Destination: Egypt
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Films Set in Egypt
In recent years extortionate taxes levied on foreign film companies have kept the cameras away (that’s actually Tunisia standing in for Egypt in The English Patient and Raiders of the Lost Ark, Arizona in Stargate, and CGI in the remake of The Mummy). But even if they haven't been shot on location, there are plenty of films that evoke the country and its colourful history splendidly. All make great pre-departure viewing.
The Ten Commandments (1923 & 1956)
Cleopatra (1963)
Death on the Nile (1978)
The English Patient (1996)
The Mummy (1932 & 1999)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Valley of the Kings (1954)
Sphinx (1981)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Land of the Pharaohs (1955)
Great Reads
With a vivid history encompassing pyramid builders (human or otherwise), horror caliphs, the enchantment of The Thousand and One Nights and colonial high jinks and romance, there’s no lack of colourful Egyptian subject matter to base a story on.
The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell
Beer at the Snooker Club by Waguih Ghali
The Levant Trilogy by Olivia Manning
Cairo: The City Victorious by Max Rodenbeck
The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz
Point Zero by Nawal el-Sadawi
Zayni Barakat by Gamal al-Ghitani
The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany
The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
The Thousand and One Nights by Anonymous
Museums & Galleries
With 5000 years of history, you can figure that Egypt has no shortage of exhibits for its museums.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Gayer-Anderson Museum, Cairo
Graeco-Roman Museum, Alexandria
Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo
Luxor Museum, Luxor
Museum of Modern Egyptian Art, Cairo
Mummification Museum, Luxor
Mr & Mrs Mahmoud Khalil Museum, Cairo
Nubia Museum, Aswan
Alexandria National Museum, Alexandria
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