Egypt The Red Sea, the ancient waterway that separates Egypt and East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula is the most biodiverse marine area in the Middle East. Effectively isolated from the rest of the world’s oceans except by narrow straits (and the Suez Canal for only about a century and a half), the Red Sea has one of the most unique ecosystems on Earth. This is especially … [Read more...]
WHITE DESERT
Egypt The White Desert, a region of the Sahara Desert located within Egypt, is also one of its most beautiful regions and one of its most visited. So named the White Desert because of its white chalky outcroppings, the area is also the site of many springs and oases, as well as spectacular and odd geological formations. Much of the White Desert is now protected within White … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN (EL ALAMEIN BATTLEFIELD)
El Alamein, Egypt (1942 AD) The Battle of El Alamein actually constituted two separate engagements: the first was part of the German campaign to capture strategic targets in Egypt; and the second was the British counterattack that drove them back out of Egypt. It is the second battle that is well known and recognized as one of the key turning points of the World War II. The … [Read more...]
MURSI ABU EL-ABBAS MOSQUE (MASJID MURSI ABU EL-ABBAS)
Alexandria, Egypt Despite the fact that Alexandria was the largest and most important city in Egypt at the time of the Muslim conquest, it never developed into one of Islam’s greatest metropoli. In fact, the surprisingly neglected port city fell into a steep decline after being absorbed into the caliphate, and its surprising lack of major mosques reflects this. The city’s … [Read more...]
AL-AZHAR MOSQUE (MADRASSA AL-AZHAR)
Cairo, Egypt By the time the Fatimids came to power, Fustat was the already the political center of Africa. As the capital of the Fatimid dynasty, it also became the second most powerful city in the Islamic world after Baghdad. During their reign, the Fatimids transformed Fustat into a religious and cultural powerhouse as well, adorning the city with mosques, schools and … [Read more...]
IBN TULUN MOSQUE (MASJID IBN TULUN)
Cairo, Egypt Cairo is one of the great cities of the Muslim world and, thanks in large part to geography, one of the best preserved. It boasts some of the oldest post-Umayyad architecture in the Middle East, including one of the most intact Abbasid-era mosques, the Masjid Ibn Tulun. Ahmad ibn Tulun, a prominent Abbasid governor of Egypt in the 9th century, intended the … [Read more...]
AL-HUSSAYN MOSQUE (MASJID AL-HUSSAYN)
Cairo, Egypt Hussayn, the son of Ali and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, spent most of his life in Arabia and Mesopotamia. There are no records of him ever having been in Egypt, and his tomb at Najaf has been recognized by most Shi’ites as his final resting place for well over a thousand years. Despite all geographic and historical evidence to the contrary, local … [Read more...]
QAIT BAY CITADEL
Alexandria, Egypt The Qait Bay Citadel is one of the last and greatest pre-Colonial fortresses to be built on the African continent. It is also one of the finest examples standing of Middle Eastern military architecture. Built on the foundations of the Lighthouse of Pharos, one of the ancient wonders of the world, the fortress was designed to protect the nominally … [Read more...]
CAIRO CITADEL
Cairo, Egypt The Citadel of Cairo is the great palace/fortress from which numerous Islamic dynasties ruled over Egypt and periodically other African and Middle Eastern territories. Constructed by Saladin in the 11th century, it is one of the greatest fortress-palaces built in the Middle East during the Abbasid and Mamluk periods. Its beauty and political importance were … [Read more...]
BABYLON FORTRESS
Cairo, Egypt The Babylon Fortress is arguably the greatest surviving fortress of the Roman era. Unlike the Castel Sant’Angelo, which was originally built as a mausoleum, and Hadrian’s Wall, which while impressive was largely a long wall, the Babylon Fortress was actually one of the greatest citadels ever built by the empire. Located in sight of the Pyramids of Giza, it was … [Read more...]
