Light of Alexandria

Few nations in the world rouse such worldwide mystique and awe as Egypt. An ancient country, Egypt has been a unified state for 5,000 years. While most other nations were still hunting and gathering and learning to build huts, Ancient Egypt perfected one of the most colossal structures of all time – the Pyramids of Giza – and rose out of the constant passage of time by establishing something truly amazing. There’s no other place in the world that holds more mystery than the country of Egypt. The smell of the mysticism of the ancient Egyptians still lingers over the place. This ancient atmosphere seems to fill its every nook and cranny with secrets yet untold.

And perhaps there is nothing more mysterious, and more worthy of seeing in Egypt than the esteemed Great Pyramids of Giza. These are the pyramids of Khufu, Kafhre, and Menkaura. These perfectly shaped structures leaves everyone in awe and in wonder about how exactly they were made, considering that the ancient Egyptians had no advanced technology to work with.

And of course, if you’re going to go to the Great Pyramids, then you might as well go to the Sphinx. This is one of the most mysterious structures in Egypt. Even now, archeologists are still arguing about its origin and its purpose, making it the subject of the famous phrase, “the Riddle of the Sphinx.”

Most temples of antiquity are eventually physically altered, defiled or destroyed. This was not the fate of Abu Simbel because encroaching sands soon buried its lower half. It lay forgotten for millennia. Abu Simbel wasn’t rediscovered and exposed until about 200 years ago. Before little more of two years BBC carried out research between TV spectators for the 50 places which every must see while is alive. Abu Simbel was one of this places. It is set of two temples near the border of Egypt with Sudan. The larger one is Ra and Amun. The smaller temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, the goddess of love and beauty and also to his favorite wife – Nefertary. The facade of greater temple is 33 meters high and 38 meters broad. There is a guarded by four statues, each of which is 20 meters high. They were sculpted directly from the rock. It was constructed for the pharaoh Ramses II in the 13th century BC. is the most magnificent monuments in the world. During the salvage operation in 1964-1968 the two temples were dismantled and raised around 6o meters up the sandstone cliff where they had been built more 3,000 years before.

And of course, if you really want to immerse yourself in Egyptian culture, it would be best for you to go to the capital city, Cairo. The place is teeming with bazaars and restaurants where you can buy your taste of Egyptian culture. It’s surely not a place to miss.

The temples at Karnak are one of the greatest architectural achievements besides the Pyramid. Located a few kilometers north of Luxor, it spreads on approximately 250 acres. This is the largest religious complex in the world. The construction continued over an elongated period of thousand years and was contributed by more than thirty Pharaoh. The temple of Amun is the centerpiece of the site which is surrounded by a multitude of giant columns, obelisk, pylons and many statues.

What better way to experience ancient Egypt than to visit the very place where they worshipped their gods. The Temples of Karnak is the biggest site for Egyptian worship. It has a monument to just about every god in the Theban religion.

And of course, you can’t miss out on the famous Nile River. It is, after all, what nourished Egypt and turned it into the place of wonder that it is. In fact, what’s great about visiting the Nile is that you can take a Felucca and sail down the legendary river, taking in the sights of the city and the sunset.

The Valley of the Kings or Biban El Moluk is the place where Egypt’s most esteemed pharaohs were buried. This place is teeming with mummies and undiscovered treasures. In fact, this is the place where archeologists found one of the most famous mummies of all time – Tutankhamun.

Of course, since it would be unwise to leave the Egyptian treasures in the tombs they were found in, the archeologists put them in the Egyptian museum where they would be put under high security. If you want to learn about Egypt, this is the best place to start. There’s no other place with a higher concentration of Egyptian artifacts, and you can even follow the tour so that you can be oriented with the history of each of the artifacts.

Egypt isn’t all about temples and pyramids, there’s a place where you can just let loose and have fun – the Siwa Oasis. Here, you can take a swim in the cool waters to ward off the desert heat. It is rumored that Alexander stopped here during his great conquest.

And indeed, you can’t miss something as intriguing as a ‘Necropolis’ or, if translated, a City of the Dead. Here, you will find the less popular pyramids of Egypt, the step pyramids. However, though they are less popular than the great pyramids, they’re still suffused with great history and culture.

Finding cheap flights to Egypt is not that easy, you need to do researching as well as planning ahead of time. Airfares are usually the most expensive part of a vacation trip, next to it would be hotel accommodations, this is why most of those who plan to visit the Egypt would surely want to go after those cheap flights to Egypt. Nevertheless, once you arrive in the country, most of the things you will find there have adequately cheap prices, like food, transportation, souvenir items, clothing stuffs, and other accessories you may want to buy, way much cheaper compared to buying the same things from other countries.

There are many specially trained professional Travel Agents will always help you to book a convenient flight to the Egypt and cheap flights Africa is one of them so just call them to book flights which will best suit your budget and travel needs.

Libya; Why Not Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia etc          
Written by Paul I. Adujie

Today, France, Britain and the United States began a process which will culminate in the overthrow of Moamar Gadaffi, the dictator and tyrant who has dominated Libya’s political stage for far too long!

In attacking Libya, western nations led by France, have argued that Moamar Gadaffi already has or is at the verge of massacring “his-own-people” as he repelled or took counter measures against legitimate uprising, rebellion and revolution against his more than 40 years dictatorships, tyranny and repression against the people of Libya.

The truth is, the world is witnessing the onset of the invasion  and occupation of Libya for her sweet crude oil. This is Iraq all over again, in which Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMD was used as smokescreen or camouflage and cotton-wool over the eyes of the gullible, in the lead up to the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Libya is being attacked, Libya will be invaded and occupied with a regime change, under the guise of protecting Libyan people. It is false pretense. A dangerous and terrible precedent is being set, a slippery slope will ensue.

Libya is at cusp of experiencing a regime change, engineered by western nations under some banal pretexts. Western nations have hated and loathed Moamar Gaddaffi forever, as a real and phantom or imagined enemy. Gaddaffi’s preachment and stance as anti colonialist, anti imperialist and anti apartheid endeared him to me in my youth and college days.

Gaddaffi’s contradictions and inconsistencies were revealed to me, through an anti African migrant agreement which he entered with Italy and other European nations, in which Libya would be paid, to act as the gatekeeper for Europe against African citizens desperate to migrate to Europe through Libya, and other nations of North Africa.

Secondly, Gaddaffi’s virulent anti African stance was proven to me beyond doubt, when he publicly suggested that Nigeria should be split into several component parts as separate nations, and along regional, ethnic or cultural and linguistic lines! All believers in the unity in diversity and indivisible plural one Nigeria, as I am were irked by Gaddaffi’s petulance  and impertinence.

Let it be known therefore, that my opinion is not anchored on defending Gaddaffi and his sons, as they are clearly indefensible, in equal measure as they are brutal, violent, repressive! Gaddaffi epitomized the worst form of dictatorship and tyranny in the world today.

There is staggering hypocrisy and screeching-loud double standards in the actions of these western nations, particularly in the face of the massacre of more than 40 peaceful protesters in Yemen yesterday by the government of Yemen and it’s paramilitary or militia.

Hypocrisies by western nations is legendary and even brazen now, in view of the fact that the were scores of deaths in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia etc, all of which have witnesses protests and demonstrations and violence to varying degrees in these North African, Arabian and Middle Eastern nations since onset of these political upheaval in January

On the African continent, we witnessed and are still witnessing instances of rebellions and reprisals against rebels. Somalia is the worst example. Somalia is an anarchic nation state, a disintegrated and failed nation state which have not had a steady government since 1991. And yet, western nations have not intervened to save the lives of innocent civilians. If only Somalia had crude oil!?

Somalia has since 1991 garnered the attention of western nations intermittently, only when pirates on Somalis waters, the Somali flank of the India Ocean, interferes briefly, with western commerce and merchandizing with ocean going vessels, have we noticed ad hoc reactions or seeming recognition of the existence of human life in Somalia. Western nations have had this episodic reactions to the humanitarian crises in Somalia which is the root cause of the Somali pirate phenomenon

In 1994, there were massacres in Rwanda of almost a million persons, a monumental disaster which was later adjudged to have been motivated by hatred and ethnic cleansing, and therefore, genocidal horrors, which arose in schism and chasm between Hutu and Tutsi. Western nations folded their hands, despite the presence of the United Nations troops!

Since then, there have other genocidal horrors in Darfur Sudan, in which millions of Darfurians Sudanese met their untimely death, based primarily on their religion, race and southern origins in the Sudan. President Bashir’s government in Khartoum received criticisms, but there were not interventions, and Sudanese oil flowed even while the International Criminal Court indicted Bashir and Khartoum government. Libya is being attacked and invaded and Gaddaffi slated for overthrow and regime change, but Bashir is not!

There have been frequent reports from the Congo, reports which suggests that civilians noncombatants have been massacred, raped and abused, with resultant dislocations and no interventions has been suggested.

Liberia and Sierra Leone had their own shares of conflicts, gratuitous violence and dislocations visited upon innocent civilians, but for ECOWAS led by Nigeria, during which Nigeria spent billions of dollars on peace keeping and stability, there were not murmur or hints of intervention on humanitarian grounds, to secure, protect and preserve innocent civilians in Liberia and Sierra Leone, perhaps because Liberia, and Sierra Leone, quite unlike Iraq and Libya, do not have hydrocarbon or fossil fuel oils?

In recent times, France has corralled efforts and world opinion against Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent President of Ivory Coast; Ivory Coast suffered an election impasse or deadlock. President Gbago petitioned the highest court of that nation, which resolved the petition upon adjudication in his favor.

But the candidate preferred by France and other western nations, Alsance Qoutarra is being promoted as the winner of the November 28, 2010 elections. There are plans hatched outside Africa, to invade the Ivory Coast in order to install Alsance Qoutarra as stooge, this invasion would use Africans as tools, Nigeria being the arrow head or the apex of such military intervention in Ivory Coast.

As oppose to the extreme measure which is what military intervention-invasion is, how about a recount of the ballots? Alternatively, why wasn’t a repeat and a redo of the elections in Ivory Coast considered? Why the haste and what are the reasons for foreclosing these options in favor of the extreme measure of military invasion over election stalemate?

How about the humanitarian crises and refugees and destabilization of the entire West African sub-region which will probably result from the planned military invasion? A repeat election is more cost effective and better for all parties concerned. Military invasion comes with unintended consequences, even when such invasion had any justification… there are the known and unknowable of wars! What if there are elections deadlock in Nigeria in April 2011? What if there elections stalemate or impasse in Kenya or South Africa in those nations’ next elections, there will be outside military interventions? How does this promote democracy, due process and the rule of law, and other much vaunted democratic ideals?

Libya, Iraq before it, and perhaps Ivory Coast is next, are supposed to be politically independent, sovereign nations with territorial integrity, inviolate and sacrosanct. And only extraordinary circumstances ought to trigger external intervention and interference in the internal affairs of a particular nation by another or by several other nations. This affront and breach of international law, conventions and protocols are particularly offensive in view of the fact that it is deployed and used selectively.

Even most egregious examples and apt illustration of western nations’ staggering and jaw dropping hypocrisy and double standards is the fact that the attack against Libya and the Gaddaffi clan, is predicated, ostensibly, on the protection of “innocent-civilians” as Gaddaffi and his sons, the undeclared royal family and unconstitutional monarchy of Libya, have during the past several weeks engaged in violence and massacres directed at Kaddafi’s “own-people”

The glaring contradictions and inconsistencies by western governments in these matters are legendary! Yemen’s political leadership have through it’s militia and paramilitary massacred peaceful protesters and their “own-people” even as recent as yesterday, when over 40 Yemeni citizens were murdered by agents of the government of Yemen. But no planned intervention, invasion, and occupation of Yemen by western nations. 

After all, WikiLeaks and Julian Assange enlightened us as to how the American government compelled the government of Yemen to deceive it’s own people, by being the fall guy for American military operations inside Yemen, which have led to scores of deaths in Yemen. All this, not in pursuit of Yemen’s national or strategic interests. Yemen is a client nation state, eager to serve interests of western nations, so, no intervention in Yemen, no invasion and occupation or regime change for Yemen.

In Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Algeria and Tunisia and Egypt before that, there were peaceful public demonstrations, and protests, in these nations, which have been stereotyped populaces, culture and region with blood-lusts, where folks are liable to and prone to engage in mindless violence without logic or reason.

Meanwhile, peacefulness have been the key word, and catchphrase in these protests which began in Tunisia, then Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Yemen, etc. Peacefulness have been exemplified in the tidal wave of revolutions, political upheaval and demands for individual rights, freedoms and a further demand for democracy, the rule of law and an end to political repressions. Mindless murderers and Political Islam which is dreaded by western nations never capitalized on these peaceful protest. And those who are supposed to be mindless murderers for pleasure in the in Islamic-Arab World, and North Africa, were nowhere to be found!

Peacefulness or no peacefulness, it is the case that citizens who have engaged in legitimate demand for economic, political and constitutional  reforms in the aforementioned North African, Middle Eastern-Arab and Persian nations, have subjected to brutal attack, extremely draconian and murderous attacks by the various dictatorships and tyrannies in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and more particularly so, in Yemen.

Western nations’ military armada are now engaged in direct intervention, invasion and occupation of Libya, predicated on the propaganda, neatly packaged, which insists that Moamar Gaddaffi and his sons are engaging in massacres of “their-own-people” innocent civilians and all! But, it must be pointed out, and these pretentious western nations should be reminded that the innocent civilians in Libya, those engaged in uprising and revolution or rebellion in Libya are not different in the plights, predicaments and fates when compared to equally beleaguered peaceful protesters and demonstrators in other North African Arab and Middle Eastern nations already mentioned above. What exactly is the criteria for selecting Libya? And how can western nations sustain reasonable argument which would convince anyone as to the difference between Libya, and most of the North African and Middle Eastern nations with similar uprisings? Why cherry pick Libya, as opposed to Yemen etc?

Why is it that western nations are splendidly disinterested in economic and political reforms, or the establishment and promotion-advancement of democracy in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, Egypt, etc? These are nations where single individuals and or families have dominated and colonized political space for decades, with winks and nods and active encouragements by and from western nations which are only interested in free flow of oil and the protections and preservation of their parochial and myopic interests.

Western nations have historically and perennially mouthed so-called western ideals a la democracy, due process, the rule of law and human rights etc, and yet, when the chips are down, and when it is time for these same western nations to put their monies where their mouths are, they have always preferred to undermine, subvert and rather truncate democracy and good governance in the hot pursuit of their national and strategic interests, based on expediencies and exigent and ad hoc worldview. This repeated concave and shortsightedness have often backfired historically. Think Cuba, Chile, Iran, Afghanistan etc

This shortsightedness, this myopia, this parochial worldview, measured only by fleeting and fluid western interest is root causes of all the troubles in the world. This invasion, occupation and regime change in Libya is again motivated by land grab and the new scramble for resources, particularly oil in the Middle East, Arabia, Persia, and in the case of Libya, you could say, North Africa, perhaps it is time to raise our collective alert to the fact that there is a new scramble for Africa and her resources, and Libya is the first step, and the first salvo was fired today, led by the French, Britain and America, albeit, with tacit and arguably feeble support from the Arab League and the African Union.
It is extremely shameful to see how often expedient western interests trumps and trounces so-called ideals

All things considered and particularly in view of the situations in the various North African and Middle Eastern nations which are already referenced and outlined above, many are curious to know, why there are no plans to similarly intervene directly, invade, occupy and do regime changes in all the nations which are currently undergoing tidal waves of political upheaval by way of peaceful demonstrations and protests. Especially, as in Yemen where peaceful protesters have been murdered and massacred in large numbers!

The question which should be on everyone’s lips, therefore, is, why Libya? If Libya, why not Somalia, Sudan, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria, Saudi Arabia etc? I hold all dictators and tyrants in equal contempt and disdain, and it is irrelevant whether such dictatorships or tyrannies are theocratic, monarchical or military

Libya possesses the highly valued crude oil, a particularly less sulfuric version, known as the sweet crude, a West Texas Intermediate sibling or equivalent.

And only a fool and a communist would believe that crude oil in Libya has anything to do with western nations’ attacks, intervention, and planned invasion, occupation and regime change in Libya.

Only a floozy conspiracy theorist, would as fathom the silly idea, that Libya’s resources and strategic geographic location, makes Libya a launching pad for the new scramble for resource on the African continent and Middle East region by western nations!

The ancient Egyptians are classified as being a Death culture, because their beliefs surrounds death, the death of a person or even the death of an animal. The extent that these cultures go to, is why they are referred to as a death culture.

The old Egyptians would mummify their dead, meaning they would give the body of the deceased a curtain treatment. They would also mummify animals, it was done with love and compassion. Some people, in our modern days, might see this as an obscure or even horrible thing to do or practice. here I again think the very opposites, I believe that because they had this close interaction with the concept of death, the more they realized what life was really about.

The most important sign in ancient Egyptian history is the sign know as the ‘Ankh’ which literary means, Life. Then on the other had, their most important god, was the god of death, ‘the opener of the ways’ the guider of the soul. So they already incorporated the paradoxically nature of life and death itself, which if you ask me, is something only a most advanced civilization would be able to do. Even in our modern days, we don’t even come a little bit close to being able to incorporate a deeper understanding into our writing systems and beliefs. Maybe the Chinese and Hindus, come much closer to the ancient understanding of life and death. They practiced the understanding of death so much so that they in return learned that much about life. Sadly it is only when we loose someone precious for us, and come to understand how we won’t see them again in this life. Only then, will one come closer to understanding the importance in life in general, how each person is born with some reason behind it, yet we live so fare away from these thoughts in today’s world, which is rather odd when you look at how much death, we are spreading.

I like to study these ancient cultures, because they make we aware of things which I never thought of before. In the confrontation of our death, we in turn see and feel life as a pure energy, and if one understands  the connection, then the obvious will become clear, that all life, was given life, for a purpose bigger than our mind can comprehend.

open your mind…

We live in a world, where the watch upon the hand, tells you, the time, and not the being that holds the watch – in other words; It was never the watch that told time, but our understanding of the bigger picture of our universe, that made US tell time (as we now understand it).

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Do you know everything about Africa, the second largest continent of the world? Do you want to have a cultural insight into this amazing land of pyramids and sphinx? Is your knowledge on facts about Africa is incomplete and you have a thirst for more? If yes, then go on reading. Let’s try to find more about this adventurous and incredible land.

Stretched over an area of 30,330,000 sq km, Africa covers more than 20% of the total land of the world. It is the ancient civilization of the world. Its largest country is Sudan, located in north-eastern part. The smallest one is Seychelles that covers an area of about 450 sq km. The highest mountain is Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and the lowest point is Asal Lake in Djibouti. The longest river of the world, Nile, flows through Africa, covering a distance of 6650 km. Lake Malawi is famous for the largest number of species of fish found in its water. World’s oldest desert Namib is the only desert that is a home to many wild animals including elephants, lions and rhinoceros. The youth literacy rates are highest in Gabon (97%) and lowest in Burkina Faso (39.3%). The other facts about Africa are also interesting. The most populated country of Africa is Nigeria with 120-140 million people. The Seychelles is the least populated with not more than 85,000 inhabitants. The most attractive tourist destination, Egypt is famous for its pyramids, although the number of pyramids is more in Sudan. The diving is cheapest at Lake Malawi.

Now let’s have a look at the popular tribes in Africa. There are more than 7000 tribes in this continent; each tribal population has its own rituals, customs and culture. Some of them still live nomadic life and their cultures are deeply rooted into the ancient civilizations.  The largest ethnic group is Zulu that is an inhabitant of South Africa. They decorate their bodies with accessories made from beads. This tribe had strong patriarchal systems that fought many wars with British. This tribe practices divinity. Amhara is an ethnic tribe of Ethiopia that is very influential. Most of the people are orthodox Christians that adhere to the age old traditions of fasting and baptizing. Ashanti is one of the famous tribes in Africa that live at Akans in Ghana.

Pyramid of Cheopsor the Great Pyramid of Giza, as it is commonly called, is the only wonder of the ancient world that has survived today. Built around third century B.C, the structure was built with over two million blocks of stone. It is a tomb of the pharaoh Khufu who was a powerful ruler of Egypt. Most of the external marble of which Pyramid was made up of has eroded with tomb. The base of the structure is 750 feet. The structure is made up of three chambers. An entrance gate that lies at a height of about 17 meters from the ground leads to a passageway. Going further inside, there is a lower chamber. The “Queen’s Chamber” that lies at the end of an ascending pathway has pointed roof. The “King’s Chamber” lies further north of a Grand Gallery. It is the burial place of Khufu who was considered divine as he was believed to be a link between God and man. The Pyramid of Cheops is a famous tourist attraction that has remained a favorite among the visitors due to its colossal structure and antiquity.

Voyageafrica.net lets you explore the facts about africa, African people, tribes in africa , History of Africa, African Safari and many more places.

Egypt is a Middle Eastern country in northeast Africa; it is in the center of the Arab world. Egypt controls the Suez Canal which is the shortest sea link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The country is defined by desert and the Nile, the longest river on Earth. Ancient civilizations arose along the narrow floodplain of the Nile, protected by the deserts that were natural barriers to invaders. Egyptians take pride in their heritage and their descent from what is considered the first great civilization. One of the reasons people travel to Egypt is the interest in the pyramids which have survived the centuries as lasting symbols of Egyptian culture, the same might be said for the camels that haul visitors around to see the many wonders.

Egypt has several different tourist super-sites, each one has its own flavor and each serves a different purpose.

Cairo is considered the jewel of the Orient, the melting pot of ancient and modern Egyptian civilizations.

On the east side stands the evidence of 2000 years of Islamic, Christian Coptic and Jewish cultures still flourishing, on the west side lays the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis , the capital of the old kingdom and the site of the pyramids, the only wonder left of the seven wonders of the world, a journey through Cairo is a journey through time. The area around Cairo is considered the heart of Egypt, with all aspects of Egypt represented including some of the famous Pharaonic, ancient Christian and Islamic monuments, great hotels and restaurants. Shopping in Cairo is very enjoyable and ranges from the famous Khan el-khalili souk (bazaar) unchanged since the 14th century. No visit to Cairo is complete without visiting the great Pyramids and the Sphinx. The Egyptian Museum and the sound and light show at the Pyramids area are spectacular.

Alex is the second largest city and is the main port of Egypt; it is one of the most notable summer resorts in the Middle East known for its temperate winters. Sites worth visiting are the Greco Roman Museum, the Roman Theater, Qaitbay Fort and the catacombs of Komel-Shokafa.

Aswan is larger but much quieter, it is a beautiful city which is positioned alongside some of the best stretches of the Nile, it is dotted with pretty islands and high desert hills topped with the Aga Khan’s Mausoleum. The Nile is beautiful as it makes its way down from High Dam and Nasser Lake, watching the sun set over the Nile is an experience not to be missed.

Luxor has been called the world’s greatest outdoor museum because of the number of ancient Egyptian monuments, this is why it is one of Egypt’s greatest tourist attractions. A trip to Luxor would not be complete without a visit to the Valley of the Kings, which incorporates the famous tomb of Tutankhamen, and the Valley of the Queens with Nefertiti’s decorated final resting place. If you want a thrill take an early morning balloon trip over the west bank of the Nile.