Egypt, Africa

By Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com February 13, 2011 Well, after eighteen days of protest and demonstration to bring down a corrupt dictator and allow free and fair elections, what will this mean for the LGBT (gay) citizens who were certainly present in Tahrir Square? There was plenty of talk in the media about repression, corruption. imprisonment, beatings and killings of individuals politically and philosophically opposed to the regime. A great cry of relief went up when Mubarak quit. The talk turned to hope and freedom. The constitution has been suspended and parliament dissolved. There is a great cheer and much hope for a democratic future. But will that relief and freedom extend to sexual minorities in Egypt? Will homosexuality be decriminalized in the new constitution? Will freedom to love be permitted? I doubt it. This was a political revolution not a religious one. No one protested against religious oppression or the

Intro: A month in Egypt–up the Nile, north to Alexandria and west across to the oasis of Siwa–is hardly enough to see this ancient culture in all its beauty and despair. Gay and lesbian life shares little of the beauty and much of the despair Story and photos by Richard Ammon GlobalGayz Updated March 2012 Also see: Islam and Homosexuality After the 2011 Revolution: What it Means for Gays From the start, writing about the ‘gay scene’ in Egypt did not look promising: “I am quite sure you will have difficulty trying to uncover much at all,” said a friend of a friend who lived in Egypt for three years. He continued, “I have one close friend who is now living in London (in exile). He fled the country shortly after I left and declared himself a political refugee because the Egyptian government sees homosexuality as an illegal practice and

Three guest authors describe the complex coexistence of traditional homosexual behavior and today’s Egyptian Muslim culture–full of distressing political intrigue and intense personal desire. Recent arrests (2001) and subsequent harrassment by police have created a fearful milieu for gay Muslims in modern Egypt. Also see: Islam and Homosexuality Gay Egypt Stories Gay Egypt News & Reports (2001-Present) Gay Egypt Photo Galleries Recent documentary films about LGBT in the Middle East: ‘I Exist’: http://www.unlearninghomophobia.com/iexist_presskit/IExist.Info.pdf ‘Dangerous Living’: http://www.afterstonewall.com/dangerous.html   (1) The Cost of Being Gay in Egypt World Voices Norway by Mukul Devichand 17 December 2001 Updated April 2006 Early evening in downtown Cairo, Egypt. I meet two young men in one of the hundreds of coffee shops, replete with mirror tiles and sisha pipes, that litter the streets. They are energetic and expressive, but — despite the noisy clink-clink of tea glasses around us — they speak in fearful, hushed tones.

Egypt Group Tour, Gallery A – Luxor, El Gouna, Giza Pyramids/Sphynx and Cairo A group tour with the Dutch Djoser company traveled from Cairo to Abu Simbel in a two-week trip.  

Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt; it is also Africa’s most populous city. It has a population of about 6.8 million people and Cairo’s metropolitan area has a population of about 17.3 million people. A journey through Cairo is virtual time travel: from the Pyramids to the great Cairo Museum.

Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt; it is also Africa’s most populous city. It has a population of about 6.8 million people and Cairo’s metropolitan area has a population of about 17.3 million people. A journey through Cairo is virtual time travel: from the Pyramids to the great Cairo Museum.

Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt; it is also Africa’s most populous city. It has a population of about 6.8 million people and Cairo’s metropolitan area has a population of about 17.3 million people. A journey through Cairo is virtual time travel: from the Pyramids to the great Cairo Museum.

Alexandria  was founded by Alexander the Great around 331 BC. It was developed into a world class city by Ptolemy and his successors from 323-31 BC and included the greatest library of antiquity (now replaced by the stunning new Bibliotheca Alexandrina). The last Ptolemaic ruler was Cleopatra VII, who partnered wirh Julius Caesar and later Marc Antony. She took her own life in 31 BC rather than be captured by invading Roman armies. With a modern population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country’s largest seaport.

Faces of Egypt

Luxor is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. Its population numbers 376,022 (1999 survey), and its area is about 416 km2 [1]. As the site of the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterised as the "world’s greatest open air museum". The ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor standing within the modern city. Immediately opposite, across the Nile River, lie the monuments, temples and tombs on the West Bank Necropolis, which include the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens.

A group tour with the Dutch Djoser company traveled from Cairo to Abu Simbel in a two-week trip. Posted Aliso Viejo, California, United States.

Abu Simbel is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser about 290 km southwest of Aswan. The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh, and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors. The temples were moved to higher elevation 1964-1968 to avoid being submerged in Lake Nasser formed by the Aswan High Dam (built 1960-71)

Siwa Oasis town is isolated 350 miles west of Cairo and is home to the ancient Temple of Ammon (Amun) where Alexander the Great came in 331 BC to consult the oracle. The other main ruin, the 13c mud brick Shali fortress, is in the town center. Today the town (23,000 people) is a picturesque oasis of recent hotels, donkey carts and Berber traditions. Agriculture is the main activity, mostly dates and olives, supplemented by handicrafts.

A huge temple built by Ramses II to honor himself. He ruled for 66 years from 1279-1213 BC (19th dynasty). The Ramesseum temple was intended to impress Ramses’ subjects but eventually fell into ruin . The major artifact here is a huge seated Ramses statue, but an earthquake toppled the colossus in centuries past (photos 7-12). Were it still standing, Ramses would tower 18 metres (54′) above the ground. The English poet P.B. Shelley wrote his satirical poem ‘Ozymandius’ (which mocks Ozy’s vanity of fame and power) in the early 19c after visiting this site. Ironically his sarcastic poem has enhanced the Ramesseum as a popular tourist venue.

The Valley of the Kings is the location of some of the world’s greatest ancient artifacts: the tombs of the pharoahs who ruled the Egyptian Empire. For a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the kings and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth through Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile, across from modern Luxor. The royal tombs are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues to the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period. The Colossi of Memnon (last 6 photos) are two massive stone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. For the past 3400 years they have stood in the Theban necropolis, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor.

Luxor Museum is located in the Egyptian city of Luxor (ancient Thebes). It stands on the corniche, overlooking the River Nile, in the central part of the city. Inaugurated in 1975, the museum prides itself on the quality of the pieces it has, the uncluttered way in which they are displayed, and the clear multilingual labelling used.

The Karnak Temple Complex, (photos 1-38) universally known only as Karnak, describes a vast conglomeration of ruined temples, chapels, pylons and other buildings. It is located 2.5km north of Luxor in Egypt. This was Ancient Egypt’s main place of worship of the Theban Triad with Amun as its head, in the monumental city of Thebes. The complex was started in the Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BC) and is the largest ancient religious site in the world. Luxor Temple (photos 39-62) is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the River Nile in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes) and was founded in 1400 BC. The importance of the city started as early as the 11th Dynasty by King Mento-hotep. The city of Thebes was the capital of the fourth Nome of Upper Egypt. The main local god was the God Amon Ra.

Random images from around Aswan City and on the Nile River Aswan is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate (pop.1.2 million) and the 3rd largest city in Egypt. It stands on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract and is a busy market and tourist center. Aswan is one of the driest inhabited places in the world; In Nubian settlements, they generally do not bother to roof all of the rooms in their houses. The stone quarries of ancient Egypt located here were celebrated for the granitic rock called Syenite that furnished the colossal statues, obelisks, and monolithal shrines that are found throughout Egypt, including the pyramids. Two dams straddle the river at this point: the newer Aswan High Dam and the older Aswan Low Dam. They prevent the river’s flooding, generate electricity and provide water for agriculture.

Aswan is a city in the south of Egypt (see Gallery), the capital of the Aswan Governorate (pop.1.2 million) and the 3rd largest city in Egypt. The stone quarries of ancient Egypt located here were celebrated for the granitic rock called Syenite that furnished the colossal statues, obelisks, and monolithal shrines that are found throughout Egypt, including the pyramids. Philae is an island in the Nile River and the previous site of an Ancient Egyptian temple complex in southern Egypt. The complex is now located on the nearby island of Agilika. Two dams straddle the river at this point: the newer Aswan High Dam and the older Aswan Low Dam. The magnificent Nubian Museum.in the city was opened in 1997.