That might be surprising to people more familiar with the statue’s French roots than its Arab ones. After all, the statue’s structure was designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel (yes, that Eiffel), and Lady Liberty was given to the United States by France for its centennial to celebrate the alliance of the two countries formed during the French Revolution.
The statue’s designer, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, was also French, but he found inspiration in a very different place: Egypt. In 1855, he visited Nubian monuments at Abu Simbel, which feature tombs guarded by gigantic colossus figures. Bartholdi became fascinated by the ancient architecture, developing what the National Park Service calls a “passion for large-scale public monuments and colossal structures.” Eventually, he channeled that passion into a proposal for the inauguration of the Suez Canal.
Bartholdi envisioned a colossal monument featuring a robe-clad woman representing Egypt to stand at Port Said, the city at the northern terminus of the canal in Egypt. To prep for this undertaking, Barry Moreno, author of multiple books about the statue, writes that Bartholdi studied art like the Colossus, honing the concept for a figure called Libertas who would stand at the canal. “Taking the form of a veiled peasant woman,” writes Moreno, “the statue was to stand 86 feet high, and its pedestal was to rise to a height of 48 feet.” Early models of the statue were called “Egypt Carrying the Light to Asia.”
The line of hats was more diverse.
Ассортимент шляп был более разнообразен
The President's visit is loaded with symbolic significance.
Визит президента наполнен символическим значением.
The country's economy is floundering and the future is uncertain.
Экономика страны находится на грани краха и будущее неясно.
The dolphin's habitat is being rapidly degraded.
Среда обитанияя дельфинов стремительно ухудшается
We reserved a hotel room.
Мы забронировали гостиничный номер /номер в гостинице/
All of these are intertwined and pose a threat not only to the achievement of NEPAD, but to all the progress we have seen in the past few years.
