Egypt, the pyramids and Ptolemy?

**Smeel** · August 21, 2008, 03:24 PM

Well, Me and a friend Is considering going to egypt next spring, and of course we will be seeing the pyramids. But, as I'm very interested in history and the antique, one of the seven world wonders won't be enough for me. And since I'm a hellenophile, my question is if there are a lot of things from The ptolemaic era to see there?

**C-Rob** · August 21, 2008, 08:23 PM

Jealous of you going to egypt... Can I sneak into your travel bag? Or maybe you can pick me up at an Ohio, US airport? lol, nah, but a quick online search revealed this- Useful?
http://www.worldheritagetours.com/to...dan_egypt.html
Actually, all that information isn't very useful and conveniently avoids anything Hellenistic, rather it goes exactly AROUND the era...

http://books.google.com/books?id=3_-...m=10&ct=result

nother random hit...

**DAVIDE** · August 22, 2008, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by Smeel

Well, Me and a friend Is considering going to egypt next spring, and of course we will be seeing the pyramids. But, as I'm very interested in history and the antique, one of the seven world wonders won't be enough for me. And since I'm a hellenophile, my question is if there are a lot of things from The ptolemaic era to see there?

the only one ptolemy temple still existing, is the one in Dendera

**PurpleScotch** · August 25, 2008, 11:37 AM

Even though I personally haven't visited Egypt, I know a lot of people who visited Egypt. Egypt is also one of my favorite Arab countries. I just love that country, and I'll love it even more when I visit it!

Be very careful of restaurants in Cairo. If you want to eat at traditional restaurants, try to ask more than one local if the food in that restaurant is okay, and on top of that, check the restaurant yourself to see if it looks good enough. It is useful to note other cities and areas in Egypt are much cleaner than Cairo. Cairo can be heavily polluted and hard to walk in at times.

Also, learn a few Arabic words on your way, might be useful. "Shukran" (which means "Thank you") is very useful.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

EDIT: Here's a useful travel guide to Egypt, including costs and tips on how to get there and around the country (like domestic airline trips from Cairo to Luxor, for example):

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/egypt

**President Garfield** · September 04, 2008, 03:58 PM

I have toured through Egypt in 2006 from Cairo all the way down to Abu Simbel. Being a Rome Total War fan (duh) I was not only interested in traditional ancient Egypt but was also focussed on Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt.

I’ve seen tons of Egyptian tombs and temples but none from the Ptolemaic era and only one build by the Romans (the temple of Hadrian at Philae). My experience was the Egyptians didn’t like focussing on Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt (but that’s just my experience).

Maybe you have a better chance of encountering Ptolemaic (and Roman) artefacts in Alexandria. I know they have the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria. But I haven’t visited Alexandria when I was in Egypt, so I’m not able to share any first hand information about that city.

Still Egypt is an awesome country to visit! Not only fantastic ancient monuments but also very nice people. Here are two special recommendations from my side:

You should definitely visit the temple complex of Abu Simbel. It’s a very (very) long drive but sure worth it because it’s (in my humble opinion) the most beautiful temple complex in all of Egypt;

When visiting the pyramids, you should really visit one on the inside, even if the tour guide says there will be nothing to see on the inside. Indeed, there really was nothing to see once inside, but it’s a great feeling if you can share this experience with other Egypt travellers first handed.

Enjoy your stay in Egypt!

My first post ever on the TWC forum, hurray!