Historic Cairo

Historic Cairo - UNESCO World Heritage Site, Egypt

From the World Heritage inscription for Historic Cairo: Tucked away amid the modern urban area of Cairo lies one of the world’s oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammams, and fountains. Founded in the 10th century, it became the new center of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century. …

Read more

Saint Catherine Area

Saint Catherine Area - UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for Saint Catherine Area: The Orthodox Monastery of St Catherine stands at the foot of Mount Horeb where, the Old Testament records, Moses received the Tablets of the Law. The mountain is known and revered by Muslims as Jebel Musa. The entire area is sacred to three world religions: Christianity, …

Read more

Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae

Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae - UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for the Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae: This outstanding archaeological area contains such magnificent monuments as the Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Sanctuary of Isis at Philae, which were saved from the rising waters of the Nile thanks to the International Campaign launched by …

Read more

Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis

Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis - UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis: Thebes, the city of the god Amon, was the capital of Egypt during the period of the Middle and New Kingdoms. With the temples and palaces at Karnak and Luxor and the necropolises of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the …

Read more

Medina of Tetouan

Medina of Tetouan UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the Medina of Tetouan World Heritage inscription: Tétouan was of particular importance in the Islamic period, from the 8th century onwards, since it served as the main point of contact between Morocco and Andalusia. After the Reconquest, the town was rebuilt by Andalusian refugees who had been expelled by the Spanish. This is well …

Read more

The Namib Sand Sea

The Namib Sand Sea UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the Namib Sand Sea World Heritage inscription: The Namib Sand Sea lies along the arid African coast of the South Atlantic lying wholly within Namibia’s Namib-Naukluft Park. It covers an area of 3,077,700 hectares, with an additional 899,500 hectares designated as a buffer zone. The Namib Sand Sea is a unique coastal fog desert …

Read more

Maloti-Drakensberg Park

Maloti-Drakensberg Park UNESCO World Heritage Site, South Africa

From the World Heritage inscription: The Maloti-Drakensberg Park is a transboundary site composed of the uKhahlamba Drakensberg National Park in South Africa and the Sehlathebe National Park in Lesotho. The site has exceptional natural beauty in its soaring basaltic buttresses, incisive dramatic cutbacks, and golden sandstone ramparts as well as visually spectacular sculptured arches, caves, …

Read more

Robben Island

Robben Island UNESCO World Heritage Site, South Africa

From the World Heritage inscription: Robben Island was used at various times between the 17th century and the 20th century as a prison, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups, and a military base. Its buildings, and in particular those of the late 20th-century maximum security prison for political prisoners, testify to the way in which …

Read more

Day 6, West Africa Cruise – At Sea, Off the Coast of Northern Namibia

Latitude: 17° 46.8330’ S Longitude: 11° 31.5789’ E The next stop for the G Expedition is Angola, which is the first real country we visit which will require visas for everyone. Traveling to West Africa with a boat full of people from multiple countries is a giant immigration nightmare. Most of the countries we will …

Read more