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 ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
egypt posts
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 ...Egypt's newest public wonder: the temple of the crocodile god
May 13th, 2011 at 10:00AM: Last week a new ancient site opened to the public in Egypt--a temple of the crocodile god Sobek.
Medinet Madi is located in Egypt's Faiyum region, a fertile area around a lake at the end of a branch of the Nile called Bahr Yusuf ("The River of Joseph").
The temple features a long avenue lined with sphinxes and lions, plus an incubation room for hatching the eggs of sacred crocodiles. You'd ...Ancient art stolen from Egyptian Museum recovered by police
May 3rd, 2011 at 11:30AM: Egyptian police have recovered four stolen statues, two of which were taken from Cairo's Egyptian Museum, Ahram Online reported.
Two of the statues were among several items that went missing when rioters broke into the Egyptian Museum. The other two were apparently looted from somewhere else, perhaps an archaeological site. There were scattered incidents of looting from several museums and ...Oxford's Ashmolean museum improving its world-class Egyptian galleries
Apr 28th, 2011 at 2:00PM:
The famous Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford, England, reopened in 2009 after a £61 million ($101 million) makeover. The redesigned space is more open and airy, with more natural light and windows between exhibitions. Floorspace was doubled in size and the exhibits were made more informative and user firendly. A museum worker explained to me that part of the plan was to ...Travel caution urged but experiences await, what to do?
Apr 23rd, 2011 at 12:00PM:
Troubling events around the world can often bring official alerts and warnings against travel to protect us from harm. Savvy travelers know to pay attention to those words of caution, but not let them define their adventures. Connecting with experienced travelers can bring a fuzzy picture of what is actually happening on the ground into focus. A clear picture of the real situation from a trusted ...Reflections on Revolution - A photographer's travels through the Arab tumult
Apr 12th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
"May you live in interesting times" is a proverb with an unattributed origin. Most speculate the phrase came from China, some assume its origins to be of 20th century English design, but all agree that the phrase is a curse. We no doubt live in "interesting" times. 2011 has already brought revolution, quakes, tsunamis, government shutdowns, and an escaped cobra. Interesting is not always a ...
Knocked up abroad: pregnant travel in the first trimester
Mar 16th, 2011 at 11:30AM: For more on pregnant travel, see parts 1 and 2 of Knocked up abroad: pregnancy in a foreign country here and here.
There's no question that having a baby changes you: your body, your lifestyle, even your shoe size. One thing I hoped not to change altogether was traveling, as long as it was reasonably safe and comfortable for me and the baby. From the beginning of my pregnancy in Istanbul, my ...Egypt back in the tourist business: all ancient sites reopening tomorrow
Feb 19th, 2011 at 9:30AM: Egypt's economy was hit pretty hard by the recent political upheaval. More than a million tourists fled the country and much of the nation's industry ground to a halt.
Now things are getting back to some semblance of normalcy and Zahi Hawass, who's still Egyptology's top man despite the change in government, has announced all archaeological sites will reopen tomorrow.
Luxor and its famous ...The Top Seven Places to See Egyptian Wonders in 2011 (Outside of Egypt)
Feb 14th, 2011 at 10:45PM: Although the revolution in Egypt ended rather peacefully with the resignation of Hosni Mubarak on February 11, it may be a while before the country appeals to international travelers again.
With its rich heritage and ancient treasures, Egypt tops the list of many travelers' bucket lists. But if you're shelving your Egypt travel plans for another time, here are some other destinations where you ...Egyptian protests reinforce the importance of safety while abroad
Feb 14th, 2011 at 10:00PM:
Some people run away from danger; others run toward it.
Multimedia journalist Rachel Anderson is one of the latter. She's lived in Egypt for six months and chose to stay after the highly publicized protests prompted an American evacuation. "Nope. Never!" Anderson said when asked if she's considered leaving. "[I'm] spreading the word of what the Egyptian people are currently enduring and am ...Tutankhamun statue and other artifacts stolen from Egyptian Museum, Zahi Hawass reports
Feb 14th, 2011 at 9:30AM: The Head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, Dr. Zahi Hawass, has posted some sad news on his blog. During the recent political upheaval in Cairo the Egyptian Museum was broken into and some artifacts were stolen. We reported earlier that two mummies were damaged but nothing was stolen. Now that the museum staff have been able to do an inventory it appears that during that incident the ...Cruise lines cancel Egypt through June
Feb 10th, 2011 at 11:30AM: Royal Caribbean and Azamara Club Cruises announced late Wednesday that they will cancel Egypt ports of call through June. This latest blow to Egypt tourism is a good indicator of the situation at ground level but travelers seem undeterred.
To cruise lines, safety of passengers and crew is a top priority. Fired by the US Department of State travel warning for the area, cruise lines were quick to ...Breaking: Cruise crew member dead in Cozumel
Feb 7th, 2011 at 4:30AM: While foul play has not been ruled out, the drowning death of a Royal Caribbean crew member in Cozumel brings the safety of Mexican ports of call back into focus along with the broader issue of cruise passenger safety in general.
The body of Monika Markiewicz a musician on Royal Caribbean International's Allure of the Seas. 32, was recovered from the ocean off the southern part of the island ...Disney drops Tunisia from land and sea packages
Feb 6th, 2011 at 1:00PM:
Citing a "changing political environment" Disney Cruise Line as well as land tour operator Adventures by Disney is dropping Tunisia from all land and sea tours. They are just the latest of a growing number of cruise lines and tour operators to pull out of the troubled region.
"We continually evaluate our itineraries, and the decision to modify this itinerary was made in part due to the ...Oil prices and unrest in Egypt: Will they affect travel?
Feb 5th, 2011 at 1:00PM: Airlines and Cruise lines have been watching the price of oil for quite some time. Fuel surcharges are unpopular fees and neither wants to add them on again if they can possibly avoid it. Some say fuel surcharges are inevitable and quite possibly the least of our worries.
Cruise lines, almost universally, have a ceiling of between $70 and $90 a barrel for oil. If the price reaches that point, ...Evacuation of foreigners from Egypt: what you need to know
Jan 31st, 2011 at 11:45AM:
Rising threats of violence and political unrest in Egypt has prompted many foreign visitors and residents to plan evacuation plans. Our friends over at World Nomads have compiled a highly-useful guide to evacuation procedures for countries like the United States, Australia, Turkey and the UK.
US Citizens: The latest updates are on the State Department's website.
Air travel ticket ...
Airlines, Cruise Lines stay clear of chaotic Egypt
Jan 30th, 2011 at 11:30AM:
A number of airlines have canceled flights in and out of Egypt and cruise lines have canceled calls to ports as unrest grows.
Norwegian Cruise Lines and MSC Cruises, both with scheduled stops in in Alexandria, Egypt have canceled those calls, modifying itineraries. Delta Airlines, Lufthansa, Air France, Kuwait Airways and Egypt Air have altered flights or suspended service to the region ...Germany and Egypt fight over bust of Nefertiti: will Zahi Hawass's crusade ever end?
Jan 26th, 2011 at 9:00AM: You win some, you lose some.
Zahi Hawass is a man who is used to getting his way. The head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities has been fighting to repatriate stolen Egyptian artifacts for years, and more often than not he wins.
This time, though, he's suffered a setback. He's trying to get the Neues Museum in Berlin to return the famous bust of Nefertiti. He claims it was stolen by a ...Egypt changes stance: King Tut's tomb will stay open (for now)
Jan 22nd, 2011 at 12:00PM:
The famous tomb of King Tutankhamun in Egypt will remain open for the time being, the chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities Zahi Hawass announced.
While earlier this week he stated that it and two other tombs in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor would close by the end of the year, now he's saying that they'll close at some undetermined time in the future.
Egypt plans to build a ...Egypt to close Tutankhamun's tomb
Jan 19th, 2011 at 9:30AM:
The Valley of the Kings is one of the highlights of any trip to Egypt. In this hot, dusty ravine are some of the most remarkable tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs. Paintings adorn their walls, showing the soul's journey through the afterlife and the gods and goddesses described in the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Now the most popular of those tombs is going to close. Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt's ...
