Egypt

An Egyptian Diary: Post script

An Egyptian Diary: Post script

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India and Egypt shave a lot in common. Both are ancient civilisations and have emerged from centuries of foreign rule. Though the population is only 80 million, there is a lot of ethnic diversity with some who can pass off for Europeans, some who look like Africans and the rest of them look North African or Arab. Not surprising, if one takes into account its history and its geographic location, which is at the intersection of Asia, Africa and Europe…

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Alexandria, the pearl of the Mediterranean

Alexandria, the pearl of the Mediterranean

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Alexandria was home to Egypt’s second wonder of the Ancient World: the famous Lighthouse built by the Ptolemies in the 3rd Century AD. Soaring to a height of 140 metres, its beacon was visible to seamen over 50 km away. It was one of the tallest man-made structures in the world for centuries till a powerful earthquake destroyed it in the 14th century.

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Pyramids: sepulchres of the Pharaohs

Pyramids: sepulchres of the Pharaohs

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The sides of the Pyramids were originally clad with highly polished white limestone slabs and were topped by gold-plated capstones called pyramidions which picked up the first rays of the sun and these rays reflected off the cladding to make the entire pyramid glow with solar luminescence.

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Cairo, the city of a thousand minarets

Cairo, the city of a thousand minarets

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ghumakkar loves serendipitous moments, when one comes across something remarkable but totally unexpected. I had such an experience a few minutes after landing in Cairo. The drive to the hotel from the airport was rather uninteresting as the architecture was pretty drab, just row after boring row of grey, rectangular concrete blocks . All of a sudden, I saw a building which looked like a Hindu temple…

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Obama in Cairo, and Nile Cruise

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While there, I immersed myself to soak in the culture of the land of the pharaohs. They may have lived 7500 years ago but their memories are still strong in present-day Egypt. They believed and led their subjects to believe that they represented the gods on earth. The Egyptians were precocious and did create one of the earliest civilizations on the earth. From those times, they grew cotton and invented paper, and codified many things about life and death.

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EGYPT – WHERE IT ALL BEGINS (PART 1)

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In the beginning, there was nothing! No this or that, no something or nothing, no light or dark and of course neither Ghumakkar nor Ghumakkari. Aeons upon incalculable aeons passed, then there was a big bang within the millionth of a second……..Cut, Cut, Cut.  

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