New discovery in sakkara

The French mission working at Saqqara has found the burial chamber of Queen Behenu. As of yet, it is unclear if this queen was the wife of Pepi I or Pepi II, who ruled during the 6th Dynasty. The burial chamber was revealed while the team was cleaning the sand from Behenu’s pyramid in the area of el-Shawaf in South Saqqara, west of the pyramid of King Pepi I. The burial chamber is badly destroyed with the exception of two inner walls on which were found engraved Pyramid Texts that were widely in use in royal tombs during the 5th and 6th Dynasties (circa. 2465-2150 BC). Pyramid Texts are religious texts composed of spells primarily concerned with protecting the king’s remains, reanimating his body after death, and helping him ascend to the heavens. The spells delineate all of the ways the king could travel through the afterlife, including ramps, stairs, ladders, and most importantly flight. The spells could also be used to call on the gods for help, even threatening them if they did not comply. Further excavation inside the burial chamber led the team to the queen’s well-preserved granite sarcophagus. The French mission have located a total of seven queen pyramids dating to the reigns of Pepi I and Pepi II since the beginning of their project in 1989. The pyramids have been attributed to Queens Inenek, Nubunet, Meretites II, Ankhespepy III, Miha, and a yet unidentified queen….

For more information on interline rates on tours and cruises to Egypt contact InterlineTravel.com online or by calling 800 766-2911 or in the DFW Area call metro 817 481-8631.

Free Diving World Record

Christian Redl, representative of the Egyptian diving segment, creates awareness for the fascinating diving locations of Egypt through unconventional performances. Breathless and totally cool: Austrian-born Redl, now 7-times world record holder in free diving under ice, sets all records straight. He is listed in the Guinness Book of Records and has global media coverage for world record projects. On February 6th at 12.42 pm, the visionary extreme diver set his world record in 100 meters dynamic freediving under ice in 1.12 minutes, after months of intensive preparation. With only one breath, he dove in the icy water underneath the massively frozen surface of Lake Weissensee in Carinthia, Austria. Hundreds of fans and international press watched on-site this very special moment of making freediving history in water temperatures of 2 degrees Celsius. With a 10 minute mental meditation phase and supported by his psychological coach, the living free diving legend Christian Redl pushed his concentration level for his defined target into a new dimension. Five security divers were under water securing this dangerous stunt, whose biggest threat lies in the danger of a blackout. Further diving doctors and emergency staff were on-call at the world record location. Redl’s new sponsoring partner, sun destination Egypt, set a strong contrast with branding the whole Lake Weissensee world record location. “Egypt – where it all begins“ and Christian Redl, “the feeling I get after a new freediving record cannot be described. The world needs heroes; I want to be one of them. I am proud to get support in my sportive creativity from Egypt. Egypt, for me, is the best diving destination in the world. Since thousands of years, Egypt tells great stories and I feel honored that Egypt tells my own story today. Egypt – where it all begins“is the new slogan of the country’s advertising campaign that deals with Egypt being the muse for civilizations, cultures, great people, and great stories, as such suitable for the extreme sport freediving. Egypt branded Christian Redl’s diving suit and the location Lake Weissensee with beachflags and with a spectacular 100-meter banner covering the whole world record distance, showing new branding images of the campaign to the public and the media….

For more information on interline rates on tours and cruises to Egypt contact InterlineTravel.com online or by calling 800 766-2911 or in the DFW Area call metro 817 481-8631.

The Monastery of Saint Antony to be renovated

An extensive renovation of the world’s oldest monastery was unveiled yesterday in Egypt. The restoration and conservation of the 1600 year-old Monastery of Saint Antony, situated in the rugged desert mountains near Egypt’s Red Sea coast, cost US$14.5 million. The project took eight years to complete. It is said that in this remote spot, at the end of the 3rd century, Saint Anthony took up a residence in a cave, with little more than a spring and some palm trees to sustain him. Upon his death in AD 356, his followers built cells and created the world’s first Christian monastery, which now houses 120 monks, is the burial place of four saints, and holds ancient church paintings dating to the Middle Ages. In the government-sponsored project, workers renovated the monasteries two main churches – the 15th century Church of the Apostles and the 4th century Church of Saint Anthony, the fortress-like ancient wall surrounding the monastery, and several outbuildings. A modern sewage system was also installed for the monastery, which receives a million visitors every year. Monks say the restoration and discovery of the cells of the monks sheds important light on the early years of monasticism and bolsters the country’s long monastic tradition. (AP) …

For more information on interline rates on tours and cruises to Egypt contact InterlineTravel.com online or by calling 800 766-2911 or in the DFW Area call metro 817 481-8631.

Russia … Egypt wins 2009 Google Trend Awards – Category “Most Popular Tourist Destination”‎

Google Trend Awards are won by people, companies, products or events, which are most often searched for ‎in Google by Russian Internet users across ‎‏18‏‎ categories, such as “Politician of the Year”, “Singer of the ‎Year”, “Film of the Year”, “Sportsman of the Year” etc. In particular, Dmitry Medvedev won in the category ‎‎“Politician of the Year”, Eurovision won in the category “Event of the year”, Charlotte has won in the category ‎“Recipe of the Year”, etc. The celebration of this event was at Hermitage Garden on January ‎‏20‏ th , ‎‏2010‏ …

For more information on interline rates on tours and cruises to Egypt contact InterlineTravel.com online or by calling 800 766-2911 or in the DFW Area call metro 817 481-8631.

The Alignment of the Sun with Abu Simbel Temple

The Great Temple at Abu Simbel, which took about twenty years to build, was completed ‎around year ‎‏24‏‎ of the reign of Rameses the Great (which corresponds to ‎‏1265‏‎ BCE). It ‎was dedicated to the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah, as well as to the deified ‎Rameses himself. It is generally considered the grandest and most beautiful of the ‎temples commissioned during the reign of Rameses II, and one of the most beautiful in ‎Egypt.‎
The sanctuary contains four seated statues of Ra-Horakhty, Ptah, Amun and Ramesses. ‎The temple was constructed in such a way that the sun shines directly on all four statues ‎during two days of the year.‎
Due to the displacement of the temple, it is widely believed that this event now occurs ‎one day later than it did originally.‎
The rays of the sun would penetrate the sanctuary and illuminate the sculpture on the ‎back wall, except for the statue of Ptah, the god connected with the Underworld, who ‎always remained in the dark. ‎
It is quite logical to assume that these dates had some relation to a great event, such as the ‎king’s birthday and coronation or the jubilee celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the ‎pharaoh’s rule. In fact, according to calculations made on the basis of the heliacal rising ‎of the star Sirius (Sothis) and inscriptions found by archaeologists, this date must have ‎been October ‎‏22‏‎.‎
This image of the king was enhanced and revitalized by the energy of the solar star, and ‎the deified Ramesses Great could take his place next to Amun Raand Ra-Horakhty.‎
…

For more information on interline rates on tours and cruises to Egypt contact InterlineTravel.com online or by calling 800 766-2911 or in the DFW Area call metro 817 481-8631.

The discovery of workmen’s tomb at Giza plateau

A collection of tombs belonging to workers who built Khufu’s Pyramid (2609 – 2584 BC) were discovered recently on the Giza plateau. The tombs were found by an Egyptian excavation team and are dated to the 4th Dynasty. They are considered one of the most important discoveries of the 20th and 21st centuries, as they shed more light on the early period of the 4th Dynasty, as well as contradicting rumors that the pyramids were constructed through slavery. The most important tomb is the one belonging to Idu. It has several burial shafts cased with white limestone, as well as niches in front of each shaft. The upper part of Idu’s tomb had a vaulted shape, symbolizing the eternal hill from which the human creation began, according to the Memphis religious tradition. On the western side of Idu’s tomb, the mission uncovered another collection of workmen’s tombs as well as the remains of coffins, while on its southern side another large tomb has been found. It is a rectangular shaped tomb built of mud brick with several burial shafts, each one containing a bent skeleton along with shreds of clay. Evidences also revealed that the families in the Delta and Upper Egypt sent 21 buffalos and 23 sheep to the plateau every day to feed the workers. The discovery demonstrates that the workers came from top families of the Delta and Upper Egypt and rotated every three months, and those who were buried there died during the construction process….

For more information on interline rates on tours and cruises to Egypt contact InterlineTravel.com online or by calling 800 766-2911 or in the DFW Area call metro 817 481-8631.

New discovery in Alexandria

An archaeological mission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) discovered the remains of a temple of Queen Berenike, the wife of king Ptolemy III (246-222 BC), along with a cachette of 600 Ptolemaic statues. The mission unearthed a large collection of statues depicting the cat goddess Bastet, goddess of protection and motherhood, which indicates that the temple was dedicated to this goddess. The Bastet statues were unearthed in three different areas of the site along with other limestone statues of unidentified children and women. Clay pots as well as bronze and faience statues of different ancient Egyptian deities have been also uncovered, along with terracotta statues of the gods Harpocrates and Ptah. Early studies on site revealed that the temple’s foundation may be dated to the reign of Queen Berenike, making this the first Ptolemaic temple discovered in Alexandria to be dedicated to the goddess Bastet. An inscribed base of a granite statue from the reign of King Ptolemy IV (205-222 BC) was also unearthed. It bears ancient Greek text written in nine lines stating that the statue belonged to a top official in the Ptolemaic court. The mission also found a group of old structures, including a Roman water cistern, a group of 14 meter-deep water wells, stone water channels, and the remains of a bath area, well as a large number of clay pots and shreds that can be dated to the fourth century BC….

For more information on interline rates on tours and cruises to Egypt contact InterlineTravel.com online or by calling 800 766-2911 or in the DFW Area call metro 817 481-8631.

‘Continental Resort Hurghada’ A paradise embraced by sandy beaches

With the beginning of New Year 2010, Continental Resort Hurghada (X-InterContinental) has started the operation with the new name assuring to make a memorable stay to their valuable guests. The Resort nestled in Hurghada bay, lies along a pristine sandy beach and is set in the middle of exquisitely landscaped gardens. The low rise designed resort; restaurant and bars have shaded terraces with views of the sea, swimming pool and marina. The resort is ideally placed to host business conventions, banqueting functions and weddings with versatile meeting facilities available for up to 700 people. For added flexibility, the banqueting hall can be converted into three individual rooms. The resort’s recreational facilities are unrivalled, offering guests a private white sandy beach, temperature controlled swimming pool and a wide variety of water sports including diving, snorkeling, and water skiing and parasailing. In addition, guest can enjoy the wide variety of spa facilities available including sauna, Jacuzzi and steam room. The resort also offers massage rooms enabling guests an array of massage therapies and full range of beauty treatments for the ultimate relaxation experience….

For more information on interline rates on tours and cruises to Egypt contact InterlineTravel.com online or by calling 800 766-2911 or in the DFW Area call metro 817 481-8631.

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