Theme Week Egypt – Siwa Oasis

23 May 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  9 minutes

Historic Center of Siwa with famous mud brick architecture © Michael Hermann/cc-by-sa-4.0

Historic Center of Siwa with famous mud brick architecture © Michael Hermann/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Siwa Oasis is an oasis in Egypt, between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Western Desert, nearly 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan border, and 560 km (348 mi) from Cairo. About 80 km (50 mi) in length and 20 km (12 mi) wide, Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt’s most isolated settlements, with 23,000 people, mostly Berbers who developed a unique culture and a distinct language of the Berber family called Siwi. Its fame lies primarily in its ancient role as the home to an oracle of Ammon, the ruins of which are a popular tourist attraction which gave the oasis its ancient name Ammonium. Historically, it is part of Ancient Libya.   read more…

Theme Week Egypt

22 May 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  14 minutes

Luxor - Winter Palace Hotel © Rowan

Luxor – Winter Palace Hotel © Rowan

Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by Palestine and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and Saudi Arabia do not share a land border with Egypt. It is the world’s only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any modern country, emerging as one of the world’s first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. Iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx, as well the ruins of Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings, reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of archaeological study and popular interest worldwide. Egypt’s rich cultural heritage is an integral part of its national identity, which has endured, and at times assimilated, various foreign influences, including Greek, Persian, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, and European. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the seventh century and remains a predominantly Muslim country, albeit with a significant Christian minority.   read more…

Bibliotheca Alexandrina

5 August 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  19 minutes

© flickr.com - Argenberg/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Argenberg/cc-by-2.0

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a major library and cultural center located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It is both a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity, and an attempt to rekindle something of the brilliance that this earlier center of study and erudition represented. The idea of reviving the old library dates back to 1974, when a committee set up by Alexandria University selected a plot of land for its new library, between the campus and the seafront, close to where the ancient library once stood. The notion of recreating the ancient library was adopted by other individuals and agencies. One leading supporter of the project was former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; UNESCO was also quick to embrace the concept of endowing the Mediterranean region with a center of cultural and scientific excellence. An architectural design competition was organized by UNESCO in 1988 to choose a design worthy of the site and its heritage. The competition was won by Snøhetta, a Norwegian architectural office, from among more than 1,400 entries. The first pledges were made for funding the project at a conference held in 1990 in Aswan: USD $65 million, mostly from the Arab states. Construction work began in 1995 and, after some USD $220 million had been spent, the complex was officially inaugurated on 16 October 2002. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is trilingual, containing books in Arabic, English, and French. In 2010, the library received a donation of 500,000 books from the National Library of France, Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF). The gift makes the Bibliotheca Alexandrina the sixth-largest Francophone library in the world. The BA also is now the largest depository of French books in the Arab world, surpassing those of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, in addition to being the main French library in Africa.   read more…

Rafah in the Gaza Strip

8 January 2016 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

Gaza Strip map © Gringer/cc-by-sa-3.0

Gaza Strip map © Gringer/cc-by-sa-3.0

Rafah is a Palestinian city and refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located 30 kilometers (19 mi) south of Gaza City. Rafah’s population of 153,000 (2014) is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan camp form separate localities. When Israel withdrew from the Sinai in 1982, Rafah was split into a Gazan part and an Egyptian part, dividing families, separated by barbed-wire barriers. The core of the city was destroyed by Israel and Egypt to create a large buffer zone.   read more…

Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast

12 September 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  8 minutes

© flickr.com - David Evers/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – David Evers/cc-by-2.0

Alexandria is the second largest city and the second largest metropolitan area in Egypt after Greater Cairo by size and population, extending about 32 km (20 mi) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country. It is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. Alexandria is Egypt’s largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypt’s imports and exports. It is an important industrial center because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. Alexandria is also an important tourist resort.   read more…

Dahab on the Red Sea

24 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

Dahab © B. Simpson/cc-by-3.0

Dahab © B. Simpson/cc-by-3.0

Dahab is a small town situated on the southeast coast of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Formerly a Bedouin fishing village, located approximately 80 km (50 mi) northeast of Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab is considered to be one of the Sinai’s most treasured diving destinations. The arrival of international hotel chains and the establishment of other ancillary facilities has since made the town a popular destination with tourists. Dahab is served by Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. Masbat (within Dahab) is a popular diving destination, and there are many (50+) dive centers located within Dahab.   read more…

Hurghada on the Red Sea

2 April 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

Al-Mahmeya © KarimSh

Al-Mahmeya © KarimSh

Hurghada is a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt. It is a main tourist center and second largest city (after Suez) in Egypt located on the Red Sea coast. The city was founded in the early 20th century, and since the 1980s has been continually enlarged by Egyptian and foreign investors to become the leading seashore resort on the Red Sea. Holiday villages and hotels provide aquatic sport facilities for sailboarders, yachtsmen, scuba divers and snorkelers.   read more…

Marsa Alam on the Red Sea

1 March 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

Sunrise © Marc Ryckaert/cc-by-3.0

Sunrise © Marc Ryckaert/cc-by-3.0

Marsa Alam is a town in south-eastern Egypt, located on the western shore of the Red Sea. It is currently seeing fast increasing popularity as a tourist destination and development following the opening of Marsa Alam International Airport in 2001.   read more…

The Arab League

26 July 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

© HCPUNXKID/cc-by-sa-3.0

© HCPUNXKID/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Arab League is a regional organization of Arab countries in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and Southwest Asia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members. Currently, the League has 22 members, although Syria’s participation has been suspended since November 2011 as a consequence of government repression during the ongoing uprising and civil war.

The League’s main goal is to “draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries”.

The Arab League has also played a role in shaping school curricula, advancing the role of women in the Arab societies, promoting child welfare, encouraging youth and sports programs, preserving Arab cultural heritage, and fostering cultural exchanges between the member states. Literacy campaigns have been launched, intellectual works reproduced, and modern technical terminology is translated for the use within member states. The league encourages measures against crime and drug abuse, and deals with labour issues — particularly among the emigrant Arab workforce.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top