News — travel blog

On a recent trip to Luxor, Egypt, I was in the backseat of a van on the way to Medinet Habu. I looked out the window and noticed two giant statues sitting in an open field by the road. Our guide turned the car around so we could get a closer look. This was the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III.   The two 60 foot statues of Amenhotep III stand at the gates of the pharaoh's funerary temple. Behind the large statues, you can see that archeologists are working to excavate and reconstruct the rest of the temple. The...

On a recent visit to Egypt, we visited the Hathor Temple in Dendera. On the roof of the temple, there is a small open-air room. The small room was a chapel dedicated to Osiris. When you walk inside it is noticeable that the walls do not have the same highly detailed hieroglyphs as the rest of the temple. However, when you look up you notice something amazing.  On the right side of the ceiling is a large arching Nut drawing. Nut is the goddess of the sky and heavens. On the left side is a relief that is unique to...

We now offer many pieces from the Khayamiya (tentmakers) district of old Cairo in our Etsy store. For over 1,000 years, the tentmakers of Cairo hand-stitched huge panels (some as large as 10 x 20 feet) that were attached to the interior of tents. These were primarily used for funeral gatherings, with very bright green, orange and red colors.   The designs are created by the 'appliqué' process which is stitching layers on top of canvas backing. In recent years, the tentmakers began making smaller pieces to be used as bedspreads, wall hangings, and pillowcases, using much softer color tones. The...

    Contrary to the what you might think, camels are not thought to have been in Egypt during ancient times (around 3000 BC). Camels are said to have been brought by foreign travelers and conquerors who traveled across the desert in the Ptolemaic Period (around 350 BC). Today, you can find camels in Egypt used for tourist adventures. Egyptians hold camel riding tours around the Pyramids of Giza. In an effort to provide more items that give you a taste of Egypt and a feeling of walking through Egypt itself, we have added a small camel statue to our product line. Mini...

  On my most recent trip to Luxor, I went to visit my favorite spot in Medinat Habu (Habu Temple). I was surprised to see scaffolding on a large section of the columns, with a team of young students working diligently on it.  I must admit, I liked the idea of removing dust, dirt, bird poop, etc. However, when I realized that the colorful sections were changing color, I was a bit concerned.   As a purist, I much prefer the 'weathered by thousands of years' look, but I am hopeful that this deepening of the colors will lighten over...