What is hidden in the catacombs of com el shukafa. Catacombs of kom el-shukafa in Alexandria Catacombs of kom el-shukafa in Alexandria

Note! You have the right to visit the beaches of other hotels, but, alas, without occupying sun loungers. But you can admire the colorful fish scurrying along the shores without sunbeds!

One of the most fabulous places in Sharm El Sheikh is the Colored Canyon, which is located about 150 kilometers from the city. This is a cluster of rocks that were formed from sand, having their own unique color. You will see red, yellow, white, gray and even beige rocks here! This beauty appeared due to the presence of iron and manganese oxide.

This canyon is rightfully considered “space on Earth”! In ancient times, there was a large river here, but it soon dried up, and under the influence of constant winds, sand hills began to “grow.” Even photographs taken by a professional photographer are unable to fully reflect all the miraculous beauty of this place.

The cost of an excursion to the canyon averages $50-60. There are no age restrictions.

Ras Mohammed

A vast reserve, which, founded in 1989, is Egypt’s first national park. The features of the landscape of Ras Mohammed deserve special attention: sand dunes and crushed rivers are combined here with wonderful mountains that nature has created over thousands of years with the help of sand and wind.

The local underwater world is also rich and diverse! If you wish, you can go diving, since there is plenty of space for this - Eel Garden, Ras Ghozlan, Jackfich, etc. We also recommend visiting the Shark Observatory, which is home to sharks and barracudas. Don’t forget to take a photo in front of the “Mushroom” – a huge fifteen-meter column of coral.

On local beaches you can see representatives of the fauna - foxes, gazelles, white storks and predatory hyenas.

Abu Galum

Another national park that is very popular among vacationers. Abu Galum Protected Area is a true find for anyone who loves natural attractions. A vast territory of over 500 km², where you can visit extensive pebble beaches, admire mountain ranges, and see beautiful coral reefs. During the tour, watch your step – there are a lot of cute snails and shells here!

The park's flora includes about 176 plants, and among the local inhabitants you can find funny mouflons, hyenas, chanterelles and snakes - for example, a viper or a black cobra. There are also a couple of Bedouin villages who decided to move away from the entire civilized world.

Navamis

Nawamis is a mysterious structure located in the east of Sinai. These are prehistoric cylindrical structures with a diameter of 3 to 6 meters, made with an inward slope. The 2.5 meter high structures are built from massive sand blocks and have one hole each.

Archaeologists have carried out a huge amount of work here, during which they were able to discover various ancient objects - copper and flint tools, shell bracelets, dishes, and colored beads. Scientists believe that these are all burial accessories made in the fourth millennium (!) BC.

It is believed that Nawamis are ordinary burial chambers, although it is still unclear who was buried here. Take a tour here to see all these delights with your own eyes!

Serabit el-Hadi m

This is an archaeological site of great interest to tourists. Serabit el Khadim is located approximately 40 kilometers from the city.

In the third millennium BC. e. In ancient Egypt, many people mined turquoise, which was used to paint statues and create figurines of scarab beetles. They were engaged in this type of fishing for quite a long time, and in the 18th century BC they even built a temple to Hathor, a goddess who was then believed to be the patroness of blue stone. And it is this temple that can be seen in Serabit el-Hadi m!

The structure, of which only ruins remain, is located at an altitude of 800 meters. You can also go down into abandoned mines, where the treasured stone was once mined. There will be something to see there too!

Best diving spots

Sharm el-Sheikh is ideal for diving - huge isolated reefs, strong tides, clean clear water where turtles, sharks and dolphins are found. The peculiarity of the local one is the possibility of diving at the site of the death of ancient ships, access to which is open - you can visit ancient ships transporting spices, mail ships of the 19th century and even modern cargo ships. Each of these places can be reached within a one-day excursion, although it is better to live on a yacht and periodically go to sea.

The ideal place for diving is summer! The water temperature reaches 20-40ᵒС, so do not forget about sunscreen. The most popular diving centers in the city are listed below:

• Ras Hamila;
• Umm Sid;
• White Kings;
• Paradise;
• Shark Bay;
• "Turtle Bay"
• "Gardens" (garden caves);
• Amphora;
• Sodfa.

Egypt, Sharm el-Sheikh - diving

Entertainment

After tiring excursions, you can have fun. But where? There are many options, if you want to go to a disco, check out the best nightclubs in the resort, which are described in. We will look at exotic places in the city itself.

Singing Fountains in Soho

One of the most beautiful attractions located within the resort is the Singing Fountains in Soho Square. In essence, this is a large light and music fountain, which every day gathers hundreds of tourists around it, attracted by its dynamics and play. You can listen to exotic oriental music here and watch how the fountains gracefully “dance” to it.

Attention! During the day, the fountains are often turned off, but in the evening the “dances” are repeated every fifteen minutes.

Video – Singing fountains

Dolphin show

If during your vacation you feel homesick for your homeland, you can visit the dolphinarium at the intersection of Sharm El Isee and City Council. And all because... artists from Russia are performing here - Masha, Stesha and Styopka, accompanied by Krasnodar trainers! These dolphins are very popular at the resort: every day dozens of vacationers come to see them play volleyball or jump through hoops. You will be able to take photos with Russian bottlenose dolphins and even swim with them a little.

We didn’t plan to talk about discos, but the Taj Mahal entertainment center is a special case, because it is the most popular dancing hall in Sharm el-Sheikh. The disco is located in a prime location - just fifteen minutes from any of the hotels. You can dance from 23:00 to 4:00, and in the open air! World-class DJs often come here, and there is also a bar with a huge range of drinks and snacks. If you wish, you can relax next to the glowing foam pool.

Attention! If you go to the Taj Mahal along with an organized excursion, you will receive one free drink.

The entrance ticket costs $40.

– children's amusement park

Over the few years of its existence, this park has become one of the most visited places in the city. Despite its modest sizeHundreds of tourists visit every day, primarily because of the fabulous atmosphere that allows you to plunge into the carefree world of childhood. Amusement rides, clowns, ice cream and cotton candy - all this is sure to please not only adults, but also children! Here everyone can find entertainment to their liking. Some people will like the room of fear, while others will be delighted with the colorful horses on the carousel.

The park is located on the territory of the hotel Sun Shine , admission is free for everyone.

And in the end I would like to briefly talk about the Old Market. This is a huge oriental bazaar located in the heart of the Old City (one of the districts of Sharm el-Sheikh). You can buy clothes, jewelry and, of course, various souvenirs here. Each of the sellers will call you in broken Russian, so be prepared for increased attention.

Have a fun holiday!

Archaeologists believe that the catacombs of Kom El Shuqafa began to be developed as a necropolis in the 2nd century BC. and continued to be used for 200 years. This period in the history of Alexandria is characterized by a mixture of different cultures. The ancient Egyptian kingdom with a thousand-year-old past after its conquest by Alexander the Great came under the influence of Greek rulers, who brought the traditions and culture of the metropolis.

The catacombs are part of a necropolis or “city of the dead”, built according to Egyptian tradition on the western outskirts. Initially, it was the tomb of a wealthy family, but later the burial site was expanded for unknown reasons. The common name "Kom El Shuqafa" means "Mound of Shards" and is due to broken pottery found in the area. According to researchers, relatives who visited the graves brought food and drinks in clay vessels, and, not wanting to take the dishes used at the cemetery, broke them and left the fragments here.

It is assumed that there was a large burial chamber on the surface above the catacombs in ancient times, as a wide, round shaft with a diameter of 6 m was excavated, descending into an underground structure. Two shafts lead down, separated by a wall - these are the remains of a spiral staircase with windows. At the junction of the underground and upper levels and along the stairs there are places carved into the stone - benches for rest. Further, the path leads to a rotunda room, from which a view opens onto a round shaft-well descending to the lower levels. To the left of the rotunda is a banquet hall known as the Triclinium. It was here that relatives held annual celebrations and holidays in honor of the deceased.

The next level is the main part of the tomb, many of its elements are made in the style of a Greek temple. In the lower part, between the two columns, there are steps of the pronaos, or porch. Initially, this corridor was the only one and was intended for burial niches; later it grew into a labyrinth. The lowest level of the burial chambers is flooded and inaccessible to visitors.

What makes these catacombs unique is the mixture of styles in sculpture and painting. For example, in the temple room behind the pronaos there are statues of a man and a woman, their bodies are carved according to the canons of ancient Egyptian art, and their heads are made in a realistic Greek style, the woman’s with a Roman hairstyle. On either side of the doorway on the façade of the temple there are two serpents in relief guarding the tomb, they represent the Greek good spirit "agethodaimon", and they wear the traditional double crowns of Egypt, entwined with Greco-Roman staves. On top of their heads are Greek shields with the image of Medusa.

The tomb has many sarcophagi with mummies buried according to Egyptian canons, and numerous niches with the remains of those who were cremated according to Greek and Roman rites.

Kom El-Shukafa is an underground structure of the 1st-2nd centuries AD, in which the tombs of the “noble” citizens of the country at the beginning of the era are located in tiers. This is a kind of network of catacombs. They were discovered at the beginning of the twentieth century when the ground accidentally collapsed under a donkey. Tourists go down a spiral staircase to a depth of 30m, then there are corridors that lead to rooms with funeral urns.
The catacombs were first intended for the family, but gradually they were expanded to bury more and more descendants. There is even a room in which funeral ceremonies and feasts were held. There is also a chapel underground, however, its construction styles are mixed, containing elements of ancient Egyptian decor, as well as Greek and Roman, and are somewhat reminiscent of a theater stage. Most of the Gods depicted belong to Egypt, they are made in a special manner, but are easily recognizable.



Library in Alexandria
Time had a devastating impact on the Alexandria lighthouse, but the library in Alexandria, famous for its rare monuments of writing from different cultures, was destroyed by the people themselves. Since ancient times, it has kept half a million papyri containing articles from various fields of science, literature, religion, and geography. Many scientists worked there. However, when Julius Caesar and his army took Alexandria under siege, fire spread throughout the city. Most of the library was destroyed in the fire. Everything that survived was transferred to the Serapeum. Centuries later, the building was destroyed by Christians, and the manuscripts were destroyed because they did not correspond to the tenets of the religion. The exact location where the famous library was located in ancient times is unknown.


In the twentieth century, thanks to the efforts of the Egyptian government and a number of countries that supported this idea, the unique repository was restored and filled with everything valuable that could be collected in the world.
Its building is round in shape, and the cut faces the sea and is covered with glass and metal. The building sparkles in the sun. This is part of the symbolism, because in ancient times the population of Egypt worshiped the god Ra. It has the world's largest reading room, and two hundred classrooms were built for scientists, equipped with the latest computers. In addition, there is a conference hall, a planetarium, and several museums. It is expected that the library's collection will contain more than eight million written monuments.

Fresh review

Giebichenstein Castle was built during the early Middle Ages, between 900 and 1000. At that time it had a very important strategic importance not only for the Magdeburg bishops, whose residence it was until the castle was built, but also played an important role in all imperial politics. The first written mention dates back to 961. Built on a high cliff above the Saale River, approximately 90 meters above sea level, on the site where the main Roman road once passed. In the period from 1445 to 1464, the Lower Castle was built at the foot of the castle rock, which was intended to serve as a fortified courtyard. Since the transfer of the episcopal residence to Moritzburg, the so-called Upper Castle began to fall into decay. And after the Thirty Years' War, when it was captured by the Swedes and destroyed by fire, in which almost all the buildings were destroyed, it was completely abandoned and was never restored. In 1921, the castle was transferred to city ownership. But even in such ruined form it is very picturesque.

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The catacombs of Kom el-Shukafa, located in the southwest of Alexandria, are the largest Egyptian ancient necropolis. The time of their creation dates back to the 1st-2nd centuries AD. - the period of Roman rule. The catacombs of Kom el-Shukafa are a three-tiered structure that goes deep underground, where the tombs of representatives of the Egyptian nobility are located. Initially, the structure was intended for the burial of one family, however, subsequently the catacombs expanded greatly. The catacombs were discovered by chance at the beginning of the 20th century. At the time of discovery, about three hundred graves were found in the catacombs of Kom el-Shukaf.

You can get to the catacombs of Kom el-Shukaf by going down a spiral staircase to a depth of about 30 meters. The bodies of the deceased were lowered into the well located in the center of the structure. The upper level premises are a rotunda and a hall for funeral feasts held by relatives of the deceased. The rotunda is the central shaft of the catacombs, framed by six columns. A network of corridors emanates from the rotunda, which lead to numerous halls decorated with statues with Egyptian-Roman symbols, with rectangular niches for sarcophagi and funerary urns. The catacombs of Kom el-Shukafa include almost all types of burials found in Alexandria. These also include tombs made in the form of wells in rocky corridors.

The level below is a funeral chapel, the architecture of which shows a mixture of several styles - ancient Egyptian, Roman and Greek. The architecture of tombstones also does not belong to any one style. For example, on a traditional Egyptian sarcophagus you can see inscriptions in Greek, as well as Greek drawings with ornaments. Or gods belonging to the ancient Egyptian pantheon are depicted in paintings in a typically Roman style.

Inside the catacombs, there are no decorative elements on the walls. But wall paintings have been preserved in the funeral chapel and prayer hall. They demonstrate the funeral rituals of Ancient Egypt. The main attraction of the catacombs is the central tomb with a statue of the god Anubis, with the head of a jackal, dressed in Roman armor. The same tomb is decorated with bizarre reliefs in the form of snakes (dragons).

The lower level of this architectural complex is currently flooded with water, and it is not possible to get into it.

In general, despite its venerable age, the catacombs of Kom el-Shukaf are preserved very well, almost in their original form. Only a few rooms of this architectural structure were destroyed.

You can visit the catacombs of Kom el-Shukaf any day, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The catacombs of Kom el-Shukaf are a unique architectural monument. Of course, it is worth a visit to walk through the gloomy and even somewhat ominous labyrinths of corridors, admire the ancient statues of rulers and gods, wall paintings and frescoes, and feel the unique atmosphere of deep antiquity.