All About World Heritage Sites
Make traveling more meaningful
In a recent announcement, the Egyptian government has decided to put forth Wadi Al-Natroun as a potential Egyptian UNESCO World Heritage Site. If the World Heritage Committee at UNESCO decides to incorporate Wadi Al-Natroun, it is to become Egypt’s eighth UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wadi Al-Natroun is one of the holiest Egyptian sites of the…
Abu Simbel Temple is due to witness on Saturday a rare astronomical event which happens twice every year when the first rays of the morning sun illuminate the statue of King Ramses II.
Source: Abu Simbel Temple to witness rare sun illumination of King Ramses II statute
Gazing up at the colossal statues of Ramses II, Lucas Aykroyd couldn’t help noticing that one 65-foot-tall carving’s head and torso were missing.
Egypt’s tourism minister, Dr Rania Al Mashat, speaks exclusively to The National about the resilience and rebound of the industry…
Source: Egypt sees tourism sector offering a job for every household
Visitors gathered to watch the sun illuminate the statues of King Ramses II and the deities Amun-Re and Re-Hur-Akhty in the inner sanctum of Egypt’s Abu Simbel temple…
Source: Tourists gather to watch solar alignment at Aswan’s Abu Simbel Temple – Politics – Egypt
Cruising to Abu Simbel cruise port? Find out what to do in the port of Abu Simbel and get other tips from Caroline Costello at Cruise Critic.
Natural and cultural heritage sites in Egypt and the Nile Basin countries are at risk due to the negative impact on the environment that would be caused by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, according to a study by Egyptian archaeologist Abdel Aziz Salem.
Ethiopia started building the dam in 2011, at the height of the Arab Spring. As it nears completion seven years later, it has become a major conflict between Ethiopia and its two downstream neighbors, Egypt and Sudan.
Salem’s study, which was finalized in March, reports that the construction of the dam is not simply a political and economic issue but a cultural one, as it would have grave consequences on the UNESCO-registered natural and cultural sites in the Nile Basin.
The report, which is the result of a five-year research project by Salem, states that the sites at risk are located not just in Egypt, but in Ethiopia and Sudan as well. Salem, a professor of archaeology at Cairo University, worked from 2002 to 2015 at the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Read more from source: Egyptians worry Renaissance Dam poses risk for heritage sites along Nile
If Abu Simbel had not been saved, places like Vienna’s Historic Centre, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and other Unesco World Heritage sites might only live on in history books.
Deep within the interior of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, carved into a mountainside in southern Egypt’s ancient Nubian Valley, lies a vast, wondrous world. Pillars adorned with intricate military artworks support a ceiling painted with winged vultures. Floor-to-ceiling hieroglyphics depicting the victorious battles of Pharaoh Ramses II, the same man responsible for constructing this enormous temple, decorate the walls. Outside, four colossal statues of the pharaoh face east toward the rising sun, looking out over a crystal-clear lake.
It’s an incredible sight to behold, but one that if history had gone just a little bit differently, would not be here today. Instead, this temple would be under the lake’s waters. What’s even harder to imagine, if Abu Simbel had not been saved, places like Vienna’s Historic Centre, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and other Unesco World Heritage sites might only live on in history books.
Read more from source: Egypt’s exquisite temples that had to be moved
The Abu Simbel temples are two massive rock temples at Abu Simbel, Egypt.
The Abu Simbel Temples are two rock temples located in Nubia, Egypt near the Sudan-Egypt border. The massive rock temples are a remarkable testament of ancient Egyptian civilization and were designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1979. Local legend has it that the temples were named after a local boy who led the first European explorers to the site in the early 19th century.
The Abu Simbel Temples were constructed during the rule of Pharaoh Ramesses II in around 1264 BCE. The pharaoh commissioned the construction of the monuments as a commemoration of his victory against the Hittite Empire led at the ancient city of Kadesh during the Battle of Kadesh in May 1274 BCE.
Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered clues that indicate a previously undiscovered temple for King Ramses II may be just beneath the surface of the site they’re working on.
An Egyptian-German archaeological team that was digging in the area of Ain Shams last week, discovered a number of huge stone blocks.
The rocks were carved with pictures of the ancient Pharaoh anointing a divinity, along with inscriptions using an unusual version of his name: ‘God Barr Ra Masso.’ Experts have speculated that these rocks indicate that a temple for King Ramses II is likely to be buried further beneath the ground reports Daily News Egypt.
