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Crocodilopolis ….yes it’s a real place you can visit, and I won’t keep you guessing, it was the official head-quarters for a crocodile worship cult! The city of Crocodilopolis was located on the western bank of the Nile, southwest of Memphis in Egypt. During ancient time it was known by the name of Shedet and was the center of worship for the Egyptian water-god Sobek, or the crocodile god. It was the Greeks that dubbed it “Crocodile City”, or “Crocodilopolis”, but over time it has been given many names.

Its Greek name was Krokodilopolis but when the city passed into Ptolemy hands in the 3rd century BC, it was renamed Ptolemais Euergetis and then renamed again by Ptolemy Philadelphus II to Arsinoe in honor of his wife and sister Arsineo II of Egypt, and during its heyday it had a population of more than 100,000. In modern time, its Arabic name is now Medinet El-Fayoum.

Life in Crocodilopolis has always rotated around Lake Moeris which was in the thin ridge that separated the city from the Nile Valley. During the Middle Kingdom it gained prominence when the oasis swamp of Fayoum was drained, creating a new fertile province. The level of the lake was artificially regulated, and large monuments were built around its shore, although the level of the lake was lower than in the past but still higher than today. In the 12th Dynasty the city became the capital of Egypt.

Crocodilopolis may not have become a major city and may not have had any major political standing in the area, but it was located in the most fertile region in Egypt, which made it a haven for farmers growing vegetables, corn, roses, vineyards and olives.

The protective deity of the whole of the lake area was the crocodile headed god Sobek (Suchos) and his sacred animal was the crocodile of course! The people of Crocodilopolis worshiped a manifestation of Sobek through a sacred crocodile named “Petsuchos” (or “son of Sobek”).The crocodile lived in a special temple, with sand, a pond and food, and was embellished with gold and jewels and had special priests to serve his food. When the Petsuchos died the body would be mummified and given a special burial, and replaced by another promptly.

Beside the lake where the sacred crocodile was kept, was the principle temple, dedicated to the cult of Sobek. During the 12th dynasty the temple already existed but was rebuilt by Ramses II. Sadly what currently remains of Crocodilopolis is no more than several mounds of ruins, a few column bases here and there and a stone obelisk erected by Senusret I during the 12th Dynasty and a few sculptured blocks. Between 1877 and 1878 a great number of papyrus manuscripts were discovered, some of which are important to the earliest Christian history of Egypt.

Fayoum may not attract visitors on account of Crocodilopolis but on account of its waterwheels, there are approximately 200 of these great waterwheels located throughout the oasis. The Seven Waterwheels, which are Fayoum’s landmark and the main attraction to the area, are surrounded by mangos, palms and willows. Fayoum remains one of the most fertile banks on the Egyptian Nile.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
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Egypt Tours

Copyright © EgyptHasItAll.com

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
—————————————————————–
Egypt Tours

Copyright © EgyptHasItAll.com

With Global Warming becoming an eminent threat there is growing awareness to going green. The need to save mother Earth, conserving its resources to share with future generations as live experiences and not stories of the past. Warning calls by Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio for preserving the only planet we have is more than a cause but a need for it to be a way of life.

Every bearing of our lives is going eco-friendly, from energy saving light bulbs and carpooling to eco-friendly pajamas and hair spray. Since the late 1980s the increase in environmental awareness and the obligation to protect eco-systems, gave birth to ecotourism, responsible tourism or also called sustainable tourism.

For centuries only 6% of Egypt’s land has been frequented by tourists, seeking the historical aspects that have been overemphasized through novels & chronicles. With the remaining 94% considered lifeless, barren wastelands. These areas included three magnificent deserts (the Sinai Desert, the Eastern Desert and the Western Desert), mangroves, lakes, mountains and 2,700 km (1,678 m) of unspoiled coastlines. Since the evolution of ecotourism and the demand to explore and enjoy this hidden side of Egypt, there has been a demand for more environmentally conscious eco-lodges, and higher maintenance and preservation over natural protectores.

But what exactly is meant by ecotourism? As defined by the world’s oldest and largest ecotourism organization and the global source of knowledge and advocacy in ecotourism, The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) states that it is:

Experiencing the fastest growth of all sub-sectors in the tourism industry, this popularity represents a change in tourist perceptions, increased environmental awareness, and a desire to explore natural environments. Such changes have become as much a statement affirming one’s social identity, educational sophistication, and disposable income as it has about preserving the Amazon rainforest or the Caribbean reef for posterity. And for ecotourism to be successful certain guidelines and principles must be followed:
· minimize impact
· build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
· provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
· provide direct financial benefits for conservation
· provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people
· raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate

The concepts of ecotourism maybe obvious in that they need to minimize the negative economic, environmental and social impacts, while preserving and improving the condition of the local people and their heritage. These very concepts are often used as a marketing tool to promote tourism which is related to nature. These greenwashing habits (disinformation by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image) only use labels like “green” and “eco-friendly”, to mislead tourists and manipulate their concern for the environment. So just because a hotel is located on a splendid landscape does not mean it’s eco-friendly until it fulfills its obligations, behaving in an environmentally responsible way.

This may have been happening in Hurgada and Sharm el Sheik, but in recent years legislation has been enforced by the Egyptian Affairs Agency to prevent new development from destroying the coastline, coral reefs or tidal flats. Becoming the major focus of investment by the Egyptian government and the World Bank to protect what is left of the unique heritage that was once plagues by thoughtless development.

Since the hosting of Sustainable Tourism Egypt (STE) 2003, the International Conference on Tourism Development in Environmentally Sensitive Areas there has been major endeavors and strategic plans to conserve and protect the unique, abundant natural treasure of Egypt’s heritage. There is also concern for these protected areas to pay their way to generate revenue that can be use to fund for the management of its conservation. Moreover to provide the residence of these areas with additional income and establish community businesses.

In the wake of the declaration of Wadi El-Hitan as a World Heritage site by the UNESCO, there are more restrictions to number of visitors and stricter enforcemnt on regulation and guidelines to protectores. In the Nabq protected area, there are rehabilitation initiatives to recover its sensitive eco-systems. The largest mangrove stand in the Gulf of Aqaba and the northernmost mangroves in the Indian Ocean/Red Sea area front the shoreline of Nabq, making it the largest coastal park, at 600 km2 of protected area of outstanding natural beauty sheltering a variety of ecosystems.

There has been a campaign to crack down on hunting in Egypt in the Siwa Oasis and around Lake Nasser, Egypt’s primary water reservoir. Furthermore, there have been negotiations with government authorities to reduce the bureaucratic restrictions on deep desert tours and safaris. The numerous bureaucratic obstacles and procedures are time consuming but these problems are not experienced by tourists, as they are taken care of before their arrival.

The location of the Stromer’s Tidal Giant dinosaur in Bahariya Oasis is now under protection as farmers are trying to use the land for agricultural purposes and presently, there is a focus on saving the Petrified Forest protectorate east of Cairo, as there have been attempts to initiate urban development projects in the area. The selling of the Red Sea’s protected Giftun Island was successfully halted. The Egyptian government rejected the proposal for a multi-million development plan and an international campaign “Save Giftun” helped rise public awareness to preserve Egypt’s heritage.

Efforts to save the Spinner dolphins of the Gulf of Samadi (in the vicinity of the town of Marsa Alam in the Red Sea) have been also successful. The Samadi is a horseshoe-shaped reef that forms a shallow lagoon in the center, and constitutes an important natural habitat for spinner dolphins, where tourists get the magical opportunity to swim with wild, free, friendly dolphins.

21 km north of Hurgada, is the first independent touristic town. El Gouna (or Lagoon) has its own electricity plant, a sewage treatment plant, roads, lagoons, and has installed satellite phones, a transportation network, two marinas, a Nubian-style village, an airport, a hospital and an international school. More investors are being encouraged to build eco-lodges in protected areas such as the Red Sea’s Wadi El-Gemal, and Qarit Umm Al-Sagheer, north of Siwa. The government and developers have significant roles to play in adopting and implementing environmentally sound policies and practices to avoid the degradation of the natural heritage of Egypt for the sake of current and future generations alike.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
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Egypt Tours

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The deserts of Egypt have always been known to hold and hide the mysteries of the ancient pharaohs, buried treasures of kings and queens that once ruled these lands. Apparently, these lands where once ruled by much bigger, grander creatures, they too left behind their treasures.

Over 40 million years ago, long before any human existence, the western desert of Egypt formed part of the Tethys Sea, which was an extension of what is today the Mediterranean Sea. As the wind blows northwards through this barren, arid desert, it reveals one of the greatest mysteries of evolution: the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal.

Wadi El-Hitan, which in English means Whale Valley, is a reserve within the Wadi El-Rayan Protected Area, in the Fayoum Oasis, some 150 km from Cairo. The desert floor is littered with fossil remains of now extinct whales. More significantly, there is no other place in the world yielding the number, concentration and quality of such fossils, as is their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape. This is why it has been recently added by the UNESCO to the list of protected World Heritage sites.

The first fossil skeletons were discovered in the winter of 1902-3. The remains display the typical streamlined body form of modern whales, yet retaining some of the primitive aspects of skull and tooth structure. The largest skeleton found reached up to 21 m in length, with well developed five-fingered flippers on the forelimbs and the unexpected presence of hind legs, feet, and toes, not known previously in any archaeocete (a now extinct sub-order of whales). Their form was serpentine and they were carnivorous. A few of these skeletal remains are exposed but most are shallowly buried in sediments, slowly uncovered by erosion. Wadi El-Hitan provides evidences of millions of years of coastal marine life.

The fossils here may not be the oldest found but their great concentration in the area and the degree of their preservation is to the extent that even some stomach contents are intact. The actuality of fossils of other early mammals such as sharks, crocodiles, sawfish, turtles and rays found at Wadi El-Hitan makes it possible to reconstruct the surrounding environmental and ecological conditions of the time, adding to its justification to be cited as a Heritage site.

Only about 1000 visitors a year drive into Wadi El-Hitan by 4WD due to the fact that the track is unpaved and crosses unmarked desert sands. To the most part, visitors to Wadi Al-Hitan are foreigners, who usually camp in the valley on winter weekends. Because Wadi El-Hitan is within Wadi El-Rayan Protected Area, the same protection management plan restricts visitors to prearranged guided tours along a prescribed trail. Sustainable tourism is beginning to develop and grow in the area, and the 4WD are alternatively being replaced by foot or camel treks.

Besides journeying into the desert, to experience the wonders of the past, Wadi El-Hitan, is also home to 15 species of desert plants, sand dunes and about 15 types of wild mammals including the north African jackal, red fox, Egyptian mongoose, African wildcat, and dorcas gazelle. Also, attracted by the lakes at Wadi El-Rayan are recorded 19 species of reptiles and 36 species of breeding birds.

The valley is located behind a mountain, known as Gabal Gar Gohannam which is Arabic for The Mountain Next to Hell. In the light of the setting sun, the mountain seems ablaze with an eerie red light, which only added to the feeling that one is about to embark on a journey to unravel the hidden mysteries of a yet un-chartered planet.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
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To find more about Wadi El-Hitan, please visit:
Wadi El-Hitan, Fayoum