Egyptian princess tomb discovered

Egypt’s antiquities minister announced on Friday the discovery of a princess’s tomb dating from the fifth dynasty (around 2500 BC) in the Abu Sir region south of Cairo.

“We have discovered the antechamber to Princess Shert Nebti’s tomb which contains four limestone pillars,” Mohamed Ibrahim said.

The pillars “have hieroglyphic inscriptions giving the princess’s name and her titles, which include ‘the daughter of the king Men Salbo and his lover venerated before God the all-powerful,’” he added.

Ibrahim said that the Czech Institute of Egyptology’s mission, funded by the Charles University of Prague and directed by Miroslav Bartas, had made the discovery.

“The discovery of this tomb marks the beginning of a new era in the history of the sepulchers at Abu Sir and Saqqara,” Ibrahim said.

The Czech team also excavated a corridor in the southeast of the antechamber, which leads off to four other tombs, two of which have already been discovered separately.

The two tombs belonged to high-ranking officials including a “grand upholder of the law” and an “inspector of the servants of the palace,” according to their inscriptions. They date from the fifth pharaonic dynasty.

The discoveries have all been made during the excavation season, which began in October, said Usama al-Shini, director of the Supreme Council of Antiquities for Giza.

The corridor contains four limestone sarcophagi that contain statuettes of a man, a man accompanied by his son, and two men with a woman.

Reference:
Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

New Egyptian Pyramids Found by Google Earth

Two possible pyramid complexes might have been found in Egypt, according to a Google Earth satellite imagery survey.

Located about 90 miles apart, the sites contain unusual grouping of mounds with intriguing features and orientations, said satellite archaeology researcher Angela Micol of Maiden, N.C.

One site in Upper Egypt, just 12 miles from the city of Abu Sidhum along the Nile, features four mounds each with a larger, triangular-shaped plateau.

The two larger mounds at this site are approximately 250 feet in width, with two smaller mounds approximately 100 feet in width.

NEWS: Egyptian Pyramids Found With NASA Satellite

The site complex is arranged in a very clear formation with the large mound extending a width of approximately 620 feet — almost three times the size of the Great Pyramid.

“Upon closer examination of the formation, this

Two possible pyramid complexes might have been found in Egypt, according to a Google Earth satellite imagery survey.

Located about 90 miles apart, the sites contain unusual grouping of mounds with intriguing features and orientations, said satellite archaeology researcher Angela Micol of Maiden, N.C.

One site in Upper Egypt, just 12 miles from the city of Abu Sidhum along the Nile, features four mounds each with a larger, triangular-shaped plateau.

The two larger mounds at this site are approximately 250 feet in width, with two smaller mounds approximately 100 feet in width.

appears to have a very flat top and a curiously symmetrical triangular shape that has been heavily eroded with time,” Micol wrote in her website Google Earth Anomalies.

Intriguingly, when zooming in on the top of the triangular formation, two circular, 20-foot-wide features appear almost in the very center of the triangle.

Some 90 miles north near the Fayoum oasis, the second possible pyramid complex contains a four-sided, truncated mound that is approximately 150 feet wide.

Reference : 
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Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

Philae Temple Before and After the High Dam

Isis Temple in Philae Island

Have you ever heard about Isis Temple in Philae Island ?! and why it was relocated ?
Well, Isis Temple, usually known as “Philae Temple, is believed to be consecrated to the goddess Isis, but after the first Aswan dam was built the temple became submerged ! At that time, tourists used to visit the temple by riding boats !

Isis Temple in Philae Island

Later on, the relocation project began during the Aswan dam construction when UNESCO formulated a plan to move each structure, piece by piece. It was saved and relocated in other Island 550 kilometer from its original emplacement after the completion of the High Dam in 1971, so that the level of the water is stabilized around the chosen island.

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Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

Up to 3,000 tourists witness the Illumination of Ramses II statue at Abu Simbel, 2012

Up to 3,000 tourists witnessed on Wednesday 22/2/2012 the celebration of the more than 3000-year phenomena of the sun falling perpendicular on the face of King Ramses II statue at the city of Abu Simbel, in southern Egypt.

The perpendicularity of the Sun’s rays penetrating the Great Temple to the inner sanctum to illuminate the face of King Ramses II, started at 06:22 am and ended in 06:53 am (local time) inside the sanctuary at the great city of Abu Simbel.

It is believed that the axis of the temple was positioned by the ancient Egyptian architects in such a way that on October 22 and February 22 (61 days before and 61 days after the Winter Solstice) the sun rays illuminate the sculpture on the back wall, except for the statue of Ptah, the god connected with the underworld, who always remained in the dark.

The Sun’s rays reach 60 meters into the sacred inner sanctuary of the temple to illuminate the face of the statue, announcing the start of the planting season for the ancient Egyptian. For 29 minutes the sun shines on the holy statues of Ramses II, Amon Ra (the sun god), and Ra-Harakhty, god of the rising sun.

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Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

The Tourism Minister Inaugurated a Marina for The Special Needs

 

Egyptian Minister of Tourism Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour today inaugurated the first marina for people with special needs in the Middle East and North Africa.

The inauguration comes during World Tourism Day festivities in Aswan, Upper Egypt.

This marina is a turning point for Egyptian tourism as it works toward meeting the needs of all tourism demands, and it provides the means for comfort, said Abdel Nour.

“Egypt will launch Nile cruisers from Cairo to Luxor and Aswan; the Nile crusiers will have a powerful impact in reviving Egyptian tourism.”

“The Amarco Nile Cruise Company resumed this project despite the halt in Nile cruises,” said the company’s CEO Mohammed Othman, adding that the company expects an improvement in the future.

The new marina costs about seven million EGP (U.S. $1.17 million) and construction is expected to take one year. The project provides full-service for special needs tourists, including transport from Aswan Airport to the marina, Othman said.

“The project also includes a floating hotel with a special escalator,” he added.

The floating hotel will have two royal suites, each of which is 116 meters. There will be four main suites measuring 76 meters and 48 suites measuring 38 meters.

The hotel will also have a conference hall large enough to hold 350 people, a health club, a gym and other 5-star level equipment.

“This new project will help activate tourism for people with special needs from all over the world, roughly 750 million people in the Arab and European world,” Othman added.

Thirty-five million such people exist in the Middle East, according to recent statistics from the World Tourism Organization.

Deputy Chairman of Amarco Kamar Samir today assured the return of Nile cruises from Cairo to Aswan.

First Assistant to the Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou, Tourism Ministry’s Advisor to the Ambassador Helmy Bedir, other leaders in the Tourism Ministry and leaders in the Union and Tourism sector attended the inauguration.

Reference : egypt4tours.net
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Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

Crocodile museum to open in Aswan, Egypt

The first “Museum of Crocodiles” will open this month in front of the Temple of Kom Ombo in Aswan, a busy tourist area on the East bank of the Nile, southern Egypt.

 

Forty mummified crocodiles of ranging in size from 1.5m long to almost of five metres long will be exhibited, according to Egypt’s tourism authority.

The museum, which is opening in time for Aswan’s National Day in January, will also feature statues of Sobek, known by Ancient Egyptians as ‘the crocodile god’.

 

Reference :HotelierMiddleEast.com
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Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

Egypt’s Sinai peninsula Has the Potential to be a Show Case in Human and Resource Development for the New Egypt.

Sinai’s 1,000km shore line offers a window to two great seas, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Its mountainous

Monastery which was built by Emperor Justinian and considered the oldest populated monastery in the world and is currently the home for fifteen monks. Its library is the most ancient in Christianity. Catherine (or Katrin) is an Egyptian Coptic martyr from Alexandria who died in the late 4th century defending her church against the invading Romans. central-southern area has two peaks of 2,300 and 2,600m. One mountain has a great religious significant to Muslims, Christians and Jews; Mount Sinai where God talked to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments near the Burning Bush.
Sinai includes another site of great religious significance. Stand at the foot of Mount Sinai is the famous St. Catherine

Human settlements in Sinai date back to 5,000 – 7,000 BC. Ancient Egyptians used widely Sinai’s turquoise and copper deposits in an advanced technology for their daily life and for their tombs and temples.

Sinai was, and still is used as an east-west land route between Asia and North Africa. Sinai provided routes to millions of travelers to the Muslim Holy sites in Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina, especially at the time of Hajj.
Sinai was invaded by ancient Asian tribes and most recently by Britain, France and Israel in 1956 and by Israel again in 1967. It was threatened by the Crusaders and by the Moguls. In all cases, Egyptians manage to liberate Sinai from foreign invaders, to end any threats and even to liberate other countries in Asia in the process as was the case of liberating Palestine, Syria and Iraq from the Crusaders and the Moguls.
Sinai is an area of great zoological importance, its fauna is an intriguing assemblage of African, Asian and European and its wildlife is both fascinating and rare. It is the home for many rare animals including the Sinai Leopard.
Sinai has the potential to be the world’s leading example for using alternative energy sources to satisfy its needs. Both solar and wind power generation can be the highest per capita. It has an average of over 10 hours of daily sunlight over the whole year, one of the highest in the world. Its average wind speed per year is over 25km per hour. Also dams can be built to make use of seasons of heavy rain in hydraulic power generation.
Agriculture and integrated farming, and a fishing industry can provide jobs for millions of workers from the Nile Valley. Sinai can provide the country with its needs in vegetables, fruits, fish, honey and meat and become a world leading exporter of these products. It is ideal for growing wheat, corn, tomatoes, lettuce, apples, oranges, mangoes, figs, olive and date. It has an average rainfall in the mountainous central-southern region of 300 millimeters, enough to form plenty of underground springs.  It has several unique plants and shrubs which are used to cure many diseases, a well-known fact to the local Bedouin community. Its mangrove ecosystem can be studied and duplicated throughout the peninsula and related industries can be established.
The Mediterranean north coast can accommodate a California-style IT silicon oasis dotted with software and hardware design houses and research centers. The northern city of El-Arish, Sinai’s largest city with some 100,000 inhabitants can be the first to turn into the Great El-Arish Area (GEA) with modern schools, hospitals and universities competing with

the best in the region. The city can be a great seaside summer resort with its sandy beaches and great expanse of palm trees. It can also house the world’s largest historical and culture center for Bedouin and nomadic life.
The South Red Sea shores are suitable for an all-year tourist industry which, with a massive promotion campaign, can become one of the top 10 tourist destinations in the world. It has what it takes; history, sunshine, mild temperature most of the year, sandy beaches, rich coral reefs, mountains and natural protectorates at both land and sea which are second to none. Sothern Sinai can attract millions of tourists while protecting Sinai’s natural environment, heritage and culture.
I invite readers interested in the development of Sinai to contribute and/or attend the first international conference on Sinai for New Egypt which will be held in Cairo at The American University of Cairo near Tahrir Square, just before the first anniversary of the January 25 revolution.

Reference :The Egyptian Gazette
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Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

Egyptian monuments remains under UNESCO list of international heritage.

Salah Din Citadel - Mohammed Ali Mosque

A source in UNESCO’s Cairo office said Egyptian monuments will not be removed from the world heritage list after Egypt was voted out of the World Heritage Committee in elections conducted on November 7.

The source also said Egypt’s monuments will remain in the list of monuments that should be protected and kept as international heritage.

The source told Youm7 there is no permanent committee member, adding that the membership of a country should end after their term. The source also said it is not unusual the general assembly elect nine new members to replace the countries whose terms ended.

Algeria, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, Qatar, Malaysia, Senegal, and Serbia are the nine countries elected for four-year terms.

The World Heritage Committee meets once a year and works to execute the world heritage agreement to keep the UNESCO list of international heritage.

 
Reference : youm7.com
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Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955.

French Consul “Bernard Renaul” paraises security in Sharm El-Shiekh, Egypt

French Consul to Egypt Bernard Renault said that he would relay the true image of Sharm el-Sheikh to the French people, expressing admiration for the resort city during the opening of a public garden in Sharm el-Sheikh with South Sinai Governor Khaled Foda.

He added that Sharm el-Sheikh enjoys security, stunning views, and high quality hotels and restaurants.

He added that his visit to Sharm el-Sheikh aims to encourage French tourists to visit the Egyptian city in the coming period and support Egypt’s tourism.

Governor Foda said that cooperation between the French city of Grasse and Sharm el-Sheikh would be begin soon in support of the cordial relations between the French and Egyptian peoples.

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Reference : youm7.com
Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955

2,500 Israeli tourists visited Sharm el-Sheikh.

Yachts on Sharm El-Shiekh, Red Sea

The first tour group from Israel arrived at the port of Sharm el-Sheikh on the 1st of November. They arrived to Egypt on the passenger ship ‘Aida Diva’ from the Israeli port of Eilat. This marks the beginning of the tourism season, which begins Tuesday until the end of April 2012.

According to reports, the tour group includes 2,500 tourists from Israel and different nationalities. The tourists will spend the day in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh then off to Safaga and continue onto tour of Egypt.

The sources added reservations of tourist companies with Egyptian ports show a large turnout of foreign tourism to Egypt and in particular the port of Sharm el-Sheikh, which is expecting arrivals from more than 100 companies.

This indicates the relative improvement in the situation of Egypt and its ability to achieve security after a wave of insecurity experienced after the January 25 Revolution.

Reference: mediterraneanews.com
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Memphis Tours Egypt since 1955