All posts tagged Nubia

UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK V

By | March 29, 2014 | Egypt, Heritage + Conservation, History, Unseen Egypt | Comments Off on UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK V

Long before the relocation of Philae, the temple would get flooded, especially in times of a high inundation levels. Travellers would sail through the temples in boats, which is very evident in their inscriptions high up on some of the columns. The temple and the island of Philae have been a source of wonder for millennia; Philae is mentioned by numerous ancient writers, including Strabo, Diodorus, Prolemy, Seneca, and Pliny the Elder.

They would not be the last of the travellers to marvel at its wonders. Read more…

UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK IV

By | February 8, 2014 | Egypt, Heritage + Conservation, History, Unseen Egypt | Comments Off on UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK IV

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…

WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XII

By | December 26, 2012 | Egypt, Heritage + Conservation, Wednesday Nostalgia | Comments Off on WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XII

By Islam El Shazly

The photographers who visited Egypt in the late 19th century where explorers in their own right, they travelled the length and breadth of the country and spent hours upon hours chronicling with their cameras the sights and the lives of Egypt and the Egyptians. They left us a treasure trove of imagery, with subjects that have have almost completely disappeared from our lives.

Temples that have either sunk or moved, entire neighbourhoods that were levelled and rebuilt, ancient trees that were uprooted or disfigured, and lifestyles that all but vanished. Read more…

WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XI

By | December 19, 2012 | Egypt, Heritage + Conservation, Wednesday Nostalgia | Comments Off on 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…

COMFORT: THE TOP 12 MID-RANGE HOTELS IN EGYPT

By | December 7, 2012 | Egypt, Reviews, Travel + Leisure | Comments Off on 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…

WDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES – WEEK VIII

By | November 28, 2012 | Egypt, Heritage + Conservation, History, Wednesday Nostalgia | Comments Off on WDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES – WEEK VIII

By Islam El Shazly

Egyptian builders over the ages were very ambitious; and their patrons were even more so. Only in recent years has the grandiose gone away and got replaced by mediocre concrete construction attempting to mimic some of the European and North American architecture, with few exceptions of real architectural marvels.

From the early builders Djoser and Imhotep to the Khedive Ismail, they all left monuments as a testament to their vision, some visions were more attainable than others, and some put the country in debt. However their monuments remain as a reminder of the  sheer willpower and imagination they had. And maybe a little bit of ego! 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…