Egypt
- Travel: Luxor Experienced From The West Bank
The Boston Globe (Dan Orzech) The tomb of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun lies on the west bank of the Nile River. So do a host of other awe-inspiring remains of ancient Egypt, sights that help draw as many as 2 million visitors a year to the area. Most tourists,...
- Egypt's Colossi Of Memnon To Be Reunited With Their Twins
AFP Towering like sentries above the necropolis of Ancient Thebes in southern Egypt, the world-famous Colossi of Memnon will see their number double from two to four from next year. The painstaking work of 12 archaeologists and hundreds of workers is...
- Travel: Balloon Flight Over Luxor
The Star, Canada The red ball rising from the soil looks much like the early-morning sun creeping over the horizon, except that it's fuelled by what sounds like a giant hissing dragon.It's hard to tell what's the most incredible part of this...
- Former Temple?
Here's something a bit different. Currently setting up the Norfolk Ancient Egypt Society, Glen Fricker has emailed me a photo he took in 2001 from a hot air balloon (lucky thing - I still haven't managed to organize myself onto one of those!)....
- Rams Road Replica For Luxor
http://www.algomhuria.net.eg/gazette/2/The Egyptian Gazette reports that "Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni has approved a proposal to construct a 20 metre long mini-replica of the 3km long Rams Road that connects the Luxor and Karnak temples. The replica...
Egypt
Travel: Flying over Luxor
Sydney Morning Herald
I have been to Luxor so many times, and I have twice risen at ludicrous hours of the morning to visit the tomb of Nefertari before the day's allocation is sold, but I have never managed to find the time or energy to do a balloon flight over Luxor. I have never heard a bad report of it, and here is yet another positive review of the experience:
I have been to Luxor so many times, and I have twice risen at ludicrous hours of the morning to visit the tomb of Nefertari before the day's allocation is sold, but I have never managed to find the time or energy to do a balloon flight over Luxor. I have never heard a bad report of it, and here is yet another positive review of the experience:
It is still pitch-dark when we reach the launch site, near the Ramesseum temple on the west bank. But before we know it about 20 of us are crammed into four compartments of Captain Bob's balloon and, with a few gusts of fiery air, are rising ethereally into the inky Egyptian sky.
After we've climbed a few hundred metres the darkness is already thinning and we begin to notice the patchwork of fields nearby, and the way that the blanket of green
extends about two kilometres from the curling river Nile, then stops abruptly. Beyond that, everything is desert. From up here it is easy to see why the Nile was the lifeblood of the ancient civilisation that settled here.
With only light winds blowing this morning, Captain Bob can steer us gently up and down. As we ascend, we have an eagle's view of the Ramesseum temple complex directly below, with its avenues formed by huge pillars and its series of rib-like arches. Then, as we drift back down, we are barely 100 metres above the equally impressive Temple of Ramses III, its walls lit pink by the sunrise. We are also close enough to the ground to see people clearly in the village below. One man is still sleeping on a backyard mattress, another is driving his donkey and trap into the fields to begin work.
The sun is rising quickly now, throwing a blaze of tangerine light over the desert hills and valleys.
- Travel: Luxor Experienced From The West Bank
The Boston Globe (Dan Orzech) The tomb of the boy pharaoh Tutankhamun lies on the west bank of the Nile River. So do a host of other awe-inspiring remains of ancient Egypt, sights that help draw as many as 2 million visitors a year to the area. Most tourists,...
- Egypt's Colossi Of Memnon To Be Reunited With Their Twins
AFP Towering like sentries above the necropolis of Ancient Thebes in southern Egypt, the world-famous Colossi of Memnon will see their number double from two to four from next year. The painstaking work of 12 archaeologists and hundreds of workers is...
- Travel: Balloon Flight Over Luxor
The Star, Canada The red ball rising from the soil looks much like the early-morning sun creeping over the horizon, except that it's fuelled by what sounds like a giant hissing dragon.It's hard to tell what's the most incredible part of this...
- Former Temple?
Here's something a bit different. Currently setting up the Norfolk Ancient Egypt Society, Glen Fricker has emailed me a photo he took in 2001 from a hot air balloon (lucky thing - I still haven't managed to organize myself onto one of those!)....
- Rams Road Replica For Luxor
http://www.algomhuria.net.eg/gazette/2/The Egyptian Gazette reports that "Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni has approved a proposal to construct a 20 metre long mini-replica of the 3km long Rams Road that connects the Luxor and Karnak temples. The replica...