King Tutankhamun Sarcophagus

A stroll through the streets of Cairo in Egypt is like a trip back in time, are the old markets, such as the Khan El-Khalili, an old "Success" dating from late 1300. Just outside the city are the plains of Giza, where the smiling Sphinx near the pyramids lies Huge Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, builders of the Old Kingdom pharaohs who had perfected his art. Not notable Egyptian Museum, which houses the largest collection of world of Egyptian artifacts, including the coffin and the burial of King Tutankhamen, as well as the famous mummies found in the cache at Deir el Bahari noticeable in the 1870's.

King Tutankhamun Sarcophagus

Of course, the city's history neither begins nor ends with the pharaohs, and, indeed, Cairo today is the largest city in Africa and one of the largest cities in the world. It is a city of contrasts, full of modern technology, however, in a land that is forever linked to its ancient past own.


The diversity of fascinating places and subjects makes visits Cairo one of the main reasons for visitors to travel to Egypt. While there are many different regions or districts of the city itself, Cairo travel in general, touch on a few popular and historic areas. For example, the oldest neighborhoods in the city including "Old Cairo" and "Islamic Cairo" sectors tend to be accessed by traveling from Cairo to enjoy. This is because they contain the Citadel historic mosques and medieval structures and the Khan El Khalili. Of course, the most modern areas have their attractions as well, and contain some areas old and popular, such as the museum, many well known hotels and major transportation hubs. These neighborhoods also tend to be part of tours of Cairo, in particular the "Midan Tahrir" and "Midan Ramses."

Khan El-Khalili

Outside the city, most trips from Cairo to take aim at Giza, and the suburban cities of Gezira and Zamalek, where many hotels and shops can be enjoyed.

Besides visiting the streets of the city, famous buildings and monuments, Natives enjoy gourmet cuisine and meeting the friendly inhabitants of the city, most trips from Cairo also includes a ride on the Nile River are beautiful No and graceful "Felucca", with sails filled and different routes that lead visitors to many parts of the city. There are also evening cruises to dinner along the river too, and this makes a wonderful way to see the twinkling lights of this city that is home to more than sixteen million people!

Felucca

Sarcophagus [sar.coph.a.gus] noun /särˈkäfəɡəs/

A stone coffin, typically adorned with a sculpture or inscription and associated with the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Rome, and Greece.

Feluca [fe·luc·ca]   noun /fəˈlo͞okə,-ˈləkə/

a small vessel propelled by oars or lateen "a triangular sail on a long yard at an angle of 45° to the mast." sails or both, used on the Nile and formerly more widely in the Mediterranean region.

Source: www.tutankhamon.org

Pictures: Egypt Priest's Tomb Found Near Pyramids

Discoveries Loom at Pyramids?

Buried in a painted cliffside tomb, the "purification priest" Rudj-Ka likely lived about 4,350 years ago and served in a dead pharaoh's cult.

Photograph by Kenneth Garrett, National Geographic

Workers brush sand from artifacts at the pyramid builders' cemetery in 2001.

Although Hawass thinks the workers' graves and the newfound tomb might be linked, another possibility is that the tomb of Rudj-Ka could be a western extension of the massive necropolis of Memphis, on the edge of modern-day Cairo, he said.

"The location is surprising," Hawass said. "We never expected to find a big, large tomb like this in the south of the pyramid builders' [cemetery] at all."

Ancient Egyptian Priest's Tomb Unearthed in Giza : Discovery News

Archaeologists have unearthed a more than 4,000-year-old tomb of a pharaonic priest near the Giza pyramids, Egypt’s authorities announced on Monday.
Beautifully decorated, the burial site is located near the tombs of the pyramid-builders.

It belonged to Rudj-Ka, a priest who lived during the Fifth Dynasty (2465 - 2323 B.C.) and was responsible for the mortuary cult of the pharaoh Khafre, also known as Chephren.

The son of Khufu, or Cheops, the Fourth Dynasty king Khafre is best known as the owner of the second largest of the Giza Pyramids.

Rudj-ka with his wife

According to Zahi Hawass, general secretary of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Khafre’s pyramid complex and mortuary cult remained functioning well after the king’s death, thanks to a group of priests who conducted rituals and prayers in honor of the dead pharaoh.

Rudj-Ka was one of those priests. An important member of the ancient Egyptian court, he was provisioned through a royal endowment to serve as a purification priest.

Built from limestone blocks, which create a maze-like pathway to the main entrance, Rudj-Ka's tomb is cut directly into a cliff face and boasts walls painted with beautiful scenes of daily life in ancient Egypt.




One wall painting shows Rudj-ka fishing and sailing. Another scene portrays the priest and his wife in front of an offering table loaded with gifts of bread, goose and cattle.
According to Hawass, the discovery might indicate that an unknown larger necropolis lies near the three famous pyramids.

Rudj-ka fishing and sailing

"This tomb could be the first of many in the area. Hopefully we have located a new necropolis dedicated to certain members of the royal court,” Hawass said in a statement.

He also speculated that the area could be a continuation of the western necropolis at Giza, which may have resulted from overcrowding in the Giza plateau.

Photos: Meghan E. Strong. Courtesy of SCA. 

Egyptian Tourist Authority (ETA) Targets to Attract One Lakh Indian Tourists This Year

For the first time, Egyptian Tourist Authority (ETA) organised a road show yesterday in Mumbai, with an aim to increase Indian tourists’ arrivals in Egypt. This event is part of its three country road show (October 13-18, 2010) covering India, Singapore and Malaysia. The road show in Mumbai focused on increasing business opportunities and establishing contacts with the Indian travel trade. As part of its promotions, the Authority will launch an upgraded version of its promotional website www.egypt.travel next month with country specific home pages to provide information on Egypt tourism.

Samy Mahmoud, Undersecretary Head of the International Tourism, Egyptian Tourist Authority said, “We are looking at positioning Egypt as not only a leisure destination but also highlighting its adventure, wellness and MICE segment offerings. We have a growing number of Indian tourists from the honeymoon segment visiting the country. We currently host about 90,000 Indian tourists per year, and we are targeting to increase the number to one lakh this year. We are hoping that the arrivals will double in the coming years.”

The Authority will also launch an advertising campaign in 26 countries all over the world. Besides, Egypt’s official airline, EgyptAir will also increase its frequency on the Mumbai-Cairo route to five flights per week from November 2, 2010. Egypt will be a partner country of ITB Asia, to be held on October 20-22, 2010 at Suntec Singapore Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Egypt received 7,189 Indian tourists last month and a total of 77,610 tourists in January- September 2010, which is an increase of 36.9 per cent compared to the same period last year. “We are expecting good response for the road show and are planning to organise the same in Russia and China. We will try to conduct such road shows in India every two years,” added Mahmoud.


Source: Travel Biz Monitor

Egypt Archaeologists Find Statue of Tutankhamun's Grandad

CAIRO – Egyptian archaeologists unearthed part a 3,000-year-old statue of the pharaoh Amenhotep III, believed to be the grandfather of the young King Tutankhamun, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said on Saturday.

"The statue was found near the northern entrance of Amenhotep III's temple and depicts the king sitting down on a throne with Amun, the chief deity," Hawass said.

"The red-granite top half of the statue was discovered at the site of the Amenhotep III's funerary temple in the southern city of Luxor," Hawass said.

The newly-discovered artifact which measures 130 centimeters (51 inches) in height and 95 cm (37 inches) in width is "fantastic... because of the details of the facial features," Hawass said.

Archaeologists believe the full statue is around three meters (nearly 10 feet) tall.

In recent years, a large quantity of red-granite statue pieces have been uncovered at Amenhotep III's funerary temple at Kom al-Hitan on Luxor's west bank.

Zahi Hawass, head of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities, center, checks Tutankhamun's mummy at his tomb in Luxor, before exposing it to X-ray to assess the need for restoration. Wednesday's research also was an attempt to discover the cause of death for Tutankhamun, who ruled for nine years before dying at age 17

Amenhotep III ruled Egypt between 1390 and 1352 BC.

He was almost certainly the grandfather of Tutankhamun, according to the results of DNA tests and computerized tomography (CT) scans on the famed boy king's mummy announced by scientists on February 17.

A 3,000-year-old statue of the pharaoh Amenhotep III, believed to be the grandfather of the young King Tutankhamu, unearthed by archaeologists (source: Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (ESCA))