Simon Calder's Holiday Helpdesk: Is it safe to cruise the Nile?

@ http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/simon-calders-holiday-helpdesk-is-it-safe-to-cruise-the-nile-8436292.html

Q. I want to cruise the Nile this year, and stay one night in Cairo. Is it safe to cruise the Nile - and also what about the problems in Cairo?

Name withheld

A. In the past two years, Egypt has undergone intense political turmoil, but to the best of my knowledge no tourist has come to harm as a result of the upheavals. Given the immense importance of tourism to Egypt, and the natural concern that the locals have for visitors' welfare, I do not see that changing.

Cairo is an enthralling city that deserves several days of your time, if you can spare it. The pyramids on the edge of the city at Giza are the main draw, and at present are relatively uncrowded. The Egyptian Museum is another "must" - except if demonstrations in Tahrir Square, alongside it, place it off limits. Keep an eye on the Foreign Office travel advice (at fco.gov.uk); over the past two years, it has proved well-judged.

The upper reaches of Egypt's Nile, where you are likely to be cruising, have remained calm - though life for the communities has proved extremely stressful because of the collapse of much of the tourism industry.

Tourists have been the target of deadly terrorist attacks over the decade from 1997, but the main focus recently has been on the Sinai peninsula - well away from where you will be spending your time.

My main concern for your welfare has nothing to do with political instability; it is the much more mundane matter of road safety. Egypt has an appalling death rate, and the less time you spend on the roads the better. Therefore choose a cruise where connections are made by air or rail, if at all possible.

Overall, though, this is an excellent year to visit Egypt.

Qasr Al Agouz temple in Luxor to open next week

The Ptolemaic temple of Qasr Al Agouz on Luxor’s west bank is to open next week.

On Luxor’s west bank, in front of Habu Temple stands the small Ptolemaic chapel temple of Qasr Al Agouz  now awaiting visitors. After seven years of being off Luxor’s tourist map for restoration, Qasr Al Agouz Temple is to be officially inaugurated next week.

Although it encapsulates a very important period in Egyptian history, the temple is virtually unknown to visitors.

It dates back to the reign of King Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II and is composed of three oblong rooms, including an offering room and a sanctuary. The temple is dedicated to the god Ibis-Thoth who is represented with a human body and the head of an ibis. It is sometimes depicted wearing the lunar disc with the two phases of a full moon and crescent, sometimes also with a crown.

Two deified mortals of the Late Period showing Imhotep's role as healer and holy Amenhotep-son-of-Hapu are also represented on the walls.  The Ptolemaic dynastic cult is well represented, including the ancestors of Ptolemy (with no mention of the first Ptolemy son of Lagus, who was a commoner) and their queens. Scenes depicting Thoth with other gods and goddesses are also shown.

“Although the temple is architecturally almost intact, its decorations have suffered a high rate of humidity and erosion,” Mohamed Beabesh, inspector chief of antiquities of Luxor’s west bank, told Ahram Online. He explained that scenes of Qasr Al Agouz are painted, not carved, which is very rare in Ptolemaic monuments and reflects the incompleteness of the building, as evidenced by the lack of decoration on the external walls which are not decorated.

The temple was subjected to an epigraphic survey by Dominique Mallet in 1909 from the French archaeological institute (IFAO). The Marc Bloch Institute of Egyptology of the University of Strasburg, solicited by the Supreme Council of the Antiques of Egypt, in collaboration with the IFAO, have carried out comprehensive restoration work since 2002.

The temple and its paintings were subjected to studies and research and in 2005 concrete restoration started.

Beabesh said that cracks spread over the walls have been repaired, the paintings consolidated, the floor covered with bubbles to absorb subterranean water and a new lighting system installed in order to make the temple accessible at night.

Catherine Ashton unveils replica Tomb of Tutankhamun at start of EU-Egypt Task Force

In Cairo today on the occasion of the launch of the EU-Egypt Task Force, Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, together with Mohamed Hisham Zaazou, Minister of Tourism of the Arab Republic of Egypt, unveiled a near-perfect facsimile of the Tomb of Tutankhamun.

Catherine Ashton said: "I am so excited to be here. For those of us who have the privilege of visiting this country, this is a wonderful symbol of the richness and the culture and the heritage that exist in Egypt.  It is also a wonderful expression of what we are trying to do here in Egypt with the Task Force: bring Europe and Egypt closer together and promote Egypt, this rich and great country, to show that it is a place to invest, a place to visit, a place to feel welcome at and the place we want to see succeed."

The unveiling coincides with the 90th anniversary of the discovery of the original tomb. The technology behind the facsimile was developed by Factum Arte, based in London and Madrid, who worked for two years on the project together with the University of Basel and under licence from the Supreme Council of Antiquities. It is a gift to the Arab Republic of Egypt from the Factum Foundation and the Society of Friends of the Royal Tombs, facilitated by the EU Delegation in Egypt.