Tour Garbage City and Saint Samaan Cave church

Egypt is a world famous destination. Impressive Egyptian History – check; colossal monuments – check; impressive landscapes – check; extreme poverty – check that one too. But, most travelers who visit Egypt seem to skip that one last check. Nothing wrong with skipping it, but it is important to know that Egypt is not just the grandeur of its imperial past.Garbage City is a slum settlement at the base of Mokattam Hill on the outskirts of Cairo, and inhabited by the Coptic Christians. This was the first place I got to experience out of all Cairo.community of garbage collectors who make their living collecting and recycling 17, 000 tons of garbage produced by Cairo's 20 million residents.seven beautiful cave churches unexpectedly rise against the backdrop of Mokattam hills. Located in southeast Cairo, these Coptic Christian churches were created by the garbage collectors. To reach the monastery, visitors must traverse winding pathways past heaps of collected trash within the Garbage City Seven churches and chapels are hidden within a series of caves inside the Monastery; the Virgin Mary and St. Simon Cathedral is the largest church. Inside the spacious caverns, beautiful engravings cover the walls, While walking the chaotic streets of Garbage City, you will understand in a small degree how their economy moves. Families specialize in a particular type of garbage .

Garbage City might not have the glory of Egypt’s past and of its monuments, but it is a place I recommend everyone to visit as it shows a face no one cares to see, but that is very ever present not only in Cairo, but in many parts of the world.

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Tomb of Pabasa (TT279)

Pabasa, who was also called Pabes, has a large tomb at Asasif, just outside the entrance to Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahri. Like Ankh-hor, who held this important title after him, he was the ‘Chief Steward of the God’s Wife Nitocris’ (Neitiqert) during the reign of Saite king Psamtek I. Pabasa’s tomb still has a large mudbrick superstructure. A steep flight of stairs leads down to the entrance of the subterranean levels and on the lintel above the doorway is a fine relief of a barque, adored by the souls of Pe and Nekhen, by the God’s Wife, Nitocris and by the deceased. A small vestibule leads to a larger pillared sun court. The vestibule shows scenes of Pabasa’s funeral procession, including mourners and the ‘Abydos Pilgrimage’. There is a long text of Pabasa and depictions of his son, Thahorpakhepesh, who acted as sem-priest at his father’s funeral. On the inner lintel of the entrance to the court, a relief shows Osiris and Re-Horakhty, in the cent...

The bindweeds of Egypt and their symbolic role for the deceased

http://www.egyptraveluxe.com/cairo_half_day_tour_to_cairo_egyptian_museum.php From the Middle Kingdom until the 18th Dynasty, representations are found of a parasitic bindweed associated with the stems of papyrus, . Its representations increase and refine themselves during the Amarnian period because of the naturalistic leaning to nature; but it is in Ramesside times, and more particularly that of Ramesses II, that the images become more beautiful and most detailed. The plant is frequently attached to the stem of the papyrus, or to bouquets, but being also able to, more rarely, exist separately. After the 20th Dynasty, if the theme persists, the quality of the representations decrease (as do all more representations of nature). This success under the Ramesseses is probably linked with the specific beliefs of that time, and notably the eminent place that the solar cults occupy. The nature of the plant has been under debate a long time ...

US authorities return eight stolen ancient Egyptian artifacts

US authorities agreed to return eight ancient Egyptian artifacts stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country. Today, upon his arrival from the United States, Minister of Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim announced that US authorities agreed to return eight ancient Egyptian artefacts stolen and illegally smuggled out of the country. The objects are to arrive next month. The pieces include the upper part of a painted anthropoid wooden sarcophagus from the Third Intermediate period depicting a face of a woman wea ring a wig decorated with coloured flowers. Two linen mummy wrappings covered with plaster and bearing paintings showing winged amulets pushing the sun disc are also among the artefacts. Hieroglyphic text showing the name and titles of the deceased are also found on the plaster cover. The third piece is a cartonage painted mummy mask from the Third Intermediate period while the fourth and fifth items are Middle Kingdom wooden boats. The other three items are lim...

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