Cairo
| Though more than a 1000 years old, Cairo is yet young in historic Egypt. With over 16 million inhabitants it is the largest city in the Arab world. |
The Pharaonic Village is located 3 miles (5 Km) south
of downtown ancient Cairo at Jacob island. It is built as a small city that depicts life
in Egypt. Approximately 100 actors and actresses perform all the daily activities of the
ancient Egyptians including agriculture, pottery, weaving, sculpturing, wine-making,
papyrus (paper making), perfume making, etc.
The main entrance of The Egyptian Antiquities Museum situated at Tahrir square in Cairo.
The rectangular pool in front of the museum
is filled with lotus and papyrus plants,
symbolic of Upper and Lower Egypt, respectively. The lotus or water lily floats in the
water in the outer rectangle, while the papyrus stretches out of the inner rectangle. The
lotus and papyrus plants appear frequently in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and art.
A
close-up of a lotus flower.
A view of the city including the
Cairo Tower on Gezira Island. The tower
soars to some 600 feet and, though made of reinforced concrete, has an attractive open
latticework exterior made from 12 million pieces of pottery.
© All pictures are Copyright 1998 - 2001 Grisel Gonzalez
