All posts tagged Nile

UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK II

By | January 14, 2014 | Egypt, Heritage + Conservation, History, Unseen Egypt | Comments Off on 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…

WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XVIII

By | February 20, 2013 | Egypt, Heritage + Conservation, Wednesday Nostalgia | Comments Off on WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XVIII

By Islam El Shazly

This week we mark the finale of this series of Wednesday Nostalgia, hopefully we accomplished what we set out to do, which is reconnect the people in Egypt with their past and their heritage. Something that was lost to us for far too long, but now since the thick veil of 60 years of tyranny has been lifted, we are free to dig and find that which has been lost, and relish in the memory of our predecessors and build on it. Read more…

WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XIII

By | January 2, 2013 | Egypt, Heritage + Conservation, Wednesday Nostalgia | Comments Off on WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XIII

By Islam El Shazly

There’s a long history behind the Suez Canal that goes back to Pharaonic times. Even millennia ago the same logistic nightmare existed: how to bring essential goods and trade from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea?

The only way to do it at the time was dig a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea. Boats laden with goods would come in from the Mediterranean or Red Sea, travel through the canal and the Nile and get out the other side. The ancient Egyptians maintained one for a long time, then it was re-dug by Amro ibn Al-‘Aas, only to be eventually reclaimed by the desert. Read more…

WDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES – WEEK III

By | October 17, 2012 | Egypt, Heritage + Conservation, History, Wednesday Nostalgia | Comments Off on WDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES – WEEK III

By Islam El Shazly

Driving through one of the many older neighbourhoods in Egypt one can feel very small, if only you can turn off your eyes whenever you see modern ugly concrete monstrosities. A lot of our architectural heritage almost went the way of the Dodo, a lot of the early twentieth century villas and mansions that used to dot the banks of the Nile from Aswan to the Delta almost vanished because of greed and lack of visionary planning, same as marvels that were built tens and hundreds of years earlier. Alhamdulillah, some people paid attention, and did all they could to save what they could for future generations. Read more…

WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES – WEEK II

By | October 10, 2012 | Egypt, Heritage + Conservation, History, Wednesday Nostalgia | Comments Off on WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES – WEEK II

By Islam El Shazly

Last week I took creative liberties with the quote about nostalgia, the proper quote is more like this “nostalgia is a seductive liar“, and that is probably down to the fact that as time slips by and we get older, our memory becomes a bit skewed. we are predisposed to readily remember the good and selectively forget the bad. So driving past one’s old stomping grounds one remembers every tree they climbed, every nook they hid in while playing hide-and-seek, and where they played on for hours on their bicycle, while keeping at bay the memories of bad moments, or painful experiences, Read more…

SAILING THE NILE: LUXOR TO ASWAN

By | August 22, 2012 | Egypt, Travel + Leisure, Travel Chronicles | Comments Off on SAILING THE NILE: LUXOR TO ASWAN

By Islam El Shazly

Back in 2009, before I started Al Rahalah, my wife and I went on a Nile cruise courtesy of Radamis Travel*. It was on one of their two cruise ships: Radamis II, back then it was operated by the Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, and on the top 10 list of Nile cruises in the Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide: Cairo and the Nile. It is now operated by Swiss Inn Hotels & Resorts.

Before then I had only been to Aswan once for a quick two day trip; my wife on the other hand had never been anywhere south of Cairo. This proved to be one of those experiences that you never forget. In a great kind of way! Read more…

JOURNEY TO UPPER EGYPT

By | January 8, 2011 | Egypt, Travel + Leisure, Travel Chronicles | 1 Comment

By Dean Chartier

This is my first effort in writing about my travels here in Egypt, I’m kind of starting in the middle of the trip, odd I know, why not start at the beginning? Well my journey to up the Nile was a pretty amazing trip for me, even though it was kind of touristy. I was able to peel most of the tourism away and have a good look at life in that part of Egypt. I will not speak much of visits to the temples and other historic sites, I’m sure you can find that information elsewhere, and for me it was kind of secondary anyways. This was my first trip to a Muslim country since I became Muslim and my trip up the Nile allowed me to get away from most of the western influence I have seen in Cairo and Alexandria. I will write more about those experiences a little later.

Fishermen in Alexandria.

Another reason this was a special experience for me is that being from Canada, I don’t get to hear the call to prayer from a Masjid, or have the luxury of having a Masjid within an easy walk of wherever I am. Read more…