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Backlash after new docudrama casts Cleopatra as a black woman

<p>When Netflix announced their docu-series on Queen Cleopatra VII, excitement was high among the cast and crew.</p> <p>As the series’ star, Adele James, put it “I don’t know if there are words powerful enough to express what I hope this will mean for young people all over the world who look like me (and who don’t!) who will now get to grow up seeing the greatest leader of all time (of the greatest ancient civilisation, no less!!) being portrayed by a black-mixed woman on one of the biggest streaming services in the world!!!!!”</p> <p>However, it wasn’t long before problems arose, with many voicing their opinion that Netflix was ‘blackwashing’ the show, and Egyptian experts weighing in to the mounting criticism. </p> <p>And now, those same people are taking steps towards making sure the show never gets the chance to hit screens in Egypt. The trailer alone, with over 2 million views on YouTube, does not allow comments in the wake of its backlash. </p> <p>The series, titled <em>African Queens: Queen Cleopatra</em>, marks 27-year-old biracial actress Adele James’ Netflix debut. It is also narrated and executive produced by Jade Pinkett Smith. </p> <p>And while Queen Cleopatra’s race has long been a subject of dispute, as Pinkett Smith confessed to Tudum, the decision to cast James was intended as “a nod to the centuries-long conversation about the ruler’s race. </p> <p>“During the time of her reign, Egypt’s population was multicultural and multiracial. Cleopatra’s race was unlikely to be documented, and the identities of her mother and paternal grandparents weren’t known. Some speculate she was a native Egyptian woman while others say she was Greek.”</p> <p>“I really wanted to represent Black women,” Pinkett Smith added. “We don’t often get to see or hear stories about Black queens, and that was really important for me.”</p> <p>The portrayal, however, has been dubbed “completely fake” by some experts. Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who believes the late queen was Greek and definitively “not black”, has accused streaming giant Netflix of “trying to provoke confusion by spreading false and deceptive facts that the origin of the Egyptian civilization is black”.</p> <p>As he told the <em>Al-Masry al-Youm</em> newspaper, “Cleopatra was Greek, meaning that she was light-skinned, not black.”</p> <p>Mahmoud al-Semary, a lawyer who is of the same opinion, went so far as to file a complaint with Egypt’s public prosecutor, demanding that Netflix be blocked in Egypt for their attempts to “promote the Afrocentric thinking … which includes slogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity.”</p> <p>And he wasn’t the only one to take action, with a petition circling online to “Cancel Netflix’s ‘Queen Cleopatra’”. And while a former petition calling for the same thing was removed by Change.org despite its 85,000 signatures, the second attempt has so far gathered over 4,000. </p> <p>Meanwhile, Egyptologist Sally-Ann Ashton - who acted as a consultant for Netflix during the series’ preparation phase - has noted that the belief Cleopatra should be depicted as entirely European is “strange”. </p> <p>“Cleopatra ruled in Egypt long before the Arab settlement in North Africa,” she explained. “If the maternal side of her family were indigenous women, they would’ve been African, and this should be reflected in contemporary representations of Cleopatra.”</p> <p>And as Adele James put it best - along with some all important advice - to the flood of criticism aimed at her, “if you don’t like the casting don’t watch the show. Or do &amp; engage in (expert) opinion different to yours. Either way, I’M GASSED and will continue to be!”</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

TV

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Archaeologists demand the British Museum return Rosetta Stone to Egypt

<p dir="ltr">More than 2,500 archaeologists have signed a petition for the British Museum to return the Rosetta Stone to Egypt. </p> <p dir="ltr">This effort, which was launched last month, has urged the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to officially request the object’s return, along with 16 other artefacts that were illegally and unethically removed from the country.</p> <p dir="ltr">Earlier this year, renowned Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass called for the return of the Rosetta Stone, and announced his plans to form the petition. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Previously it was the government alone asking for Egyptian artefacts,” Monica Hanna, an archaeologist who co-founded the current restitution campaign, told CBS News. “But today this is the people demanding their own culture back.” </p> <p dir="ltr">The Rosetta Stone, a 2,200-year-old granodiorite stele inscribed with hieroglyphs, Ancient Egyptian Demotic script, and Ancient Greek, was discovered in 1799 during a Napoleonic campaign in Egypt, in which Napoleon’s troops apparently stumbled upon the stone while building a fort near the town of Rashid, or Rosetta. </p> <p dir="ltr">It was then acquired by the British Museum in 1802 from France under a treaty signed during the Napoleonic Wars.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The confiscation of the Rosetta stone, among other artefacts, is an act of encroachment on Egyptian cultural property and identity, and is a direct result of cultural colonial violence against Egyptian cultural heritage,” states the petition. “The presence of these artefacts in the British Museum to this day supports past colonial endeavours of cultural violence.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“History cannot be changed,” the document continues, “but it can be corrected, and although the political, military, and governmental rule of the British Empire withdrew from Egypt years ago, cultural colonisation is not yet over.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The British Museum, however, maintains that there has never been a formal request by the Egyptian government for the stone’s return.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Art

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Artist robot Ai-Da detained in Egypt on suspicion of espionage

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A robot with a flair for the arts was detained at the Egyptian border for 10 days ahead of a major exhibition. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai-Da was set to present her artworks at the foot of the pyramids of Giza: the first ever art exhibition held in the historic area. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The show, titled </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Forever is Now</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, is an annual event organised by </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Art D’Égypte to support the art and culture scene in Egypt. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai-Da’s digitally created artworks, and her presence at the event, was set to be the highlight of the show. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, Egyptian officials grew concerned when she arrived as her eyes feature cameras and an internet modem. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Because of Ai-Da’s technology, officials at the Egyptian border grew concerned that she had been sent to the country as part of an espionage conspiracy. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/20/egypt-detains-artist-robot-ai-da-before-historic-pyramid-show"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Guardian</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, British officials had to work intensively to get Ai-Da out of detainment before the beginning of the art show, </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Egyptian officials offered to let Ai-Da free if she had some of her gadgetry removed, to which Aiden Meller, Ai-Da’s creator, refused. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They offered to remove her eyes as a security measure, but Aiden insisted that she uses her eyes to create her artwork. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She was eventually released, with her eyes intact, and the show went ahead as scheduled. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai-Da is able to make unique art thanks to specially designed technology developed by researchers at Oxford and Leeds University. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai-Da’s key algorithm converts images she captures with her camera-eyes and converts them to drawings. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The robot can also paint portraits, as her creators allowed her technology to analyse colours and techniques used by successful human artists. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Art

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Priceless find in Egyptian temple

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a historical set of artifacts at the Temple of Pharaohs of great cultural significance. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The temple, an ancient structure </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">about 95 kilometres east of Alexandria, was used to perform religious ceremonies approximately 2,700 years ago. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The artifacts found were reportedly used in such ceremonies, and will help give researchers more insight into the complicated history of the temple. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The find was announced by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and was hailed as an “important discovery”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mustafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, shared a statement about the discovery and how it will be important for the whole country. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Among the objects found were pieces of ivory carved to resemble women carrying objects; statues of Taweret, the goddess of motherhood known as the “Great One”; incense burners crafted from faience, a kind of glazed ceramic; a piece of gold sculpted to resemble the eye of Wadjet, the goddess of Lower Egypt; and a maternity chair. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Researchers believe the artifacts were involved in ceremonies honouring Hathor, the goddess of fertility. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Experts have been led to believe that the objects may have been stashed away beneath a stack of heavy stone blocks as the Persian Empire began its conquest of Egypt. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This conquest ultimately led to the collapse of the 26th Dynasty, the last native Egyptian dynasty to rule.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some objects are inscribed with the name of Psamtik I, who ruled as king of Egypt from 664 B.C.E. to 610 B.C.E, during the 26th Dynasty, as well as those of the kings Wahibre Ibiau, who ruled ca. 1670 B.C.E., during the 13th Dynasty, and Ahmose II, who died in 526 B.C.E. and is considered the last great king of the 26th Dynasty.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As well as the fertility artifacts, archeologists found a well that once contained holy water and was considered a sacred site. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities </span></em></p>

Art

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Egypt’s King Djoser tomb reopens

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">15 years after its closure, the ancient tomb of Egyptian King Djoser has reopened for public viewing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Also known as the “Southern Tomb”, the predominantly underground structure is filled with corridors embellished with hieroglyphic carvings and tiles.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After closing in 2006 due to risks of collapses, the tomb has since undergone $8.2 million worth of renovations.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Fifteen years ago nobody could go down to the tomb because of collapses,” Ashraf Owais, director of Saqqara Monument Restoration, said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since 2006, the tomb has had its corridors reinforced, lighting installed, and had its carvings and tiled walls refurbished.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mustafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt described the newly-renovated site, including its opulent contents.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“After descending the deep stairs and reaching the burial pit, one finds a coffin that is considered one of the largest made with pink granite stone, composed of 16 pink granite blocks with a total weight of 120 tons,” he said.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Exclusive: Completion of the Restoration Project of King Djoser Southern Tomb in Saqqara <a href="https://t.co/YfmKVe5YXj">https://t.co/YfmKVe5YXj</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/egypt?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#egypt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Egyptology?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Egyptology</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Archaeology?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Archaeology</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sakkara?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Sakkara</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/indyfromspace?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@indyfromspace</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/yukinegy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@yukinegy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ARCENational?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ARCENational</a> <a href="https://t.co/nronuKppZl">pic.twitter.com/nronuKppZl</a></p> — Luxor Times (@luxortimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/luxortimes/status/1437495561230422020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though the Southern Tomb belongs to Djoser, his body is actually stored in the nearby Step Pyramid, the world’s oldest pyramid.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both structures are found in the Saqqara village, which is one of Egypt’s richest archeological sites and home to the world’s oldest brewery.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The renovations of both the Southern Tomb and the Step Pyramid come as the country works to revive its tourism industry, which has been severely affected by the pandemic and protests in 2011.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: dr_mostafa_waziry / Instagram, Getty</span></em></p>

International Travel

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Lost 3000-year-old city rediscovered

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In one of the most important archaeological finds since 1922, a 3,000-year-old “lost city” has been discovered by Egyptian archaeologists in present-day Luxor.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to prominent archeologist Zahi Hawass, who led the expedition, the newly-found city dates back to the era of king Amenhotep III, who ruled from 1391 to 1353 BC.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it,” Hawass said in an online statement.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The Egyptian expedition was surprised to discover the largest city ever found in Egypt,” the 74-year-old added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The excavation started in September 2020 and within weeks, to the team’s great surprise, formations of mud bricks began to appear in all directions.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“What they unearthed was the site of a large city in good condition of preservation, with almost complete walls, and rooms filled with tools of daily life.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to Hawass, the city was the largest administrative and industrial settlement at the time on the western bank of Luxor, in southern Egypt.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The team also found rings, scarabs, coloured pottery vessels, and mud bricks bearing the seal of king Amenhotep III’s cartouche which help confirm the dating of the city.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archaeological find since the tomb of Tutankhamun,” said Betsy Bryan, a professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University in the US.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Dr Zahi Hawass / Instagram</span></em></p>

International Travel

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Surprising holiday photos that can land you in trouble

<p>On holidays people tend to take photos of everything that they see, from old rustic buildings and narrow streets, to food at a restaurant and the view of city lights. But there are some photos in particular that can get you in trouble with the law.</p> <p>A British tourist in Egypt was arrested over mobile phone footage of the airport which happened to capture a military helicopter in the background.</p> <p>Muhammed Fathi Abulkasem, 19, from Manchester was arrested and charged with collecting intelligence on the Egyptian military, reported the Associated Press.</p> <p>The teenager innocently filmed the landing of his flight, which showed a helicopter in the background. Taking unauthorised photos or videos of military facilities, equipment or personnel is illegal in Egypt.</p> <p>“We all have one of those landing videos on our phones,” his cousin Shareen Nawaz from the UK told AP.</p> <p>“They shouldn’t have military helicopters in public spaces if this is what will happen.”</p> <p>Many countries have outlawed the photographing or filming of military related materials, equipment and personnel. The strictness of these laws are related to the country’s level of secrecy.</p> <p>More seemingly innocent photographs can also land tourists in hot water from places of worship, airports, museums and galleries, bridges, tunnels and railway stations – and even shopping centres and buildings.</p> <p>These all seem like normal things a tourist would capture on camera – but taking snaps of these places could be illegal without you even knowing it.</p> <p>The most surprising things people can’t take pictures of include some of the most famous photographs in the world, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris at night.</p> <p>The reason being, under European copyright law, works are protected for the lifetime of the artist, plus an additional 70 years. The tower’s designer, Gustave Eiffel, died in 1923 and the building entered the public domain 10 years later.</p> <p>Although the lights weren’t installed until 1985 by Pierre Bideau and are an artwork, they are still protected under European copyright law.</p> <p>Therefore, taking photos of the Eiffel Tower with the lights off isn’t breaking the law, although at night when the lights are flashing and dazzling over the city, it could get you in trouble with the law.</p> <p>Tokyo’s most famous night bar location in Golden Gai in the centre of the Shinjuku district is an iconic spot jam-packed with around 200 miniature bars with a labyrinth of really narrow alleys winding through the block.</p> <p>Signs throughout the district warn tourists of the banning of photographs.</p> <p>The Sistine Chapel in Rome also forbids photographs, although not for the reasons you may assume. The Sistine Chapel contains the famous artworks of Michelangelo and Cosimo Rosselli.</p> <p>People assume the reason is that the flash could damage the artwork, and although it is a concern for the longevity of the priceless art, that’s not the primary reason.</p> <p>A Japanese TV company owns the exclusive rights to these famous artworks. It attained these rights when they helped fund a major restoration project. The TV corporation offered US$4.2 million to spend on restoration in exchange for the exclusive rights to photograph and film the restored art. The company produced many documentaries and art books from the deal.</p> <p>The photo ban extends from buildings, artwork and iconic landmarks to animals. In particular, Chinese pandas. This ban comes after tourists have attempted to get dangerously close to the endangered creatures.</p> <p>In an attempt to maintain safety for tourists and the pandas, animal groups encouraged the ban.</p> <p>The tightly controlled and regulated country of North Korea consists of many photography bans, which extend to almost everything.</p> <p>Getty Images photographer Carl Court spent a week in the country documenting people’s daily life. Court explained the things he was an wasn’t allowed to photograph.</p> <p>The biggest rule for his photos included having to capture only full-frame images of Kim II-sung and Kim Jong-il statues and iconography.</p> <p>“You can’t crop the feet off the statues. You can’t cut a bit of the corner off,” Court said.</p> <p>Tourists are only allowed to enter the country if they are with a state-approved travel group that closely monitors where they go and what they see.</p> <p>Electronics and mobile phones may be searched by Korean authorities at any time.</p>

Travel Trouble

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Why you MUST visit the Nile in Egypt

<p>Are you ready for an adventure like no other? Could the Nile be the alluring getaway you have been waiting for? A river that stretches through 11 countries might just be the trip of a life time you have been waiting for.</p> <p>For many who travel down the Nile, it is a life source – giving water, fertile land and a means of transport through 11 countries.</p> <p>For others, it is the destination of a lifetime and a connection to the past for its rich culture and mysterious antiquity that has and continues to gravitate historians, archaeologists and tourists alike.</p> <p>Travel expert Catriona Rowntree has travelled the world for over 23 years, exploring the sights each place has to offer and seeing the world through the lens as host of <em>Getaway</em>.</p> <p>In the hundreds of trips and countless journeys she has experienced, Rowntree has decided to share her favourite trips by water.</p> <p>Here’s why, according to <em>The World of Cruising</em>, you should travel to Egypt and the Nile.</p> <p><strong>There are views everywhere you turn </strong></p> <p>One of the best parts about taking a scenic trip ashore down the mystique river of the Nile means everywhere you turn is a picture-perfect postcard view.</p> <p>It’s not just a home that is overwhelmingly reminiscent of your History textbook – it is the place where temples have risen and fallen, where tributes in honour of pharaohs have been carven from the lands soil.</p> <p>Rowntree wrote: “But the river itself … glorious! You won’t take a bad photo. The light is exquisite. Little children in tiny feluccas, sliding up next to your boat to sing for you or ask you to buy belly-dancer costumes.</p> <p>“The difference with this tour is that the devil is in the detail. It’s not the castle in the distance, or the rising vineyards snaking up the castle in the distance…</p> <p>“But it is the lone fisherman by the river’s edge, the elegant birdlife, the animals gently roaming in and out of the water…”</p> <p><strong>It’s a historical treasure </strong></p> <p>Without the serene waterway that is the Nile, there would be almost little to no ways to access the antiquities of Egyptian life there is on offer today, nor any way to see them.</p> <p>The Nile is not just a life source nor a large and magical chunk of history to hook your talons into – it is a basin that covers more than 10 per cent of Africa and spreads through 11 countries and holds an otherworldly connection to locals that has existed for over thousands of years.</p> <p>Being able to undergo a journey like a cruise along the Nile is stepping into a part of the Egyptian way of life.</p> <p>The historical river hosts connections to temples centuries old and heirlooms virtually untouched. It’s an easy glide from the waterway to marvels that rest on the banks of the river plains, including the Kom Ombo Temple and finally Aswan for the unfinished obelisk, Qena and Hathor’s Temple at Dendera, Luxor Temple, the Temple of Horus at Edfua, a felucca cruise to a Nubian village, and the Osiris temple complex at Philae, raised from the floods.<br /> </p> <p><strong>The ports are magical </strong></p> <p>From the banks of the Nile in Cairo to the tomb of Tutankhamun and the Valley of the Kings, cruisers will get the opportunity to explore it all at each of the handy ports created to take you as close to the wonders of Egypt as possible.</p> <p>Tour the Egyptian Museum which hosts the world’s largest collection of pharaonic antiquities and experience the significant artefacts that have stood the test of time. However, if you’re interested, you better get in fast! Queues start early.</p> <p>Luxor is another key port and is the home of the Temple of Karnak and the Valley of the Kings and Queens. Just a short trip from the main part of the city lies a little piece of earth you will never quite see ever again, with over 100 rooms to find yourself in and 63 tombs to see for yourself.</p> <p>The city of Luxor also features the Mummification Museum, giving you a whole new understanding of the age-old culture that enamours Egypt and gives insight just as to why it’s considered “the cradle of civilisation”.</p> <p>“Luxor, for me, is where that reputation all fell into place,” Rowntree writes.</p> <p><strong>Whether you’re a solo traveller or a big family – Egypt is a getaway for all</strong></p> <p>Both a wonderful holiday for both single travellers looking to explore the world of Egypt alone and families ready to take it all on together – cruises on the Nile cater to everyone.</p> <p>Would you like to take a scenic tour along the mystical Nile river? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

Cruising

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Sailing the Nile by dahabieh

<p>No trip to Egypt is complete without a cruise, and in the months of planning preceding our visit, we decided to avoid the big liners and instead take a more traditional dahabieh.</p> <p>Dahabiehs are smaller boats, powered by two sails and able to dock at small off-the beaten-track places that big liners can't.</p> <p><strong>One day on the Nile</strong></p> <p>The top deck of our dahabieh catches the early morning breeze. It's the perfect place to take in the changing views as we move slowly upstream.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36499/in-text-1_497x280.jpg" alt="In Text 1 (6)"/></p> <p>In the distance fishermen throw out nets. Small villages with traditional mud brick homes dot banks. Water buffalos wade in water beside fields where sugarcane is harvested.</p> <p>One small boy pulls a heavily laden and stubbornly resistant camel. I'm not sure who's going to win, but as we pass there's little evidence of progress.</p> <p>A little further upstream, date palms line the bank with reeds dominating the marshy foreshore. The water is blue and beautiful.</p> <p>We have Nile fish for lunch that's been bought from a passing village. As we eat we see more fields, lush with green plantings of corn, sesame, figs, pistachios, bananas, mangos and onions.</p> <p>Occasionally we spot birds, sometimes against the sky, sometimes on branches among marshes.</p> <p>Ten year old Nona and her Belgian family joined us just yesterday and she has a book called Birds of Egypt which we all rush to and consult whenever we glimpse something interesting. She's very rapidly becoming our resident ornithologist. So far we've identified, egrets, hoopoes, lapwings and kingfishers. I'm sure there'll be more.</p> <p>After lunch we dock at a small village and walk to El Kab. Before we even land we're besieged by a running, shouting mob of children, holding up small woven dishes. They've been made by village women, who have then sent these small emissaries to sell them.</p> <p>As we walk through the village I stop to look at one girl's small paper plaited plates liking their blue and green colours. But I have no money with me, and so have to shake my head and walk on. I glance back and see her eyes full of tears.</p> <p>At the day's end I sit on the small balcony that our cabin opens onto at the stern of the boat.</p> <p>We've moored for the evening and a village track parallel to the shore feels so close I could almost reach out and touch it.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/36500/in-text-2_497x280.jpg" alt="In Text 2 (5)"/></p> <p>Two boys pass on a donkey. They see me with my camera and stop and laugh. I had no idea I was so funny, but it makes for a good photo. And in stark contrast to the day's earlier experience, I'm glad to see children being children.</p> <p>Light dims and evening draws in. As the sun sets the call to prayer resounds through fields that are now empty. But here on the Nile, life never stops.</p> <p><strong>Getting there</strong> Air New Zealand flies into Cairo and then we used Air Egypt for our internal flight down to Luxor, the departure point for our cruise.</p> <p><strong>Sailing there</strong> We sailed in a small traditional dahabieh. See <a href="http://lazulinil.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>l</strong><strong>azulinil.com</strong></span></a></p> <p><strong>Seeing there</strong> Life passes before your eyes as you sail. There are also daily stops at small villages and temples, such as the Temple of Horus at Edfu. We also docked at places inaccessible to larger liners, such as the ancient stone quarry of Djebel Silsila.</p> <p><em>Written by Marjory Woodfield. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>. Image credit: Marjory Woodfield via Stuff.co.nz. </em></p>

Cruising

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Cruising through antiquity on the Nile without the crowd

<p>On the top deck of the cruise ship River Tosca, the swimming pool was cool and inviting in the afternoon heat. Below, the fabled Nile River was wide and blue and calm. Palm trees dotted the shoreline where farm animals grazed.</p> <p>And I had the deck of the 72-metre ship all to myself.</p> <p>That's emblematic of cruising the Nile in a time when Egypt's tourist industry has been decimated by fears that the turmoil of 2011's Arab Spring lingers. The ship, designed to carry 82, had only 16 passengers for a week's journey in late February. We enjoyed hand-and-foot service and had no crowds to fight as we strolled through some of the most famous and spectacular remains of the land of pharaohs.</p> <p>Beth Misakonis and her husband, Leo, retired information technology professionals from the US, decided 2016 was the year for them to rebook their Egyptian cruise that was cancelled during the Arab Spring protests. Friends and relatives urged them not to go. But Beth noted that mass shootings happen in the US. "I think there are risks anywhere and everywhere," she said. Added Leo, "It's always been on our bucket list."</p> <p>A river cruise isn't always the best way to see a country's highlights, but it works perfectly for Egypt. The Nile's valley is Egypt's heartland and breadbasket, and the river itself is the main highway of Egyptian history, from Cairo in the north to Luxor, Aswan and Abu Simbel in the south. It's a tour where your clean, cool, spacious hotel room follows you from place to place, with no luggage to haul.</p> <p>Today's Egypt seemed a calm enough place when we visited. The country's military-led regime overthrew an elected Islamist government in 2013 and has since cracked down brutally on all forms of dissent, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the main Islamic social-political movement.</p> <p>Our small group with Uniworld river cruise line - all but two of us Americans - was often discreetly accompanied by armed guards. Whether that made us feel safer is up for debate, but no one in the group seemed concerned about our security, except perhaps when approached by locals desperate to sell us souvenirs. That wasn't always pleasant, but given the tourism decline it's easy to understand. A firm "la shukran" (no thank you) was usually enough to turn them away.</p> <p>The itinerary began and ended in Cairo, where the Four Seasons Hotel was our refuge in the sprawling, chaotic, dusty metropolis. We spent a full day at the beginning of the tour, and another at the end, in Cairo, at the same hotel. On the first day we saw the Egyptian Museum and Tahrir Square; on the last, we visited the pyramids.</p> <p>After an hour's flight south from Cairo we embarked on the River Tosca at Luxor, site of the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes. Many of the great sites of Egyptian antiquity are within a short bus ride of Luxor, including the temples of Karnak and Luxor, with their rows of massive columns. Only a bit farther away, on the Nile's west bank, lies the Valley of the Kings, burial place of Egyptian rulers over five centuries. The tombs showcase chambers with well-preserved paintings and hieroglyphics.</p> <p>From Luxor we sailed to Aswan, a little more than 161 kilometres south. We took a ride in a felucca, one of the nimble boats with triangular sails that have plied the river for centuries. On the way to visit a Nubian village, we stopped at a small sandy beach, where I walked down a plank lodged against the boat and waded into the cool, clear waters of the Nile.</p> <p>In British colonial times, Aswan's Old Cataract Hotel (cataract is an old-fashioned term for waterfall) was a favourite stop for tourists, including Agatha Christie, who wrote Death on the Nile there. We dropped in for high tea and a tour before returning to the ship.</p> <p>These days, Aswan is the southern terminus of Nile cruising - the Aswan High Dam, built with Soviet aid in the mid-20th century, cuts off river traffic there. Aswan is also the jumping-off point for what might be Egypt's most spectacular ancient site. And no, I don't mean the pyramids. A short flight south took us to Abu Simbel, the cliff-side temple complex built by the pharaoh Ramses II nearly 3300 years ago.</p> <p>Eighteen-metre-high statues of Ramses guard intimate temple chambers carved from solid rock. Even more amazing is the temple's recent history. When the construction of the high dam threatened to submerge the temple beneath Lake Nasser, the whole complex was carved into pieces and reassembled nearby on higher ground, grafted onto artificial cliffs custom-built to hold it. It's an engineering feat to rival anything the pharaohs accomplished.</p> <p>But the trip's most memorable moment didn't involve a temple, tomb or pyramid. On the last full day of the cruise, in late afternoon, my husband and I took a bottle of Egyptian red wine up to the top deck. We had the space to ourselves. The setting sun painted the western sky pink and blue behind streaks of clouds as we cruised north toward Luxor. Red, sandstone cliffs rose in the distance. A light breeze took the edge off the fading heat of the day. The only sound was the thrum of the ship's engines.</p> <p>We sipped our wine, read and watched the riverbank panorama for at least an hour, perhaps two. Then, from the direction of the rising moon, the Muslim call to evening prayer sounded, first from one brightly lit minaret in a riverside town, then another, and finally a chorus of rhythmic, fervent chanting.</p> <p>It was a sound that had been heard at this time of day, in this place for more than a millennium. And the pharaohs of Egypt had journeyed down this stretch of river two millennia before that.</p> <p>Perhaps there was a pretty sunset and a gentle breeze for their cruise, too.</p> <p><em>Written by Terri Colby. First appeared on <a href="http://Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/travel/international/2016/08/my-first-ever-solo-trip-since-my-husband-passed-away/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>My first ever solo trip since my husband passed away</strong></span></em></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/07/5-of-the-longest-rivers-in-the-world-to-cruise/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>5 of the longest rivers in the world to cruise</em></strong></span></a></p> <p><a href="/travel/travel-tips/2016/08/5-more-international-cities-you-should-never-visit-alone/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 more international cities you should never visit alone</strong></em></span></a></p>

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Rare colour photos from Tutankhamun’s tomb

<p>A museum in New York has released an exhibition, showcasing restored colour images of the moment archaeologist’s happened upon Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt.</p> <p>Tutankhamun was the boy king who ruled Egypt from about 1332 to 1323 BC. The detailed images capture the sense of wonder that must’ve been felt by archaeologist Howard Carter and his crew in 1922, when they made the miraculous discovery (at a previously abandoned dig site!).</p> <p>The exhibition features over 1,000 exhibits, including meticulously re-crafted replicas as well as an abundance of Egyptian artefacts. The photographs themselves however are worth the price of admission alone, and the re-colourising process really brings the sense of mystery and wonder to life.</p> <p>The Metropolitan Museum sent to photographer Harry Burton  to document the startling discovery. Work was difficult, and Burton had to trek to the discovery site with an enormous camera and cumbersome negative plates to get the shots.</p> <p>Scroll down to see some of the images from Tutankhamun’s tomb.</p> <p><img width="449" height="758" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10668/king-tut-tomb-one_449x758.jpg" alt="King Tut Tomb One"/></p> <p><img width="450" height="760" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10669/king-tut-tomb-two.jpg" alt="King Tut Tomb Two"/></p> <p><img width="450" height="760" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10670/king-tut-tomb-three.jpg" alt="King Tut Tomb Three"/></p> <p><img width="450" height="760" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10671/king-tut-tomb-four.jpg" alt="King Tut Tomb Four"/></p> <p><img width="450" height="760" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/10672/king-tut-tomb-five.jpg" alt="King Tut Tomb Five"/></p> <p><em>Image credit: King Tut NYC</em></p>

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