Impressions of Egypt
How do you cover in some hundreds of images a country like Egypt, with a dense history of five millenniums, hundreds of ancient and medieval architectural treasures, daily life scenes in the villages along the 1700 km over which the Nile crosses the country? We cannot change these premises, so we'll give it a shot and guide you through this wonderful, unequalled land of culture and history, splitting things up in eight sections:
1, Cairo, the capital city with its mosques, museums and popular neighbourhoods.
2, The Southern outskirts of Cairo, where half a forest of pyramids arise from the desert.
3, The Nile Delta, with Alexandria and the Sinai Peninsula with the St Catherina monastery.
4, The temples of Abydos and Dendera, North of Luxor.
5, Luxor itself, the ancient capital Thebes, and the royal tomb valleys on the Nile's West bank.
6, The Nile between Luxor and Aswan.
7, Aswan and its surroundings of temples and tombs.
8, Aswan's, the High Dam and the monuments saved from flooding, such as Abu Simbel in the deep South.
Egypt, too big, too intense, too diverse and rich in culture and history to describe in words. But let the pictures simply carry you there. Go back in a time capsule, bridging five thousand years, to the pharaoh's annual coronation enactments in Thebes, the formidable pyramids at Gizeh, the oldest Christian monastery on Earth, St Catherine's and to Abu Simbel, saved from flooding by the biggest project of building relocation ever. And then return to today's Egypt of Nile canals, shaduf systems of irrigation in the villages, white sail fellucas on the River and nostalgic Belle Epoque hotels in Aswan and Luxor. And, above all, be not in a hurry, take your time to be submerged in wonderful, welcoming and incredible Egypt.
* Scanned Slides, 1985 & 1994
Smaller at Abu Simbel than the Ramses Temple, but still quite impressing is the nearby sanctuary built for the pharaoh's spouse, queen Nefertari. Four of the six gigantic statues at the front depict Ramses II, the other two represent queen Nefertari. Inside the temple, a wall relief of Ramses II dominating a number of war prisoners, and beautifully preserved frescos, mainly referring to the goddess Hathor, honoured here.
Before visiting the place of your choice: