General information about Cairo

 

Cairo is located on the banks and islands of the Nile river in the north of Egypt , immediately south of the point where the river leaves its desert bound valley and breaks into two branches into the low-lying Nile delta region.

The oldest part of the city is somewhat east of the river. There, the city gradually west, engulfing the agricultural lands next to the Nile. These western areas, built on the model of Paris by Ismail the magnificent in the mid 19^th century, are marked by wide boulevards, public gardens, and open spaces.

The older eastern section of the city is very different: having grown up haphazardly over the centuries it is filled with hundreds of ancient mosques that act as landmarks.

West of Giza, in the desert, is part of the ancient necropolis of Memphis on the Giza plateau, with its three large pyramids, including the great pyramid of Giza.

Approximately 11 miles 18 km to the south of modern Cairo is the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis and adjoining necropolis of Saqqara. These cities were Cairo’s ancient predecessors. When

Cairo was still in this approximate geographical location.

Today, greater Cairo encompasses various historic towns and modern districts into one of the most populous cities in the world.

A journey through Cairo is a virtual time travel from: the pyramids, Saladin’s citadel, the Virgin Mary’s tree, the sphinx, and ancient Heliopolis, to al-azhar, the mosque of amr ibn al a'as, Saqqara, the hanging church, and the Cairo tower.

It is the capital of Egypt, and indeed its history is intertwined with that of the country.

Today, Cairo’s official name is al Qahira (Cairo)

 

 

 

 

The Giza pyramid complex

The Giza necropolis stands on the Giza plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo.

This complex of ancient monuments is located some 8 kilometers inland into the desert from the old town of Giza on the Nile, some 20 kilometers southwest of Cairo city center.

This ancient Egyptian necropolis consists of the pyramid of khufu  also known as the great pyramid and the pyramid of cheops, the somewhat smaller pyramid of khafra’ or chefren, and the relatively modest sized pyramid of menkaura’ or mekerinus, along with a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as queens’ pyramids, and the great sphinx. 

 

 

The Egyptian museum

The museum of Egyptian antiquities established by the Egyptian government in 1835, known commonly as the Egyptian museum, in Cairo,

Is home to the most extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities in the world. It has 120.000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms.

Its boulaq museum opened in 1858 with a collection assembled by Auguste Mariette, the French archaeologist retained by Ismail pasha.

After residing in an annex of the palace of Ismail pasha in Giza from 1880, the museum moved to its present location, a neoclassical structure on Tahrir square in Cairo’s city centre, in 1900 under Gaston maspero.

The highlight of the collection is often considered to be the tomb artifacts of the pharaoh Tutankhamen, whose almost intact tomb Howard carter found in the Valley of the Kings in 1923.

The museum's royal mummy room, containing 27 royal mummies from pharaonic times, was closed down on the orders of President Anwar Sadat in 1981.

It was reopened, with a slightly curtailed display of new kingdom kings and queens, in 1985.

 

 

The Saladin Citadel of Cairo

One of the most popular tourist attractions of Cairo.It is sometimes referred to as Mohamed Ali Citadel because it contains the mosque of Mohamed Ali, which was built almost 7 centuries later. The Mosque of Muhammad 'Ali Pasha was built between 1828 and 1848, perched on the summit of the citadel. The Ottoman mosque was built in memory of Tusun Pasha, Muhammad `Ali's oldest son, who died in 1816.The location, part of the Mokattam hill near the center of Cairo, was once famous for its fresh breeze and grand views of the city, and was fortified by Saladin between 1176 and 1183 AD, to protect it from the Crusaders. The citadel stopped being the seat of government when Egypt's ruler, Khedive Ismail, moved to his newly built Abdin Palace in the Ismailiya neighborhood in the 1860s. The citadel also contains Al-Gawhara palace, the National Military Museum and the Police Museum

General information about Luxor

 

Luxor is a city in upper southern Egypt and the capital of the al Uqsur governorate, area 416 km2 As the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the “world’s greatest open air museum “ The ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor standing within the modern city. Opposite, across the Nile river .temples and tombs on the west bank necropolis, which include the valley of the queens.

Louxor represents an excellent base for touring Upper Egypt, and is a popular holiday destination, both in its own right and as a starting or finishing point for Nile cruises.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luxor Temple

Is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the River Nile in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes). the temple was dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Chons and was, during the New Kingdom, the focus of the annual Opet Festival, in which a cult statue of Amun was paraded down the Nile from nearby Karnak Temple to stay there for a while, with his consort Mut, in a celebration of fertility – whence its name. Access to the temple was – and still is, for the thousands of tourists who flock there every day – from the north, where a causeway lined by sphinxes once led all the way to Ipet Sut in modern Al-Karnak. This road was a later addition, dating from the time of Nectanebo I in the 30th Dynasty.

The temple proper begins with the 24 meter (79 ft) high First Pylon, built by Rameses II. The pylon was decorated with scenes of Rameses military triumphs (particularly the Battle of Kadesh); later pharaohs, particularly those of the Nubian and Ethiopian dynasties, also recorded their victories there. This main entrance to the temple complex was originally flanked by six colossal statues of Rameses – four seated, and two standing – but only two (both seated) have survived. Modern visitors can also see a 25 meter (82 ft) tall pink granite obelisk: it is one of a matching pair. The other was taken to Paris in 1835 where it now stands in the centre of the Place de la Concorde.

 

 

Karnak temple

The temple area is a vast open-air museum and the largest ancient religious site in the world, and is probably the second most visited historical site in Egypt, second only to the Giza Pyramids near Cairo.It consists of four main parts, of which only one is accessible for tourists and the general public. This is also the "main" temple part and by far the largest part. One can probably on that basis redefine the term Karnak, as to be understood as being the Precinct of Amon-Re only, as this is the only part most visitors normally see. The three other parts are closed to the public.

There are also a few smaller temples and sanctuaries located outside the enclosing walls of the four main parts, as well as several avenues of ram-headed sphinxes connecting the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Amon-Re and Luxor Temple.

The key difference between Karnak and most of the other temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Construction work began in the 16th century BC. Approximately 30 pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity and diversity not seen elsewhere. Few of the individual features of Karnak are unique, but the size and number of features are overwhelming.

 

 

Luxor Museum

Located in the Egyptian city of Luxor (ancient Thebes). It stands on the corniche, overlooking the River Nile, in the central part of the city. Inaugurated in 1975, the museum is housed in a small, purpose-built building. The range of artifacts on display is far more restricted than the country's main collections in the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo; this was, however, deliberate, since the museum prides itself on the quality of the pieces it has, the uncluttered way in which they are displayed, and the clear multilingual labeling used.

Among the most striking items on show are grave goods from the tomb of Tutankhamen (KV62) and a collection of 26 exceptionally well preserved New Kingdom statues that were found buried in a cache in nearby Luxor Temple in 1989. The royal mummies of two pharaohs - Ahmose I and Rameses I - were also put on display in the Luxor Museum in March 2004, as part of the new extension to the museum, which includes a small visitor centre. A major exhibit is a reconstruction of one of the walls of Akhenaten's temple at Karnak.

 

 

Valley of the Kings

The Valley of the Kings’ tombs were constructed for the kings and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth through Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile, across from Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of the Thebes’ Necropolis. The wadi consists of two valleys, East Valley (where the majority of the royal tombs situated) and West Valley. The area has been a focus of concentrated archaeological and Egypt logical exploration since the end of the eighteenth century, and its tombs and burials continue to stimulate research and interest. In modern times the valley has become famous for the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen (with its rumors of the Curse of the Pharaohs and is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, it became a World Heritage Site, along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis. Most of the tombs are not open to the public (16 of the tombs can be opened, but they are rarely open at the same time), and officials occasionally close those that are open for restoration work. The number of visitors to KV62 has led to a separate charge for entry into the tomb. The West Valley has only one open tomb – that of Ay – and a separate ticket is needed to visit this tomb. The tour guides are no longer allowed to lecture inside the tombs and visitors are expected to proceed quietly and in single file through the tombs. This is to minimize time in the tombs, and prevent the crowds from damaging the surfaces of the decoration. Photography is no longer allowed in the tombs.

 

 

Valley of the queens

The Valley of the Queens is a place in Egypt where wives of Pharaohs were buried in ancient times. In ancient times, it was known as Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning –‘the place of the Children of the Pharaoh’, because along with the Queens of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties (1550–1070 BCE) many princes and princesses were also buried with various members of the nobility. The tombs of these individuals were maintained by mortuary priests whom performed daily rituals and provided offerings and prayers for the deceased nobility.

The valley is located near the better known Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile across from Thebes (modern Luxor). This barren area in the western hills was chosen due to its relative isolation and proximity to the capital. The kings of the 18th dynasty, instead of the traditional building of pyramids as burial chambers (perhaps because of their vulnerability to tomb robbers), now chose to be buried in rock-cut tombs.

This necropolis is said to hold more than seventy tombs, many of which are stylish and lavishly decorated. An example of this is the resting place carved out of the rock for Queen Nefertari (1290–1224 BCE) of the 19th Dynasty. The polychrome reliefs in her tomb are still intact.

 

 General information about Hurghada

 

 

 

An Egyptian city and a tourist center on the Red Sea.The city was founded in the early 20th century, and since the 1980s has been continually enlarged by Egyptian and foreign investors to become the leading seashore resort on the Red Sea. Holiday villages and hotels provide aquatic sport facilities for sailboarders, yachtsmen, scuba divers and snorkels.

Hurghada stretches for about 40 km along the seashore, and it does not reach far into the surrounding desert. The resort is a destination for Egyptian tourists from Cairo, the Delta and Upper Egypt, as well as package holiday tourists from Europe, notably Russians, Czechs and Germans. Until a few years ago it was a small fishing village. Today Hurghada counts 40,000 inhabitants and is divided into three parts: Downtown (El Dahar) is the old part; Sekalla is the modern part, and El Korra Road is the most modern part. Sekkala is the relatively modest hotel quarter. Dahar is where the town's largest bazaar, the post office and the long-distance bus station are situated.The city is served by the Hurghada International Airport with scheduled passenger traffic to and from Cairo and direct connections with several cities in Europe. Hurghada is known as a party town, and with its many clubs, life could be said to begin there at night. Nearly every hotel has its own discotheque; some well-known local hubs are "Calypso" and "Papas Beach". Hurghada has become an international center for aquatic sports like windsurfing, sailing, deep-sea fishing, swimming, and above all snorkeling and diving. The underwater gardens offshore are considered some of the finest in the world, justifiably famous amongst divers. The warm waters here are ideal for many varieties of rare fish and coral reefs, which may also be observed through glass bottom boats.The city provides a gateway to diving sites throughout the Red Sea. Its central location provides access to dive sites. In addition, Hurghada is known for providing access to many uninhabited offshore reefs and islands.