May 13th, 2013 at 9:00AM:
Since the January 2011 Revolution, Egypt has been suffering social and political unrest, and its tourism industry has been hit hard.
Now the tumultuous situation is affecting one of the nation's main sources of income – its ancient heritage. Al-Ahram Weekly investigated several reports of damage at ancient sites and found a dire situation of neglect and willful destruction. At the ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Pyramids posts
As Egypt's Tourism Industry Languishes, Antiquities Under Threat
May 13th, 2013 at 9:00AM:
Since the January 2011 Revolution, Egypt has been suffering social and political unrest, and its tourism industry has been hit hard.
Now the tumultuous situation is affecting one of the nation's main sources of income – its ancient heritage. Al-Ahram Weekly investigated several reports of damage at ancient sites and found a dire situation of neglect and willful destruction. At the ...Pyramids Discovered In Egypt And Sudan
Feb 24th, 2013 at 12:00PM:
You'd think archaeologists would have found all the pyramids of Africa by now, but two recent discoveries show there's a lot more discovering to be done.
A team of archaeologists working in Luxor, Egypt, have just announced they've discovered the pyramid of Khay, a powerful vizier of the Pharaoh Ramses II (ruled 1279-1212 B.C.). The pyramid was made of mudbrick and originally stood 49 feet ...Photo Of The Day: Egyptian Sphinx
Nov 25th, 2012 at 6:00PM:
Thanksgiving is a holiday that embraces traditions. It only seemed appropriate then to close out this long holiday weekend with an image of that most-iconic of Egyptian historical landmarks: the Sphinx. This image was taken by Flickr user robert vaccaro. I like the shot's side-profile perspective and the nice contrast of sandy rock with clean, blue sky. It's a simple yet classic image that's ...The Last Pyramids Of Egypt
May 21st, 2012 at 12:00PM:
They just don't make pyramids like they used to.
The pyramids of Egypt have fascinated people ever since they were built. The Step Pyramid at Saqqara started things off around 2650 B.C. Later came the iconic pyramids of Giza. What's often forgotten, however, is that pyramid construction continued for more than a thousand years and there are at least 138 built to house the remains of pharaohs ...Video: Visiting The Pyramids of Sudan
Apr 30th, 2012 at 1:00PM:
Sudan is near the top of my list of countries I haven't been to that I want to explore. One of the main things I'm aching to see are the pyramids of Meroë. This site has dozens of pyramids built starting around 720 BC.
Meroë was one of the capitals of the Nubian Empire, which at times rivaled its more famous northern neighbor, Egypt. As archaeologists continue to excavate in the ...
Tourist Attractions Around The World: Fact vs. Fiction
Apr 10th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
The wonders of the modern world define our travels. Whether we admit it or not, there's something heroic about standing on top of the Great Wall of China or hiking up to the crest above Machu Pichu for the trademark photograph. It's those photos that fuel our travels and that convince our friends and families to make the same trips. It's also those photos that define our perceptions of a ...Sacred ship from ancient Egypt is undergoing restoration
Feb 21st, 2012 at 1:30PM: A sacred boat that lay hidden in the sands of the Sahara for 4,500 years will be restored and put on display, Egyptian authorities say.
The boat is one of a pair discovered buried next to the pyramid of the Pharaoh Khufu at Giza, also known as the Great Pyramid. They rested in long, stone-covered pits.
The first boat, shown here in this photo courtesy Berthold Werner, was excavated in 1954 ...Pyramids and monasteries among the many ancient monuments under restoration
Aug 10th, 2011 at 1:00PM:
Around the world, ancient monuments are crumbling. As our heritage wears away through neglect, "development", or simply the harsh treatment of time, some countries are doing something about it.
The pyramid of Djoser, the oldest of the pyramids of Egypt, will be the object of a major restoration effort. The government recently announced that funding has been earmarked for restoration after the ...Riddle of pyramid's secret hieroglyphs solved
Jun 8th, 2011 at 9:30AM:
Last month we reported on some secret writing discovered in the Pyramid of Cheops at Giza, near Cairo. A robot with a camera went down a mysterious passage only eight inches wide and found some hieroglyphs daubed with red paint onto the floor of a secret chamber at the end of the tunnel.
Egyptologist Luca Miatello has deciphered the writing and says they're engineering marks. They make the ...Robot discovers secret writing in Great Pyramid
May 28th, 2011 at 3:00PM:
The Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza has always sparked the imagination. Among its many mysteries are four tiny passages running through the interior. The smallest are only eight inches square, far too small for a person to crawl through, so what were they for?
As you can see from the cutaway above, two of the tunnels angle up from the King's Chamber to exit the pyramid. Some researchers ...Lost pyramids found in Egypt
May 25th, 2011 at 8:30AM:
You'd think it would be pretty hard to lose a pyramid, yet in fact plenty have gone missing in Egypt over the years. Not all of them are giant edifices like the Great Pyramid at Giza. Most are only a dozen or so meters high and were meant to house the body of a Queen. In 2008 the pyramid of Sesheshet was discovered in the desert near Saqqara, and now a survey using infrared satellite imagery has ...Ancient Egyptian tomb discovered
Oct 27th, 2010 at 6:00PM:
A priest's tomb that's more than 4,000 years old has been discovered near the pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Egyptian archaeologists say the tomb belonged to a priest named Rwd-ka from the Fifth Dynasty (2494-2345 BC), a time in the Old Kingdom when religion was undergoing major changes, including the elevation in importance of the sun god Ra, and the development of the Pyramid Texts, which later ...More Egyptian pyramids to open to the public
Jul 16th, 2010 at 3:00PM:
Visitors to Egypt have always flocked to the pyramids of Giza and Saqqara. Many people don't realize, however, that these are only the most famous of more than a hundred pyramids in the country. In fact, there's a whole "pyramid field" to the west of Cairo that includes Giza, Saqqara, and numerous other groupings across a long swath of desert. Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities is now ...Ancient Egyptian tombs discovered
Jul 8th, 2010 at 11:30AM: Two painted tombs have been discovered at the ancient Egyptian necropolis of Saqqara, twenty miles south of Cairo.
The rock-hewn tombs belong to a royal official named Shendwa and his son Khonsu. Both men lived in the Sixth Dynasty (2345-2181 BC) of the Old Kingdom. The pharaohs of this dynasty are buried at or near Saqqara. The pyramid of Pepi II is shown here, although it isn't in the best of ...Egyptian tomb discovery highlights overlooked archaeological wonder
Jun 1st, 2010 at 2:00PM:
Archaeologists from Cairo University have discovered the tomb of a royal scribe named Ptah Mes, who worked for the pharaohs Seti I and Ramses II from 1203-1186 BC.
The tomb was originally discovered in the nineteenth century by artifact hunters who took the best things and left. They forgot where the tomb was and the desert sands covered it over once again. Archaeologists have rediscovered it ...The other pyramids of Africa
May 28th, 2010 at 10:00AM:
This desert land was once home to a great empire that built giant temples in honor of strange, animal-headed gods and memorialized their rulers with pyramids. It had one of the most advanced civilizations of its time and was known throughout the ancient world.
Egypt? No, Sudan.
The Kingdom of Kush in what is now Sudan built great cities and traded the products of its large and expert iron ...Five places Obama should have seen in Egypt
Jun 9th, 2009 at 2:30PM: When Obama visited Egypt last week he took time out from making historic speeches to see the country's most famous sights--the Pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza. It's surprising he had the time, considering he was only in the country for nine hours. It reminds me of some of the package tours that zip through the world's most historic country faster than you can say Tutankhamun.
OK, Obama's a busy ...Gadling Take FIVE: Week of April 18-- April 24
Apr 25th, 2009 at 9:30AM: When I read through Gadling posts each week, there's this potpourri of options. Jon Bowermaster has traded Antarctica for the Maldives, Tynan has been roughing it on a cruise ship and Mike has the scoop on the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand. This week let's hone in on places one might not think of to head to for a good time.
This week ,Brenda finished up her series Cuba Libre series that ...Egyptian Pyramid to Open to the Public
Apr 19th, 2009 at 8:00AM: Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, has announced that the 4500 year old "Bent" Pyramid will soon open its inner chambers, allowing tourists to venture inside for the first time. He also says that others may follow suit soon afterwards. The Bent Pyramid is located in Dahshur, which sits roughly 50 miles south of Cairo, and is believed to have been built ...Nine wonders in 26 days
Feb 25th, 2009 at 9:00AM: Planning ahead has never paid off quite so much. If you're thinking about a big trip for the fall, kick around Abercrombie & Kent's "Nine Wonders of the World" excursion. A private jet will cart you to the most impressive destinations our planet has to offer over 26 days, and you just won't want to come back to reality. The experience kicks off on October 19 at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami, ...
