Egypt is celebrating the army’s 2013 overthrow of former President Morsi with a new national holiday.
On Thursday warplanes flew over the capital, Cairo, where supporters of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi plan to hold rallies later in the day and in the evening, after the breaking of the Ramadan fast.
The holiday, which the government refers to as the “June 30 Revolution” and which it announced earlier this week, will be also marked with musical performances and free entry to museums. In the ancient city of Luxor, balloons carrying Egyptian flags flew over pharaonic temples and authorities plan a parade along the River Nile.
El-Sissi, then Egypt’s defense minister, led the ouster of his freely elected but divisive predecessor, Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, following mass demonstrations against his presidency.
