Cultural Festivals-Part ΙΙ

Copyright © Egypt, Cradle of Civilisation

Picking up from our previous post about culture houses, we decided to follow with festivals. The festivals range from art and book festivals to fishing and horse festivals.


Of the most popular annual festivals that draw crowds in the millions is the Cairo International Book Fair. The first book fair was held in 1969. The Book Fair takes place in mid January and lasts for two weeks. The Fair is one of the biggest in the Middle East and during the course of the exhibition, there are lectures, seminars and special displays held on the grounds.

The Cairo International Film Festival is also another major international attraction, to be held annually in early December, and has been for the past 26 years. Besides the regular competition the festival includes tributes, controversial films, seminars and appearances by international artists, which over the years have included Matt Dillon, Nicolas Cage, Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren.

The 39th Cairo International Film Festival [15 till 24 November, 2016]

The Experimental Theatre Festival is held in September at the Cairo Opera House. This festival allows young artists from many parts of the world to present experimental theatrical performances based on freedom of thought, creativity and experimentation. And this year's 13th Ismailia International Festival for Folk Arts attracted 24 troupes from 17 countries, performing on 9 stages, also proved to be a success.





Cairo holds three international music festivals. During the month of August Cairo hosts the International Song Festival, which attracts not only Arab performers but talent from the international scene. The second being the Arab Music Festival which is held in the Cairo Opera House during the month of November and celebrates a tradition of Arabic music. In its 11th year the festival boasted the live performance of 44 singers during the course of 18 concerts. But the most popular is the Citadel Music Festival held in late July early August. It features beautiful voices like the Algerian Souad Massi and this year witnessed the appearance of the Grammy and BBC Award winner Fathy Salama, among others.

The Arab Horse Festival, which is being held at the moment in El-Sharkya Governarate, on the Cairo-Belbas road, includes competitions for show-jumping, horse beauty and horse manners. Another sure attraction held Mid June at the Mena House Oberoi Hotel, is the annual Belly Dancing Festival. The most recent of festivals which has rapidly gained good reviews is the International Yoga Festival. The last event was themed "the Wonders of the World", taking participants from the Khufu Pyramid, in Cairo through the Jordan Rift Valley to the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea. Still on the agenda is the Health and Beauty Exhibition taking place from the 8-11 this coming October, and the seventh Egyptian Marathon on the 13th of February 2009 and the second Alexandria Run in October 2009.

El-Sharkia 18th Arab Horse Festival held in Egypt

Considered to be second only to the famous Dakar Rally, the annual Pharaohs Rally is a seven-day, seven-stage event across the Sahara. The race starts on the Pyramids plateau and in the shadow of the Sphinx in Giza. It is a race a grueling 3,000km (1,850 miles) circular course that ends up back in the bustling capital. A test of endurance for drivers and their vehicles, this tough event attracts more than 130 vehicles and 100 motorcycles from all over the world. This year it starts on the 5th and ends on the 12th of October. The sport of fishing has two popular festivals during the year. An International Fishing Festival in Hurghada that takes place during the month of February and a National Fishing Festival in Sharm El Sheikh that takes place in November.

Sun Festival at Abu Simbel in Aswan, is observed twice annually on 22nd of February and on 22nd of October. These dates mark the birthday and the ascension to the throne of the Emperor Ramses ΙΙ. On these days, shafts of sunlight enter into the temple and illuminate the face of the statues of the great King Ramses II and the two Sun gods Re-Horakhte and Amen-Re seated beside the Theban god Ptah, the god of darkness. As the temple remains in absolute darkness through out the year and receives sunlight on these two very special days, the rare phenomenon is a scene that you just cannot afford to miss. Celebrated in a big way by the locals, undoubtedly the Sun Festival at Abu Simbel is one of the most uncommon and astounding festivals in the world.

Eco-Wise

Copyright © EgyptHasItAll.com

With Global Warming becoming an eminent threat there is growing awareness to going green. The need to save mother Earth, conserving its resources to share with future generations as live experiences and not stories of the past. Warning calls by Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio for preserving the only planet we have is more than a cause but a need for it to be a way of life.

Every bearing of our lives is going eco-friendly, from energy saving light bulbs and carpooling to eco-friendly pajamas and hair spray. Since the late 1980s the increase in environmental awareness and the obligation to protect eco-systems, gave birth to ecotourism, responsible tourism or also called sustainable tourism.


For centuries only 6% of Egypt's land has been frequented by tourists, seeking the historical aspects that have been overemphasized through novels & chronicles. With the remaining 94% considered lifeless, barren wastelands. These areas included three magnificent deserts (the Sinai Desert, the Eastern Desert and the Western Desert), mangroves, lakes, mountains and 2,700 km (1,678 m) of unspoiled coastlines. Since the evolution of ecotourism and the demand to explore and enjoy this hidden side of Egypt, there has been a demand for more environmentally conscious eco-lodges, and higher maintenance and preservation over natural protectores.

But what exactly is meant by ecotourism? As defined by the world's oldest and largest ecotourism organization and the global source of knowledge and advocacy in ecotourism, The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) states that it is:

"Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." (TIES, 1990)

Experiencing the fastest growth of all sub-sectors in the tourism industry, this popularity represents a change in tourist perceptions, increased environmental awareness, and a desire to explore natural environments. Such changes have become as much a statement affirming one's social identity, educational sophistication, and disposable income as it has about preserving the Amazon rainforest or the Caribbean reef for posterity. And for ecotourism to be successful certain guidelines and principles must be followed:
· minimize impact
· build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
· provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
· provide direct financial benefits for conservation
· provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people
· raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental, and social climate

The concepts of ecotourism maybe obvious in that they need to minimize the negative economic, environmental and social impacts, while preserving and improving the condition of the local people and their heritage. These very concepts are often used as a marketing tool to promote tourism which is related to nature. These greenwashing habits (disinformation by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image) only use labels like "green" and "eco-friendly", to mislead tourists and manipulate their concern for the environment. So just because a hotel is located on a splendid landscape does not mean it's eco-friendly until it fulfills its obligations, behaving in an environmentally responsible way.
This may have been happening in Hurgada and Sharm el Sheik, but in recent years legislation has been enforced by the Egyptian Affairs Agency to prevent new development from destroying the coastline, coral reefs or tidal flats. Becoming the major focus of investment by the Egyptian government and the World Bank to protect what is left of the unique heritage that was once plagues by thoughtless development.

Since the hosting of Sustainable Tourism Egypt (STE) 2003, the International Conference on Tourism Development in Environmentally Sensitive Areas there has been major endeavors and strategic plans to conserve and protect the unique, abundant natural treasure of Egypt's heritage. There is also concern for these protected areas to pay their way to generate revenue that can be use to fund for the management of its conservation. Moreover to provide the residence of these areas with additional income and establish community businesses.

In the wake of the declaration of Wadi El-Hitan as a World Heritage site by the UNESCO, there are more restrictions to number of visitors and stricter enforcemnt on regulation and guidelines to protectores. In the Nabq protected area, there are rehabilitation initiatives to recover its sensitive eco-systems. The largest mangrove stand in the Gulf of Aqaba and the northernmost mangroves in the Indian Ocean/Red Sea area front the shoreline of Nabq, making it the largest coastal park, at 600 km2 of protected area of outstanding natural beauty sheltering a variety of ecosystems.

There has been a campaign to crack down on hunting in Egypt in the Siwa Oasis and around Lake Nasser, Egypt's primary water reservoir. Furthermore, there have been negotiations with government authorities to reduce the bureaucratic restrictions on deep desert tours and safaris. The numerous bureaucratic obstacles and procedures are time consuming but these problems are not experienced by tourists, as they are taken care of before their arrival.

The location of the Stromer’s Tidal Giant dinosaur in Bahariya Oasis is now under protection as farmers are trying to use the land for agricultural purposes and presently, there is a focus on saving the Petrified Forest protectorate east of Cairo, as there have been attempts to initiate urban development projects in the area. The selling of the Red Sea’s protected Giftun Island was successfully halted. The Egyptian government rejected the proposal for a multi-million development plan and an international campaign "Save Giftun" helped rise public awareness to preserve Egypt's heritage.


Efforts to save the Spinner dolphins of the Gulf of Samadi (in the vicinity of the town of Marsa Alam in the Red Sea) have been also successful. The Samadi is a horseshoe-shaped reef that forms a shallow lagoon in the center, and constitutes an important natural habitat for spinner dolphins, where tourists get the magical opportunity to swim with wild, free, friendly dolphins.

21 km north of Hurgada, is the first independent touristic town. El Gouna (or Lagoon) has its own electricity plant, a sewage treatment plant, roads, lagoons, and has installed satellite phones, a transportation network, two marinas, a Nubian-style village, an airport, a hospital and an international school. More investors are being encouraged to build eco-lodges in protected areas such as the Red Sea’s Wadi El-Gemal, and Qarit Umm Al-Sagheer, north of Siwa. The government and developers have significant roles to play in adopting and implementing environmentally sound policies and practices to avoid the degradation of the natural heritage of Egypt for the sake of current and future generations alike.

About the Author:

Gawhara Hanem

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Egypt Tours

On the X-treme Map

Copyright © EgyptHasItAll.com

With all those unique diverse coastlines, deserts and mountains, and the added plus of sunny good weather almost everyday of the year; Egypt makes the perfect playground for Extreme Sports.

Extreme tourism is becoming ever more popular, and as opposed to traditional tourism requiring significant investments in hotels, roads, etc., extreme tourism requires much less jump-starting a business. Extreme tourism overlaps with extreme sport. The two share the main attraction, "adrenaline rush" caused by an element of risk mostly due to the relatively higher number of inherently uncontrollable variables, such as weather and terrain. As in any sport, it requires a certain degree of fitness, skill and with sufficient respect for safety guidelines, not much more is required for anyone to enjoy them.





Some of these sports include surfing, snowboarding, sandboarding, kitesurfing, bungee-jumping, BASE jumping, kayaking and rock climbing. Considering that the media is credited for defining what extreme sports are as well as popularizing them, many of these sports were made popular by the televised X Games (championship competitions sponsored by the cable-television network ESPN). The first X Games (then called the Extreme Games) were held in 1995 in Rhode Island. This television coverage brought extreme sports and their participants more into the limelight, boosting the number of enthusiasts as more people became aware of the growing number of extreme sports.





Being more of an individual sport, participants constantly challenge their creativity to produce new, more daring maneuvers and techniques. This assures the development and evolution of newer extreme sports. Some extreme sports combine the techniques and physical skills of two or more sports such as kitesurfing (surfing & using a giant kite), sandboarding (skateboarding & snowboarding on sand) and the more extreme sky surfing (sky diving & snowboarding).





Although surfing first came to see the light in Egypt as late as 1995, it is kitesurfing and sandboarding that are capitulating Egypt as an extreme sports holiday destination. While sandboarding maybe considered by many a new addition to extreme sports, there has been evidence that it was first invented by ancient Egyptians who surfed down golden dunes of sand on planks of hardened pottery and wood. The added advantage of sand being that, sand never melts, so as long as your snowboard is waxed you can extend your surfing season. With the variation of shifting the body weight to the back in sandboarding to reduce friction on the front, sand also provides a much nicer surface to fall on than snow, also making for an ideal environment to learn boarding skills.





Normally you'd have to go far into the desert to reach the large dunes, well not in Siwa! 100 meter high dunes are five minutes from the tarmac. Further into the desert it is believed, that the western desert of Egypt has some of the largest and steepest dunes on the planet. While it was first popularized in Siwa it is now available at Wadi El-Rayan (in El Fayoum) and in Gharb Sohiel (in Nubia, Aswan). And of course for a more "X-treme" experience the board can be powered with a kite, combining sandboarding and kitesurfing.
An unforgettable experience into the unknown will have to include trad climbing Mount Sinai. It was on Mount Sinai that Prophet Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. Built in the 6th century at the foot of this mountain, is one of the oldest continuously functioning Christian monasteries in the world, St. Catherine's Monastery. There are bolted routes and granite boulders to be tackled, but as the area is huge there are always lines that have never been pioneered before. The finger cramming cracks that run hundreds of meters up, take you to an endless mesmerizing view of the magnificent desert. Mt. Sinai can also be trekked on foot. Because of the daytime heat, the trek starts at night and the strenuous ascent takes about 3 hours. On reaching the summit one is gratified by the birth of a new day, with its hypnotizing change of hues of sunrise on the horizon, illuminating the tops of the surrounding mountains.




Today Egypt is the No. 1 windsurfing destination worldwide. It has become a Mecca for European windsurfers because the weather and wind conditions are almost always good. Although at present, kitesurfing is starting to replace the more traditional windsurfing. Powered by a kite as opposed to a sail it doesn't need much wind, nor high surf, and is much easier to master in a few lessons, making it very addictive. But the wide spreading popularity of kitesurfing is mostly attributed to it providing instant gratification as people want to learn a new sport and be pro the next day.

Egypt is inching slowly yet steadily, on to the map of "X-treme" sports. With the almost perfect weather all the year round and the many unchartered spots, just waiting to be explored and discovered.


MARGINALIA
1. Extreme sports have always been associated with "adrenaline rush" caused by the element of risk. It has been proven that medically speaking the rush or high associated with the activity is not due to adrenaline being released as a response to fear, but due to increased levels of dopamine, endorphins and serotonin because of the high level of physical exertion.

2. As compared to the huge waves of the Pacific Ocean breaking on coral reefs, the huge dunes of the Siwa desert always have a sharp reef bottom (fossilized coral).

3. It has been said that mapping the sea of sand is impossible, since it is always moving. In fact major dunes don’t move, they may gain or lose a few meters in height every year. The actual possibility of the dune going anywhere for the next century is highly unlikely.

4. BASE jumping is by far the most dangerous of all the extreme sports. In BASE jumping, parachutists jump from artificial and natural structures at heights between 90 and 1100 m. (The name BASE comes from buildings, antennas, spans [bridges], and earth [cliffs and waterfalls]—the four launching points for jumpers.) Because the launch heights are low compared to those in traditional skydiving, the parachutes used in BASE jumping are specially designed to open quickly. Also adding to the danger is that wind can easily blow a jumper into a rock face or other nearby surface. Most law enforcement agencies prohibit BASE jumping, but even where the activity is legal, only competent skydivers should attempt jumps.

About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Egypt Tours

Vacation in Hurghada

Copyright © EgyptHasItAll.com

A craving for an exciting yet relaxing vacation is a phase we go through every now and then due to the stressful life we have come to live, a perfect getaway would definitely be Hurghada. It is one of the leading tourist resorts of the Red Sea coast in Egypt. Hurghada serves a variety of interests to different age groups.

Many aquatic sports can be enjoyed there, such as windsurfing, sailing, swimming, diving, and snorkeling. Those who'd like to experience watching the beautiful heavenly under water gardens, taking a glass boat all the way deep in the crystal blue water and observe many varieties of rare fish and coral reefs is a magnificent experience .





Along the main road a range of restaurants and café's are located, offering delicious foods and snacks, but of course unlike the fresh, mouth watering sea food.
The most top rated restaurants in Hurghada are Hard Rock café and of course one of the oldest restaurants in Egypt "Felfela", serving specially Egyptian oriental dishes and spicy vegetarian Egyptian fast foods.

The night life in Hurghada is dynamic; this is due to the multiplicity of night clubs and pubs that welcome both youngsters who want to party vivaciously and adults who want to enjoy few drinks in a serene night out. Black Out Disco in Ali Baba Palace, South Corniche, Jungle Disco, in the Grand Hotel Mall, South Corniche, The Chill Beach Café, El Tabia Beach, Sekala, Calypso Disco, Hadaba Road, Sekala, Papa's Beach Club, El Sakia Beach, Sekala, Kalaboush, Iberotel Arabella, North Corniche, Palladium Discoteque, El Gouna Downtown, and Palma Karaoke Café', Each name has its own attraction and makes you wonder what's behind.





Accommodation in Hurghada varies depending of course on a persons will. It starts from apartment or villas rental with private or shared pool and the options hotel ranks are open. The ten top-Rated Hotels in Hurghada are Marriott Beach Resort, LTI Dana Beach Resort, Fort Arabesque Hotel, Sunrise Garden Beach Resort, Siva Grand Beach Hotel, The Oberoi Sahl Hasheesh, Red Sea Grand Resort, Sunrise Mamlouk Palace Resort, Sunrise Holidays Resort, Titanic Beach Spa, Aqua Park, and private resorts.

Other activities that can be done in Hurghada is going on a day trip or safaris to Roman Mons Porphyrites (mountain of porphyry) which is near Gebel Abu Dukhan (Father of Smoke). Either rent a jeep or go by camels for big fans of nature. There are many beautiful islands there as well, such as Shadwan Island, and Shaab el-Erg are recommended for diving and snorkeling only; other islands are recommended for fishing and swimming as well such as Shaab Abu Shiban, Umm Gammar Island, Shaab Abu Ramada, Shaab Abu Hashish, and Sharm el-Arab.





Shasb Saghir Umm Gammae, Abu Ramada Island, and Careless Reef are precisely recommended for diving only while Dishet el-Dhaba and Abu Minqar Island are famous for their astonishing beaches that allow you to relax under the sun and swim in the clear natural aqua blue water.

Regardless of the choices taken on how one would like to spend their vacation, due to the many options, a pleasant experience is guaranteed.

About the Author:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To learn more about Tailor Made and Diverse Tours to Egypt visit:
Tailor made and organized historical tours to Egypt