[mappress mapid="21"] Construction Construction of the temple complex started in approximately 1244 BC and lasted for about 20 years, until 1224 BC. Known as the ”Temple of Ramesses, beloved by Amun”, it was one of six rock temples erected in Nubia during the long reign of Ramesses II. Their purpose was to impress Egypt’s southern neighbors, and also to reinforce the status ...more

Marsa Alam is a town in south-eastern Egypt, on the west coast of the Red Sea. It is currently seeing increasing popularity as a tourist destination and development including the opening of Marsa Alam Airportin 2001. Marsa Alam is situated near the Tropic of Cancer where the Arabian Desert meets the Red Sea, and it has the appearance of a tropical paradise with its palm trees, mangroves and sea coasts ...more

[mappress mapid="4"] El Alamein has a war museum with collectibles from “the civil war” and other North African battles. Visitors can also go to the Italian and German Military Cemetery on Tel el-Eisa Hill just outside the town. The German cemetery is an ossuary with the remains of 4,200 German soldiers, built in the style of a medievalfortress. The Italian cemetery is a mausoleum containing many galleries ...more

[mappress mapid="5"] History Although the oasis is known to have been settled since at least the 10th millennium BC, the earliest evidence of connection with ancient Egypt is the 26th Dynasty, when a necropolis was established. The ancient Egyptian name of Siwa was Sekht-am “Palm Land”. Greek settlers at Cyrene made contact with the oasis around the same time (7th century BC), and the oracle temple of Amun (Greek Zeus Ammon, ...more

[mappress mapid="6"] Known colloquially as the inner oasis, is one of the seven oases of Egypt’s Western Desert (part of theLibyan Desert). Dakhla Oasis lies in the New Valley Governorate, 350 km from the Nile and between the oases of Farafra and Kharga. It measures approximately 80 km (50 mi) from east to west and 25 km (16 mi) from north to south.   History Prehistory The human history of this oasis started during the Pleistocene, when nomadiccolor: ...more

[mappress mapid="7"] El-Kharga, also known as Al-Kharijah,  is the southernmost of Egypt’s five western oases. It is located in the Libyan Desert, about 200 km to the west of the Nile valley, and is some 150 km long. It is located in and is the capital of El Wadi el Gedid governorate.  This oasis, which was known as the ‘Southern Oasis’ to the Ancient Egyptians is the largest ...more

[mappress mapid="8"] Farafra has an estimated 5,000 inhabitants (2002) living within its single village and is mostly inhabited by the local Bedouins. Parts of the village has complete quarters of traditional architecture, simple, smooth, unadorned, all in mud colour. Local pride has also secured endeavours to secure local culture. Also located near Farafra are the hot springs at Bir Setta and the El-Mufid lake. A main geographic ...more

[mappress mapid="9"] When the Mediterranean Sea was a hot dry hollow near the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the late Miocene, Faiyum was a dry hollow, and the Nile flowed past it at the bottom of a canyon (which was 8000 feet deep or more (where Cairo is today). After the Mediterranean reflooded at the end of theMiocene, the Nile canyon became an arm of the sea reaching inland further than Aswan. Over ...more

[mappress mapid="12"]Bahariya consists of many villages of which Bawiti is the largest and the administrative center. Qasr is Bawiti’s neighboring/twin village. To the east, about ten kilometers away are the villages of Mandishah and el Zabu. A smaller village called Aguz lies between Bawiti and Mandishah. Harrah, the eastern most village, is a few kilometers east of Mandishah and el ...more

[mappress mapid="11"] Early Beginnings During Predynastic Period During the Predynastic Period (before 3100 BC), the area encompassing modern day Minya and its surrounding lands formed the 16th nome (district). It remained an autonomous city-state until the rulerMenes unified Egypt around 3,200 BC. At the time of its unification, Egypt was divided into 42 nomes. The 16th nome was also called the Oryx nome, probably due to the prevalence of ...more