Nairobi National Park In Africa

Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya. Established in 1946, the national park was Kenya's first.[2] It is located approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) south of the centre of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city,[3] with an electric fence separating the park's wildlife from the metropolis.[4] Nairobi's skyscrapers can be seen from the park. The proximity of urban and natural environments has caused conflicts between the animals and local people and threatens animals' migration routes.[2]
Still, despite its proximity to civilisation and relative small size for an African national park,[5] Nairobi National Park boasts a large and varied wildlife population.[6] Migrating herbivores gather in the park during the dry season, and it is one of Kenya's most successful rhinoceros sanctuaries.[3]

Description
Colonists arrived in the area where the park is located in the late 19th century. At this time, the Athi plains east and south of what is today Nairobi had plentiful wildlife. Nomadic Maasai lived and herded their cattle among the wildlife. Kikuyu people farmed the forested highlands above Nairobi. As Nairobi grew—it had 14,000 residents by 1910—conflicts between humans and animals increased. Residents of the city carried guns at night to protect against lions. People complained that giraffes and zebras walked on and ruined their flower beds. Animals were gradually confined to the expansive plains to the west and south of Nairobi, and the colonial government set this area aside as a game reserve. Settlers from Nairobi including Isak Dinesen, author of Out of Africa, rode horses among gazelles, impala, and zebras in this reserve.[2]

The conservationist Mervyn Cowie was born in Nairobi. Returning to Kenya after a nine-year absence in 1932,[7] he was alarmed to see that the amount of game animals on the Athi plains had dwindled. Expanding farms and livestock had taken the place of the game. He later recalled this place as a paradise that was quickly disappearing. At this time, the area that would later become Nairobi National Park was part of the Southern Game Reserve. Hunting was not permitted in the reserve, but nearly every other activity, including cattle grazing, dumping, and even bombing by the Royal Air Force was allowed. Cowie started to campaign for the establishment of a national park system in Kenya.[2] The government formed a committee to examine the matter.[7]

Officially opened in 1946,[2] Nairobi National Park was the first national park established in Kenya.[5] Maasai pastoralists were removed from their lands when the park was created.[8] Cowie was named as director of Nairobi National Park and held this position until 1966.[2] In 1989, Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi burned twelve tons of ivory on a site within the park. This event improved Kenya's conservation and wildlife protection image.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairobi_National_Park

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Saqqara In Egypt

Saqqara (Arabic: سقارة‎, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [sɑʔˈʔɑːɾɑ]), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English /səˈkɑrə/, is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis.[1] Saqqara features numerous pyramids, including the world famous Step pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Tomb due to its rectangular base, as well as a number of mastabas (Arabic word meaning 'bench'). Located some 30 km (19 mi) south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 by 1.5 km (4.35 by 0.93 mi).

At Saqqara, the oldest complete stone building complex known in history was built: Djoser's step pyramid, built during the third dynasty. Another 16 Egyptian kings built pyramids at Saqqara, which are now in various states of preservation or dilapidation. High officials added private funeral monuments to this necropolis during the entire pharaonic period. It remained an important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years, well into Ptolemaic and Roman times.

North of the area known as Saqqara lies Abusir; south lies Dahshur. The area running from Giza to Dahshur has been used as necropolis by the inhabitants of Memphis at different times, and it has been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.[2]

Contrary to popular belief, the name Saqqara is not derived from the ancient Egyptian funerary god Sokar, but from the Beni Saqqar who are a local Berber tribe.[3] Their name means "Sons of Saqqar." Since they are not indigenous to the area it would not follow that they would fashion themselves as being born of an ancient Egyptian god whose identity was unknown until the age of archaeology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saqqara

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Ras Mohammed National Park In Egypt

Ras Mohammad (Egyptian Arabic: راس محمد Rās Maḥammad , IPA: [ɾɑːs mæˈħæmmæd]; Arabic: رأس محمد‎ Raʼs Muḥammad ) is a national park in Egypt at the southern extreme of the Sinai Peninsula, overlooking the Gulf of Suez on the west and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east.

History
When the Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt, Ras Muhammad was declared for protection from fishing and other human activities. Some of the fishing methods, such as using dynamite and knives also were impacting the coral reef and the fish populations. In 1983, the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) established the area as a marine reserve for the protection of marine and terrestrial wildlife. The park was also established to protect against urban sprawl from Sharm el-Sheikh and other coastal development.[1] The name literally means "Mohammad's Head", where "head" in this instance means "headland". There is a saying in the area that the name arose because in side view the contour of the cliff looks like the profile of a bearded man's face, with horizontal hard strata providing the nose and bearded chin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ras_Muhammad_National_Park

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Al-Azhar Mosque In Egypt

Al-Azhar Mosque (Arabic: الجامع الأزهر‎ al-Gāmi` al-Azhar, "mosque of the most resplendent") is a mosque in Islamic Cairo in Egypt. Al-Mu‘izz li-Dīn Allāh of the Fatimid Caliphate commissioned its construction for the newly established capital city in 970. Its name is usually thought to allude to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatimah, a revered figure in Islam who was given the title az-Zahrā′ ("the shining one"). It was the first mosque established in Cairo, a city that has since gained the nickname "the city of a thousand minarets."[nb 1]

After its dedication in 972, and with the hiring by mosque authorities of 35 scholars in 989, the mosque slowly developed into what is today the second oldest continuously run university in the world after Al Karaouine. Al-Azhar University has long been regarded as the foremost institution in the Islamic world for the study of Sunni theology and sharia, or Islamic law. The university, integrated within the mosque as part of a mosque school since its inception, was nationalized and officially designated an independent university in 1961, following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.

Over the course of its over a millennium-long history, the mosque has been alternately neglected and highly regarded. Because it was founded as an Ismāʿīli institution, Saladin and the Sunni Ayyubid dynasty that he founded shunned al-Azhar, removing its status as a congregational mosque and denying stipends to students and teachers at its school. These moves were reversed under the Mamluk Sultanate, under whose rule numerous expansions and renovations took place. Later rulers of Egypt showed differing degrees of deference to the mosque and provided widely varying levels of financial assistance, both to the school and to the upkeep of the mosque. Today, al-Azhar remains a deeply influential institution in Egyptian society and a symbol of Islamic Egypt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Azhar_Mosque

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Karnak In Egypt

The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (/kɑːr.næk/[1]), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings. Building at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued into the Ptolemaic period, although most of the extant buildings date from the New Kingdom. The area around Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut ("The Most Selected of Places") and the main place of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its head. It is part of the monumental city of Thebes. The Karnak complex gives its name to the nearby, and partly surrounded, modern village of El-Karnak, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) north of Luxor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak

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Medinat Habu In Africa

Medinet Habu is the name commonly given to the Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, an important New Kingdom period structure in the location of the same name on the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt. Aside from its intrinsic size and architectural and artistic importance, the temple is probably best known as the source of inscribed reliefs depicting the advent and defeat of the Sea Peoples during the reign of Ramesses III.




Description
The temple, some 150 m long, is of orthodox design, and resembles closely the nearby mortuary temple of Ramesses II (the Ramesseum). The temple precinct measures approximately 210 m (690 ft). by 300 m (1,000 ft) and contains more than 7,000 m2 (75,347 sq ft) of decorated wall reliefs.[1] Its walls are relatively well preserved and it is surrounded by a massive mudbrick enclosure, which may have been fortified. The original entrance is through a fortified gate-house, known as a migdol (a common architectural feature of Asiatic fortresses of the time).

Just inside the enclosure, to the south, are chapels of Amenirdis I, Shepenupet II and Nitiqret, all of whom had the title of Divine Adoratrice of Amun.

The first pylon leads into an open courtyard, lined with colossal statues of Ramesses III as Osiris on one side, and uncarved columns on the other. The second pylon leads into a peristyle hall, again featuring columns in the shape of Ramesses. This leads up a ramp that leads (through a columned portico) to the third pylon and then into the large hypostyle hall (which has lost its roof). Reliefs and actual heads of foreign captives were also found placed within the temple perhaps in an attempt to symbolise the king's control over Syria and Nubia.

In Coptic times, there was a church inside the temple structure, which has since been removed. Some of the carvings in the main wall of the temple have been altered by coptic carvings.

The Royal Palace was directly connected with the first courtyard of the Temple via the "Window of Appearances".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medinet_Habu_(temple)

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Aswan Museum In Africa

Aswan Museum is a museum on Elephantine Island, in the south-eastern side of Aswan, Egypt.It opened to the public in 1912 and features Nubian artefacts saved during the construction of the Aswan Dam. In 1990 a new extension was added displaying findings discovered on Elephantine Island itself, like utensils, weapons, pottery and mummies.[1]
The museum is close to the Ruins of Abu, where excavations are still taking place.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_Museum

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Bibliotheca Alexandrina In Africa

Alexandria’s ancient library was one of the greatest of all classical institutions, and while replacing it might seem a Herculean task, the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina manages it with aplomb. Opened in 2002, this impressive piece of modern architecture is a deliberate attempt to rekindle the brilliance of the original centre of learning and culture. The complex has become one of Egypt’s major cultural venues and a stage for numerous international performers.

The building takes the form of a gigantic angled discus embedded in the ground, evoking a second sun rising out of the Mediterranean. The granite exterior walls are carved with letters, pictograms, hieroglyphs and symbols from more than 120 different human scripts. Inside, the jaw-dropping main reading room can accommodate eight million books and 2500 readers under its sloping roof, with windows specially designed to let sunlight flood in but keep out rays that might harm the collection.

In addition to the main reading room, the library boasts a huge array of diversions: three permanent museums, four specialised libraries, a planetarium, a conference centre, temporary and permanent exhibitions, and a full schedule of events. To fully explore this very worthy attraction, you should allot half a day, though to gape at the astounding main reading room and do a tour, you’ll need an hour or so.

The Manuscript Museum contains ancient texts, antiquarian books and maps, including a copy of the only surviving scroll from the ancient library. The Antiquities Museum holds some overspill from the Graeco-Roman Museum, including a fine Roman mosaic of a dog that was discovered when the foundations of the library were dug. The History of Science Museum underneath the Planetarium is targeted at children of school age.

The four specialised libraries are a children’s library for ages six to 11; a youth library for ages 11 to 17; a multimedia library; and a library for the blind.

Regular exhibitions include Impressions of Alexandria , which does a sterling job of tracing the city’s long history through drawings, maps and early photographs. There’s also a video program on Egyptian history called the Culturama, displayed on nine screens, and, most recently added, an exhibition on Anwar Sadat.

The Planetarium is a futuristic neon-lit sphere looming on the plaza in front of the library, like a mini Death Star from Star Wars. It shows 3-D films hourly on a rotating schedule (see library website), and has an Exploratorium as well as the History of Science Museum, which are both great for kids.

Tickets to the library can be bought outside the main entrance, where all bags must be checked. The basic E£10 ticket includes free guided tours, entrance to the main reading room and any free exhibits or events. Hi-tech PDA (personal digital assistant) guides are also available in English, Arabic and French.

A combined ticket including the Antiquities and Manuscript Museums, but not the Planetarium, is E£45. You can also buy tickets to each of these individually at their respective ticket offices.

Note that while the library has a wide range of kid-friendly activities and diversions, little ones under the age of six are not admitted to the library complex. Helpfully, day care is available from 11am to 4pm daily except Friday and Saturday. The library is right on the Corniche, and you can easily get there by taxi or microbus.

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Valley of the Kings In Africa

Once called the Great Necropolis of Millions of Years of Pharaoh, or the Place of Truth, the Valley of the Kings has 63 magnificent royal tombs from the New Kingdom period (1550–1069 BC), all very different from each other. The west bank had been the site of royal burials from the First Intermediate Period (2160–2025 BC) onwards. At least three 11th-dynasty rulers built their tombs near the modern village of Taref, northeast of the Valley of the Kings. The 18th-dynasty pharaohs, however, chose the isolated valley dominated by the pyramid-shaped mountain peak of Al-Qurn (The Horn). The secluded site enclosed by steep cliffs was easy to guard and, when seen from the Theban plain, appears to be the site of the setting sun, associated with the afterlife by ancient Egyptians.

The tombs have suffered great damage from treasure hunters, floods and, in recent years, from mass tourism: carbon dioxide, friction and humidity produced by the average of 2.8g of sweat left by each visitor have affected the reliefs and the pigments of the wall paintings. The Department of Antiquities has installed dehumidifiers and glass screens in the worst-affected tombs, and introduced a rotation system for opening some tombs to the public while restoring others. Lighting in the tombs was being installed at the time of writing so visitors will be able to visit at night, thus avoiding the heat of the day. Three replica tombs are planned in the near future: the tomb of Tutankhamun, Seti I and Nefertari (in the Valley of the Queens).

The road into the Valley of the Kings is a gradual, dry, hot climb, so be prepared, especially if you are riding a bicycle. The air-conditioned visitors centre has a good model of the Valley, a movie about Carter’s discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, and toilets. Soft drinks, ice creams and snacks are available from the stalls at the tourist bazaar near the entrance. A tuf-tuf (a little electrical train) ferries visitors between the visitors centre and the tombs (it can be hot during summer). The ride costs E£10. It’s worth having a torch to illuminate badly lit areas.

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