Sharm el-Sheikh

 

Sharm el-Sheikh, one of the most accessible and developed tourist resort communities on the Sinai peninsula. All around are Bedouins, colorful tents, mountains and sea. There are small, intimate hotels with modern designs, as well as larger hotel complexes belonging to International chains, plus about all the amenities one could expect of a tourist center, including casinos, discos and nightclubs, golf courses and health facilities. In fact, with diving and snorkeling, windsurfing and other water sports, horses and camel riding, desert safaris, and great nearby antiquities attractions, it is almost impossible for a visitor to ever suffer from boredom.

The Egyptian Museum

Housed in a building built in 1900 by French architect Marcel Dourgnon, the Egyptian Museum was originally founded in 1835 by the Egyptian government, and presents, through a fine collection of 120,000 objects, a unique panorama of Egyptian history from Prehistory until the Greco-Roman development of Egyptian civilization.

Al-Hussein Mosque

Located near the famous Khan el-Khalili bazaar in Cairo and - as was discovered during the work in the foundations of the mosque in the 1900s - the remains of the Fatimid Caliphs cemetery in Cairo, Mosque Al Hussein is considered one of the holiest mosques in Egypt.
It is in this sanctuary that the Egyptian president and other dignitaries used to pray on special occasions.

Khan El Khalili

 It is the place to buy typically oriental souvenirs and handmade crafts. Atmospheres of this traditional market with the labyrinth layout of the streets gives visitors o lot of pleasure and impression what medieval markets once were like.

Mark’s Coptic Cathedral

Visit St. Mark’s Coptic Cathedral the oldest church in Africa and the seat of his Holiness the Pope of Alexandria , Patriarch of all Africa and the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Take notice of the beautiful icons and mosaics that fill the silence of the Cathedral with a surreal beauty. Make sure to dress conservatively and respect the sanctity of the location.

Hurghada

Saint Anthony Monastery:
Born in the Upper Egypt town of Coma near Heracleopolis in the year 251 A.D, St. Anthony the Great, when orphaned at the age of 18, became a hermit and thus lived to 105 years old. He lived as an Anchorite, as still exists in Egypt, and it is said that he was tormented his entire life by flatteries and temptations of the devil. He, along with St. Pachomius, were two of the first exponents of Christian monasticism, which originated in the Egyptian desert. He is buried beneath one of the ancient Churches (St. Anthony) of the monastery. A book written by Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, thousands across Europe to follow in the hermit's footsteps.

Dahab

Dahab is a small oasis in the Sinai Peninsula. This beautiful village is 100 km north of Sharm El Sheikh, located directly on the coastline of the Gulf of Aqaba. Biblical tourist sites, like the Moses Mountain and monastery at St. Katherine’s, are just an hour from Dahab. Taking a wander in the desert to see the bizarre canyons around Dahab is also a must.

Dahab is a lively little village with lots of small restaurants and shops, nicely lined up on the seafront between Masbat and Mashraba. Plan to stay a few days after the IDC and come diving with us to see some world-renowned sites like The Canyon & The Blue Hole.

 

Siwa Explorer

Siwa Oasis Egypt is the most remote of allEgypt oasis lying some 18.3m

(60ft) below sea level on an old date caravan route. It’s a small

life-sustaining area marooned in the middle of the Western desert,

isolated from Cairo  by 550km (342mi) of nothing but desert.

 

 

White Desert Egypt

The Western Desert of Egypt, located between the Nile Valley and the edge of the Great African desert, is among the areas in Egypt that are still less visited and explored in comparison with other regions like Cairo, Sinai, the North Coast, and Upper Egypt.

Fifteen years ago, in the beginning of the 3^rd millennium in particular, the Western Desert of Egypt started attracting the attention of Egyptian and international travelers, especially after the Egyptian government developed the road going from Cairo to the oasis located in the Western Desert.

Mount Sinai Egypt

Mount Sinai Egypt can be reached by various routes – the most direct,

and challenging one is via the 3,750 Steps of Repentance, named after

the penitent monk who built them. The Camel Path – named after the

Bedouin

camels in case of an opportunity to help weary travellers – is slightly

easier on the knees and takes on average three hours to reach the

summit.

Karnak Temple

Karnak is a complex in Egypt where ancient ruined temples are located. These temples are from the era of Pharoah Ramses II, from around 1391-1351 BC. This area was the most important place for worship during this time. The Great Temple of Amun was a very large building, and it is still available to visitors today. The Karnak Temple Complex is located near Luxor, south of Cairo, Egypt. It is visited more than any other historical area in the world, after the Giza Pyramids, and it is the largest ancient religious preservation in the world

Kom Ombo

Ombos was the first city below Syene at which the remarkable remains of antiquity occur. The Nile, in fact, this part of its course, was ill-suited to a dense population in antiquity. It runs between the narrow and steep banks of sandstone, and deposits, but some of its fertilization drooling over the sad and barren shores. There are two temples Ombos built of stone obtained from nearby quarries Hajar-Selseleh. The most magnificent of two stands on the top of a sand hill and appears to have been a kind of Pantheon, since, according to existing entries, it was dedicated to Aroeres (Apollo) and other deities of the nome Ombite by soldiers quartered there. The small temple northwest was sacred to Isis. Both, in fact, is an imposing architecture, while maintaining the bright colors with which their builders adorned them. They are, however, of the Ptolemaic age, except for a door of sandstone, integrated in a brick wall. This was part of a temple built by Tuthmosis III in honor of the crocodile-headed god Sobek. The monarch is represented on the trees, door jambs, holding reed and chisel extent, the emblems of the building and in the act to dedicate the temple. The Ptolemaic parts of the larger temple are an exception to an almost universal rule in Egyptian architecture. He did not propylon or dromos in front of him, and the portico has an odd number of columns within fifteen arranged in a triple row. Of these thirteen columns are still standing. Since there are two main entrances, the temple seems to be united in two, strengthening the assumption that it was the Pantheon of the nome Ombite. On a ledge above the door of one of the shrines is a Greek inscription recording the erection, or perhaps restore sekos by Ptolemy VI and his sister-wife Cleopatra II, 180-145 av. The hill on which stand the Ombite temples has been significantly widened at its base by the river, which slopes sharply to the bank here in Arabia.

Temple of Philae

The construction of the temple of Philae date last Pharaohs in the fourth century and is best known for the temple of Isis. Just as the temples of Abu Simbel, he was completely dismantled and rebuilt block on Aguilkya island, three hundred meters up to save the waters of Lake Nasser.

The Edfu temple

The Edfu temple is situated on the left bank of the Nile between Aswan and Luxor and was built between -237 and -57BCE. This is one of the best preserved temples of Egypt. It is dedicated to the triad (or family) consisting of father Horus, Hathor's wife and son Harsomtous.

Mohamed Ali Mosque

Mohamed Ali Mosque is located in the Citadel of Saladin, which was built by Sultan Saladin

Saqqara

Saqqara necropolis ... Wide, located in the region of ancient Memphis, it offers the traveler a special atmosphere of serenity and mystery. At nightfall, the diffuse light helps to give this place a strange atmosphere. From Cairo, you can get there by bus.

 The Pyramid of Djoser. This is the first step pyramid, which was built around -2600 by the architect Imhotep  

The oldest is the site of Saqqara, which overlooks the ancient city of Memphis, the capital of Lower Egypt, a little south of the present city of Cairo.

Giza

 

It is on the Giza plateau, just outside the city of Cairo, as are the famous pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. Khufu is ranked among the seven wonders of the ancient world.

 Egyptian pyramids are tombs with the geometrical shape of pyramids built by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. They are one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, the oldest and the only one that stood up to us to action of time and the Earth tremors.

WALK ON THE HILLS OF Theban LUXOR WEST BANK

WALK ON THE HILLS OF Theban LUXOR WEST BANK

 

Cross the souk (desert early morning, all the shops are closed), cross the right wall, walk towards the temple 100m and then take the path on the right towards the mountain, it is the part of climb the most difficult but the vision of the magnificent temple of Hatshepsut on your left along the journey will soothe your fatigue. Take a mid-term break to admire the beautiful view of the temple and take the opportunity to take photos. Once past the police station at the top of the hill, head to the right and 30m further you can observe carefully the temple diving. Attention to children, the only protection is a rusty barbed wire !! Do not go near the edge !! The balance should be about 200m.

Panoramic 360 ° view awaits you. Facing the Nile: On the first level yellow ocher mountains in the background the immense fields of sugar cane and off the Nile blue snake Apophis striding along its valley. Turn around and you can view all of the Theban mountains.

THE VALLEY OF THE NOBLES OF LUXOR WEST BANK

The nobles of the New Kingdom were building their houses of eternity, facing the Levant, facing the Nile and temples millions of years of their pharaoh, between the Valley of the Queens and the Valley of the Kings.

They were carved into the side of the hill of Sheikh Abdel Qurna (it is difficult to know the exact spelling Qurna: sometimes Gurna, Qurnah, "el korna" - the name comes from the mountain that overlooks the "el korna "(horn). by far, especially since the colossi of Memnon, well there are holes in the tombs, graves of the doors and we guess the" tombs lines. "

Tomb of Ramses IV

The tomb of Ramses IV is located in the main wadis of the Valley of the Kings. Discovered in 1718 by the Jesuit Claude Sicard, it is referenced KV2.
It was excavated and studied by big names in Egyptology: Richard Pocock, James Burton, Edward Ayrton and Howard Carter. The Supreme Council of Antiquities has carried out the necessary conservation and preservation measures and can now discover the beauty of this burial.
This tomb is one of the few whose plane was found (on a papyrus in the Turin Museum). It is small in size (66 m long). The most impressive is, without any doubt, the width of hallways designed to allow the passage of one of the largest granite sarcophagi in the necropolis: 3.30 mx 2.13 m and 2.74 m high!

VALLEY OF THE KINGS

VALLEY OF THE KINGS OF THE WEST SHORE LUXOR

 In the mountains of the Lybian chain that stands behind Thebes open many small valleys, the most famous is the Valley of the Kings. Its Arabic name is Biban el-Moulouk means "the two doors of kings" in reference to the gates that once closed the tombs.

Temple Qasr El Agouz

This small Ptolemaic temple is located on the west bank of Luxor, Medinet Habu after, on the left towards Malgatta. It is very "discreet", partially hidden by a wall, the gate was closed for a long time. Cleaned in recent years it has opened to the public. It is now available with the entrance ticket to the temple of Medinet Habu.

Temple of Deir el Sheluit

The "Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs" is working with "the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE)" to study and rehabilitation of the small temple of Deir el Sheluit (or Chelouit). They thus follow the research conducted by Karl Richard Lepsius (nineteenth middle), the Waseda univesity (1971-1979) and finally by the French mission led by Christiane Zivie in 1992.

TEMPLE Sethi 1 OF LUXOR WEST BANK

Located on the west bank of the Nile in Qurna, about 9km from Ferry. Getting there by Taxi bike .In turn right at the roundabout which gives access to the Valley of the Kings. (the Ramesseum in the back)

Temple of Ramses II

Located on the west bank of the Nile, about 7 km from the Ferry.

 Ramesseum is the name given to the last century temple of millions of years that Ramses II built between the desert and the village of Qurna, on the west bank of Thebes.

TEMPLE Deir EL Bahari (HATCHEPSOUT)

TEMPLE Deir EL Bahari (HATCHEPSOUT) THE LUXOR WEST SHORE.

 

 Located on the west bank of the Nile, about 7 km from the Ferry.
Deir El Bahari is the site where temples are the "queen" Hatshepsut, Thutmose III's temple, and the temple of Mentuhotep. One open to visitors is the funerary temple of the great royal wife Hatshepsut self-proclaimed Pharaoh.

  The "queen" Hatshepsut, more inclined to protect the arts than conduct military campaigns ordered a monument for his father Thutmose 1 and itself.

She put her choices on an inaccessible valley.
The brilliant intuition of his minister and architect (Senenmut) was to have been able to take full advantage of the dramatic circle of rocks which rises at the bottom of the valley.
The temple is leaning against a cliff and built on three levels, with a pillared hall and a sanctuary carved into the rock.
The design of the monument was new, revolutionary.
We went to the shrine by a series of large terraces connected by ramps.

 A lined avenue of sphinxes and obelisks, gave access to the first terrace which was closed at the bottom by a portico and whence a ramp leading to the second terrace, also closed by a gate.
On one of the walls, beautiful reliefs recount the birth and childhood of the "queen", as well as the military expedition that the sovereign led to the mysterious land of Punt.
This was to be at the center of Africa, if we stick to the sculptures of giraffes, monkeys, leopard skins and ivory objects.

Medinet Habu TEMPLE

Medinet Habu TEMPLE ON THE WEST SHORE LUXOR

 

Medinet Habu.
  Located on the west bank of the Nile, about 5km from the Ferry.
Getting there by taxi or rent bikes. (number 16 on the map of West Bank valleys)  Superb well preserved temple, beautiful pylon. Color paint still visible, Engravings extremely deep drawings.

 mposing appearance, almost military, the beautiful South Gate, called Royal Pavilion, fits between two towers and is topped by two rows of windows.
The reliefs carved on the walls of the towers still reinforce the character "warrior" of this construction, the sacrifice of prisoners, the pharaoh who present to the god Amun, captured enemies, 

 
The temple of Ramses III is the stylistic point of view, one of the most perfect buildings that Egyptian art has left us.
After a tower 63 meters wide, decorated with scenes of war, one reaches a first court whose eastern side is a gallery supported by osiriatiques pilasters.

THE TEMPLE OF KARNAK

THE TEMPLE OF KARNAK

 

The dimensions of the Great Temple of Amun are staggering. It is the largest temple columns of the monument world.A which could contain, said prominent historians, Notre-Dame de Paris whole; so vast that it "would cover at least half of the area of Manhattan" wrote Leonard Cottrell. The most amazing part is undoubtedly the impressive pillared hall with 102 meters wide, its 53 meters deep and its hundred and thirty four columns 23 meters high that rise, and this time we really dare say , defying the siècles.Les capitals shaped open papyrus, have the top nearly 15 meters in circumference and fifty people could be seated. This is strictly a real "forest of columns" whose dimensions and shadow play of light and create untold emotions.

Facing the ruins of Karnak, David Roberts, in 1839, was dazzled into believing that no drawings could not make what he wanted to speak:

"It is so superior to anything I've seen so far I do not even find a comparison ... The circumference of the main columns is 33 feet 6 inches; next to them a man seems a pygmée.Les blocks toppled to the ground on all sides are so huge that we do not understand how they could beings slaughtered, and of course how it was possible to build the ... "

Roberts was right: if his drawings, with small groups of men that we see, manage to give an idea of the proportions of Karnak buildings, they are not enough to make us live the emotion felt by somebody one that as he found it personally.

 Under the Nineteenth Dynasty, 81,322 people, among priests, guards, workers and peasants, working for the temple of Amun, otherwise the profis many lands, markets and sites returned to him, and the wealth and loot Pharaoh brought back from his victorious military campaigns.
Several pharaohs succeeded in achieving the pillared hall: Amenhotep III erected the twelve columns of the nave which support the architraves; Ramses I did begin decorating, which was continued by Seti I and Ramses II.
Besides the pillared hall, there were obelisks of Tuthmosis I (today it remains one) that stood 23 meters high and weighing 143 tons. The one erected his daughter Hatshepsut is even higher.

THE LUXOR TEMPLE

The only witness to the past splendor is the magnificent temple that the Egyptians call the "Southern Harem of Amun". It measures 260 meters long and was started by Amenhotep III, enlarged by Tuthmosis III and completed by Ramses II. The current access to the temple is located on the main square to the right of the mosque Abu el Haggag

 The temple was linked to that of Karnak by a long avenue of sphinxes, this avenue is not yet visible in all its entirety, but the update work continues at the expense of the population, destroying many homes.
The avenue led to the actual entrance of the temple of Luxor, marked by the monumental tower built by Ramses II.Sur this tower, which has a front of 65 meters long, we see reliefs that tell the military campaign the great Ramses II led against the Hittites.
There used in front of the entrance, two obelisks of Ramses II. It remains today than the left, top 25 meters; the other was transported to France in 1833 and high, Place de la Concorde in Paris, October 25, 1836.

 Two giants pink granite (15.50 meters high on a basis of 1 meter), Universal Representative Pharaoh sitting on his throne, frame the entrance. After crossing the triumphal entry, one enters the courtyard of Ramses II, adorned with a double row of columns with papyrus between which are placed Osirian statues.