Provides practical advice on planning a trip to Egypt; describes points of interest in each section of the country; and includes information on restaurants, nightspots, shops, and lodging.

"Magnificent Egypt is presented in a newly updated edition that guides visitors from Cairo and Luxor to the Valley of the Kings and Aswan Dam, and on to the Red Sea. 3-D diagrams of the pyramids, a detailed floor plan of the Egyptian Museum, walking tours of Cairo and Alexandria, history and culture, regional and neighborhood maps... all combine to give visitors the full advantage of National Geographic's expertise." - product description.

History and Culture: Pyramids, sphinxes, tombs and temples recall Egypt's ancient past. One of the first and most fascinating civilizations of human history was born here on the banks of the mighty Nile thousands of years ago. Later on caliphs and sultans turned Egypt into an oriental fairy-tale land out of the 1001 Nights -- an atmosphere it has kept to this day. Travel Destinations: Nelles Guide Egypt leads you from Cairo, the pulsating metropolis, to the timeless beauty of the Nile oasis. It covers everything: the magnificient monuments from the days of the Pharaohs, splendid mosques and churches as well as the beautiful beaches of Alexandria and the Red Sea, the bizarre mountains of the Sinai and the pristine oases of the Sahara. Features: The phenomenon of re-Islamization is one of the topics that may deepen the reader's interest in Egypt. Other features report on such subjects as the Aswan dam, the Nobel prize winner Nagib Mahfuz, the art and gods of the pharaohs and the science of egyptology. Nelles Guide Egypt does not stop at describing places, it also presents the complexities of Egyptian life. Travel Information: Whether traveling by boat, road or air, the Guidelines at the end of the book will assist you before and during your journey. The Guideposts at the end of each chapter in the travel section are especially designed to suit every des-tination and offer a great deal of important information about accomodation, hotels, restaurants and more. Book jacket.

Here is a thorough, easy-to-use guide to the vast and stunning collection of art and antiquities found in Egypt's archaeological paradise, the Valley of the Kings. The Tomb of Tutankhamun and its contents are featured prominently, as are the temples of Luxor and Karnak, the dromos, the Luxor Museum, the Chapel of Achoris, the Valley of Asasif, the Ramesseum, the Valley of the Queens, and the Colossi of Memnon. Dendera, Esna, Abydos Edfu, and Korn Ombo-all peripheral locations to the major sites-are included because their state of preservation makes them especially interesting for visitors and scholars. Weeks has spent his career documenting the regions and infuses this guide with a level of clarity and detail not previously achieved in a handbook.

The Luxor Museum houses a fine collection of Egyptian antiquities that is beautifully exhibited. This illustrated volume highlights some of the masterpieces found in ancient Thebes. There are glorious examples of ancient artifacts from tombs and temples in Karnak and Luxor, and the Deir al-Bahari mummy cache. Middle Kingdom statues depict the pharaohs who made Thebes their political capital and Amun the king of the gods. The New Kingdom brings statues and artifacts from the time of the great pharaohs such as Ahmose, Hatshepsut, and Thutmosis III. Akhenaten and the revolutionary Amarna art, and the famous boy king Tutankhamun, are present too.

The extraordinary story of how an obelisk from the banks of Luxor was transferred to the Place de la Concorde in Paris in the early 19th century Transporting the Luxor obelisk from Egypt to Paris was one of the great engineering triumphs of the early nineteenth century. No obelisk this size (two hundred and fifty tons) had left Egypt in nearly two thousand years, and the task of bringing it fell to a young engineer, Apollinaire Lebas, a man of extraordinary resolve and ability. His is a tale of adventure, excitement, and drama, but one hardly known to the English-speaking world. Lebas’ team was struck by the plague; they ran out of wood; they had to wait four months for the Nile to rise to free their beached ship. But in the end, The Luxor, with its precious cargo on board, sailed down the Nile. On October 25, 1836 before two hundred thousand cheering Parisians, Lebas raised his obelisk. He was rewarded handsomely by his king, a medal with his name on it was struck, and his body lies in the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris along with French luminaries. Now this first-ever translation of Lebas’s account, including digitally enhanced copies of his beautiful drawings, makes his remarkable story available to a wide audience.