Ancient Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world.
The Letter of Aristeas, 2nd century BCE reveals that the institution was conceived as a universal library: "Demetrius…had at his disposal a large budget in order to collect, if possible, all the books in the world;…to the best of his ability, he carried out the king’s objective."(Letters 9–10.)
Depicted: Entrance to a burial chamber. When you enter the catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa there is a circular staircase that takes the visitor several levels deep into the ground. To the left is the room where mourners of the deceased would sit and bring offerings. Another staircase leads down to a room full of sculptures.
The catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa (meaning "Mound of Shards") is a historical archaeological site and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.
Alexandria
Before you see the Dam itself, you see the top of lotus flower petals that sprout backwards, from the top down, lead down to the bottom of the Soviet-Arab Friendship Monument.
The Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970 and is one of the largest earthen embankment dams in the world. It is 364 feet (111 m) tall, 12,565 feet (3,830 m) long and nearly 3,281 feet (1,000 m) wide.
The Aswan High Dam was built between 1960 and 1970 to better control the annual flooding, provide increased water storage for irrigation and to generate hydroelectric power.
The power plant began generating hydroelectric power in 1967. When the Aswan High Dam reached peak output it produced about 50 percent of Egypt's electrical power and gave most Egyptian villages access to electricity for the first time in history.
Aswan High Dam
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities houses the world's largest collection of Egypt's ancient past. Featuring the death mask of King Tutankhamen, his sarcophagus and thousands of items found in his burial chamber.
The most influential and longest reigning pharaoh, Rameses II, is on display in the royal Mummies room. Encased in glass and on display are incredibly well preserved royal mummies which still have visible finger nails and hair.
Nefertiti was the chief consort of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten (formerly Amenhotep IV), who reigned from approximately 1353 to 1336 BC. Known as the Ruler of the Nile and Daughter of Gods , Nefertiti acquired unprecedented power, and is believed to have held equal status to the pharaoh himself.
Depicted with the black head of a jackal, Anubis helped mummify Egyptians when they died. Black represented the fertile soil of the Nile that was needed to grow yearly crops, so the Egyptians believed that the color black symbolized good fortune and rebirth.
Egyptian Museum
A surviving relief in the temple.
Hatshepsut, Queen of Egypt reigned in her own right for fifteen years. She attained unprecedented power, adopting the full titles and regalia of a pharaoh.
King Hatshepsut claimed that, like every other pharaoh, she was a reincarnation of Horus.
Hatshepsut’s temple is considered the closest Egypt came to Classical Architecture. Representative of New Kingdom funerary architecture, it both aggrandizes the pharaoh and includes sanctuaries to honor the gods relevant to her afterlife.
Hatshepsut Temple
The Grand Avenue of Rams located at one of the south entrances of Karnak Temple (Temple of Amun) once stretched to the Luxor Temple.
See Karnak Temple illuminated at night with an audio-visual show that will explain how the temple was used and what life was like in Ancient Egypt.
Karnak Temple Sacred Lake is the largest of its kind and was dug by Tuthmosis III (1473-1458 BC). It measures 393 feet (120m) by 252 feet (77m) and is lined with stone wall and has stairways descending into the water. The lake was used by the priests for ritual washing and ritual navigation. It was also home to the sacred geese of Amun (the goose being another symbol of Amun) and was a symbol of the primeval waters from which life arose in the ancient Egyptian’s idea of creation.
The present inter sanctuary, was built circa 323 BCE by the half brother of Alexander the Great. It is possible today to witness the power of the solstitial Sun, from within this sanctuary as it rises for several days on either side of the winter solstice.
Karnak Temple
The medieval architecture within Khan Al-Khalili Bazaar is breathtaking and the labyrinthine maze of passageways and streets has enchanted people for more than 1,000 years.
At the hub of Cairo's richest area of Islamic architecture and historic institutions sits Fishawy's coffee cafe in the narrow and noisy Khalili bazaar. Boasting more than two centuries of continuous service.
Located within the labyrinth of Khan al Khalili Bazaar is a 16th century Badistan Gate built by Sultan al-Ghuri, Egypt's last powerful Mamluk sultan.
The skinny lanes of Khan Al Khalili are basically a medieval-style mall. This agglomeration of shops – many arranged around small courtyards – stocks everything from spices, semiprecious stones, fabrics and shisha pipes (hookah pipe).
Khan Al -Khalili
In the North Western section of the complex is a circular well that was used as a Nilometer, a tool that the ancient Egyptians used to measure the level of the water of the Nile, similar to the one located in the Rhoda Island in Cairo. This Nilometer was constructed during the Roman period and it is connected to a smaller water well. These Nilometers were of particular importance especially during the season of the flooding of the Nile.
Purification ceremony conducted by the Gods Thoth and Horus in their human form.
The temple is unique because it is in fact a double temple, dedicated to Sobek the crocodile god, and Horus the falcon-headed god. The layout combines two temples in one with each side having its own gateways and chapels.
The temple contains what is possibly the first illustration of medical and surgical instruments, with images of scalpels, bone saws, suction cups, dentistry tools, etc., being presented to a seated god.
Kom Ombo Temple
The splendor of Luxor Temple's Hypostyle Hall at night. The Hypostyle Hall contains 32 papyrus columns, arranged in four rows of eight columns. At the rear of the hall are four small rooms and an antechamber leading to the birth room, the chapel of Alexander the Great and the sanctuary.
A hot air balloon is an incredible way to see the “world’s largest open air museum. The hot air balloons carry travelers over Luxor’s ruins and temples in the beautiful morning light.
Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom. His successors and later Egyptians called him the "Great Ancestor".
Two massive seated statues of Rameses II guard the huge gateway (pylon). Two 80 foot (25m) obelisks once accompanied them but today only one remains the other stands in the Place De La Concorde in Paris.
Luxor Temple
The most famous piece in the open air museum, viewable from an overhead platform, is the colossal statue of Ramesses II.
The Open Air Museum contains an amazing collection of objects from Memphis. Colossal statues, sphinxes and sarcophagi are all displayed in a lush setting at the heart of the remains of this ancient city.
These skillfully carved Hathor heads were once colorfully painted. They show the goddess with a human face and the ears of a cow. Hathor was one of the most important gods of Egypt. She was thought to be the Pharaoh’s spiritual mother. The ancient Egyptians also worshiped Hathor as the general goddess of motherhood, music and beauty.
The colossus of Rameses II once guarded one of the gates of the Great Ptah Temple.
Memphis
St. Catherine’s Monastery is at the foot of Mount Sinai, Egypt. It was built at the site where Moses is believed to have seen the Burning Bush. Though it is commonly known as Saint Catherine's, the actual name of the monastery is the Monastery of the Transfiguration. It is one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world.
Constructed in 527 AD, the Basilica of the Transfiguration is the main church of the monastery.
The nave of St. Catherine's Basilica facing the large candle sticks.
"The resurrection of St. Catherine's body." The reported rediscovery of her body around the year 800 AD at Mount Sinai, with hair still growing and a constant stream of healing oil issuing from her body spurred a Medieval cult. Image: Refectory Museum of the Cathedral of St. Mary, Pamplona, Spain
Mount Sinai
Trajan’s Kiosk is a hypaethral temple located on Agilika Island. One of the largest Ancient Egyptian monuments standing today, it is conventionally attributed to the Roman emperor Trajan, who gave it its current decorations, though some experts think the structure itself may be older, possibly dating to the time of Augustus.
On the first pylon of the temple of Isis at Philae , the pharaoh is shown slaying his enemies while Isis , Horus and Hathor look on.
The elaborate doorway in Second Pylon gives access to the inner temple. The magnificent reliefs on the central doorway depict Horus, Isis, and Osiris and others.
Philae Temple
Djoser, also spelled Zoser, second king of the 3rd dynasty (c. 2650–c. 2575 BCE) of ancient Egypt, who undertook the construction of the earliest important stone building in Egypt. His reign, which probably lasted 19 years, was marked by great technological innovation in the use of stone architecture. His minister, Imhotep, a talented architect and physician, was himself deified in later periods.
Saqqara Necropolis
The Gebel al-Mawta, literally the Mountain of the Dead, is riddled with tombs from the 26th Dynasty (664 BC–525 BC) and the Ptolemaic era (305 BC–30 BC) carved into the side of the rock.
Siwa's geographic isolation helped protect a unique society that stands distinctly apart from mainstream Egyptian culture. Settled by Berbers (roaming North African tribes), for centuries the oasis had contact with only the few caravan traders that passed along and the occasional pilgrims seeking the famous Oracle of Amun.
Fatnas Island is a palm-shaded island in the midst of Lake Siwa. It makes a great spot for spectacularly colorful sunsets.
The centre of Siwa is dominated by the ruins of the 13th century Shali fortress. Built from a material known as 'kershef' (salt rocks from the local salt lakes and mud), the ruins are subject to additional disintegration after each rainfall.