News
THE SITE: Between the Modern Complexities of Cairo and the Ancient Culture of the Pyramids
Model photo
photo : Richard Davies
Three significant elements organise the New Museum within the site:
• The Plateau Edge, which divides the site into higher and lower sections.
• The View towards the Pyramids.
• The Cairo-Alexandria Approach.
Exterior Night rendering
image : Archimation
ARCHITECTURAL PROPOSAL: Architecturalizing the Face of the Plateau
The proposal for the Grand Egyptian Museum begins by forming a new ‘edge’ to the Plateau, by creating a gentle slope as a thin veil of translucent stone structured by fractal geometry; opening and closing like foldings within the desert sand. As seen from Cairo, this newly inscribed surface of translucent stone constructs a dynamic identity; yet from within the museum, this surface traces a new visual trajectory towards the Pyramids. The wall of the museum can be understood as a rhythm of structural (physical) and spatial (effect-ive) foldings within the Plateau face, architecturalizing and intensifying its timeless surface.
Exterior Day rendering
image : Archimation
BETWEEN THE SPACE OF THE PYRAMIDS: Relationship between the Museum and the Pyramids
The museum occupies a void within a 3-dimensional frame inscribed by a set of visual axes from the site to the three Pyramids. In plan, the lines that structure the museum are traced along these same visual lines. In section, the museum is structured along the ascent from the entrance and its parks to the Plateau level.
Model photo
photo : Richard Davies
LOOKING TO CAIRO: Relationship between the Museum and Cairo
The New Museum is located at the first desert plateau outside Cairo, between the Pyramids and Cairo. It acts at the intersection between Modernity and Antiquity, literally redirecting the traveler from the modernity of Cairo and Alexandria to the Ancient Heritage of the Egyptians. Urbanistically, the museum is an ‘inscription’, inscribing the point at which the visitor changes direction from the city towards the Pyramids. The museum traces a new profile for the Plateau without competing with the Pyramids, utilising its’ siting and length to operate within the horizontal flows so indicative of modern vision and movement.
THE FIFTH FAÇADE: A New Horizon
The New Museum is sited at the intersection of two cones of vision, the View to the Pyramids and the View to Cairo. The View to the Pyramids is inscribed into the structural lines of the museum. The View to Cairo is traced by the path of the Nile Park which extends from the Dunal Park at the Plateau level, across the folds in the Roof and inscribed into the lines that define the Piazza as it extends to the city.
The structural folds that form the roof extend the dunal landscape of the site, maintaining the line of the desert plateau whilst constructing and spatialising a new horizon to view the city of Cairo.
image : heneghan.peng.architects
SCULPTING WITH LIGHT: Movement Voids
From the scale of the site to the scale of the display case, light carves and defines the spaces of the new Museum Complex, from its Open-Air System of parks to its precisely controlled environments of artifacts.
Two Bands of Light divide the site into three bands:
Lower Plateau: Infrastructural area to the road side
Ascent to Plateau: Cultural area of the GEM
Upper Plateau: Natural area of the Dunal Park.
Light excavates the primary systems of movement through the plateau,
The light-filled Grand Staircase,
The Void of the Translucent Stone Wall
The Visual Causeway
The Digital Streams: Light voids that carve through the plateau to be occupied as
Published on 01/24/2011
Modern Egyptian currency (specifically paper money) ranges from the 25 Piastres (quarter pound note) up to a 1,000 pound note. Unlike, for example, American bills, Egyptian currency is not the same size. The smaller the note denomination, the smaller its physical size.
Egyptian coins duplicate the value of some of the Egyptian bills. There are 25 Piastres and 50 Piastres coins, but because of this duplication, many establishments in Egypt rarely have coins. In fact, the value of 25 Piastres is so small that they are often difficult to find in either coin or bill, and businesses often round up the price of merchandise to the nearest pound.
Egyptian money is both colorful, and attractively designed. Here, we present scans of bills between 25 Piastres and 100 pounds (L.E.)
Published on 05/14/2010
CAIRO - Bahariya Oasis 365
Bahariya Oasis - Farafra Oasis 180
Bahariya - White Desert 140
Bahariya- Siwa (OFF-ROAD) 420
CAIRO - Siwa Oasis 800
FARAFRA - DAKHLA 320
DAKHLA - KHARGA 200
KHARGA Oasis - LUXOR 300
CAIRO - KHARGA Oasis 550
Cairo Airport - Cairo Center 22
CAIRO - Wadi Rayan Fayoum 160
Cairo Airport - Cairo Center 22
Cairo Center - Giza Pyramids 10
Cairo Center - Sakkara 24
Cairo - Aswan 926
Cairo - Luxor 679
Aswan - Luxor 247
Aswan - Hurghada 528
Luxor - Hurghada 281
Cairo - Hurghada 510
Aswan - Abu Simbel 309
Sharm El Sheikh - Cairo 481
Sharm El Sheikh - Dahab 95
Sharm El Sheikh-Ras Mohamed 53
St.Catherine - Taba 173
Taba - Nuweiba 63
Nuweiba - Dahab 50
Cairo - Alexandria 218
Cairo - Suez 140
Published on 05/14/2010
Non-Egyptian visitors arriving in Egypt are required to be in possession of a valid passport. Entry visas may be obtained from Egyptian Diplomatic and Consular Missions Abroad or from the Entry Visa Department at the Travel Documents, Immigration and Nationality Administration (TDINA). It is, however, possible for most tourists and visitors to obtain an entry visa at any of the Major Ports of Entry. Please check with your nearest Egyptian Consular mission for more details concerning visa regulations applying to your citizenship.
Note: Most travelers obtain their Visa upon entry to Egypt, and need not use the forms below to obtain a visa. Visa applications are normally passed out by airlines prior to landing at an Egyptian airport.
Download Zipped Visa Form
The visa form must then be completed, either by printing it out and filing it in or via a graphics editor and sent to the nearest Egyptian Embassy or Consulate.
Notes
Visitors entering Egypt at the overland border post to Taba to visit Gulf of Aqaba coast and St. Catherine can be exempted from visa and granted a free residence permit for fourteen days to visit the area.
Citizens of the following countries are required to be in possession of a pre-arrival visa: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chechnya, Croatia,Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Lebanon, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, The Philippines,Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Sri-Lanka, Tadzhikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and all African countries.
Residents of the above countries may apply for a visa through their nearest Egyptian Consulate or Embassy.
Those in possession of a residence permit in Egypt are not required to obtain an entry visa if they leave the country and return to it within the validity of their residence permit or within six months, whichever period is less.
There are three types of Egyptian visa:
◦Tourist Visa: is usually valid for a period not exceeding three months and granted on either single or multiple entry basis.
◦Entry Visa: is required for any foreigner arriving in Egypt for purposes other than tourism, e.g. work, study, etc. The possession of a valid Entry Visa is needed to complete the residence procedure in Egypt.
◦Transit Visa.
Major Ports of Entry to Egypt
Airports:
◦Cairo International (2 terminals)
◦Alexandria Nozha
◦Luxor, Upper Egypt
◦Aswan, Upper Egypt
◦Hurghaga, Red Sea
◦Sharm El-Sheikh, South Sinai
Marine Harbors:
◦Alexandria, Mediterranean
◦Port Said, Mediterranean
◦Damietta, Mediterranean
◦Suez, Gulf of Suez
◦Nuweiba, Gulf of Aqaba
◦Hurghada, Red Sea
◦Safaga, Red Sea
◦Sharm El-Sheikh, Red Sea
Overland Entry Posts:
◦Salloum, northwestern border (to and from Libya)
◦Rafah, northeastern border (to and from Gaza strip, the Occupied Territories and Israel)
◦Taba, eastern border (to and from Israel)
Exemptions from Visa Fees
Egyptian visa fees do not apply to the following:
◦Holders of diplomatic passports.
◦Officials of international organizations and specialized agencies and state delegates to conferences.
◦Arab League officials.
◦Non-national spouses of Egyptian nationals.
◦Non-national members of the clergy, prominent scientists, journalists and members of official cultural, educational and sports delegations.
◦Non-national students studying in Egyptian institutions.
◦Non-diplomatic personnel of diplomatic and consular missions affected in Egypt.
◦Parents, siblings and adult children of members of the diplomatic and consular corps affected in Egypt.
◦Nationals of Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Russia and the United States are partially exempt from Egyptian visa fees and will, therefore, pay a reduced fee.
Visa Exemptions
The following are exempt from visa requirement when visiting Egypt:
◦Nationals of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.
◦Holders of diplomatic passports of Argentina, Bosnia Herzegovina, Italy, Malaysia, Malta, Singapore, the Slovak Republic and Turkey.
Residence in Egypt for Foreign Nationals
Egypt grants legitimate foreign nationals the right for temporary residence in the country. There are two main cases of resident permits in Egypt:
•Special Residence: is usually granted for a period of 10 years, renewable. Special residence is granted to those born in Egypt prior to 26/5/1952 or those having resided in the country for the 20 years preceding 26/5/1952 and whose stay has been uninterrupted; it is also granted to their wives and minor children.
•Ordinary Residence: is granted for a period of either 3 or 5 years.
Three-Year Residence
Non-nationals are entitled to obtain temporary 3-year residence (renewable) in Egypt if they belong to any of the following categories:
Non-national husbands of Egyptians.
Children:
◦Minor children entitled to special or ordinary residence in like manner to their deceased father.
◦Adult children whose father is entitled to special, ordinary or 3-year residence provided a source of income is available to them.
◦Adult Palestinian male children of those employed by the Department for the Governor General of Gaza, or of those retired therefrom, who have completed their studies and are not working in the country.
3. Those employed by the government, public institutions, public sector companies and public business sector.
Palestinians employed by the Department for the Governor General of Gaza and those retired there from.
Palestinians in possession of travel documents issued solely by Egyptian authorities who have been resident in Egypt for a period of 10 years.
Non-nationals who receive a monthly pension from the National Authority for Insurance and Pensions.
Non-national residents of homes for the elderly and disabled.
Political refugees.
Refugees registered at the UN Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Spouses of those non-nationals entitled to special or ordinary residence.
Egyptian spouses who forfeited their nationality of origin following marriage to non-nationals and the acquisition of the latter's citizenship.
Spouses and children of those non-nationals exempt from residence permits and restrictions.
Non-nationals who, for any reason, waived their entitlement to special or ordinary residence.
Those non-nationals employed by the Swiss Institute for Architectural and Archeological Research in Egypt.
Non-nationals who, according to international treaties, are entitled to obtain 3-year residence.
Those granted approval on 3-year residence from the Ministry of Interior.
Spouses and children of those non-nationals entitled to 3-year residence under any of the previous cases.
Five-Year Residence
Non-nationals are entitled to obtain temporary 5-year residence (renewable) in Egypt if they belong to any of the following categories:
Investors.
Egyptians and their minor children who forfeited their nationality of origin due to their admission to a foreign citizenship.
Children:
a. Of Egyptian mother.
b. Whose father was granted Egyptian citizenship.
c. Adult children whose mother is entitled to special, ordinary or 5-year residence in case of the death of the father.
Those of age 60 or more who have been resident in Egypt for 10 years provided that a source of income is available to them.
Non-nationals who, according to international treaties, are entitled to obtain 5-year residence.
Spouses and widows of Egyptians.
Spouses of those non-nationals entitled to ordinary residence.
Spouses and children of those non-nationals entitled to 5-year residence under any of the previous cases.
Special Services
•Foreigners arriving in Egypt on board of ships are granted a permission to visit the port of arrival for 24 hours and catch their ship at the same port. They can also be granted a permission to enter the country for a visit not exceeding a period of 3 days before catching their ship at the port of arrival or at any other port.
•Air passengers transiting in Egyptian airports are allowed entry for a quick trip not exceeding the period of 24 hours. In the event of emergency landing, passengers are entitled to enter Egypt for a period of:
•24 hours in case of poor weather conditions.
•48 hours in case of technical faults to the aircraft.
Published on 05/14/2010
The oasis of baharyia
The oasis of Baharaya occupies a 2000 km² depression. Agricultural center mattering in the Antiquity, it prospered until IVth s before declining with the Roman power.
Today Bawiti is the main city. A necropolis of more than 200 well kept Greco-Roman mummies was dug up by archaeologists.
The oasis possesses numerous sources of warm water and cold water (Bir al-Muftella, Bir al-Ramla, Bir al-Ghaba, Bir al-Mattar, the Roman sources of Al-Bishmu).
The oasis of Farafra
The oasis of Farafra is the smallest of the lybique desert. Of Bedouin origin, most of his inhabitants immortalize still certain secular traditions. The small brick houses floods of the main city, Qasr el-Farafra, contain all wooden doors endowed with medieval locks.
The city incites to the stroll in its magnificent gardens. The oasis produces dates, figs, apricots, guavas, oranges, apples, sunflower seeds and olives.
The oasis of Kharga
Kharga, the vastest and the most modern of oases is held in a depression about 30 km wide and 200 km long. The administrative centre, el-Kharga, was formerly a stage on the road of "Forty days" between Sudan and Egypt. Since the 60s, she suffered from the dream of the planners (enormous buildings in concrete and glass, wide boulevards)…
To see: the museum, the temple of Hibis dedicated to Amon (VIth s BC), the Christian necropolis of Bagawat (fall Coptic to dome dating the IVth in IVth s, chapel of the Peace, chapel of the Exodus), Deir el-Kashef (early Christian vestiges).
The oasis of Siwa
Wherever from we come, it is necessary to swallow hundreds of kilometers of desert sometimes rocky, sometimes sandy training dunes which wave in the infinity. Siwa turns out to be a big oasis which extends over approximately 30 km long and 20 km wide, surrounded with two big lagoons which give him a magic air.
Siwa is stuffed with curiosities and with historic sites: the beautiful vestiges of former two typical villages, Shali in the North of the oasis and Aghurmi in the South, the temple of Amon, Adrar n lmuta "the mountain of the deaths", a mountain in which we dug graves and which dates the year 664 BC, without forgetting the museum in which we can find some tracks of the long history of Siwa.
The oasis of Dakhla
The oasis of Dakhla was born from 600 sources and natural water sources. She knew a continuous human setting-up since the Prehistory. In the Neolithic, she sheltered a gigantic lake and rock paintings indicate the presence of elephants, buffaloes and ostrichs. His picturesque brick-built villages believed are held in the middle of fields and of luxuriant orchards. The oasis produces some rice, some wheat, mangoes, oranges, olives, dates and apricots…
To see: the ethnographical museum, the old town of Mout (ruins of the citadel, the medieval Muslim cemetery), the sulphurous warm sources, the medieval city of el-Qasr (entrances of periods Mameluke and ottoman, wooden girders of locust tree carrying engraved registrations, mausoleum of the sheik Nasr el-Din), Balat (typical alleys, Pharaonic vestiges), the graves of el-Muzawaka (ptolémaïques and steelyards).
Published on 03/07/2010
