Egypt, a country with ancient culture, traditions dating back to thousands of years, the ancient ruling system entirely different to most of the world, famous for their pyramids, statues, culture, traditional facilities and numerous appearance in Hollywood movies.
If you seen a movie with a lost city dating back to ancient civilizations, there is a good chance Egypt just had something to do with the plot line.
A civilization set along The Nile River from the famous pyramids of Giza to twin colossal, the silent guardian in the image of prior pharaoh to the time keeping temple and the radiant decorations, Egypt has much to offer to it’s visitors.
If you find yourself travelling to Egypt and you are looking for places to visit that are unusual then the top attractions your guide guides you to, then these are some of the most unusual places in Egypt.
1. The lost city of Heracleion
Alexandria, Egypt
A legend lost to times, a city submerged deep underwater discovered by the Franck Goddio &&and his crew after years of constant research.
You may come to hear many stories about myths and legends that seems unreal, for they tell a tale of a period far back in Time, of civilizations unknown to
archaeologists and historians alike, Heracleion used to be one such myth before being discovered by the French archaeologist and his team.
Abu air gulf is in region of coastal waters of Egypt where ultimately the city of legends was found.
As it was from an era dating back to ancient times, the place was in shambles, nonetheless amidst the ruins of the lost city there were treasures both literal and archaeologically significant.
Around 700 anchors, some 64 ships and most importantly the ruins of vast ancient temple of Amun-Gereb we’re some of the discoveries uncovered by the team.
And yes, not to forget a literal treasure trove comprising of gold coins.
The city would have been lost to times if not for the French archaeologist and his team uncovering the ruins deep down under the waters of Abu qir bay in the coastal areas of Egypt.
The statues were constructed in such a way that even after 2300 years they are remarkably preserved and in good condition.
Despite the city being from more than 2000 years old, the architecture and city planning evident from the ruins is remarkable.
At that point of time in history, it was perhaps one of the largest ports in the entire world.
How did it end up underwater? Well, no one truly knows for sure.
2. The ancient instrument : Nilometer
Cairo, Egypt
When someone talks about ancient times, one may picture an image of poverty, monarchy, restrictions and underdeveloped cities. While that may have been case of a lot of places, some civilizations were far ahead of their time with the help of their technological standards.
Nilometer was an ancient instrument developed by Egyptians to measure the level of water of the River Nile. This helped them predict the upcoming flood or times of famine caused by draught.
It was a very convenient innovation that helped both farmers and traders in the area for making their plans accordingly the readings of Nilometer.
The nilometer were found to be constructed back before most of the imoressive constructions of the world took place, dating back to some 5000 years ago, After the earlier Nilometers deteriorated, the recent ones were constructed in the same spot.
Ancient Egyptians developed three varied types of Nilometres. The first one being a kind of stilling well, which when summarised is something like a giant measuring rod with markings, surrounded by well with steps, so that the priest which were in duty of measuring the markings can go up and down. It was truly a marvellous construction taking into account the era.
The second kind of Nilometer was much more straight forward, with steps heading straight down to the River Nile, the marking was raised at the Heights of steps. different marks indicating the different threat levels. Looking at the readings, the conditions of the recent future for the locals could be predicted as such.
In the third kind of Nilometer a canal was constructed that led away from a stream of Nile into an artificially constructed cistern, in which markings were carved in its wall, which in turn signified the risk level of the River Nile which helped in predicting future conditions.
3. The Ancient Time keeping temple of Abu simbel, Nubia, Egypt
A work of art, an ancient Marvel, a temple carved into a mountain for the world to fawn over, the crowning achievement of the Pharow Ramses, a relic of the past, still standing to this date despite having been moved in its entirety in 1960s.
The architectural beauty of Egyptian monuments and structures constructed in ancient times are famously different from the question followed by perhaps the rest of the world.
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This temple was constructed by the order of the pharaoh ramses named who’s your man Diaz later on because of his crowning achievement of death time keeping temple
The inner sanctum of this temple was constructed in such a way that the three statues of Amun Ra and Ramses himself together indicated different positions of sun during any time in the year, and thus helped in telling the time.
The 4th statue of the creator God Ptah, lives in the shadows. Even after the entirity of the temple was moved to different place to prevent it from being damaged because of the flooding of newly constructed dam in the area, the functions are still the same, unaltered and working as of yet.
The construction of the temple finished in 1244BCE and even after 3 thousand years, it still stands, an eternal Egyptian sovereign.
4. The well preserved Hathor Temple
Dandarah, Egypt
Despite being covered in soot by the years of fire lighting by the refugees taking temporary residence, the Hathor temple is amazingly well-preserved.
The archaeologists had to clean the soot covering the ceilings and the walls along with the copious amount of sands burying most of the temple. After tiresome hard work done by the archaeologists, the temple was cleaned and made presentable for visitors.
One of the best things to do in Egypt is touring the temple which is filled with incredible carvings of ancient times and comprising of three different temples in itself.
The three different temples hosted by the structure are the main temple of Hathor and situated behind it is the temple of Isis, while the front is occupied by the birthing temple.
The temple of Hathor is famously known for its architectural Marvel and radiant colours seen throughout the structures. it is amazing how well retained the decorations and colors are, considering the fact that all of it was once covered in copious amount of soot and the temple itself was buried in a lot of sand.
Hothar can be translated as The House of horus, while Hothar is considered to be the companion of Horus.
Hothar is deemed as the goddess of intimacy, love and motherhood in Egyptian lore.
Dendera light bulb, famous among visitors is ocated at the underground crypt and a tour guide is required to visit the popular attraction hidden deep in the crypts.
5. The City of the Dead, El-saf, Egypt
Every place has an attraction usually much unusual than the rest of the sites you may have visited.
The famously odd city of the dead is a working Cemetery dating back to ancient time. Other costs oral kilometres the white conical domes and numerous amount dedicated to the departed is one of the main features of this site.
If you are an archaeological buff are someone interested in getting to know the history of Egypt then visiting this place can be a good idea.
I just commented to the visitors of this place that they should consider the fact that this is still a working Cemetery so the dressing and behaviour should be appropriate play respectful for those that none and those that have departed.
If you are a student doing research on historical sites of Egypt or perhaps someone just interested in archaeological sites then touring the city of dead is one of the best things to do in Egypt.
6. Theban necropolis, Colossi of Memnon, Luxor, Egypt
When you think about Egypt one of the first things that comes to your mind definitely is the colossal statues still standing that were constructed back in ancient times.
Devoted to the ancient gods of Egypt and the rulers, the Pharaohs, the statues persist, while some in state of degradation, some other are remarkably well preserved as well.
The twin colossi were constructed in the image of pharaoh Amenhotep III, although the statues survived the test of times for 3400 years amidst the desert sun heatwaves and occasional flooding of river Nile, the statues lost the carved image they displayed early on. Hence, although still collosal in size, they don’t resemble twin image of the ancient pharaoh anymore.
Considering the amount of time the statues have survived, it is quite natural for them to have deteriorated overtime. The place is often full history buffs, archaeologists and curious visitors looking to take pictures of themselves along with the famous statues it’s one of the most famous attraction in all of Egypt.
Sometime in the past an earthquake caused the fracture in one of the statues, which in turn lead to eerie and haunting melody produced by the statue at many dawns.
A roman emperor ordered the statues renovated which accidently led to further configuration of the twin statues.
7. White desert, Al farafrah, Egypt
Extreme environmental conditions have always fascinated researchers and subject matter experts of relative fields.
White desert of Al Farafrah in Egypt is one such site with calcium rock formations coming to be in the region, withering extreme environmental conditions forming edifices of natural making as if abstract modern art.
Sometimes the natural structures are defined as the “mushrooms” other times “the monolith”.
although, not the kind of tourist attraction as observed in other travel destinations, these natural rock formations are a curious oddity with visitors of their own.
8. Desert Breath, Qesm Hurghada, Egypt
Unlike any other item on the list, this is not an ancient construction on display. this is not a site with rich history related to it, neither is it a construction ordered by a pharaoh of some sort, this is pure art.
Upon being seen from above, this looks like a consecutive chain of conical depressions into the sand and similar smooth structures in a conical way formed up above the sand. these structures sync together to form an arithmetic sequence of sort, to create simultaneously an extreme example of modern art.
More than a decade and a half ago, these were built to slowly fade away with time, as the sand cascades back iin to the trenches and the Ant Hill slowly disappear with blowing away of the wind in time, the structures residing in Hills and pits depressions ow reduced quite a bit but that does not mean there is nothing to see.
Although the structures have reduced in size with time, they are still a Marvel to wonder at, it is one of the finest examples of practical modern art on display in the world, a fresh breath from all the ancient structures of Egypt.
If you find yourself driving to Egypt be sure to make proper reservations in the right places checkout the they get some timings of places you are trying to visit too.
Some places are going through renovations that might make you change your plans so be aware of that as well. If you have any medical problems then always keep your prescribed medications with you. Be aware of the fact that it is dry climate of hot weather the whole year around, so wear appropriate clothing, keep at least two water bottles with you at all times, to avoid sunstroke wear clothes that cover most of your body.
Go on now voyager, have fun, happy travels!
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