America
Posted March 3, 2019 by Jan
Tuesday
Election Day
November 3 2020
America is in the news today.
September 11, 2023
https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/95745
Travel Letters
At Home at Gezira El Bairat
Posted March 7, 2020 by Jan
Gezira El Bairat, Al Ramla
Luxor, Egypt
March 9, 2020
Hello,
Here in the town of Gezira El Bairat, on the west bank of the Nile, the modest El Masala Hotel provides a simple and comfortable guest room with a balcony overlooking the Nile. The staff is friendly and accommodating. Breakfast is served at the open-air rooftop restaurant with a sweeping view of the river and the river traffic.
Kareem, the owner of the hotel, is determined that my week’s stay in Luxor will be both active and restful. He drives me around town. He helps me to book drivers for my tours. Kareem invites me to his home for lunch where I meet his wife and children.
The Temple at Edfu
Posted March 5, 2020 by Jan
Edfu
Aswan Governorate
Egypt
March 2, 2020
Halfway betweem Luxor and Aswan, on the west bank of the Nile, lies the Temple of Edfu. The temple is dedicated to the falcon-headed god Horus and his wife, the goddess Hathor.
Here is the story of Horus:
Horus, the falcon-headed god, is a familiar ancient Egyptian god. He has become one of the most used symbols of Egypt, seen on Egyptian airplanes, and on hotels and restaurants throughout the land.
Horus is the sone of Osiris and Isis, the divine child of the holy family triad. He is one of the many gods associated with the falcon. His name mans "he who is above" and "he who is distant."
Amenhotep. Deir El-Medina. Ramesses
Posted March 3, 2020 by Jan
West Bank of the Nile
Luxor
Luxor Governorate
Arab Republic of Egypt
March 2, 2020
Hello,
It’s a busy day for me on the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor.
My first stop is at the Colossi of Memnon: two colossal seated statues of Amenhotep III, 14th Century BCE. Adjacent to his legs are carvings of his mother and his wife.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossi_of_Memnon
The second stop requires a decision: Do I visit the Valley of the Kings or the Valley of the Queens? My proclivity has always been towards the “working man” so I chose the Valley of the Artisans - the Necropolis of Deir El-Medina.
Al Bagawat Christian Necropolis
Posted March 2, 2020 by Jan
Kharga Oasis
New Valley Governorate
The Western Desert
Egypt
February 27, 2020
I have the good fortune and the time to visit and explore the Al Bagawat Necropolis.
Al Bagawat / Al Bajawat / El Bagawat Necropolis *
The ancient necropolis of Al Bagawat (midway between Kharga and Dakhla) is one of the oldest Christian cemeteries in the world containing 360 Coptic tombs and dating from between the 4th-7th Centuries CE.
Early Christians supported the Fifth Century Bishop Nestorius who fled Roman persecution to settle in the Western Desert in Bagawat. (The Romans ruled in Egypt from 30 BCE to 640 CE.)
Khentika Tomb and Hibis Temple
Posted March 1, 2020 by Jan
Kharga Oasis
New Valley Governorate
The Western Desert
Egypt
February 28, 2020
I had the good fortune to visit two important Ancient Egyptian sites in the Western Desert.
The Mastaba of Khentika
The Mastaba (Tomb) of Khentika, is located in the center of the necropolis of the 6th Dynasty (2323 -2150 BCE), Egypt’s Old Kingdom.
Khentika was the governor of the Dakhla Oasis under the reign of Pharaoh Pepi II, (2284 – c. 2216 BCE).
A Mastaba (“bench” in Arabic or Per-djet "house of eternity" in Ancient Egyptian) is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of mudbricks or stone. A deep shaft descends to the underground burial chamber.
The Temple of Hibis*
The Temple of Hibis in the Western Desert is the epitome of Egypt’s function through the ages: a melting pot of cultural influences.