Description
Book SynopsisFour thousand years before the birth of Christ, ancient Egypt was the cradle of modern civilization. Pharaohs built great cities on the fertile banks of the River Nile, and employed thousands of labourers to create lavish tombs and temples such as Thebes and the pyramids of the Giza plateau. Today the exceptional beauty and scale of the antiquities is legendary, drawing millions of visitors to Egypt’s monuments each year.
But the nation is much more than even that. From the beaches on the Red Sea to the Nile, from the markets in Cairo and Alexandria to the country’s Roman, Coptic and Sassanid history, and Arab and Ottoman culture, Egypt is spectacular. Ranging from desert monasteries to the trade on the Suez Canal, from mausoleums hidden for centuries to medieval souks to urban life today, Egypt takes the reader from the mountains to the sea, from the desert to the city, from the ancient to the modern.
Featuring 200 colour photographs and captions explaining the fascinating stories behind each image, Egypt is a stunning portrait of an ancient and modern land.
Table of ContentsContents to include:
Introduction
Ancient Egypt
Giza pyramids
Sphinx
Tutankhamun
Luxor/Waset
Great Temple of Amun at Karnak Valley of the Kings
Medinet Habu
Saqqara Pyramids
Abu Simbel
Temple at Edfu
Abydos’s Temple of Osiris
Ptolemaic temples including Philae
Fayoum mummies
Roman amphitheatre, Alexandria
Pompeii’s Column, Alexandria
Christian Tombs, Al-Bagawat, Egypt
Underwater ruin: Thonis-Heracleion resurfaced after 1,000 years
Landmarks
Al-Azhar Mosque, Cairo
Hanging Church, Cairo
Saint Barbara Church, Cairo
Babylon Fortress, Cairo
Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue, Cairo
Ben Ezra Synagogue, Cairo
Mosque of Amr ibn al-As, Cairo
Mosque of Mohammad Ali, Cairo
The Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo
The Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo
Saladin Citadel of Cairo
Bab Zuweila – Old Cairo
Qalawun complex, Cairo Tahrir Square, Cairo
Waterways
River Nile
Green irrigation of the Nile Valley
Nile Delta
Port Said – ferries, waterfront, apartment blocks, Office of the Suez Canal Company
Aswan – Aswan Dam, Elephantine Island
Suez Canal
Suez Canal Bridge
Great Bitter Lake
Gulf of Suez
Gulf of Aqaba
Red Sea Coast
Sharm El-Sheik Beaches
Safaga Holiday Resort
Marsa Alam
El Gouna
Old Town Corniche, Sahl Hasheesh Damietta waterways
Deserts
White Desert
Western Desert
Farafra depression
Dakhla Oasis
Bahariya Oasis
Qattara Depression
Fortress of Shali, Siwa Oasis
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Coptic Museum, Cairo
Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo
Qaitbay Citadel, Alexandria
Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque,
Alexandria
Church of St Catherine, Alexandria
St. Mark Coptic Cathedral, Alexandria
Montaza Palace, Alexandria
Bibliotecha Alexandrina
Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa,
Alexandria
Cairo’s walled city Al Qahira (‘The
Victorious’) – the medieval Fatimid city
Siwa Salt Lake
Bedouin Life
Nubian Villages, Monastery of St Simeon
Eastern Desert
Red Sea Hills
Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai Peninsula
City Life
Damietta churches and mosques St Mark’s Church, Rosetta
Al-Azhar Park, Cairo
Rivoli Cinema (Art Deco Building),
Cairo
The Khan El Khalili Bazaar, Cairo
El Azbakeya Wall book market, Cairo
Souq El Gom’aa (Friday’s Market),
Cairo
Mohamed Ali Street, Cairo
Wekalet El Balah, Cairo
Zamalek, Cairo
Muizz Street, Old Cairo
