| Travel Column |
 | Treasures in a Building & in a Bazaar�Egypt, Part 11
08/25/2010
The Egyptian Museum was founded by a Frenchman, Auguste Mariette, and first opened in 1863. It outgrew two buildings before settling in this one in 1902. More than 120,000 items of pharaonic antiquities are on display here with another 150,000 items rep
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 | A Few Egyptian Firsts� Egypt, Part 12
08/23/2010
This was to be our last day in Egypt, and our guide said he�d saved the best for last. We were off to visit the site of the oldest capital of ancient Egypt and then to its important necropolis nearby, considered one of the richest archaeological s
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 | The Pyramids of Giza & The Father of Terror Egypt, Part 10
08/02/2010
It was nearly 5,000 years ago when Giza, a suburb of Cairo, became the royal burial ground for Memphis, then the capital of Egypt (about 25 miles south of Cairo). In less than 100 years three pyramid complexes were constructed to serve as tombs for the k
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 | An 1869 Royal Hunting Lodge & a Camel Ride�Egypt, Part 9
07/26/2010
I don't know how all forty of us managed to be ready to leave the ship at 5:15 a.m. that morning, but no one was late-at least not late enough to cause a problem! Our flight was uneventful, except for the chorus of coughing-by now several on our tour wer
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 | A Temple Fit for a Goddess & Nubian Dancers�Egypt, Part 8
07/19/2010
The Temple of Isis, on the island of Philae, had been a place of pilgrimage for her cult worshippers for thousands of years (well into the Christian era). By Roman times, Isis had become the greatest of the Egyptian gods, worshipped throughout the Roman
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 | The Dramatic Temples of Abu Simbel �Egypt, Part 7
07/13/2010
Hewn out of a cliff, the Great Temple of Abu Simbel, and the smaller Temple of Hathor are overwhelmingly breathtaking! Though dedicated to the deities of Egypt�s great cities of the 13th century BC�Amun of Thebes, Ptah of Memphis, and Ra-Ha
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 | A Temple to Horus the Elder & Sobek + a Costume Party—Egypt, Par
07/06/2010
Kom Ombo is surrounded by fields of sugar cane and corn, and is home to many Nubians, who were displaced by the creation of Lake Nasser, when the High Dam was built at Aswan. We were scheduled to leave the ship for our tour of the Temple of Kom Ombo at 5
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 | Temples of a Ram-Headed God & a Falcon God�Egypt, Part 5
06/28/2010
Many took advantage of the swimming pool on the sun deck, as we cruised that afternoon. I wanted no more sun, as it was in the mid-90�s, but I enjoyed looking out the window of our room, as we moved along over the water, and had good views of vill
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 | The Valley of the Kings (& a Temple of a Queen, too)�Egyp
06/14/2010
The Valley of the Kings, a remote, barren area chosen for royal burials, is thought to have been selected for both symbolic and practical reasons. Because it is isolated, it was relatively easy to guard, and when seen from the plain, appears to be the sit
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 | The Red Sea & a Trek to Luxor, the Site of Ancient Thebes�
06/08/2010
The orientation meeting was held in a large banquet room and was for passengers of Gate 1�s two buses. We were seated at a table with Silver and Jackson who live in NYC; Alex and John who live in northern California, and Jessie and Ryan who live i
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