Disney is selling tours to Egypt! Disney Co. announced this week that the corporation’s Adventures by Disney division will be operating 9 and 7 night excursions to Egypt in 2011. Big news in the travel industry and great credibility for us tour operators who sell tours to Egypt for Americans. The 10 day itineraries for Adventures by Disney include a full land tour of Ancient Egypt with a couple days of restort time in Sharm el Sheikh. The price tag of the trips are steep and the itineraries are not specifically designed for divers.
Kudos to Disney for adding Egypt to their growing list of adventurs tours for the company’s travel division. I appreciate Disney’s efforts to sell tours to Egypt but I believe Disney may be a bit out of their comfort zone. Egypt is a difficult country to navigate and it is always best to work with a inbound operator with offices based in Cairo who are up to speed on the latest security guidelines and restrictions. I admire Disney for bringing valadation for tours designed for Americans traveling to Egypt but believe the company will struggle in their efforts to sell their Egypt tours especially at the hefly price tags for such a short tour. Time will telll but I doubt you will see Disney selling tours to Egypt for 2012.
15 Day/13 Night Itinerary: Cairo, Luxor with 7 Night Southern Red Sea Liveaboard -Simply the Best with Blue O Two aboard the M/V Sea Sound
Darlene and Afiffi, I wanted to thank you BOTH so much for such a wonderful trip and for all the extras you do that make things special. This trip was full of them and I felt like royalty! And of course for each of you for taking such good care of my mother both in the business class upgrade and Afiffi taking her shopping and looking out for her. She has a blast and considers this the trip of her lifetime. I am so glad that I could take her…er…more correctly that she would finally go on one of my trips…and that it was yours! She has been showing her pictures to everyone and has been like a little kid. She may have even sold the trip to her doctor…I will try to follow up. Hey word of mouth business is the best.
In any event you both exceeded my expectations and the trip was magnificent. I hope to book another group for you soon and another trip for us to Egypt in 2012. I will also look at the other options you have sent for variety. Thank you both again! It was amazing!
There are eight known species of the Bannerfish (Genus Heniochus), which is a member of the Butterflyfish family Chaetodontidae, meaning “bristle teeth” in reference to their prising snout and dentition. All eight species are similarly shaped with laterally compressed sides, a pointed rostrum and a lengthened fourth dorsal ray.
The Chaetodontidae are very colourful fishes that are popular with divers and aquarists. The family consists of ten genera with about 120 species. They mostly inhabit coral reefs but some have become adapted to temperate and deep waters. The geographical distribution is mainly focused on the Red Sea and Arabian Sea coral reefs, 4 are found in the east Pacific and 12 in the Atlantic. The genus Chaetodon is the largest in the family, with 114 species in 13 sub-genera. Heniochus as mentioned above comprises 8 species, with the remaining genera being single species (monotypic), or with only a few species each.
Most species inhabit the shallows of coral reefs, living in pairs or in large schools. The diet typically consists of coral polyps and hydroids, and small invertebrates such as polychaete worms; some are adapted to live on zooplankton. Butterflyfish produce tiny spherical pelagic eggs about 1mm in diameter, and the larvae have a bony head amour, often with serrated spines. These larval stages are in the region of 10mm long and settle among corals and rocks.
Of the eight species of Heniochus, two are common to the Red Sea: the Red Sea Bannerfish (Heniochus intermedius), and the Schooling Bannerfish (Heniochus diphreutes). The other species are the Long-Fin Bannerfish (Heniochus acumminatus), Pennant Butterflyfish (Heniochus chrysostomus), Masked Bannerfish (Heniochus monoceros), Phantom Bannerfish (Heniochus pleurotaenia), Humphead Bannerfish (Heniochus varius) and Singular Bannerfish (Heniochus singularius). The Red Sea Bannerfish can grow up to 8 inches and is found also in the western Gulf of Aden. It lives at depths between 10 and 165 feet, feeding on zooplankton during the day. These fish swim in pairs but are also found in groups of up to 24. Juveniles are found primarily at the base of reefs, living in larger groups.
In the Red Sea, these fish feed most actively at sunset and during the night, so divers may be less likely to see many Bannerfish in the daytime, as they may be hiding among corals. The Red Sea Bannerfish appears to be a generalist feeder. It has been reported as a benthic feeder eating mostly sedentary polychaetes and some corals and other invertebrates off Eritrea, but as a planktonic feeder on larvaceans in the Gulf of Aqaba. It has a short gut, indicating that it doesn’t eat algae and corals as much as some other butterfly fish species, but it is likely that it consumes some.
These fish are very territorial, with the territory often having a table coral at its centre. In the late afternoon, pairs of fish move to the borders of the territory to challenge neighbouring fish of the same species, whilst others within the same genus pass across the territory unchallenged. Schooling Bannerfish grow up to 7 inches and are characterised by an elongated 4th dorsal spine. They have two black bands, the second starting behind the dorsal filament, yellow pectoral, dorsal and caudal fins, with a grey spotted snout and nape. They live along the reef front or external reef, in large schools swimming in mid water.
It resembles another Heniochus species, Heniochus acuminatus, but is smaller, with shorter snout, snout and nape spots lighter, and usually lives in large schools. These fish are found not only in the Red Sea through to the Arabian Gulf, but are widespread also in the Indian Ocean. They inhabit depths from 3 to 700 feet, living in aggregations in the water column above the reef tops, feeding on zooplankton. Juveniles are found living closer to the bottom near reef patches, whilst adults spend the entire day in open water, protected by the schooling behavior. Schooling Bannerfish are typical Plankton feeders, with juveniles also acting as cleaners, feeding on parasites collected on other fish skin.
Learning Through Travel’s group VIP tour to Egypt and the Red Sea in September 2009. Slide show created by Robert and Jeanne Downey. The 13 Day/11 Night trip included visits to famous antiquities in Cairo and Luxor and a 7 night liveaboard in the Northern Red Sea. Download the flyer at the link below for information on our 2010 Egypt-Red Sea VIP Tour (dive professionals and group leaders only)
(AP: Yahoo News) CAIRO – Egypt’s massive new museum for its famous antiquities now has a power plant, a fire station and its own conservation center, and over the next two years it will become home to some 100,000 artifacts, officials said Monday. A partial opening for the 120-acre museum complex, which will house King Tutankhamun’s famed mummy and golden burial effects and a replica of his tomb, is set for the fall of 2012. Plans for the museum, which will replace the century-old building visited by millions annually in Cairo’s heaving downtown, were first conceived in 2002 and it will display more than twice as many artifacts as its predecessor. The museum will eventually house 100,000 artifacts, said Mohammed Ghoneim, the project’s technical consultant said. Tens of thousands of artifacts are currently locked away unseen in the old museum due to lack of space to display them. Egypt’s first lady Suzanne Mubarak on Monday inaugurated the first two phases of the $600 million Grand Museum of Egypt, which is located at the foot of the Giza Pyramids.
The main achievement so far is the construction of the new conservation center to restore damaged antiquities and already 122 conservators are restoring and preparing 6,800 artifacts that will one day be showcased in the Grand Museum. A documentation unit is also working to create a computerized database for all the artifacts. The conservation center is “designed to be the largest such center in the world, in terms of the services it offers and the number of laboratories,” Ghoneim said. “It is built to restore Egyptian antiquities but also to be a regional conservation center.” Established with Japanese technical assistance, the center includes 12 laboratories for restoring, scanning and studying mummies as well as artifacts made from pottery, wood, textiles and glass. Staff are also receiving training in Japan. Shadia Kinawi, the head of the committee overseeing the museum, said Japan has provided a $300 million loan for the museum, while the Egyptian culture ministry will provide $150 million. Some $27 million were donated to the museum, she said. Over 30 firms have already submitted tenders for building the main galleries of the museum.
At first sight it may appear pretty nondescript, how you might describe your everyday pet goldfish! But take a closer look at this 7cm fish. It has the most amazing violet streak below the eye, which illuminates the surrounding water. On mass the orange/gold colour of their body lights up the entire reef making you think you are surrounded by thousands of stars.
Also known as the lyretail coralfish, the lyretail anthia or the scalefin anthia, anthias are members of the family Serranidae (basses, basslets, groupers) and make up the subfamily Anthiinae. They occur in all tropical oceans and seas of the world from the western Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean as far east as Japan and Southeast Australia. The first species recognized in this group was described in the Mediterranean and northeast Atlantic and was given the name Anthias anthias by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. Pretty remarkable stuff, huh! Small, peaceful and beautiful they form complex social structures based on the number of males and females and also their position on the reef itself. They are mainly zooplankton feeders and shoal by the thousands. The male, 15 cm in length and a fuschia colour with a very distuinguishing banner, retains a harem of 5-10 females. When the male dies (no surprise there) one of the females will undergo sex reversal and take the place of the missing male!
In the Red Sea, Anthias surround coral outcrops, the fringing reef and steep slopes to a depth of 110 feet. They always point directly into current apart from when they are playing ‘tricks’ on the dive guide when you will hear that age old phrase, ‘well they were pointing the right way when I jumped in and checked.’ The Anthia, a dive guide’s best friend or his/her Achilles heel…
Post courtesy of Emperor Divers News Blog and Terry Axam.
Behold the legendary treasures of King Tut. For the first time in a generation, revel in the splendor of the ancient Egyptian world as you view a dazzling array of possessions unearthed from his tomb, along with antiquities representing his family and contemporaries. All new exhibits in New York City now until January 2nd and starting in Denver June 29th until January 9th. Take advantage of the last chance to see the famous treasures of the boy king on display in the USA. After January 9, 2011, the treasures of King Tut return to Egypt forever!
Discovery Times Square Exposition Center, New York City
April 23, 2010-January 2, 2011
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs: The exhibit explores the figures who guided ancient Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. The exhibition focuses on the 18th Dynasty, a 100-year period when Egypt was at the height of its power and the “golden age” of Egyptian artistry. This was the era when Tutankhamun and his ancestors reigned. The extensive array of more than 130 extraordinary artifacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun. More Information
Denver Art Museum; June 29, 2010-January 9, 2011
Tutankhamun The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs is a new exhibition that made its North American debut in Atlanta to record-setting attendance! The blockbuster exhibition continues onto Denver in Summer 2010! The exhibition features 50 objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun including the gold sandals that adorned the mummy’s feet and a beautifully adorned canopic jar that mummified his internal organs. In addition to the treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamun, 80 ancient artifacts are featured, which highlight many of the most significant rulers of ancient Egypt such as Khafre, whose face adorns the Sphinx in Egypt and Hatshepsut, the queen who became king. More Information
Check out a video of Emperor Elite as a European dive group goes south to the Sudan border. The 8-minutes teaser includes marvellous views from reefs of Elba, Abu Fendera, St. Johns, Fury Shoals, Elphinstone including sitings of silky shark, crocodile fish, scorpionfish, octopus, ‘popcorn crab’, nudibranch and even underwater treasures (captain’s bell!).
Emperor Divers thanks to Kai Kaasalainen for this superb video. Watch it here.
Trip Highlights: 11 days/9 Nights Cairo, Luxor, Land based day diving in Sharm El Sheikh and Dahab
Hi Mr. Afifi: Just a quick note to say how much I along with Joe Fogel, Tom McConnell and Dan Schopp enjoyed our first visit to Egypt. Egypt is an amazing place with a rich history and wonderful people. We worked closely with Darlene and David at Learning Through Travel out of New York on this FAM trip. They did an excellent job on the trip itinerary, but your team had to do the actual tours and logistics once we arrived in Egypt. From the moment we arrived we were treated with exceptional service and that continued throughout the trip. Your team is to be commended and the Learning Through Travel experience will be recommended without reservation to travel prospects. Well done! Rami was incredible. An excellent communicator and problem solver. We made changes during our trip with a balloon air ride in Luxor, spending one a night in Sharm El Sheik to dive the Ras Mohamed, adding Dan Shopp to our visit to Petra, Jordan and riding camels to the top of Mt Sinai. All handled without a hitch. Nice. Rami, was a take charge person that made things happen and a joy to be with (kind of like traveling with a friend). Awesome! Tarek was absolutely an amazing driver! Hotel selection was very impressive. Manal did a great tour of Cairo and was good at navigating the various venues and helped us with shopping. We felt we were in good hands during our visit. Ahmed and George did great tours of Luxor, the temples and the Valley of the Kings. Rami and Tarek resumed contact with us in Sharm, Dahab and Mt. Sinai. The diving was great in Ras Mohamed and the wall dives in Dahab we absolutely amazing. The dive masters Mohamed Said and Mora (hope I got the spelling right) did great jobs in Sharm and Dahab. The trip to Jordan went well as well. Basim and the tour coordinator did a great job in Petra. The camel ride to the top (plus a bit of a hike at the top) at Mt Sinai plus the visit to St. Catherine’s was very special! In summary, it was an outstanding trip. We are sharing our trip with others in the Atlanta market. Should something develop, we’ll be in touch with Darlene. Once again thank you for wonderful experience! You have an excellent group of professionals in Egypt! Shukran!
Congratulations to Matt M. of Aurora, CO on winning Learning Through Travel’s grand prize of a 7 night liveaboard trip for two to the Egyptian Red Sea with 2 nights in Cairo, Egypt. Matt won the prize at A-1 SCUBA Center’s May Sale Event this past weekend in Englewood, CO (just South of Denver). The A-1 event was fantastic with hundreds of attendees including over 200 people at the LTT Egypt-Red Sea trip presentation on Sunday afternoon and over 300 people in attendance for the grand prize giveaway. A-1′s Egypt-Red Sea trip next April is sold out thanks to the May Sale Event and now the dive shop may book a second trip for 2011 to Egypt later in the year.
