Archive for May, 2010
Headless Egypt King Statue Found; Link to Cleopatra’s Tomb?
Posted by: | CommentsA massive, headless statue of a Greek king has been found in the ruins of an ancient Egyptian temple, adding to evidence that the structure could be the final resting place of Marc Antony and Cleopatra, excavation leaders say.
For the past five years archaeologists have been searching around the temple of Taposiris Magna, about 28 miles (45 kilometers) west of the port city of Alexandria (map), in hopes of finding the couple’s graves.
WATG to design world’s biggest resort in Egypt
Posted by: | CommentsAmerican design firm WATG has won the contract to design the master plan for a 10,000 acre resort on Egypt’s Red Sea coast.
The Sahl Hasheesh International Resort Community — which will comprise civic centres, a university, schools, a business park, villas and a hotel resort — is set to be the biggest resort development in the world.
WATG, the firm behind a number of high profile hospitality projects in Dubai and elsewhere in the Middle East, was chosen by the Egyptian Resorts Company (ERC) to design phase III of the development, having also won an international competition to design phase two of the scheme.
“It was important for the client to have a development that was viable,” said Perry Brown, senior vice president of WATG. “This master plan was originally only a resort community, but the client envisions a development that includes appropriate civic infrastructure to support the resort development.”
The vision for the master plan is to tell the story of Egypt’s heritage through the landscape design. The plan includes a landscape structure of open-space corridors that depict the history of Egypt, from its fertile valleys and desert oases to its rich history of civilisation throughout the centuries.
Source: Construction Week Online (http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-8391-watg-to-design-worlds-biggest-resort-in-egypt/)
Egypt won’t allow Saudi budget flights
Posted by: | CommentsEgypt’s aviation minister vowed on Monday that his country won’t allow Saudi budget flights to land at Cairo’s airport without a bilateral aviation agreement, voiding the open sky policy currently in place.
Ahmed Shafik told the parliament that that the measure was to protect the state owned airline, EgyptAir.
He described the open sky policy as “a big cheat,” saying the unregulated flights of budget Saudi airlines SAMA and NAS was taking business away from the Egyptian carrier.
Egypt does not have budget airlines of its own.
The aviation flap comes during a period chilling ties between the countries.
In March Egypt banned the Kingdom’s two budget airlines, SAMA and NAS, from landing in Cairo arguing that their cheap prices negatively affect Egyptian.
After the March order banning the Saudi flights, the kingdom responded by barring EgyptAir from flying to the holy city of Medina where tens of thousands of Egyptian pilgrims flock every year.
Source: Business Week (http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9FOO19G0.htm)
