When Herodotus, the father of Western historiography, visited Egypt in the 6th century BC, he was shocked by the history and remains of Egypt:
"
No other country has such an abundance of amazing things; Because no other country has so many tremendous achievements that cannot be described by pen and ink.
"
It is home to the Nile, the longest river in the world, which gave birth to one of the oldest and most enduring civilizations in the world.
She had entered a period of prosperity 1,000 years before the Minoans in Crete built their palaces, and hundreds of years before the Israelites followed Moses from slavery.
She was the "grandmother" of Western art, profoundly influencing ancient Greece, ancient Rome and later Western art, and her influence continues to this day.
As United States Egypt scholar Lionel · Carson said: 2,000 years ago, the ancient Greece and ancient Romans looked at the ancient Egypt, and they were already a bit like modern people hanging on ancient Greece and ancient Roman ruins.
Ancient Egypt tomb frescoes
However, one day, her religion gradually disappeared, the ancient script was abandoned, and the ancient Egypt civilization was completely submerged in the long river of history.
Until Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1798 to establish the "Egypt Institute", and in 1922 archaeologist Carter discovered the tomb of Egypt pharaoh Tutankhamun, the whole world was shocked, setting off waves of "Egypt fever".
How did ancient Egypt create such an excellent civilization? Why build such majestic pyramids? How complex is the process of making a mummy? Is the "curse of the pharaohs" real? Why did ancient Egypt maintain its strong vitality? ……
Ancient Egypt civilization is far away from us, but it has left too much cultural heritage to mankind, pyramids, mummies, obelisks, temples, inscriptions... These wonders attract culture lovers all over the world.
This time, at the request of fans, we will once again promote the tourism study of ancient Egypt civilization, which has been popular again and again, let us continue to follow the footsteps of local Egypt scholars, fly to that land, walk into the historical scene, wander on the banks of the Nile, experience a different fun of visiting ancient times, and explore that flourishing civilization.
【Traveling in history · Ancient Civilization Series】 Pharaohs and the Gods: A Tour of Ancient Egypt Civilization
2024. 9. 17 — 2024. 9. 25 2024. 9. 28 — 2024. 10. 6
Chapter 1埃及之旅 |与谁同行
Amr Salah's Chinese name: Amr Salah
Local Egypt scholar Cairo University teaches Egypt history and ancient Egypt holy scribes
He graduated from Cairo University with a doctorate in history and is fluent in Arabic, French, Chinese and English. He has translated many books such as "The Biography of Deng Xiaoping", and has published books such as "The Wisdom of the Heart in Ancient Egypt". Mr. Amu deeply loved ancient Egypt culture and devoted his life to the study of ancient Egypt civilization. He has long been active in the forefront of ancient Egypt research and popular science. He has served as an escort on important Chinese official visits for many times, and is good at interpreting and disseminating Egypt civilization from history, humanities, geography, religion and other aspects.
Yasser Helmy, Yahi Egypt local scholar, Egypt culture, Chinese lecturer
Graduated from the Department of Chinese, Faculty of Languages, Ain Shams University, and the Department of Ancient Egypt Civilization, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University. He is proficient in Arabic, English and Chinese, and has devoted himself to the study of the language, religion, art, architecture, and religious thought and mythological system of ancient Egypt and Egypt civilizations, and has studied the ancient Egypt sacred script. He is especially good at explaining physical geography, philosophical thought, architectural art, etc., and has held more than 100 explanations and lectures in the Egypt Museum, Luxor Museum, and Alexandria Museum. In recent years, it has made positive contributions to the understanding of ancient Egypt by Chinese cultural scholars and culture lovers.
Sayed Said, a local scholar in Egypt, a tutor of ancient Egypt history and culture, and Chinese
He graduated from Cairo University in 2011 with a major in history and ancient Egypt, and since 2014, he has devoted ten years to the dissemination of ancient Egypt culture and the popularization of science. Proficient in Arabic, English and Chinese, in order to better teach ancient Egypt culture to Chinese culture lovers, Mr. Sai has come to China many times for further study, not only fluent in Chinese, but also good at cultural comparison
helps the audience understand the mysteries of Egypt's history and culture, so as to enter the ancient Egypt's view of life and death, social religion, culture, art and lifestyle 5,000 years ago.
Ancient Egypt is like a labyrinth, and he is the one who leads us forward. He has also served as a commentator on many important Chinese official foreign visits, and each time it is worthwhile.
*One of the teachers will be accompanied by one of the teachers for each trip
Chapter 2埃及之旅 |亮点剧透
NO. 1 Egypt local experts led the most authentic and professional scholar class
3 online classes on ancient Egypt (recorded) before the trip, during which local Egypt scholars will give in-depth explanations throughout the trip, and theme sharing sessions will be arranged interspersed. As a native scholar of Egypt, familiar with the history and cultural beliefs of ancient Egypt, and has come to China for many lectures and exchanges, proficient in Chinese and Chinese culture, is the best guide for you to walk in Egypt to understand ancient Egypt civilization.
NO. 2A selection of representative cultural monuments and niche attractions to pay tribute to the great civilization and pay tribute to the "grandmother of Western art"
This study tour travels from the northernmost to the southernmost point of Egypt, visiting ruins from the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, the New Kingdom, Ptolemy, and Islam, spanning more than 3,000 years of civilization. We will visit two of the most important capitals in history, Memphis and Thebes, and will also arrange two special temples "Abu Simbel" and "Dandra Temple", which are overlooked by the regular tour, as well as Alexandria, once the world's largest city and famous port.
What makes Egypt so fascinating is its "beautiful, otherworldly" art. During our trip, we will appreciate the most beautiful ancient Egyptian art, which is a gift left by the ancient Egyptians to the world, and is also known as the "grandmother of Western art". Our trip will follow the Nile, from north to south, from far to near, contrasting, observing, and exploring the prototype of Western art in Egypt.
NO. 3 Walk into the world's largest museum: the Great Egypt Museum, the world's top designer, the gift of ancient Egypt civilization to all mankind
The Great Egypt Museum – a mega-cultural project that was established in 2002 and started construction in 2005, covering an area of 480,000 square meters and costing more than $1 billion. As a bridge between ancient and future, it connects the ancient pyramids and the pharaonic civilization they represent with modern Egypt and the cosmopolitan city of Cairo, as well as the vast arid desert of North Africa and the narrow plains through which the Nile River flows, becoming a new cultural window and business card of Egypt. This time, please join us as you walk into the world's largest museum to experience the dialogue between the ancient and modern civilizations of the pharaohs and the 3,200-year-old light of Ramses.
NO. 4 professional team, word-of-mouth works with rich types of visits, clear themes, and a degree of tightness in the itinerary
Exclusive original itinerary, from research and development to online lasted 3 months, many times on the line and many successful tours. The itinerary is rich in content, orderly in rhythm, and tightly combined. As a product of the king of cost performance and word of mouth, our Egypt study tour has been upgraded and adjusted many times, and it is now very mature and has a praise rate of 100%.
NO. 5 Comfortable reception, luxury accommodation boutique group, five-star characteristic hotel, local food
Small group of 6-16 people, pick-up + drop-off, door-to-door service. The whole journey is a five-star luxury hotel, and special arrangements are made for 1 night each at Mina Palace by the pyramid and Aswan Old Waterfall Hotel.
Mina Palace Marriott Hotel is the most famous luxury hotel in Cairo. Formerly known as the Royal Palace, it is an excellent pyramid view hotel, where Churchill Roosevelt and Chiang Kai-shek issued the "Cairo Declaration", and is a must-stay hotel for celebrities and dignitaries to visit the pyramids.
Sofitel Legend
The ceiling of the Egypt Hotel, built in 1899, is a 19th-century palace that has hosted countless celebrities and dignitaries, Churchill stayed five times, and the legendary United Kingdom writer Agatha Christie wrote "The Nile Massacre" here and made it into a movie.
Experience the whole process of local specialty meals, comfortable tour buses, professional lecturers, intimate team leaders, full-time drivers, and 0 shopping and 0 invisible consumption throughout the process.
Chapter 3埃及之旅 |行程概览
For details, please scan the QR code for consultation
Chapter 4埃及之旅 |四大文化主题
NO.1 Egypt's Great History Civilizations exchange, collision, and conflict
In 1799, during Napoleon's reign in Egypt, a French captain accidentally dug up a large black stone on the outskirts of the port town of Rosetta in the Nile Delta. This is the famous Rosetta Stone, which is a reminder of one of the world's greatest civilizations, ancient Egypt (which was submerged in history before that). For this reason, the Rosetta Stone is also known as the "Key of Ancient Egypt".
Rosetta Stone with ancient Egypt script, secular and Greece scripts
How brilliant was ancient Egypt civilization? Let's start with a set of comparisons:
So, when Westerners saw the pyramids for the first time, they even shouted: this was built by aliens. Fortunately, a large number of ancient buildings and ruins in Egypt, as well as written documents and exquisite art, show the world its great past. The history of ancient Egypt is no longer so confusing with the continuous archaeological excavations over the past century.
With the deepening of the study of ancient Egypt, many scholars have found that a great history of Egypt is also a history of the integration of the ancient world. Located at the transportation hub of Europe, Asia and Africa, Egypt has been an important crossroads of civilizations since ancient times.
Since the Old Kingdom, Egypt has had early cultural exchanges with West Asia and neighboring countries; And during the period of its empire, it spread advanced culture overseas, such as "solar calendar", "geometry", "26 alphabet", "three pillars of Greece architecture"... All from Egypt.
Although Egypt was also ruled by the Hyksos, Assyrians, Nubians, Babylonians, Persians, and Macedonian Greece, civilization did not disappear and many new cultural and artistic achievements were born.
Left: Alexander is portrayed as a pharaoh; Center: The Kadeshi Accord at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, the first peace agreement in human history between Ramses II and the Hittite kings; Right: The ruins of an ancient Roman theater in Alexandria
In this trip to Egypt, we will visit the cultural heritage of the ancient Egypt pharaonic era in chronological order, understand the general laws of Egypt's great history, and try to understand the eternal wisdom of Egypt culture from another perspective. In the last two days of the trip, we will also walk into Alexandria, the former "City of a Thousand Towers" - Cairo Historic District, once the largest port in the world, from Arab citadels, mosques, and ruins left by ancient Greece and Rome, to experience the conflict and integration of multiple religions and cultures under the rule of Rome-Byzantium-Arab world since Greece.
NO.2 World Cultural Heritage Grand View Endless world cultural heritage
The source of the World Cultural Heritage is in Egypt. The story begins in the last century.
In the 50s, in order to control the flooding of the Nile River and develop water and electricity, the Egypt government decided to build the Aswan Dam, but the temple of Abu Simbel would be submerged. In 1959, UNESCO launched an international conservation initiative at the request of the Governments of Egypt and Sudan, with the support of US$80 million from 50 countries, to relocate the entire temples of Abu Simbel and Philae to safety after 18 years. It was this international cooperation that led to the creation of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Heritage in 1972. The Abu Simbel Temple has also become a veritable World Heritage Site.
Abu Simbel Temple (12th century BC)
This majestic and spectacular temple. Damaged by earthquakes and wars, it was drowned by quicksand for nearly two thousand years until it was discovered by Switzerland explorer Louis Burkhard in 1813. In addition to the Abu Simbel Temple, there are five other great sites inscribed in the first World Heritage Sites during the same period: (1) one of the Seven Wonders of the World: Memphis and its necropolis pyramid; (2) The world's largest open-air museum: the ancient city and mausoleums of Thebes; (3) The common holy place of the world's three major religions: the Orthodox Monastery of Catalina (not visited); (4) The former "City of a Thousand Towers": Historic Cairo; (5) The only representative of ancient Christian architecture in Egypt: the Abu Minai Christian site.
Together with the Abu Simbel Temple, there are a total of 6 World Heritage Sites. This ancestral heritage country does not have many heritages, but these six places all highlight the glorious civilization of Egypt for thousands of years.
Our trip will take us to these world cultural sites, from Memphis to Aswan, witnessing the greatness and grandeur of ancient Egypt's cultural heritage along the way.
NO.3 Timeless Art Searching for the source of Western art
The Greece philosopher Plato said, "Egypt art has not changed for 10,000 years." ”
"No change" refers to the meaning of the existence of Egypt art. — that is, eternal life. The Egyptians believed that the soul is immortal after death, and that the soul must be preserved in good condition, which led to the creation of mummies, statues of the dead, to ensure the immortality of the soul.
In the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, religion was the abode of the gods, mausoleums were the dwellings of the dead, and sculptures were the immortal bodies of the souls of the dead. As a result, a series of works of art such as pyramids, temples, sculptures, and murals were produced. In this context, a set of basic laws has been formed that has lasted for 3,000 years, and continues to attract "students" from the Western world.
The Greece of the Archaic period used to worship the Egyptians as teachers; At the end of the 18th century, Napoleon brought the art here back to France to spark the Egypt fever throughout Europe; Europeans in the 19th century expressed their fascination with Egypt art by constantly funding archaeological excavations.
Roaming around the temples of Egypt, you can see the polytheistic beliefs of ancient Greece and the prototype of the three-pillar building. Even the observant will find that the sculptures of the "Archaic period" in Greece are almost indistinguishable from those of Egypt.
Above: Goddess Isis of Egypt; Bottom left: Aphrodite of Greece; Bottom right: Venus of ancient Rome, both of whom represent the goddesses of beauty and love.
A history of Western art seems complicated, but in fact, all the clues point to ancient Egypt. On this trip to Egypt, we went to see the stone statues of pharaohs that have stood between heaven and earth for thousands of years, as well as the wooden statues of ordinary Egyptians in museums, to carefully examine whether this grandmother of Western art is really as solemn and stereotypical as we remember.
NO.4 Nile Roaming Close contact with the world's longest river
Spanning 6,670 kilometers and flowing through 9 countries, it is known as the longest river in the world, and it is the Nile.
It divides the city into two, with the east for the living and the west for the dead. Egypt believed that people, like the sun, rise in the east and set in the west. The banks of the river are the two ends of life. To go from life to death is to cross a wide river and come back from there, and life circulates here.
Under this view of life, the great culture and mysterious art of ancient Egypt were born.
Herodotus once said, "Egypt is a gift from the Nile." Local Egypt proverb: The Nile dries up in the morning, Egypt dies in the afternoon. It is the Nile River that provides water, work, food, and life to Egypt, and it is the mother river on which the locals depend.
The Nile River flows through only 5% of Egypt's land area, but it feeds more than 96% of the population. The Egyptians took advantage of the regular flooding of the Nile every year to develop agriculture and transportation, and were able to create a highly developed civilization. So, when you come to Egypt, you will find that almost most of the monuments are scattered along the banks of the Nile, forming a magnificent landscape.
We will take a boat to the island in the river to see the legendary "Temple of Philae", and at dusk, we will take a traditional Egyptian non-powered sailboat for a sunset.
Along the way, we traveled countless times to the east and west banks of the Nile to see the many miracles left to us by the ancient Egypt. Pyramids, temples, mausoleums, gentle river breezes, riverbank monuments, like Egyptologists, we trace ancient ruins, feeling the romantic moment of ancient monuments and sparkling at dusk. This feeling of crossing has to be experienced firsthand.
Return to the site of the previous study tour
Egypt, in fact, can not read endlessly, we want to be the guide who opens the door to Egypt for you, if you have read here, you may wish to listen to this ancient music and set off.
📍 Destination: Egypt
2024. 9. 17 — 2024. 9. 25 2024. 9. 28 — 2024. 10. 6
Boutique 16 people/group limited enrollment!
For details, please scan the QR code for consultation
Yes
former
read
read
book
Liu Wenpeng, History of Ancient Egypt, Joan · Fletcher (author), Yang Lingfeng (trans.) Four Thousand Years of Egypt
Film
"Cleopatra of Egypt" and "Mummy" series
documentary
National Geographic series "The Lost Treasures of Egypt" United States PBS "The Golden Dynasty of Egypt" United Kingdom BBC "Immortal Egypt"
Travel with Zhang Hongjie to Xinjiang (9.19-27) to see the historical changes in the Western Regions
Study Tour Recruitment・ Iran (September, October)|Go to the heart of the world and explore the ancient Persian civilization
The beauty of the ancient Japanese-style garden (8.19-25), led by a super popular famous teacher
Grand Tour in Russia (9.28-10.6)|In the most beautiful autumn, come on a literary and artistic journey