Dominique Navarro's Blog, page 23
December 12, 2013
Winter Arrives in Luxor
Winter has blown into Luxor this morning on a cool breeze from the West. It seemed as though the sky was painted silver and the sun would be lost behind a curtain of grey…
The cry of a hoopoe seemed to me like the call to prayer, and filled me with joy, although a clear photo eluded me in the low light. The hoopoe flew away, followed by a lovely cat who refused to sit still for me or let me near…
The sky slowly warmed, birds migrating low over the water. But the chill in the air only grew.
The sun eventually presented itself in full, but the cold wind persisted for the rest of the day. Everyone staid bundled up into the evening. Welcome to Alaska…
Filed under: Related Stories & Photos
December 11, 2013
Walk in the Desert at Sunset, Luxor Egypt
Near the gebel (mountains) of Luxor…
Crested Larks (Galerida cristata) and desert dogs…
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December 6, 2013
December 5, 2013
Egypt Bookstores Carrying the AUC Press Nature Foldouts
These are just a few of the bookstores in Egypt which I know are carrying the AUC Press Nature Foldouts, or they can order them for you if they are not available in the store. If you know of other bookstores, I would love to hear about them and add to the list!
AUC Press Bookstores, Cairo: http://www.aucpress.com/t-aucbookstores.aspx
Tahrir Bookstore – currently accesible only from Mohamed Mahmoud gate
Zamalek Bookstore – AUC Residence, 16 Mohamed Thakeb Street, Zamalek
New Cairo Bookstore – New Cairo Campus, Bartlett Plaza, Campus Center
New Cairo Text Bookstore – New Cairo Campus, Bartlett Plaza, Campus Center
New Cairo Campus Shop – New Cairo Campus, Bartlett Plaza, Campus Center
Falaki Text Bookstore – Falaki Academic Center, 5 Youssef el-Guindi Street
Diwan Bookstores – 10 Branches in Cairo and Alexandria http://www.diwanegypt.com/
Al Kotob Khan Bookshop, Cairo http://www.kotobkhan.com (Home Delivery Available!)
Adam Bookshop, Cairo http://www.adambookshop.com (Home Delivery Available!)
Gaddis & Co. Gift and Bookstore, Luxor in front of the legendary Winter Palace on Corniche Al Nil
Aboudi Bookstore, Luxor across from Luxor Temple
Aboudy Bookstore, Luxor next to the Passport Office
Filed under: AUC Press Nature Foldout Update
December 3, 2013
Morning Migrations in Luxor
Made it to the river before sunrise this morning, capturing colors, clouds, and the morning migration of hundreds of birds…
I was so distracted by the sunrise, I almost failed to notice the huge flock of birds flying high overhead!
One massive flock was followed by another, and then another, and again another…
I wasn’t alone in my observations, joined again by my same companion from one year ago… she always likes to jump up on my coat putting paw prints all over me! One time I was standing quietly by the shore observing birds, and she crept up behind me and jumped on my back scaring me out of my wits!
She was with a friend today…
The river waters are lower then I’ve ever seen them, creating ideal marsh areas where the birds sing joyfully, though hidden from my sight.
Lots of activity on a little beach today…
Mallow flower in the morning sunlight…
Filed under: Related Stories & Photos
December 1, 2013
Dreamy Visions from the Train – Aswan to Luxor
Traveling by train in Egypt may seem like an uncomfortable inconvenience to most, especially between Cairo and Luxor, an overnight journey that may take up to 8 hours! But the opportunity to travel the few hours between Aswan and Luxor is one I deeply enjoy, with the lush River Nile paralleling the tracks on one side, and breathtaking desert and mountain (gebel) landscapes on the other.
For me, it is a joy to see the sunsets on these travels, snapping photos through the dirty windows, leaving it all to chance as to what image I might capture… they are like dreams, and today’s was especially vivid:
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November 30, 2013
The Nubia Museum, Aswan
One of the most wonderful museums in Egypt is absolutely the Nubia Museum in Aswan.
It’s beautiful building—surrounded by a lovely garden—is wonderfully designed to guide one through Egypt’s prehistory, ancient Egyptian culture, to modern day Nubia.
Unlike some other museums and sites, the Nubia Museum also features a fantastic gift and book shop, and I was very eager to see the AUC Press Nature Foldouts available here. However, I found the museum not only lacking tourists, but it’s shop is a sad reflection of the hard times that have fallen on everyone today here in Egypt.
These are photos from one year ago:
And this is the shop today:
A handful of free publications on Islam and the Qur’an are nearly all that is available in the way of books. But I gave the clerks a few postcards of the AUC Press Nature Foldouts, hoping that at some point, they can order them for the store when business improves… insh’allah!
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Felucca Birdwatching in Aswan
A long, wonderful day birdwatching in Aswan, sailing around the islands, with AUC Press Nature Foldouts in hand!
One of the most beautiful places to sail along is Qubbet El-Hawa (dome of the wind).
Some of the birds I spotted today include:
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Great White Egret
Squacco Heron
Glossy Ibis
Little Egret
Little Bittern
Cattle Egret
Great Cormorant
Kingfisher
Purple Gallinule
Common Moorhen
also a kite I could not properly identify flying high over Qubbet El-Hawa.
I am pleased to see that all these birds are listed in Birds of the Nile Valley Nature Foldout.
The felluca captain, my friend Jumah جمعه , stopped to show me a rare tree, only two of which can be found here in Aswan. It is called Shjarah Almsthyah الاشجاره المستحيه. When touched, its leaves immediately relax as though going to sleep. But Jumah likes to strike it with a stick and chant “عيب استحي” (“ayb astahy”), as though magically sending it into a spell. More information about a similar plant can be found here: http://www.shajrah.com/ميموزة-مستحية
We also observed plenty of fishermen today, and caught a few fish ourselves, observing Nile Tilapia, Nile Carp and Nile Puffer.
Jumah approves of the AUC Press Nature Foldouts, especially the Arabic translations!
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November 28, 2013
A Day at Saqqara
Visited Saqqara today, which was intensely quiet and remote in contrast to Cairo which was once again undergoing rioting in the streets on Friday afternoon. Void of tourists, save for a busload of locals visiting the site, the Step Pyramid is overwhelmed by scaffolding at the moment. Built by Djoser in the 3rd Dynasty, it is the oldest complete stone building known in history, and was the site of non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3,000 years.
Within the numerous tombs, one finds fantastic artwork including River Nile scenes, animals, and fish.
During routine excavations in 2011 at the dog catacomb in Saqqara necropolis, an excavation team led by Salima Ikram—scientific consultant on Ancient Egypt’s Wildlife; AUC Press Nature Foldout—and an international team of researchers led by Paul Nicholson of Cardiff University, uncovered almost eight million animal mummies at the burial site.
“We are recording the animal bones and the mummification techniques used to prepare the animals,” said Ikram. “In doing so, we hope to identify the dog breeds present at the site. Thus far, our bone measurements indicate that there are different breeds that were mummified there.” The mummified animals at Saqqara are not limited to canines. “There are cat and mongoose remains in the deposit,” explained Ikram. “We are trying to understand how this fits religiously with the cult of Anubis, to whom the catacomb is dedicated.”
For Ikram, one of the world’s preeminent scholars in the field of mummification with a specialization in archaeozoology, the study of animal mummies offers deep insights into ancient Egyptian culture. “Animal mummies are really manifestations of daily life –– pets, food, death, religion and technology. They cover everything the Egyptians were concerned with,” said Ikram.
The dog catacombs research at Saqqara, funded by National Geographic, is one of several archaeological field projects in which Ikram is involved. She directed the Animal Mummy Project at the Egyptian Museum, resurrecting a neglected exhibition that first caught her attention when she visited the museum as a child.
http://www.aucegypt.edu/news/Pages/NewsRelease.aspx?rid=337
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