandria and Greece
and Egypt and, in turn,
invited him to visit Athens
within the year.