Aswan is one of Egypt's most popular winter resorts.

In this lucidly written, beautifully illustrated book, Nigel Fletcher-Jones places the lower Nubian temples--from Philae in the north to Abu Simbel in the South--in their historical context, telling the story of the discovery of the Abu Simbel temples, and why and how they were moved, explaining what the Nubian temples teach us about ancient Egypt, which gods and goddesses were worshiped there, and the place of Ramesses II in the long line of ancient Egyptian kings and queens. Includes over 80 new photographs, diagrams, and maps.

This unique approach to Egyptian mythology takes readers on a tour up the Nile, stopping at the most famous monuments and vividly retelling the myths connected to each site. Join Egyptologist Garry J. Shaw on an entertaining tour up the Nile, through a beautiful and fascinating landscape populated with a rich mythology: the stories of Horus, Isis, Osiris, and their enemies and allies in tales of vengeance, tragedy, and fantastic metamorphoses. Shaw retells these stories with his characteristic wit, and reconnects them to the temples and monuments that still stand today, offering a fresh look at the most visited sites of Egypt. The myths of ancient Egypt have survived in fragments of ancient hymns and paintings on the walls of tombs and temples, spells inked across coffins, and stories scrawled upon scrolls. Illustrations throughout bring to life the creation of the world and the nebulous netherworld; the complicated relationships between fickle gods, powerful magicians, and pharaohs; and eternal battles on a cosmic scale. Shaw’s evocative descriptions of the ancient ruins will transport readers to another landscape—including the magnificent sites of Dendera, Tell el-Amarna, Edfu, and Thebes. At each site, they will discover which gods or goddesses were worshipped there, as well as the myths and stories that formed the backdrop to the rituals and customs of everyday life. Each chapter ends with a potted history of the site, as well as tips for visiting the ruins today. Egyptian Mythology is the perfect companion to the myths of Egypt and the gods and goddesses that shaped its ancient landscape.

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Heritopia investigates the meanings of the past in the present, focusing on Abu Simbel in Egypt and other World Heritage sites. It explores and resolves a number of paradoxes: the past is impossible to preserve for eternity; all preservation implies change; preservation of one site normally means destruction of others; threats are important in the creation of heritage, but at the same time heritage may become a threat and threats can become heritage themselves; heritage stands in contrast to modernity and is at the same time part of it; both the increase and the decrease of modernity create heritage; and finally, heritage may be global and local at the same time. Heritopia will appeal to students and professionals in heritage studies and related subjects such as archaeology, history, ethnology and museology.

A new paperback edition of a best-selling anthology.

The temples of Abu Simbel have fascinated travelers since they became known to the Western world in the nineteenth century. And since the 1960s when the rising waters created by the Aswan High Dam threatened to engulf the site, visitors' imaginations have been captivated by the elaborate international rescue operation, described by the author as ''a great moment that no one will ever forget: the most advanced technology of the twentieth century was used to save one of the most amazing achievements of a civilization that preceeded it by 3,300 years.'' Prepared by one of the world's best-known Egyptologists, Dr. Zahi Hawass, this lavishly illustrated book is the ideal companion on a visit to the unique monuments of Abu Simbel.

In ancient times, Egypt extended its influence over Nubia, a vast geographical area that lies between Aswan and the confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile. Rich and updated scientific essays, color photographs and detailed maps lead the reader on a virtual visit to the archaeological sites in order to fully understand and appreciate the history of the Egyptian domination of Nubia.

The launching of this hitherto unpublished book by the great nineteenth-century British traveler Edward William Lane (1801-76), a name known to almost everyone in all the many fields of Middle East studies, is a major publishing event. Lane was the author of a number of highly influential works: An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (1836), his translation of The Thousand and One Nights (1839-41), Selections from the Kur-an (1843), and the Arabic-English Lexicon (1863-93). Yet one of his greatest works was never published: after years of labor and despite an enthusiastic reception by the publishing firm of John Murray in 1831, publication of his first book, Description of Egypt, was delayed and eventually dropped, mainly for financial reasons. The manuscript was sold to the British Library by Lane's widow in 1891, and has only now been salvaged for publication by Dr. Jason Thompson, nearly 170 years after its completion. This enormously important book, which takes the form of a journey through Egypt from north to south, with descriptions of all the ancient monuments and contemporary life that Lane explored along the way, will be of immense interest to both ancient and modern historians of Egypt, and will become an essential companion to his Manners and Customs. ''Jason Thompson's exact and dedicated edition deserves much praise.''-Astene Newsletter, June 2002. ''Thompson, a historian at AUC, has done signal service in taking a manuscript dating from 1831 and preparing it for publication so many years later; AUC Press deserves praise for making so major a work available, and at so reasonable a price.''-Daniel Pipes, Middle East Quarterly, June 2001. ''In all, the appearance of this major work of scholarship at this late date is a major boon to the study of Egypt's history between the pharaohs and 18280.''-Daniel Pipes, Middle East Quarterly, June 2001.