Our stay by Holly Macro

 The Old Cataract Hotel Aswan just could be our new favourite hotel! The hotel takes its name from the meeting of the river with the granite barrier which creates the first cataract of the Nile. It is beautifully located on the east bank of the Nile overlooking Elephantine Island, Aswan’s oldest settlement, and the ruins of a temple dedicated to Khnum, god of the Nile floods.  Sitting and imaging what the original temple looked like, while watching the swan-like feluccas sailing by, is absolute heaven!

 The hotel was originally built by Thomas Cook in 1899 to encourage tourism to Egypt.  The Victorian facade with its balconies and terraces conjures pictures of the aristocratic grand Tour period and the early 20^th Century retreat for the rich and famous, heads of state, archaeologists and explorers. The hotel was completely restored and reopened for business in 2011 (one of the Sofitel Legend hotels).  The renovation has been artfully done so that one can still imagine Howard Carter, who stayed here after discovering the tomb of Tutankhamen, Winston Churchill smoking a cigar in the bar, or Agatha Christie roaming the hotel and relaxing for high tea on the famous Terrace.  The hotel’s fame was revived in 1978 with the filming of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, starring Peter Ustinov.

Nile View from Old Cataract Hotel Terrace

There is a very large swimming pool (also overlooking the Nile) which was wonderfully warm when we visited in January.  There are three restaurants (Continental, French and Oriental), so lots of variety and the quality of the food and presentation was lovely.  The high tea, including scones and cream, served on the terrace is a meal in itself, so one afternoon we had that in lieu of dinner.

 The staff are charming and very well trained.  There are also Customer Service Representatives that solicit suggestions for improvement.  The Nubian Museum is just a 10 minute walk from the Old Cataract and is well worth a visit. You can also visit the temples of Abu-Simbel from here as well as explore the exciting spice market in Aswan.

Our junior suite was absolutely palatial, and we would have been happy to live there for months!    We had two balconies overlooking the Nile, a living room, bar area, dressing room, bed room and the best bathroom!

With great weather and such comfortable surroundings, we really recommend a multi-night stay for a lot of luxury and a haven of peace in the vast desert.

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View of the Nile from the Old Cataract Hotel 2013

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Blog by Egyptologist Mohamed Fahmy

In the midst of current affairs in Egypt where people are debating over the constitution that has been set before them to vote on, I would like to present to you one of the oldest, if not the oldest constitution in history.

I think you will see once you have read all 42 points we could all take a lesson in how we should conduct ourselves.

Here is the main constitution that has been set for thousands of years by Ancient Egypt with Maat (the Goddess of Justice & Human Rights) as the protector over it as shown in the picture.

The principles are:
1. I live for Justice
2. I appreciate beauty
3. I spread peace
4. I live for God and keep my offerings to God
5. I confirm that life is sacred
6. I must speak honestly
7. I must assume good about people
8. I must treat animals well
9. I must look after the land
10. I am reliable
11. I keep my own affairs to myself
12. I must be humble
13. I must respect others
14. I must be moderate in my spending
15. I must respect the Judiciary
16. I must be genuine
17. I must respect others freedom
18. I must speak logic
19. I must give charity
20. I must give happiness and joy to my family
21. I must speak the truth
22. I must speak good about others
23. I must be moderate in my feelings
24. I must not commit adultery
25. I must maintain my relationship with people
26. I must always be kind in dealing with others
27. I must listen to the opposite opinion
28. I must condemn sarcasm of other people
29. I must accept love with in all its forms
30. I must love and forgive
31. I must treat people equally
32. I love all
33. I must be civilized
34. I must earn my living honestly
35. I must respect and show my respect for others
36. I must help people who beg for help
37. I must follow my instincts
38. I must do good deeds
39. I must respect all religions
40. I must protect the water (The Nile) and never pollute it
41. I must respect human rights
42. I must commit to always doing my best

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The coffee can be from Africa or Columbia, the difference is the temperature the coffee is roasted at, usually very lightly so as not to burn the spices the coffee beans are roasted and ground with.
The main spices are cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. They can be roasted with just one or all of the spices.

The coffee is ground to a very soft texture that should be too fine for an expresso machine and should be served in small expresso cups or glasses.

You can make three different types of this rich intense coffee:
1. No sugar
2. Medium sweet
3. Rich very sweet.

Here are the 8 steps to make your perfect cup of Arabian coffee:

1. Take your coffee cooking pot – called in Egypt, a Taanaka

A small coffee cooking pot

2. For medium coffee put 1 full teaspoon and 1 level teaspoon of sugar

3. For strong coffee put 2 full teaspoons of coffee from very well ground coffee and 1 1/2 teaspoon’s of sugar if you want very sweet.

Very finely ground Arabic coffee

4. Add a 2 teaspoons cold water and stir the mixture very hard with a spoon until very well mixed and the sugar is dissolved. It should be like a very thick dry paste.

Adding the sugar

5. Then add cold water to the level of the cup you wish to use (if you prefer milk, you can add half water and half milk). There should be a light covering of white foam before you start to heat.

6. Put on a low heat, a gas flame if possible. If using electricity level 3 or 4 at the most.

7. “Watch the pot” carefully and the minute it starts to rise turn off the gas or take immediately off the heat if using electricity and this way it keeps the foam.

Arabic coffee with perfect foam

 8. Pour carefully into your cup and do not stir as it will destroy the foam. Leave a few seconds to allow the coffee grounds to settle on the bottom of the cup and then enjoy.

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Branded camels showing owners name

During our recent trip to Egypt, we had the best adventure ever!
We spent some time at the Birqash Camel Market called Souq al Gamaal by the locals, just outside of Giza about 40 minutes’ drive from downtown Cairo and there in a delicious atmosphere of seeming chaos were hundreds of camels for sale.

Camels as far as the eye can see

Some of them were hobbled and I guess these were the ones who had tried to run off previously but most were roaming around freely. It was great!
Each camel has Arabic writing on its side and we found out this was the name of the owner of the camel so that they could tell who owned what in the ever changing melee.

Through the help of our guide, Mohammad, we priced several (quite expensive as it turns out with prices starting from a minimum of the equivalent of 200 euros) and I tried to trade for my husband, but the sellers weren’t interested when they found out he had no experience in herding camels. However the real bargaining between traders is hard and furious as the best prices are negotiated right in front of you. We got a real sense that just as the monuments and temples we had seen reflect an ancient civilisation, here was traditional centuries old custom still taking place right before our eyes.

Can I exchange this camel for my husband?

Most of the animals are sold for meat and have been herded up the Nile valley all the way from Sudan and Somalia on the famous 40 Day Road. This ancient caravan route starts in Sudan and ends in Birqash. The camels are herded through Sudan, Eritrea, and Somalia to southern Egypt and this is a journey of over 700 miles and takes about three months on the road. 
We had tea with some of the sellers and took lots of photos. One of the elders wanted copies of the photos so our guide addressed an envelope in English and Arabic for us to use to send them. When we posted the photos, the local postman said “Really?” Perhaps the first time a letter has been sent to “The Camel Market, Cairo, Egypt” from our rural village in Ireland! Hope it gets there.

After the Birqash market we stopped at a roadside stand and sampled camel heart and liver sautéed with chillies, onion and bell pepper tucked inside flatbread, tasty although maybe not for the fainthearted and in fact that goes for the whole market experience!!! If you can see beyond the harsh realities of the conditions and treatment of the camels you do get a glimpse of real African life here.

Final tip is for the ladies – the Birqash market is all male traders so dress modestly.

Holly Macro – September 2012

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Pyramids continue to fascinate us and spark many debates over how such enormous structures were built, from visiting aliens, slave labour to a paid dedicated workforce. What does remain is that these amazing structures were built to protect the Pharaohs body and wealth, and guarantee his soul’s safe passage into the afterlife.

Here are my top Ancient Egypt Pyramids top 10 facts:

1. In Egypt’s 1st Dynasty the first brick tombs appeared called Mastabas built for high officials.

2. Over 4500 years ago in the reign of King Djoser, the architect Imhotep is credited with building Egypt’s first Pyramid – the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. Begun in about 2630BC the Step Pyramid is the oldest stone structure of its size in the world.

3. Snofru, the first king of the 4th Dynasty built at least two true straight sided pyramids for himself. The Bent pyramid is one of these, so called because half-way up its height changes angle sharply.

4. There are four little known pyramids at Abusir and were not constructed very well. The smooth limestone casing blocks that once covered the rough masonry have been stripped off many years ago to be reused in other buildings. The few remaining decorated reliefs show a very early scene of sea-going ships in Egypt and another detailing the animal booty captured from the Libyans including 243,668 sheep and 123,440 cattle.

5. The one pyramid that is known to all is of course the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. Its ancient name was “The Pyramid which is the place of Sunrise and Sunset.” The original height was 146m and remained the tallest building in the world until the construction of the Eiffel Tower in 1889 and covers an area of 2300 sq m and is the only remaining original wonder of the world.

6. It took 6.25 million tonnes of stone to build the Great Pyramid with the individual blocks weighing between 2 and 15 tonnes and if every stone was laid side by side there would be enough to surround France! To stand in front of this structure strikes you in wonder at how this amazing feat was carried out especially when you think that the blocks must have been produced at a rate of one every two minutes each day for 23 years.

7. The tomb of Khufu’s mother, Queen Hetepheres, lies beside the causeway of the Great Pyramid and a Canopic chest with her vital organs was discovered but the sarcophagus was empty. However it seems ones mother was just as important in ancient Egypt as now!

8. The pyramid of Khafre appears larger than Khufu’s but was built on slightly higher ground and so gives that impression. It is the most complete of the Giza pyramids and with its original limestone gives us an idea of how impressive these tombs would have been with the polished stones completely encasing the pyramid.

9. The Sphinx is Egypt’s earliest royal statue and formed part of Khafre’s pyramid complex and most Egyptologist’s think that the statue was built from an outcrop of limestone rock that remained after the quarrying for the Great pyramid. This act has given us one of the most iconic statues in the world. Its lion body symbolizes power and its head seems to be of Khafre himself.

10. In the New Kingdom the building of pyramids was abandoned in favour of tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Yet the desire for this elaborate tomb was then revived by the Kushite Kings of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. They were more modest in size and along with the kings there are 14 queens also buried at el-Kurru.

The magic of the Ancient Egypt pyramids continues to enthral us and you will certainly never forget the moment you stand before the Great Pyramid at Giza and is certainly a “bucket list” experience.

Written by Mohamed Fahmy
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Written by Egyptologist Mohamed Fahmy

Today I’d like to shed the light on one of the most important Kings of Ancient Egypt, King Narmer or the Scorpion King from the First Dynasty.

In the year 3100 BC a young, intelligent and ambitious prince from Upper Egypt from a city called Abydos north of Luxor decided to conquer the Lower Egypt and unite Egypt for the first time ever King Narmer who used always to have the Scorpion drawn on his shield and chariot, managed to conquer the Lower Egypt and unite the two lands and for the first time ever we had a King who wore the White and the Red crown combined as a symbol of Egypt unification.

The Red and White crowns

After uniting Egypt Narmer realized that his native city was not near enough to the centre of his new kingdom to serve as his capital, he therefore founded Memphis at the junction of the two lands to be his capital and Egypt’s first capital ever. In order to build Memphis Namer built a Dam on the Nile diverting the course of the Nile above the site of Memphis so he could gain the right space to build Memphis or “INB-HDJ” in hieroglyphic which means “The White Wall”.

Historians described him as a great State man introducing to Egypt a highly developed system of centralised government and the writing down of the Laws. The famous Palette of Narmer demonstrating his unification of Egypt is on display at Cairo Museum.

Demonstrating Narmers power, the Narmer Palette on display in Cairo Museum

Narmer had two Tombs one in the South of Egypt in his native city Abydos which was discovered and to be honest it is insignificant in comparison with his Wife Queen “Neith-Hoteps” amazing tomb at the west bank of Luxor in city called NAQADEH.

We can only conclude that the Scorpion King invested so much in his Northern Tomb which is still to be discovered and we can only imagine what it may still contain.
After Narmer seven other kings and one Queen reigned successively over Egypt in the following order:

1-King Hor-aha
2-Queen Meryt-Neith
3- King Djet”
4-King Den
5-King Adjib
6- King Semerkhet
7- King QA

King Narmer is definitely the founder of one of the greatest civilizations that this world had ever seen uniting the land of Egypt and establishing a structured order of governing the people.

Explore Travel and Cruises would like to thank Mohamed Fahmy for his contribution and if you would like to make a comment please do and there will be more in this series to come.

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 Trogir – it sounds like a Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings town, or a planet from Star Wars or even a strange creature featured in Harry Potter! It is in fact a town in Croatia and on a recent visit I bumped into Father Christmas on his summer vacation.

A very old town packed full of history Trogir dates from its very earliest to 2000 B.C. when the Greeks founded a settlement called Tragurion and then in the 1st Century B.C. the Romans came along and called it Tragurium. Situated in the Dalmation region of Croatia Trogir sits on an Island in the Bay of Kastela strait between the Island of Ciova and the mainland and thus probably managed to avoid much of the strife and invasions over the years that affected the surrounding areas. It is very much this reason that its old historic buildings and character is retained and so much so that UNESCO recognised Trogir as a world heritage site in 1997. Of course Father Christmas will have seen many changes but the ancient buildings that remain are as old as and older than him. The Church of St Barbara dates from the 11th Century and in a building flurry in the 12th Century the Cathedral with its Portal created by Radovan the artisan and the city walls were all built. The castle and St Marks Tower were built to protect the town from the Turks in the 15th century along with a statement building, the Great Palace of Cipiko. All this and more makes for fascinating viewing as you walk round the town with its narrow streets and the sea always close.

Father Christmas is not just on holiday for the cultural sights but as a holiday suggests this is the place to relax, switch off from his busy work and enjoy the Adriatic coastline with many cafes and bars to sit at and enjoy the views while sipping a luxurious expresso or cappuccino made by the coffee masters in Croatia. He enjoys a little lunch of freshly picked salad and at this time of the year cherries, on sale, that were on the tree the day before or even that morning.

Trogir – Unesco Heritage town

An afternoon stroll to look at the boats moored on the harbour wall while enjoying a creamy local ice cream. Then, watching his figure, dinner will be grilled fish caught that day with a great choice of local Orada, John Dory, Calamari and sweet delicious prawns accompanied by a glass or two of the excellent local wines, a Malvasia white or a Dingac red. There have also been sightings of Father Christmas in the nearby city of Split and the port town of Zadar. I cannot confirm this as I only saw and spoke to him in Trogir but one thing is certain Croatia is his country of choice for his holidays so I would book a holiday with us to Croatia as I don’t think you can get a better recommendation!

Written by Linda Velcic Please feel free to share this post and don’t forget to like our facebook page and sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with Explore Travel and Cruises.

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“If you are considering a trip to Egypt don’t hesitate to go with Explore Travel and Cruises. I have often been a single, lone traveller, but I am quite certain that I could not have visited all the places that I saw in the ten days on my own as I did on this recent trip. The arrangements for collecting the guests by taxi, boat and horse drawn carriage etc was fantastic. My hotel swimming pool in Giza overlooked the Pyramids and our guide took us to all the main sites including the astonishing Cairo museum. He pointed out the most important artefacts and his knowledge appeared to be very sound and reading about Egyptology before and after my trip has added to this understanding and continued curiosity about Egypt. There are many talks and lectures at the British Museum which will now have a new depth following my visit.

Following the great turmoil in Egypt after the revolution, there seem to be far fewer tourists than usual. The trip down the Nile on the Dahabiya Dream was just that, a dream. Waited on hand foot and finger by Hamada and steered by the friendly crew this is a truly memorable journey. Stopping at El Kab, one of the first cities in Egypt, deserted and spectacular, makes Explore Travel and Cruises something special. The wonders of Luxor, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, The Aswan Dam and Abu Simbel to name but some of the treasures, were all made so easy and accessible to us by our guide who had our comfort and excitement to see such wonders at heart.

We passed very little traffic on the Nile and all five guests breathed a sigh of relief and joy that we were on such a delightful sailing boat and not a huge metal ship! There were special treats organised by the boat manager and guide all of which were highly appreciated. Our guide was also a budding ornithologist and pointed out the spectacular birdlife along our way. I’m always delighted if I see one heron on the river Wye in the summer; we saw hundreds of them as well as Hoopoe, Pied kingfishers, Egrets and Sandpipers to name but a few other birds. I got up at five am to do my yoga and meditate as the sun rose over the Nile. A dawn chorus like you’ve never heard one before. This experience will remain in my archive forever.

There is a good selection of books on board and I couldn’t put down, “A thousand miles up the Nile” by the intrepid Victorian Egyptologist Amelia Roberts. Reading “Nefertiti” and “The Heretic Queen Nefertari” by Michelle Moran also brought life to these age old stories which our guide sought to narrate to us on our travels.

We enjoyed excellent, good, simple home cooking, a triumph given the tiny galley that the cook had to work in! The boat is small enough to be intimate and large enough to give space to both the smokers and, like me, the non- smokers! The decor is delightful and those who saw it in the Woman and Home magazine it hardly does it justice.
Thank you Explore Travel and Cruises for being helpful, friendly, informative and listening to a few personal tips. Worth every penny! ”

Written by Michelle Cook
Cardiff UK, April 2012

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Many remains of primitive civilisations are to be found in Egypt.  Stone implements give us grounds to believe that from a time when man used a stone axe, roughly hewn, to when he learned to make the polished flint daggers of the Neolithic period, this country was continuously inhabited.

It is impossible to specify the exact proportions in which African, Asiatic and perhaps even European elements contributed to form the population which developed into the Egyptian race, but once these Ancient Egyptians were in the country, the conditions of life and climate helped them to found one of the oldest centres of civilization in the ancient world.

New generation in one of the oldest civilisations in the world

It seems that among the factors which helped in achieving the prosperity and continuous evolution of civilisation in Ancient Egypt are:

• 1. A good climate which is suitable for animal, life and plant growth
• 2. The fertility of the Nile Valley
• 3. The River Nile
• 4. The growth of nearly all vegetables necessary for man in the Nile Valley
• 5. The presence of Eastern and Western Deserts on both side of the Nile Valley which protected Egypt from any invasions of the neighbouring nations
• 6. The geographical location of Egypt between Africa and Asia and very close to Europe

Sources of Ancient Egyptian History

The sources of Ancient Egyptian history are either documentary or classical.

 The documentary sources

These include tablets giving the names of the Kings, written in order, and the many inscribed monuments found everywhere in Egypt. The most important tablets are the following;

1.      Palermo stone

A large fragment of a basalt stone tablet which gives a big list of Ancient Egypt Kings from the first Dynasty to the Fifth Dynasty and also includes some important events that took place in Ancient Egypt (It’s now in Palermo Museum Italy)

2.      The List of Saqqara

Was found in 1861 in the tomb of the royal scribe Thunery at Saqqara. It gives the names of 47 Ancient Egyptians kings from the first dynasty ending with King Ramesses II. (It’s now in Cairo Museum Piece no 660)

3.      Turin Papyrus

This papyrus tells us lots about the reign of King Ramesses II, it also contain a list of kings ending with those of the 19^th Dynasty (It’s now in Turin Museum Italy)

 4.      The list of ABYDOS Temple

Inside the temple of Abydos (built by King Seti I) there is a big tablet on the wall of the temple giving the names of 76 kings. (Abydos temple South of Egypt)

5.      The list of Karank Temple

It was discovered in 1825 in Karnak temple, Luxor city and gave us the names of the Kings who ruled Ancient Egypt (It’s now in the Louvre Museum Paris)

 The Classical Sources:

These include all the books that were written about Egypt by ancient writers and the most important are;

1.      Herodotus

A Greek historian who visited Egypt about 450 BC and wandered all over the country asking the priests about its history and religion, he devoted the second volume of his “histories” to Egypt.

 One of his famous quotes is “Egypt is the gift of the Nile”

2.      Manetho

An Egyptian priest of the Ptolemaic period (The Greek Period in Egypt), who wrote in Greek by the order of King Ptolemy II,  “their Egyptian memoirs” in which he grouped all the kings who ruled Ancient Egypt into 30 Dynasties. Unfortunately Manetho’s works are lost but fragments were found and restored in 70 AD.

This is the first part of what will be a series on Egypt.

Written by Mohamed Fahmy

Egyptologist

At Explore Travel and Cruises we are passionate about history and we are really keen to share our love and knowledge. If you have any questions about the history of Egypt please use the comment box below or on our Facebook page and our Egyptologist will answer your questions

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