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Egypt - The Land of Civilizations
Egypt - The Land of Civilizations  From any angle, Giza's Pyrami ds inspire awe. Memorials to Egyptian kings, the Pyramids have risen above the desert outside Cairo for more than 4,000 years. Stone - not sun-dried mud brick - gave permanence to these ancient monuments.  Young Bedouin boys race camels on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Tourism on Mount Sinai has been a boon to Bedouin, with some charging for camelback rides to the summit. Thousands of Bedouin live in the Sinai desert, where opportunities to earn cash are few.  The shining floor of a central courtyard reflects the symmetry of the Al-Azhar mosque’s architectural features. The thousand-year- old Cairo mosque is connected to Al-Azhar University, one of the oldest in the world and a center for Sunni Islamic learning.  An ornate chandelier and dome lamps illuminate of the Turkish-style Muhammad Ali mosque. Built inside the Citadel, the former headquarters of Egypt’s rulers, the mosque honors 19th-century leader credited with bringing the nation and Cairo out of a medieval past.  Viewed from atop a minaret, the Cairo skyline greets visitors with a fusion of religious tradition and modern realities. With over 11 million inhabitants in its metro area, the city that knew settlements as long as 6,000 years ago is presently the largest in East and Africa.  Headlights streak across the Kasr El Nil (Palace of the Nile) bridge, which crosses the Nile River in Cairo. Guarded by bronze lions, the bridge was completed in its current form in 1933 and now lies at the center of an important tourism district.  A whirling dervish is framed by his colorful robes as he twirls. The traditional dance of the Sufi Muslim religious order is performed throughout the Arab world in local variations.  A distinctive rock formation rises out of the desert in Bahariya Oasis. Located in Egypt’s Western Desert, Bahariya has yielded important and archaeological discoveries.  Visitors navigate a narrow path through the Colored Canyon in the Sinai. Long both a holy land and battleground, the triangular peninsula’s historical sites and today make Sinai a popular tourist destination.  The granite exterior wall of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is lined with hieroglyphs and characters from 120 different languages. The research and intellectual center, opened in 2001, is located in the Eastern Harbor of Alexandria, near the site where archaeologists believe the ancient Library of Alexandria once stood.  Headless statues of Ramses II stand guard at the Luxor temple complex. Known to the ancients as Thebes, Luxor now draws throngs of tourists to the Luxor and Karnak temples and the nearby Valley of the Kings necropolis, where Tutankhamun's tomb was found.  A heron flies low over the Nile River at sunset. The storied river and its fertile valley—with an abundance of fish and waterfowl—have been at the center of Egyptian life and culture since the first kings seized control of Nile some 5,000 years ago. |
Re: Egypt - The Land of Civilizations  North of Egypt’s Aswan High Dam, a boy holds the reins of his horse as it drinks from the Nile River. In the early 1970s, the dam ushered in an era of water abundance for a country almost wholly dependent on the flow of the Nile.  Members of a Bedouin tribe gather beneath a tent on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The desert herdsmen make up more than half of Sinai’s 360,000 or so people, yet mainland Egyptians are often at odds with the desert-dwelling who have historically roamed vast territories.  A diver in the Red Sea approaches a school of juvenile barracuda. The sea’s fragile ecosystem includes a thousand species of fish, coral reefs, and mangroves, and has helped to make the Sinai coast—including the popular resort city of Sharm el Sheikh—Egypt’s top tourist destination.  Sailboats drift past illuminated t ombs in Aswan, Egypt. As the ancient gateway to Nubia, source of gold for the Egyptian monarchs, Aswan once held a key position in river commerce. Today, feluccas shuttle tourists to Aswan’s sights, just downstream from the High Dam.  The blue waters of the Gulf of Aqaba ripple between Saudi Arabia (far shore) and resorts lining the eastern coast of Egypt’s (far shore) and resorts lining the eastern coast of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. A historical site of spirituality and conflict, the wedge of desert has become a mecca for pleasure-loving travelers and profit-seeking developers. |
