Photo Gallery

Gold mask of King Tutankhamun (18 din.) - Egyptian Museum in Cairo

Pectoral – Goddess Nut mounted on a gold plaque - Egyptian Museum in Cairo

The golden sarcophagus of Tutankhamun dates from 1345 BC. - Egyptian Museum in Cairo

Egypt - Medinet Habu - The young Egyptian admire ancient Egypt

Ramses III, queen Isis Ta-Hemdjeret and their son, Prince Amenhirkhopshef – Valley of the Queens

Ramses III and his son, Prince Kha-em-Waset - Valley of the Queens

The three pyramids at Giza - in the background: Cairo

The three pyramids at Giza - right Cheops, Chephren in the middle, left Menkaure

Book of the Dead - Papyrus with Osiris and his sister Isis - Egyptian Museum in Cairo

Egypt - Tomb of Ramose - Thebes West - Rite burial

Temple of Dendara (Upper Egypt) - Hathor Shrine

Temple of Dendara (Upper Egypt) - Roman Mammisi

Abu Simbel - Great Temple - Ramses II, Re-Horakhty, Amun-Re and Ptah

The Sphinx of Giza - An emblem of ancient Egypt, the Sphinx has the body of a lion with the head of a human and is the image of the supreme power of the king, whose traits it carries. 73.5 meters long and 20 high, it was carved out of solid rock in front of the pyramid of King Khafre (Fourth Dynasty). - 1983

Divine Offering - In the Valley of the Kings, detail of the tomb of Pharaoh Horemheb, the last pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty, greeted by Hathor, goddess of love incarnate, joy, music and dance. She is wearing her beautiful black and blue wig topped with cow horns enshrining the sun disc. - 1983

Gold mask - The funerary mask of Tutankhamen (Eighteenth Dynasty) is a masterpiece of Egyptian jewellery. It protected the head, shoulders and part of the bust of the young king’s mummy. Made of solid gold, it weighs 11 kg and is 54 cm tall (Cairo Museum). - 1983

Egypt - Abydos - Temple of Ramses II

Egypt – Valley of the Kings – Medinet Habu – Hieroglyphs

From ancient times to the present day, the Nile and its canals have remained the sole means of transportation in Egypt, serving both the humblest of boats and the magnificent royal vessels. Depictions of sailboats and rowboats were ubiquitous in Egyptian art. Indeed, the sun god and his retinue used boats to traverse the heavens and reach the afterlife. Before the construction of the Suez Canal, spices were transported by ship from India across the Red Sea to Egypt. There, they were loaded onto camels, driven down to the Nile Valley, and then reloaded onto ships. Together with other goods, they were eventually transported to the shores of the Mediterranean. Today, despite competition from railroads, trucks, and airplanes, goods are still transported by boats traveling down the Nile. The photo shows a felucca, a small, long, light, and narrow sailboat with two masts leaning forward. The sail, which has holes and is patched, still billows in the wind and allows the boat to follow the river’s course. – 1984

The Egyptian city of Quseir on the western coast of the Red Sea is dominated by the minaret of a mosque. Arab merchant ships also landed here with their cargoes of spices, which were transported by dromedaries along the Wadi El-Hamrnamat to Qus on the Nile, below Luxor. There, the cargo was transferred to feluccas—the two-masted Nile boats with lateen sails still in use today—which carried the goods to Cairo and Alexandria. – 1984

Every Tuesday, there is a camel market in the Upper Egyptian village of Dirwan. Most of these dromedaries come from Sudan and have been brought here in caravans. – 1984

In Bir-Abbad, Upper Egypt, dromedaries are being watered at a watering hole. This watering hole is located on an old caravan route between the Red Sea and the Nile Valley. – 1984

In Qurna, on the left bank of the Nile across from Luxor, a market is held once a week. Like so many other markets of this kind in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East, this market is visited by hundreds of people—sellers and buyers alike—and the atmosphere is perfect for attracting tourists. At these markets, you can find a little bit of everything: fruits, vegetables, and spices, which are an integral part of the locals’ daily diet. – 1984

This relief depicting a cargo boat with a distinctive amphora on board comes from the Mastaba of Idut (also known as the Tomb of Princess Idut) in Saqqara. The entrance area and the adjoining chambers of this tomb are world-famous for their dense, vivid depictions of life on the Nile. Directly at eye level, the reliefs there depict papyrus boats and wooden ships engaged in fishing and the transport of trade goods. The reliefs are among the best-preserved examples of Old Kingdom relief art. Many of the scenes still bear traces of their original colored paint. – 1984

Detail from the older part of Luxor Temple, 18th Dynasty. According to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, only the pharaoh was authorised to conduct religious services. This is why the temple reliefs always depict the king interacting with the gods, even though in reality he was represented by a large group of priests. In this section, Amenhotep III (1391–1353 BC), protected by the falcon Horus, offers sacrifices to the god Amun-Re (presumably on the right). These are placed on a tray held in the king’s hands and on a sacrificial table before him. They include drinks and food: water or wine, various types of bread, vegetables, chicken legs and plucked geese. The offering was presumably also enhanced with spices. On the sacrificial table, a slender libation vase and an elegant incense burner can also be seen, from which small flames rise, ready for the priestly rites that will take place in private. The floor is also strewn with flowers, which form part of the traditional offerings. – 1984