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Photo Samples, Egypt
Few places on Earth provide a
history which is even remotely comparable to Egypt. All along the Nile, it's
possible to take your soul back in time, to the ancient days of the Pharaoes,
enough to make any camera happy. The downside, of course, are the zillions
of tourists surrounding the Abu Simbel and Luxor temples, however, with a
little effort, it's possible to get it all to yourself.
As always, all photos are, of course © Claus
Qvist Jessen, and none of them are to be used without my permission. |
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| The grave
mask of Tut Ankh Amon must rank as one of the most important archeological finds since the
Stone Age. "Beautiful" is a very modest word for this gold mask, found
along with hundreds of other relics by Howard Carter, about 80 years ago.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Most famous of all ancient relics: The Pyramids of Giza in western Cairo, Egypt.
The front one is Chephren's Pyramid, while the back one (1½ metre taller!)
is the one of Cheops, Chephren's father. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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One of the incredibly annoying camel drivers of Giza; Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Just as old as The Pyramids, the purpose of The Sphinx is still not
known; Giza, Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Happy Friday girls; Giza, Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Water
and Coke vendor; Giza,
Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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The picture from the Pyramids you never see in the brochures! Just a
few hundred meters east from the Sphinx, the crowded slums of Giza is
threatening to get closer to the relics, threatening to engulf the
ancient memorials of the Pharoes; Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Shy girl;
Giza,
Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Mohammad
Ali Mosque; The Citadel, Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Smoking a shisha at a small cafe seems to be the national sport in
central Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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On a global scale, the cars of Cairo must rank as the worst one on
the planet. A Cairo car never dies - at least not until the age of 50. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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The old center, Islamic Cairo, is full of cosy shops and cafes and
it's surprisingly easy to get away from the tourist flood. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Inspired by Monty Python, "The Holy Grail": "Bring out the bread!";
Islamic Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Food stall; Islamic Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Soup for the people; Islamic Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Copper smith in action; Islamic Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Cairo is
in shortage of useable land so lots of people are actually living on the
cemetaries, among the mausolea. In central Cairo, two of these "Cities
of the Dead" are found. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Part of Northern City of the dead; Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Happy
inhabitants;
Northern City of the dead, Cairo, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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The famous "Hanging Church" in the Coptic part of town; Cairo Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Coptic carpets; Cairo Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Alexandria, second city of Egypt and almost completely deserted by
the tourists. Consequently, it's an incredibly pleasant city without the
floods of pestering merchants who have managed to transform Giza, Luxor
and Aswan into severe tourist traps. This is the Corniche; Alexandria, Northern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Colourful vealed girls; Alexandria, Northern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Shy woman in burqa; Alexandria, Northern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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The fort of Sultan Qatbay; Alexandria, Northern Egypt. In the walls,
you can still see a few red granits stones from the ancient Lighthouse
of Alexandria, one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Fisherman at the bank of the Nile; Ar-Rasheed; Northern Egypt.
Rasheed is even less touristy than Alexandria and a true gem in an ocean
of tourist traps. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Making frames for cases; Ar-Rasheed; Northern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Frying the fish; Ar-Rasheed; Northern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Playing dominoes at a cafe; Ar-Rasheed, Northern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Great smile behind the veal; Ar-Rasheed, Northern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Happy bakers; Ar-Rasheed, Northern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Big smiles; Ar-Rasheed, Northern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Desert garbage on the way to Bahareiya; Central Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Outside the Bahareiya Oasis; Central Egyptian desert. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Salt lake; Bahareiya Oasis; Central Egyptian desert. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Nosy camel; Bahareiya Oasis; Central Egyptian desert. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Egyptian roadblock; Bahareiya Oasis, Central Egyptian desert. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Overload doesn't seem to be an issue in Egypt; Bahareiya Oasis, Central Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Feluccas
at the Nile; Luxor /
Theben, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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church of Luxor /
Theben, Egypt. Sadly, to
remake the "Alley of Sphinxes" between the Luxor and Karnak Temples, the
church will be torn down, and, due to Egypt's incredible lack of
religious freedom, building a new one is illegal! © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Claimed to be
the largest temple in the world, the Karnak Temple ranks as one of the most impressive
buildings anywhere. The photo just shows a small part of the mighty temple. © Claus
Qvist Jessen |
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The series of rams at the entrance of the Karnak Temple; Luxor / Theben, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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The Pillar Hall; Karnak Temple; Luxor / Theben, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Ramses II staue; Karnak Temple; Luxor / Theben, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Luxor
Temple at night; Luxor /
Theben, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Apart
from all the temples and statues, the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor is
just like any other countryside in the Middle East. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Harvesting the sugar cane; West Bank, Luxor, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| The
Colossi of Memnon;
Luxor / Theben, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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The most
famous of all the Luwor temples on the west bank of the Nile is the Hatshepsut-temple
(central Egypt). Sadly, this was the site of the killing of 26 German tourists, back in
December 1997.
© Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Statue from
the Hatshepsut-temple, Luxor, Egypt.
© Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Hatshepsut Temple; Luxor /
Theben West Bank, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Pillar Hall, Medinat Habu Temple (Ramses III); Luxor /
Theben, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Details from the Ramesseum Temple (Ramses II); Luxor / Theben, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Well-preserved ancient painting from the Ramesseum Temple (Ramses II);
Luxor / Theben, Egypt. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Detail from the Temple of Seti I; Luxor / Theben, Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Sunset at
Luxor, central Egypt. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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| Crowded
boats; Nile River, Egypt.
All photos from a Nile cruise show the lonely boat of its way down the
mighty river. Unfortunately, the truth is that more than 250 boats are
operating in between Luxor and Aswan and going by boat is like biking in
the morning traffic of a major city. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Edfu Temple entrance; Nile River, Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Horus statue guarding the entrance; Edfu Temple, Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Kom Ombo
Temple; Southern
Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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View across the Nile at Aswan; Southern Egypt. The horrible "pillar"
on the island is the Möwenpick Hotel. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Happy people of the market; Aswan, Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Grains galore; Aswan, Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| The
"Kiosk"; Philae
Temple; Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Rock
mural from the entrance; Philae
Temple; Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Preparing for the day at the Daraw Camel Market; Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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How to transport two camels in one pick-up truck; Daraw Camel Market; Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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"Cheers"; Daraw Camel Market, Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Shisha smoking tea vendor; Daraw Camel Market; Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Elderly camel salesman; Daraw Camel Market; Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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Abu Simbel at night; Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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And at day-time; Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Inside
the main temple of
Abu Simbel; Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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The second, less known Hathor Temple; Abu Simbel; Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| The
beautiful Lake Nasser of Southern Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| Probably
the smallest Nile perch in the whole Lake Nasser; Egypt. © Claus Qvist
Jessen |
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| The
Monastery of Saint Catherine, built at the foot of Mount Sinai from
where Moses collected the Ten Commandments. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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Walking in the footsteps of Moses, towards the top of Mount Sinai, Sinai
Peninsula, Egypt. © Claus Qvist Jessen |
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