| المستخلص: |
Many of today's sports were practiced by the Ancient Egyptians, who set the rules and regulations for them. Inscriptions on monuments indicate that they practiced wrestling, weightlifting, long jump, swimming, rowing, shooting, 'fishing and athletics, as well as various kinds of ball games. Ancient Egyptian kings, princes and statesmen were keen on attending sports competitions, which they encouraged and provided with the necessary equipment. Drawings on pharaonic monuments tell us that several thousand years ago, the Egyptians had laid down basic rules for games, chosen a neutral referee, a uniform for players, and a means of announcing the winners by awarding them different collars. Both winner and loser were met with ovation, the first for his superiority and the latter for his sporting spirit. It is obvious from the scenes depicted on tombs and temple walls that ancient Egyptians knew how to keep fit; obviously in ancient Egypt sports must have been a part of the daily life and culture. Archeologists and scholars have uncovered interesting bits of information about the ancient Egyptian sports practiced thousands of years ago. People have played sports since before the written word. Thus, it is no surprise that Ancient Egypt had sports and athletics. Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt existed at the same time for thousands of years. Although Greece is famous for its sports, but Egypt had much the same activities at the same time and even before. Ancient Egyptian sports are recognizable from that period on, across the world. They are practiced today in playgrounds, fields and arenas. In general, participating in sports in Ancient Egypt was not much different from today. Ancient Egyptians had equipment provided by the wealthy, an audience that included important individuals and enough sports to keep everyone entertained. The current article contributes to the existing body of knowledge on heritage studies in Egypt as a new trend in the tourism academic field through recognizing sport as part of the Egyptian intangible cultural heritage product as well as documenting the origin of some sports in contemporary times. The paper concludes with a number of recommendations-among which is the Importance of introducing the concept of "sport Heritage" as a new trend in the tourism academic domain in Egypt. It is also recommended that the best international practices in the area of sport heritage tourism should be applied in Egypt.
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