It was a big weekend for Egypt, with Egyptian athletes taking home top prizes at the weightlifting and squash world championships.

For the first time in over 60 years, Egyptian weightlifters took home gold at the weightlifting World Championship held in Anaheim, California on Saturday. Mohamed Ihab and Sarah Ahmed dominated the competition winning gold.

The Egyptian men's squash team also won big at the World Team Championship in Marseille, France on Sunday, dethroning the reigning English champions. 

Ahmed came out on top in the clean and jerk competition in the 69 KG category by lifting 136 KG. 

This isn't Ahmed's first time on the international stage either. She previously won at the 2015 World Youth Weightlifting Championships. The 19-year-old athlete also finished in fourth place at the 2015 World Weightlifting Championships.

The last time a male Egyptian athlete won a gold medal for weightlifting was back in 1951, according to Egyptian media. Ihab changed that big time however, winning in the snatch, clean and jerk and the total results in the 77 KG category. 

The 28-year-old lifted 165 KG in the snatch and 196 KG in the clean and jerk, achieving a total of 361 KG.

Ihab previously won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic games.

The Egyptian squash team easily beat its English rivals, despite the majority of the Egyptian team being significantly less-experienced.

“I felt I had the whole Egyptian squash community on my shoulders. I wanted to make them proud," Egyptian team member Ali Farag said in an official statement.

"Four years ago, I was still at college. I remember watching the final – it was a dream of mine to wear the Egyptian shirt," he said.

In February, the UAE announced its ambitious plans to build the first-ever city on the red planet, Mars.

The project, named Mars 2117, was unveiled by Dubai's Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at the World Government Summit and is part of a 10-year national program that focuses on spearheading scientific breakthroughs. 

Last week, the World Government Summit released an immersive 360° experience of what the futuristic city might look like, giving viewers the most detailed view of its city yet.

The release is part of Dubai's Mars 2117 Strategy, which seeks to build the first settlement on Mars in the next 100 years.

“The landing of people on other planets has been a longtime dream for humans. Our aim is that the UAE will spearhead international efforts to make this dream a reality,” said Sheikh Mohammed at the time.

The video begins with a greeting from a holographic representative named Said of the "United Government of Mars", welcoming you to your second home. 

The digital host says that the scenes are set 70 years after mankind has set up a colony, suggesting the UAE envisions the first manned mission taking place in the year 2047.

Viewers then enter a flying pod that takes you on a 2.5 kilometers ride, showing you the sights of the city. The City of Wisdom, as humanity’s first settlement on Mars will be known, comes complete with laboratories, a university, skyscrapers, beautiful architecture, and 600,000 inhabitants. 

During the seven-minute long tour, you are transported from the exterior of the planet's surface to the inside of a number of large domed buildings.

The footage reveals a Hyperloop transport system in place at the colony, as well as all manner of robots, flying vehicles, and crowds of people. For the full immersive experience, users will need to view the video using a VR headset.

The Emirates Mission to Mars will be the first probe sent to the planet by an Arab country and signals the growing interest in space exploration by the UAE.