In the 1960s, after the Nasser Regime disastrously insisted on building the Aswan High Dam, Nubia was submerged and with it lost a lot of Nubian heritage and more architectural marvels got buried under water than they were able to save. An international project was initiated by UNESCO in order to save what can be saved. A gargantuan project to say the least! Read more…
All posts tagged Egypt
UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK III
In the 19th century, with the rise of Egyptology due to the the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte. The subsequent publication of Description de l’Égypte between 1809 and 1829, a race of sorts took shape. It was a race to acquire Ancient Egyptian artefacts and antiquities by national and private collections; a viciously competitive endeavour that eminated from ruthless ambition on all sides involved, particularly among the British and the French. Read more…
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UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK II
Somewhere along the way, and a few thousand years, monuments such as Karnak fell into disrepair. Between the ever relentless sands of the desert reclaiming its territory, the Nile’s inundation, and the passage of time, they almost faded out of memory. Every now and then through the millenia, travellers and explorers would stumble upon an obelisk here, or statue there, and if they were persistant and lucky enough, maybe a pylon and gate into a mysterious past. Read more…
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UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK I
Lots of reasons prevented any writing in the second half of 2013, mainly the state of affairs in Egypt after the bloody coup of June 30th of that year. Everyone had high hopes for Egypt to emerge trimuphant after the rosey days that followed the Jan25 revolution. But it seems that the people didn’t really understand what freedom is, what it means, and most of all, what it takes to keep it. They failed, and Egypt was lost. Hopefuly the next time the people rise up, they will have learned from their mistakes. Read more…
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WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XV
By Islam El Shazly
One of the main reasons for starting this series of Lantern Slides was—and still is—to educate myself and reader about Egyptian heritage, so us as Egyptians would not lose sight of what made up this country, and what can still make it again. So we don’t forget who we are and where we came from.
History was distorted tremendously after the 1952 Coup d’état in favour of the Free Officers Movement that led the coup. Charisma alone would not entrench them in power, they had to demonize the previous era in its entirety. Read more…
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WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XI
By Islam El Shazly
One of the most delightful things about looking into a collection like the Egyptian Lantern Slides is the level of content one sees on the faces of the simple Egyptian people. While the nature of photography back in those days called for stern faces and rigid bodies for the sake of exposure, their smiles or a curious look would defiantly make their way onto their faces.
It was not the perfect world, but they were content and they were proud. Not the annoying pride that would normally ruin its owner, but proud Read more…
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WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK X
By Islam El Shazly
Egypt is a land of contrasts, it is paradoxical and perplexing, and looking at the modern Egyptians, one has to wonder whether their – our, since I too am Egyptian – ancestors were like them! And if they were, how on earth did they manage to start and build a civilisation that would endure for close to 6,000 years?!
There are great differences between between the ones that came before and the ones who came after, but there are also great similarities, the most striking of similarities the simplicity of Egyptians, not simplicity in terms of higher brain functions, but rather simplicity of character. We are fairly uncomplicated. Read more…
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COMFORT: THE TOP 12 MID-RANGE HOTELS IN EGYPT
By Islam El Shazly
There hundreds of hotels of different classes and classifications in Egypt, and that is not much of a wonder for a country heavily reliant on tourism. Hospitality comes with turf.
Picking the right hotel for a specific budget becomes paramount with such a large number of hotels, and choosing the right one is not always a straight forward affair, since the quality of service sometime fluctuates from one visit to the next, depending where you’re staying. Read more…
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WDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES – WEEK VII
By Islam El Shazly
A picture is worth a 1000 words, even more so when they are from this calibre, then they really become a a window to the past, they provide moments in time that are now lost. In a sense like the great art of the ancient world, left for us by master artisans, on walls of temples and villas, they might not be as intricate but they are still every inch fascinating.
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WDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES – WEEK VI
By Islam El Shazly
What started out as just a nostalgic post about the beauty of Egypt and the sights that are for the most part gone from our lives – some buried under the waters of Lake Nasser and some abroad! – has turned into musings about what could have been and what could be.
The fact is, these amazing, almost magical, stills of a time gone by awakened a sense of belonging Read more…
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AHMED HASSANEIN PASHA (20th Century CE – 14th Century AH): DIPLOMAT AND LEGENDARY EXPLORER
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IBN JUBAYR (12th Century CE – 6th Century AH): THE FIRST TRAVEL WRITER
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AL-IDRISI (12th Century CE – 5th Century AH): GEOGRAPHER AND CARTOGRAPHER
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THE THING ABOUT PALESTINE
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EUROPE TO HOST FIRST-EVER INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HALAL TOURISM
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