Archive for Cairo
UK Foreign Office advises Britons to leave some Egyptian cities
Posted by: | CommentsBritish nationals in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez are being told to leave if it is safe for them to do so, following days of violent protests across Egypt.
But despite upgrading its advice, the Foreign Office (FCO) is not currently organising a formal evacuation.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was concerned by the number of Britons trying to leave at Cairo airport.
While flights were coming in and out, a lack of staff meant it was not functioning properly, he said.
Meanwhile PM David Cameron and US President Barack Obama called for an “orderly transition” of government.
After discussing the crisis on Sunday, the two leaders said the north African country needed a comprehensive process of political reform, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
They urged the Egyptian government to respond peacefully to protests and condemned the violence of recent days.
Mr Cameron also spoke to King Abdullah of Jordan about the ongoing violence, amid fears that extremists could try to exploit the situation.
The British Ambassador to Egypt, Dominic Asquith, said there were “lots of challenges” at Cairo airport.
FCO helpline
020 7008 0000 in the UK
(02) 2791 6000 in Egypt
Holidaymakers are also advised to keep in touch with their airline or tour operator
“That’s why we’ve got the team up there trying to help,” he sad. “There are flights going in and out but it is not orderly.”
Several flights to Britain have been cancelled, people are unable to use the internet to book, and schedules have been affected by the curfew imposed in the city.
The curfew in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez was extended by an hour on Sunday night to run from 1500 to 0800 local time rather than 1600 to 0800, Egyptian state television reported.
Most of the 20,000 UK tourists in Egypt are in Red Sea resorts, which the FCO considers to be safe.
The UK Foreign Office is warning against all non-essential travel to Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Luxor, and say that anyone “without a pressing need” to be the first three of those cities should leave if it wass safe for them to do so.
Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt told the BBC: “We do want people to take the opportunity if they are able to leave… but as yet the situation has not reached the stage where we would necessarily be considering chartering planes and getting larger numbers out.”
Passengers arriving at Heathrow from Cairo speak of “frightening” experiences in Egypt
The FO says arrangements are being made for the spouses and children of British embassy staff in Cairo to leave the country on ordinary commercial flights.
Mr Hague said the welfare of British nationals was his top priority and he had sent extra consular staff to Cairo airport.
The foreign secretary also warned that Egypt could fall into the hands of extremists unless there were peaceful reforms.
He told the BBC: “It’s to avert those risks and meet the legitimate grievances and aspirations of the Egyptian people that we are urging the Egyptian authorities… to create a more broadly-based government.”
He said reforms should be “real and visible” and elections “free and fair”.
The US embassy in Cairo is telling Americans to consider leaving the country as soon as possible and will begin evacuation flights on Monday.
In Cairo, demonstrators are back on the streets for a sixth day, demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.
Alex Belfield, a presenter with BBC Leeds who is on holiday in Sharm El Sheikh, said tourists at his hotel had been told they could not leave the building for at least 24 hours.
Angry protesters gathered at Tahrir Square in Cairo amid increasing lawlessness
“This whole thing seemed a million miles away yesterday, but last night… when we got back [from dinner] the whole atmosphere had changed.
“The barricades had gone up at the front of the hotel… and there are 14 security guards in total, making it very clear we were not able to leave.”
Sean Tipton, from travel body Abta, said UK tourists required to travel to Luxor, which is a popular start and end point for Nile cruises, were “being taken to the cruise very quickly and got out of the place very quickly”.
The FO says it has had no reports of any trouble in Sharm El Sheikh.
In other travel news:
- British Midland International (BMI) said it would operate flights between Heathrow and Cairo on Monday but would change the times to operate outside the curfew. Its flights to Cairo were cancelled on Sunday
- Easyjet said it was operating a normal schedule to Egypt but offering passengers the chance to either rebook, or cancel and receive a voucher valid for future travel for up to a year
- Tui, the parent company of Thompson and First Choice, cancelled a flight to Aswan on Monday and one to Luxor on Tuesday. All excursions to Cairo and Luxor were also scrapped, but flights to Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada and Marsa Alam were not affected.
- Other travel companies have cancelled excursions from Red Sea resorts to Cairo and ancient Egyptian sites in Giza and Luxor
- British Airways and Egyptair have altered their schedules
- The Independent’s travel editor, Simon Calder, said package holidays from the UK to Red Sea resorts were going ahead as normal, and tour operators had no liability to anybody who decided not to go.
Source: BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12318528)
Egypt’s oldest pyramid at risk
Posted by: | CommentsA British engineering firm have won a lucrative contract to help save the oldest pyramid in Egypt.
The 4,600-year-old pyramid of Djoser almost collapsed in 1992 after being hit by an earthquake.
But in a bid to preserve the ancient structure, a firm from South Wales has been called in to keep the pyramid standing.
A team from Cintec in Newport has been contracted by the High Council of Egyptian Antiques to rescue the landmark, which is also known as the Step Pyramid.
The firm worked on Windsor Castle after the fire of 1992 and was also called upon by the Indian government to strengthen a major Delhi bridge ahead of last year’s Commonwealth Games.
And after building a reputation for preserving landmark structures, Cintec has won an £1.8million contract to save the Pyramid of Djoser.
The engineers will use self-inflating water-filled bags to bolster against the collapse of a damaged ceiling inside the pyramid.
Stainless steel structural reinforcement anchors will also be implement in a bid to secure the strength of the building’s central chamber.
Peter James, managing director of Cintec, said: ‘We are extremely pleased to have been appointed for this project and are always looking for new methods to support and maintain historical landmarks across the globe.
‘We recognise the importance of both historical and religious structures to their cultures and hope to continue to develop advanced reinforcement systems that will preserve archeological structures for future generations.
‘The Step Pyramid project is of particular importance to us as the entire structure could be destroyed at any point due to the damage on the ceiling and roof caused by the earthquake.
‘We aim to work as efficiently as possible on this project without comprising the design or strength of the structure.’
Built in around 2650BC as a burial place for Pharoah Djoser, the Step Pyramid can be found in Saqqara, around 19 miles south of Cairo.
Source: (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344204/British-firm-called-save-Egypts-oldest-pyramid.html)
Minogue visits pyramids before Egypt gig
Posted by: | CommentsKylie Minogue received a guided tour of Egypt’s historic Pyramids by famed archaeologist DR. ZAHI HAWASS ahead of her charity gig at the ancient site on Thursday, Oct. 21.
The Spinning Around hitmaker was chosen earlier this month by readers of the country’s eniGma magazine to perform at the publication’s 10th anniversary concert, beating out competition from Rihanna, Shakira, and Jennifer Lopez.
The singer was thrilled at the prospect of performing in Egypt and shared her delight with fans on Thursday by posting a photograph of herself and Dr. Hawass in the shadow of the Great Sphinx monument.
She wrote, “With the amazing Dr Zahi Hawass in front of the Sphinx… yes THE Sphinx!!! To see these sights is so incredible, moving and powerful.”
Proceeds from the concert will go to the country’s Abou El Reesh children’s hospital.
Source: Canoe (http://www.canoe.ca/Travel/Activities/CelebrityTravel/2010/10/21/15776406-wenn-story.html)
Cairo – The Fantastic Capital Of Egypt
Posted by: | CommentsCairo is an extremely engaging urban centre not only because the Nile is centrally located here, it is furthermore really popular because of its shops nevertheless there are other reasons why people choose Cairo to go on holiday. The urban centre is most famous for having the oldest conserved empire architecture for example the Three Pyramids or the Sphinx. Its famous due to its historical features and specifically the Pyramids. There are countless travellers that go to see Cairo each and every week.
If you’d like to chill out then needless to say there are plenty of places to eat and they typically provide evening entertainment, it is quite fun watching people dance their customary movements. There are a tremendous number of retailers, hotels and even spa treatments consequently if you are among the people who would love to treat themselves then you know who to ask for more information concerning this. Several people love the sunshine consequently as quickly as they reach the country they use pools. Why pools? Well here’s an reason, several hotels in Cairo now use ocean water in their pools instead of the smelly chlorine and i believe it really is a amazing idea.
Also you may know that Egypt is a Muslim place and starting at six o’clock every morning those who believe in their religion pray five times every day. Thus there is a Mohamed Ali Mosque that is the emblem of Cairo. It’s known as that because there was a man named Mohamed Ali (1769 — 1849) who had been born in Cavalia, Greece and was of Albanian source. He had been a soldier in the army that had been sent to Egypt to liberate the nation from Napoleon’s occupation. Thus in the end he assisted to free the nation and now people pray for him.
A day trip to Cairo from Sharm
Posted by: | CommentsEach and every year, tourists descend upon the renowned destination of Sharm el Sheikh from Britain. They come to unwind by the beach or swimming pool. Some want to scuba dive and other spend hours snorkelling on neighbouring coral reefs. There are enough excursions offered for travellers and tourists to Sharm and undoubtedly one of the more successful ones is a tour to Egypt’s capital, Cairo.
Cairo is home to the world renowned Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx but the day outings to Cairo offer you considerably more than only these age-old monuments. From Sharm el Sheikh, visitors can either get to Cairo by road or air. Either way, its an early morning start with road outings departing at close to 2am and flights at close to five in the morning. It makes for a long day ahead but it is definitely worth the effort.
Itineraries can vary on trip to trip but normally starts off with a pay a visit to the Cairo Museum or to give it’s proper title “The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo”. A lot of the morning is spent at the museum and it is full with some popular items. Several of the more wonderful treasures are those that were found in the tomb of the boy Pharaoh Tutankhamen which include the renowned gold and blue death mask. There are quite a few items of furniture and ornaments and one thing that is noticeable is how well the colours are preserved in a number of the items bearing in mind they are 1000′s of years old. Nonetheless there is simply too much to explore in the museum which means travellers have to decide on the areas they want to look at.
From the museum, the tour group is driven down to the River for lunch aboard a river boat. There is a decent array of food and for entertainment there are also dancers. On the other hand, you’re able to watch the Cairo skyline pass by as you sail up and back to your departure point.
The next item on the itinerary are the Pyramids of Giza. Looking at a great many photos, you should be forgiven for imagining the Pyramids are in the middle of the desert but that isn’t true. The Pyramids and Sphinx are merely on the outskirts of Cairo. It is extremely hard not to be impressed after you get up close to the Great Pyramid by the actual size of the it. You’re able to have a good amount of time here to wander round the Pyramids and there are no lack of local people trying to sell you a large array of mementos or rides on their camels. There are a lot of chances for photos prior to the tour coach drives you a bit further down to the Sphinx. Again, you will be given the opportunity to purchase all sorts of souvenirs and there are further photograph opportunities. Yet, the Sphinx has not worn nearly as well as the Pyramids therefore you can not get as near to it. Its late afternoon as the tour leaves Cairo’s most well-known tourist sights but there is still time for one or two more stops.
The first of these stops is at a perfume shop where your are asked to try some of the numerous perfumes the shop stocks. From here the tour bus gets going to head back to the airport with one final stop en route. Papyrus is the paper like material made by the ancient Egyptians from the pith of the Papyrus reed. It was used to write on but nowadays, it is a popular tourist souvenir, generally with images of age-old Egyptian gods and similar images. At the Papyrus shop, there is a wide range of Papyrus available and people can also observe a demonstration of how modern day Papyrus is created.
The tour coach leaves and the tour group to Cairo is over. The tour group now heads back to the airport for the flight back to Sharm el Sheikh or the road journey. The day excursions to Cairo from Sharm are quite exhausting but are great value. For holiday makers staying in Sharm el Sheikh, it is a pretty good way to see some of the sights of Cairo without actually staying there.
