El Fayoum Oasis – Sightseeing of El Fayoum

El Fayoum Oasis is Located 100 kilometers southwest of Cairo. It is famous for its biodiversity and scenic destinations. Also, it distinguishes with containing various types of tourism as Archaeological, tourist, rural, recreational, and environmental.

In El Fayoum, you will be able to enjoy visiting historical and archaeological buildings, the waterfalls and the natural beauty, natural reserves, doing sandboarding and Safari, and entertaining doing activities.

The name of El Fayoum Oasis  In the Pharaonic period, this place was called (pa yam), meaning (the sea), referring to the sea existing in that place. In the Greco-Roman period, this word became (pa yum). Then in the Coptic period, it was changed to be (fa yum). Finally, after the Arabs entered Egypt, they added (El) to be El Fayoum.

The history of El Fayoum Oasis  El Fayoum has a great position throughout history, but its golden age was during the middle kingdom in the 12th dynasty as it became the capital of ancient Egypt under the name (Itjtawy). Besides, it was the center of worshipping the god Sobek, taking the crocodile shape.

Kings of the 12th dynasty set up many reform projects in El Fayoum as reclamation of lands, construction of dams, and the cultivation of many crops.

It also had a great history during the Greco-Roman period as it was famous with Fayoum Portraits.

Fayoum Portraits - Egypt Vacation Tours
Fayoum Portraits 

Sightseeing of El Fayoum Oasis  As we said, El Fayoum Oasis distinguishes by containing various types of tourism. So let’s go on a tour to know more about these sightseeing:

1 – Lahun Pyramid: It belongs to King Senusret II of the 12th dynasty. It was built of mud bricks and coated with limestone.

2 – Hawara Pyramid:It belongs to King Amenemhet III of the 12th dynasty. It AKA the Black Pyramid due to using black mud bricks in its construction.

3 – The Valley of the Whales or Wadi El- Hitan: It is considered as one of the Egyptian heritage sites by UNESCO in 2005. Wadi Al-Hitan is famous for containing fossil remains Archaeoceti, mapping the evolution of the whales from a land-based to an aquatic mammal.

Wadi El- Hitan - Egypt Vacation Tours
Wadi El- Hitan

4 – Wadi El-Rayan

5 – Lake Qarun

6 – Qasr Qarun or Qarun Palace

7 – Karanis City

8 – Tunis Village

9 – Gabal El-Medawara and the magic lake

El Fayoum Oasis is really worth to visit. Discover it with Egypt Vacation Tours team by submitting our day tours and packages.

Tuna El-Gebel in Al Minya Governorate

Tuna El-Gebel Necropolis is an important historical site in Al Minya Governorate. The ancient Egyptians considered it the center of worshiping the god Thoth or Djhuty, the god of wisdom and knowledge in ancient Egyptian civilization.

Let’s have a tour in Tuna El-Gebel Necropolis in Al Minya Governorate Firstly, you should know about the history of this city. It is believed that the first use of it was during King Akhenaten’s period, when he transferred the main capital of ancient Egypt from Thebes to Akhetaten, near Tuna El-Gebel. The evidence for that they found a boundary stele depicting King Akhenaten with his wife Nefertiti and his daughters worshipping the god Aten.

Stela of king Akhenaten- Egypt Vacation Tours
Stela of king Akhenaten

But the golden age of Tuna El-Gebel was during the Greco-Roman period, as it was the necropolis of Ashmonin city. It houses approximately 60 burial houses depicting the mixture that happened between ancient Egyptian art and Greco-Roman art.

  • Tomb of Isadora is one of these tombs. Isadora has a dramatic story as she is called the first martyr of love due to her drowning in the Nile River while crossing to meet her fiancé. Her father lamented her with a poem. You can find it in the tomb.

    Tuna El-Gebel - Egypt Vacation Tours
    Tomb of Isadora

  • Tomb of Petosiris is another tomb belonging to the high priest of the god Thoth during the Ptolemaic period. What is impressive about this tomb is it was designed as a temple. You should visit it.

    Tomb of Petosiris - Egypt Vacation Tours 1
    Tomb of Petosiris

  • The third attraction in Tuna El-Gebel is the Catacombs of Ibis. As we said, Tuna El-Gebel was the center of worshiping the god Thoth, so it contains catacombs to bury its sacred animals like baboons and ibises.

Kindly submit the Egypt Vacation Tours day tours to enjoy discovering this unique necropolis with our experts.

Al-Alamein City in Marsa Matrouh – the World War II

Al-Alamein city is located on the west of Alexandria in Marsa Matrouh governorate. It has a great history, especially during World War II making it an important attraction for many people around the world.

Let’s learn about the history of that city The most ancient monuments in Al-Alamein City dates back to the Greco-Roman period.

But the glory of Al-Alamein City was during World War II as two battles occurred there. These battles were a milestone in Egyptian history. 

These two battles occurred between Britain against Axis troops (Germany and Italy). The first one was from August 31 to September 7, 1942, while the second was from October 23 to November 4, 1942. The British Army got the victory in both wars.

    In Al-Alamein City in Marsa Matrouh, you can visit:
  • Al-Alamein Museum displays the two battles of Al-Alamein city through some photos, maps, and some of the weapons used in these wars by troops. 
  • The Commonwealth cemeteries are for burying the soldiers from many countries who were killed during the two battles of Al-Alamein City. It is good to mention that there are other Commonwealth cemeteries in Egypt in Salah Salem in Nasr City.
The Commonwealth Cemetery - Egypt Vacation Tours
The Commonwealth Cemetery

Kindly submit on the Al-Alamein City day tour. You may find the name of one of your family members among the soldiers in Commonwealth cemeteries. 

Egypt Vacation Tours team is seeking to please you.

Giza Necropolis – Historical Site

Giza Necropolis is located on the west bank of the Nile River, where the west bank is dedicated to burying the dead people according to the ancient Egyptian beliefs.

Giza Necropolis or Giza Pyramid Complex contains nine royal pyramids of the fourth dynasty, old kingdom as the great pyramid of King Khufu, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure. Besides, the Great Sphinx, the guard of the royal cemetery.

1 – Khufu Pyramid or Cheops Pyramid Although this pyramid did not fulfill its purpose, which was the protection of the king’s corpse, it immortalized his name throughout history. Khufu pyramid was listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World by Antipater of Sidon, because of the genius of ancient Egyptians in both engineering and design fields that appears in its construction. It is the oldest of the Ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.

The burial chamber was placed in the middle of the pyramid, housing the sarcophagus of the king. The burial chamber is topped up with five relieving chambers for relieving pressure on the burial chamber.

Khufu’s pyramid complex consists of a valley temple, now buried beneath the village of Nazlet el-Samman. Then the valley temple was connected to a causeway leading to the mortuary temple.

The establishment of this pyramid took 20 years, but the whole complex took 30 years.

2 – Khafre Pyramid or Chephren Pyramid The complex of King Khafre is considered the most complete complex in Giza Necropolis, as it contains the valley temple, the causeway, the mortuary temple, and the king’s pyramid. There are several statues of King Khafre were discovered in a well on the floor of the temple by Mariette in 1860.

3 – Menkaure Pyramid or Mykerinos Pyramid The complex of King Menkaure contained the valley temple, the causeway, the mortuary temple, and the king’s pyramid. The pyramid is the only element that remains until now but without its limestone casing. There are several statues of King Menkaure that were discovered in the mortuary temple.

4 – The Great Sphinx of Giza Plateau The sphinx takes the shape of the human head and lion’s body. It is owned by king Khafre. It is the guard of the royal cemetery according to ancient Egyptian beliefs. The statues of the sphinx refer to the physical and mental power of the living king.

the Great Sphinx - Egypt Vacation Tours (2)
the Great Sphinx

5 – Solar Boat Museum In 1954, Kamal El Malakh discovered beside the pyramid of Khufu a wooden boat made from cedar.

The aim of this boat was transferring the corpse of the king from the east bank of the Nile River to his final destination on the west bank, the bank of the dead.

Solar Boat Museum - Egypt Vacation Tours
Solar Boat Museum

With Egypt Vacation Tours experts, discover Giza Necropolis and its sumptuous pyramids, and find out the greatness of the ancient Egyptians.

The Sun Festival of Abu Simbel Temple

Egypt Vacation Tours team is glad to present this article discussing the Sun Festival of Abu Simbel Temple for its agents.

Egypt, especially Aswan waits a unique phenomenon happening in Abu Simbel city twice yearly. It is the illumination of the sun on the Holy of Holies of the great Abu Simbel Temple.

Let me explain this phenomenon to you Nowadays, the sun illuminates the Holy of Holies of the great Abu Simbel Temple on February 22nd and October 22nd, but before the project of UNESCO for rescuing the Nubian monuments, the sun illuminated the temple on February 21nd and October 21nd. 

What improving the ancient Egyptians genius is that the chamber of the Holy of Holies contains four statues, but the sun illuminates only three statues (Amun, Re-Harakty, and Ramesses II statue) except the statue of Ptah, the god of darkness in ancient Egyptian myths. Additionally, this phenomenon occurs on the same date every year. 

This phenomenon takes 20 minutes during the sunrise. 

Says about this phenomenon   There are opinions say that the ancient Egyptians chose the days of the phenomenon, occurring precisely and on purpose:

  • There is an opinion says that this date refers to the beginning of the sowing and harvest seasons.
  • But another opinion says that this date refers to the birth and coronation days of king Ramesses II

Whatever the case, this phenomenon refers to the ingenuity and mastery of the ancient Egyptians in both engineering and astronomy fields. 

Port Said City – A Coastal Destination

Port Said city is one of the most important cities in Egypt, after Cairo and Alexandria. It is a coastal city overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, It is considered the entrance of the Suez Canal from the north.

Let’s learn more about the history of Port Said City Port Said City was constructed after the foundation of the Suez Canal by Ferdinand De Lesseps to be the entrance to this canal In 1855, the international committee chose the name of Port Said to be the name of this new city, It is divided into two words. The first one is (Port) for referring to it as a coastal city, while the second word is (Said), who is Khedive Said, the ruler at that time.

Let’s take a tour of Port Said Port Said houses several attractions as its port, the second largest port in Egypt, the Suez Canal Authority Building, the Old Lighthouse, the Obelisk of Martyrs, and the Base of the Statue of De Lesseps.

  • The Old Lighthouse of Port Said was established by Khedive Ismail in 1869 to guide ships passing through the Suez Canal. This lighthouse is considered the oldest concrete lighthouse in the world.
    Lighthouse of Port Said - Egypt Vacation Tours
    Lighthouse of Port Said
  • Suez Canal Authority Building was founded in 1895, and it distinguishes with its unique Islamic architectural design. It is the first building built on the shores of Port Said city. It is used as the headquarters of the authority and the administration of the Suez Canal and monitoring the passage of ships from/into the Suez Canal.
  • The Obelisk of Martyrs is a memorial established in honor of the martyrs who were killed in the battles of the tripartite aggression during the Suez War.
  • The Base of the Statue of De Lesseps was built in 1899. Port Said revolutionaries removed the statue of De Lesseps from its base after their success in preventing French, British and Israeli armies from entering Egypt on December 23, 1956, so this day became the national celebration day of Port Said.

Egypt Vacation Tours team always seeking to please you Kindly submit on Port Said day tour and shore excursion tour to enjoy this amazing city.

Dendera Temple Complex – Hathor Temple

Dendera Temple Complex or Hathor Temple, the magnificent temple, is the best-preserved temple in Egypt. It lies on the west bank of the Nile River in Qena city, north of Luxor.

The history of Dendera Temple Dendera city houses a necropolis containing mastabas dating back to the Early Dynastic Period.

The remains of Dendera Temple dates back to the first dynasty, but the current one is back to the Greco-Roman period during the era of the Ptolemy Auletes.

This temple was dedicated to worshipping the goddess Hathour, the goddess of love, music, and maternity.

Let’s have a tour in Dendera Temple It was established on 40,000 square meters. You will enter from the gateway established during the Roman Emperor Domitian. Then you will move to the great hall decorated with columns holding the face of goddess Hathour. Finally, you will see the Holy of Holies, where the triad (the god Horus, the goddess Hathour, and their son Ihy), and astonished with its magnificent ceiling, decorated with stars.

Dendera Temple - Egypt Vacation Tours
Dendera Temple 

Here, you will find stairs leading to the roof, where several festivals occurred as the celebration of the New Year.

In Hathor Temple, you will be fascinated with its well-preserved inscriptions.

Dendera Temple Inscriptions - Egypt Vacation Tours
Dendera Temple Inscriptions

Also, it is famous with the zodiac of Dendera. It includes the twelve figures as the ram, the bull, the heavenly twins, the crab, the lion, the virgin, the scales, the scorpion, the archer, the goat, the watering pots, and fishes with glittering tails. A sketch was made of it during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt. In 1820 it was removed from the temple ceiling by French colonizers and replaced with a fake. The real one is now in the Louvre.

Dendera Zodiac- Egypt Vacation Tours
Dendera Zodiac

Additionally, the relief of the light Dendera. It is one of the ancient Egyptian secrets. Do you believe that the ancient Egyptians knew the lightbulb?

Dendera light - Egypt Vacation Tours
Dendera light

Enjoy the magic of Dendera Temple Complex with Egypt Vacation Tours experts, and discover the ancient Egyptians’ secrets.

Egyptian Monuments illuminate the World

The Egyptian monuments illuminate for the world. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Egyptian government launched the initiative that is the illumination of the Egyptian sightseeing as the great pyramid of Cheops in Giza plateau and Cairo Tower to send a message for the whole world. This message contains (Stay Home – Stay Save). This message aims to urge people to stay at their homes to reduce the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19 and protect themselves from it.

Also, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities did not forget to thank doctors and nurses in this message to express their appreciation to them. The message was (Thank you to those keeping safe) what referring that they are working hard for day and night in hospitals to treat patients and sacrifice their lives for us.

It is a pleasure for Egypt Vacation Tours team to join in this initiative (Egyptian monuments illuminate for the world) by providing several articles about the historical sites and sightseeing of Egypt. We hope to be safe.

Additionally, launching another initiative under the slogan (Experience Egypt from Home. Stay Home. Stay Safe). In this initiative, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities collaborated with scientific and archaeological institutes to create virtual reality tours for several attractions in Egypt.

1 – The Tomb of Menna

2 – The tomb of Queen Meresankh III

3 – The Red Monastery

4 – the Mosque, Madrassa (School) and Khanqa of Sultan Barquq

5 – Ben Ezra Synagogue

6 – Beni Hasan Necropolis

7 – The Catacombs of Alexandria

8 – The tomb of Ramses VI

9 – The Coptic Museum

10 – The Zoological Museum 

Dakhla Oasis – The Western Desert

Dakhla Oasis in the Western Desert is one of the seven Egyptian oases. It is located in the New Valley Governorate, between Farafra and Kharga Oases. It is famous for housing beautiful verdant gardens of dates and olives.

The history of Dakhla Oasis 1 – Dakhla Oasis has a great history. Some specialists think that during Prehistory, nomadic hunter-gatherers began to settle almost permanently in Dakhleh oasis in the period of the Holocene.

2 – During the Pharaonic period, it did not have a great position.

3 – During the Roman period, there is a monastery is called Deir el-Hagar or Monastery of Stone in the English language. This monastery was established by the Roman Emperor Nero and was dedicated to the Theban triad (Amun-Ra – Mut-Khonsu).

Deir el-Hagar - Egypt Vacation Tours

4 – During the 12th century, the Qasr ad-Dachla was built. It is a fortified Islamic town housing Ottoman and Mamluk buildings founded by mud brick.

Qasr ad-Dachla - Egypt Vacation Tours

Enjoy discovering this fabulous oasis with Egypt Vacation Tours team by submitting on our day tours and packages to the Western Desert.

Abydos Temple – Temple of Seti I

Abydos Temple lies in Sohag Governorate, north of Luxor. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt.

The history of Abydos City Abydos was one of the oldest cities of the ancient Egyptian civilization. It had a great position, as the ancient Egyptians thought that the god Osiris (the god of the dead and the underworld) was buried there. So it became a destination for pilgrims and kings of the 1st and 2nd dynasties who decided to found their tombs and temples in this holy city as king Narmer, the first king of a unified Egypt.

Let’s take a tour in Abydos Temple or Temple of King Seti I Firstly, you should know that this temple was constructed by King Seti I and completed by his son, the great king Ramesses II. You will note that the design of this temple taking the shape of “L” letter.

The façade takes the shape of a square-columned façade with 12 massive pillars. This façade leads to 7 chambers dedicated to 7 ancient Egyptian gods, who are Ptah, Ra Hor Akhty, Amun-Re, Osiris, Isis, Horus, and king Seti I as a god.

Abydos Temple - Egypt Vacation Tours 1
Abydos Temple

This temple distinguishes with its inscriptions, which depicted king Seti I and king Ramesses II giving offerings to many gods.

Abydos Temple Inscriptions - Egypt Vacation Tours 1

But what distinguishes this temple is containing Abydos King List, the complete list for the ancient Egyptian kings. This list is from the 19th dynasty. It is a chronological list showing 76 cartouches of most dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from Menes until Seti I.

Abydos King List- Egypt Vacation Tours
Abydos King List

Also, there is a mysterious relief showing a Helicopter. Do you think the ancient Egyptian knew Helicopters? Our experts will till you during your tour.

Helicopters - Egypt Vacation Tours
Helicopters

Enjoy Temple of Seti I with Egypt Vacation Tours experts, and discover the history ancient Egyptian kings.