The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities launched a digital tourism 'fawazeer' ('riddles') competition during the holy month of Ramadan to promote Egyptian tourist destinations and raise awareness regarding tourism and archaeology. The competition aims to provide people with diverse tourist and archaeological trivia. Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Lamia Kamel explained that this competition includes publishing 15 riddles throughout the holy month. The competition includes questions about customs practiced throughout the holy month and how Egyptians celebrate it to preserve these ancient Ramadan customs and highlight the distinguished atmosphere within the country during the month and attract tourists to partake in the festivities. The prize will be a tourist trip for a week during the summer months to resort cities like Hurghada and Sahl Hasheesh for three winners. Like the holiday season in the West, Ramadan generates its own forms of nostalgia for the joys of Ramadans past; one of which is Fawazeer Ramadan. The riddles are an old, loved tradition that started on Egyptian radio in the 1960s and then soon moved onto television. In essence, fawazeer shows were short, 10-minute episodes containing dance numbers and sketches that presented an affectionate pastiche of Egyptian popular culture of the pre-satellite TV era. The core of each fawazeer episode revolved around a riddle that the audience was asked to solve, usually anchored to a specific theme for the entire 30-episode season.
