Editor's commentary
By Jimmy Dunn
This month, I will use this column to explain the structure of the Tour Egypt web site. Whether one considers it a compliment to our monthly magazine, or the magazine a compliment to it, they certainly work together and in concert with each other.
The magazine is more to deal with changing events, new stuff such as monument openings and elaboration on subjects that are already covered in the general web site. As such, so far we have given little mention of most historic matters in the magazine.
The home page of the Tour Egypt web site seems to cover mostly tourism, but at the top of the page is our Egyptian Antiquities link. Under this link, there is actually more information then we provide on tourism. Here, one finds a number of topics. The History of Egypt has hundreds of pages which explore the region from about 100,000 BC (Lower Paleolithic Period) through the British Occupation which ended in 1952 AD.
Monuments in Egypt really is misnamed, as it covers both ancient monuments and more modern attractions in Egypt. Again, hundreds of monuments are explored, including Islamic, Christian, Pharaonic, Greek and Roman, Jewish, English and French as well as modern. It also contains a section on Every Museum we know of.
Rulers of Ancient Egypt is a chronological list and explanation of most Egyptian rulers beginning with the first Dynasty and ending with the Roman Emperors, while the Who's Who of Ancient Egypt is an alphabetized index of other important people in Egyptian History.
Next comes two completely separate guides to Egyptian Mythology, our original section and one which we have recently completed. Together, they provide considerable information on Egyptian religion.
Our Virtual Museum is not a simple reference on the Egyptian Museum, but rather a guide to some of the artifacts spread throughout the world. For the Egyptian Museum, see our heading under museums in the Monuments section.
We also have a section that provides a Glossary of Terms, and links to other history related web site.
But that's not all. We write Historical Special Editions to provide additional information on some monuments and other historical information not covered elsewhere.
These include:
Most of these are listed in our Antiquities section.
But one need not traverse the Antiquities Section to find monuments and sightseeing. Most of these are indexed in our destination guides to various tourist locations.
Travel Guide
The Travel Guide section is actually made up of two sections which consist of major sections and to the right in smaller print, travel resources. Of the major sections on the left, perhaps the three most important are the Destinations in Egypt section, the Things to Know about Traveling in Egypt section, and the Red Sea Virtual Diving Center.
Earlier this year (2,000) we did a complete makeover of the Destinations guide, adding many new cities and greatly expanding information in the ones we already documented. For major tourist destinations such as Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, there are guided tours through the city, along with links to many of our travel resources for these areas.
The Things to Know about Traveling in Egypt section, otherwise known as our travel tips, has considerable information which people often email us about. Some of the more popular topics include
There are many other topics explored here, so take a look at this section and there is a good chance any of your questions may already be answered.
The Red Sea Virtual Diving Center is, of course, all about the Red Sea and Sinai. We provide considerable information on diving in the Red Sea, diving centers and tours, liveaboard boats and other water sport activities.
The Travel Resources (Data Resources) to the right of the major sections are also very relevant, and have literally thousands of pages of information. For example, our hotel sections (split between hotels we have good information on and those we have little information about) lists almost every hotel in Egypt. Even the list which contains hotels we have little information about at least includes contact data. But the Hotel list with better information is extensive, and as far as we know, the best on the Internet. One may even search this database using key words. Most hotels can be booked from this database.
Other sections under Data Resources are equally extensive. In the Restaurant section, we cover some 1,000 restaurants throughout Egypt, as an example. We also provide train schedules, bus schedules and even every currently opened golf course in the country.
Other Resources
The Tour Egypt web site does not stop with just these resources. For example, our Egypt BBS is an on-line community made up of people who love Egypt. Many of these people often travel to Egypt, and others are Egyptian. First time visitors often ask specific questions in the BBS with the result of numerous information and tips.
One may also subscribe to our newsletter, where we provide additional information about everything from monuments to recent news about Egypt, as well as explaining recent changes and additions to the Tour Egypt web site.
Under Bulletins form the Ministry (actually the ETA), we also provide official news, including major monument opening and closings, concerts, fairs and other touristic developments.
For our younger set, the Color Me Egypt section includes a brief history of Egypt, a coloring book and stories for both very young children and young adults.
Our last estimate is that there are approximately 7,000 pages on the Tour Egypt web site, so we cannot possibly list all the resources within this column. Please explore the Tour Egypt site and enjoy.
Budget and Independent Travel to Egypt - Part I By Jimmy Dunn
Historical Hotels in Egypt - Part I By Jimmy Dunn
Editor's Commentary By Jimmy Dunn
Ancient Beauty Secrets By Judith Illes
Book Reviews Various Editors
Kid's Corner By Margo Wayman
Cooking with Tour Egypt By Mary K Radnich
Hotel Reviews By Juergen Stryjak
Egyptian Exhibitions By deTraci Regula
Nightlife Various Editors
Restaurant Reviews Various Editors
Shopping Around By Juergen Stryjak
Egyptian View-Point By Adel Murad
Medical Advice in Egypt By Dr. Sameh Arab, M.D.
Last Updated: June 14th, 2011