Sannur Cave, Beni Suef, Egypt

LONE ACACIA TREE

After driving for hours – and seeing nothing but desert sand – you come across an acacia tree, standing completely alone, surrounded by nothingness. This tree is the only one for hundreds of kilometers; its roots go very deep, tapping into a reservoir that keeps it alive. This poetic scene is a case of beauty surviving even in the harshest of environments. Yes, you just arrived to Sannur Cave.

Formed by groundwater percolating through the earth, Sannur Cave dates back some 60 million years. And it's just a day trip from modern Cairo.

SANNUR CAVE SITE

The age of the cave is estimated at around 60 million years. To be precise, there are two chambers, one estimated at 60 million years old, the other 20 million years old. A narrow corridor, just a meter long, connects the two chambers.

It is this coupling of two formations from vastly different eras (a staggering 40 million years apart) that marks out Sannur as among the one of the rare natural spots in the world.

It doesn’t take an expert to see the remarkable difference between the two chambers. One has long-and-pointy formations sticking out every direction, like an underwater cave on a reef, while the other has uniform bubble-like formations covering every inch of its walls.

GALALA MOUNTAINS

One of the magical features of Sannur is the internal temperature. While sunny and hot outside the cave, inside it remained cool and breezy. The inner temperature hardly changes at all through the seasons.

This fact was a little difficult to comprehend, given that the cave is in the middle of Upper Egypt’s desert, with only a small hole connecting it to the outside world.

Sannur Cave Protectorate is located in the Beni-Suef governorate of Egypt and lies at 70 km southeast of the city of Beni Suef and 200 km from Cairo. The place has many geographical formations of stalactites and stalagmites as well. The reserve becomes even more important due to the natural formations present here many of which are rare and hard to find elsewhere. The reserve is filled with a large number of quarries dating back to different eras.

Discovery

NOTICE ENTRANCE TO THE RIGHT

The alabaster digging operations, which is still continued, led to the discovery of 54 big cavities that opened way to the caves and were present at the bottom of the earth. The reserve has just one chamber or cave in it. The cave here extends to an area of 700 meters and has a depth and width of 15 meters respectively. The caves contain geographical formations, which are referred as ups and downs. The most important feature of the natural formations is the quality and also the rare nature of these, which are found nowhere else on the globe. The researchers and geologists thus find this reserve very important to learn and do conductive research and studies about the environmental and other conditions that prevailed during the ancient times.

SANNUR CAVE VIEW

The Sannur Caves were discovered in the 1989s after a blasting in the quarry led to opening of an entranceway to the chamber. The cave is overlaid with alabaster that has been brought by the thermal springs and the chamber is made of limestone. The unique geography and natural formations make this place very popular and recognized as a protectorate by a decree in 1992.

Formation

STALACTITES & STALAGMITES

Sannur Cave is a classic karst cave (Karst: is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves) created by groundwater percolating through the Eocene limestone of the Galala Plateau (a mountain renowned by marble quarries). It is the best example of this type of cave in Egypt. As the water percolates downwards, excess calcium carbonates are deposited on the roof and floor of the cave forming spectacular stalactites and stalagmites of various forms. When a light is shone on them, they glitter like a wonderland. Above ground, there are deposits of the red soil (terra rossa) associated with such formations, as well as several swallow-holes (dolines or “depression”).

AMAZING COLOR FORMATION

Sannur Cave is characterized by the presence of geological formations known as Stalactites and Stalagmites in a perfect beautiful formed over millions of years, about 60 million years ago dates back to the Era of Middle Eocene. Leakage of aqueous solutions of calcium carbonate saturated through the roof of the cave and then evaporated, leaving the mineral salts that accumulated in the form of deposits of stalactites and stalagmites. The cave is important to the scarcity of such natural formations “Egyptian Alabaster” as it is of great importance for researchers, Geologists, and Caving fans.

GROUP VISIT

Stalactite and stalagmite, elongated forms of various minerals deposited from solution by slowly dripping water. A stalactite hangs like an icicle from the ceiling or sides of a cavern . A stalagmite appears like an inverted stalactite, rising from the floor of a cavern.

The Story of Sameera

World-Renowned Egyptian Nuclear Scientist

(March 3, 1917 - August 5, 1952)

It is bewildering to know that during the early 20th century, when there were the likes of Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi, there was also the phenomenal Egyptian nuclear physicist Sameera Moussa. Women in the field of science, technology, engineering and math remain largely under-represented and unacknowledged until today, which is why it is important to document those from the past and also inspire those in the present.

SAMEERA

Born in Gharbia governorate in 1917, Moussa was met with the tragic news of her mother’s death very early on, which prompted her to dedicate her life to making nuclear treatment accessible by all, hoping that it would be “as cheap as aspirin,” as she once said. Moussa spent her life volunteering at many hospitals to help treat cancer patients – a great embodiment of commitment and devotion.

Moussa went on to receive her Bachelor of Science degree in radiology with First Class Honors from Cairo University in 1939, after researching the effects of X-ray radiation on different materials. Following her achievement of receiving a doctorate in atomic radiation, she later became the first woman to hold the position of a lecturer and assistant professor in Cairo University.

  

In England, she made two significant contributions in physics. First, she came up with the historic equation that would break the atoms of cheap metals such as copper – a discovery that would help in making the medical applications of nuclear technology, such as X-rays, cheaper.

At a time when the Second World War was ongoing, and the events of bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were occurring, Moussa was still determined to show the world that nuclear technology should not always be dangerous. She helped organize the conference “Atomic Energy for Peace” in England, which called on governments to establish advisory councils that would regulate the industry and provide protection against safety hazards.

DR. SAMEERA MOUSSA

This was all impressively done during a period of time when knowledge of atomic development was little and only in the hands of top officials in government. A year after her conference, President Eisenhower in 1953 delivered a famous speech, “Atoms for Peace”, to the UN General Assembly. It was the first time that the topic of atomic energy was publicly mentioned, and it aimed to spread the idea that “atomic dilemma” could be solved by finding ways to make it a contributor in saving people’s lives.

“The United States pledges before you – and therefore before the world its determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma – to devote its entire heart and mind to find the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life,” he said.

This speech created the ideological background for important organizations like the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which both aim to promote peaceful uses of nuclear energy and achieve nuclear disarmament around the world.

Moussa’s work was recognized as she was awarded the prestigious and competitive Fulbright scholarship that gave her the opportunity to travel to the United States and study in California. Remarkably, she was given permission to visit top secret US atomic facilities and was the first non-US person to ever do so.

There were several offers given to her to acquire the American citizenship and live in the United States, yet she turned them down after saying “Egypt, my dear homeland, is waiting for me”.

On August 5, 1952 after her first visit to America she intended to return home, but she was invited on a trip. On the way, the car fell from a height of 40 feet, which killed her immediately. The mystery of the accident, since the invitation to California was shown to be untrue later on, besides the vanishing of the car driver who jumped from the car just before it rushed down, made some people believe it was a planned assassination. It is alleged that the Israeli Mossad was behind Moussa's murder.

A year later in 1953, the Egyptian Army honored her and she was awarded the Order of Merit for Science and Art, First Class. A school and a laboratory in her home village were also named after her.

Nonetheless, the doors remain open for new Egyptian female scientists to take over and make momentous changes for their country and the world.

Article by: MIRNA ABDULAAL

Egyptian Streets News 

The History behind Egyptian Cotton

      Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the "genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae”. The fibre is almost pure cellulose. 

COTTON PLANT

The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, Egypt and India. The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia and Africa. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds.

COTTON HARVEST

The fibre is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to prehistoric times; fragments of cotton fabric dated to the fifth millennium BC have been found in the Indus Valley Civilization. Although cultivated since antiquity, it was the invention of the cotton gin (a machine that separate the cotton from the seed) that lowered the cost of production that in turn led to its widespread use, and it is the most widely used natural fibre cloth in clothing today.

COTTON FEILDS

Current estimates for world production are about 25 million tones or 110 million bales annually, accounting for 2.5% of the world's arable land. China is the world's largest producer of cotton, but most of this is used domestically. The United States has been the largest exporter for many years.

The earliest evidence of cotton use in the Indian subcontinent has been found at the site of Mehrgarh and Rakhigarhi where cotton threads have been found preserved in copper beads; these finds have been dated to the Neolithic (5th millennium BC). Cotton cultivation in the region is dated to the Indus Valley Civilization, which covered parts of modern eastern Pakistan and northwestern India between 3300 and 1300 BC. The Indus cotton industry was well-developed and some methods used in cotton spinning and fabrication continued to be used until the industrialization of India. Between 2000 and 1000 BC cotton became widespread across much of India. For example, it has been found at the site of Hallus in Karnataka dating from around 1000 BC.

OLD MAN SPINNING COTTON

LONG FIBRE
EGYPTIAN COTTON

For thousands of years cotton has grown in Egypt yet they used flax to create linen.

They would turn almost ripe stems into yarn after soaking them in water for around a week. Then they would carefully separate the fibres and by using a spinning tool they would expertly twist and spin the fibres into yarns then weave them into fabric on a loom. Back in the early 1800s a guy named Jumel from France persuaded Egypt’s head of state Muhammad Ali to sample a piece of cotton he had named Maho an extra-long cotton staple. 

Muhammad Ali was so impressed he made him a plantation manager and then built up his cotton crops and spread them all over the Delta region of the River Nile. 

HARVESTING COTTON

He dominated the cotton business and started selling his crops for a set price annually. This gave a huge boost to the economy and also sparked interest from Europe. Muhammad Ali continued to dominate the industry and developed Egypt into a cotton colony connecting with the textile industry in Europe.  Egypt under Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century had the fifth most productive cotton industry in the world, in terms of the number of spindles per capita which brought huge profits for Egypt.

Chourbagy & Aboud are some of the big names associated with the cotton industry when the industry of cotton was flourishing in El-Mahala El-Kobra and Zakazik.

COTTON SOLD LOCALY BY THE POUND

After Muhammad Ali passed away the next generation of heads of state used the cotton success and started to get loans from some banks in Europe. They wanted to modernize the production of cotton so they could increase the exports. These loans had high interest rates but because of the vast amount of cotton being produced Egypt could manage the debt. This revolutionized Egypt in to a modern country that became knowledgeable in credit systems.

COTTON PLANTATION

Unfortunately the American civil war cut off Europe from their cotton exports and so in Egypt the prices went crazy and in the space of just two years the price rose to many folds, Egyptian exports reached 1.2 million bales a year by 1903.. Muhammad Ali’s grandson Ismail decided to do something and so he looked to develop a part of Cairo into a city like Paris which he did and later was called ‘Paris on the Nile’ he also build the Suez Canal which became a valuable resource for Egypt. But once the war ended America started exporting cotton back to Europe which was a disaster for the cotton industry in Egypt.

MAHALA MODERN TEXTILE FATORY

SPINNING FACTORY

Finally when France and England forced Ismail to abdicate in 1879 they ruled Egypt and turned it into a colony. They gained control of the Egyptian cotton industry right through until Egypt gained independence.

Many will remember the famous "Linon" an Egyptian cotton made into a fabric in Switzerland and made to measure for fancy dress shirts at tailors like Swelam in Cairo.  

Today raw or manufactured cotton is still one of Egypt’s major exports!

Information and pictures from Internet

Egyptian National Railways (ENR)

Translated to Arabic as the (metal road)

 Al-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah

In 1833, Muhammad Ali Pasha considered building a railway between Suez and Cairo to improve transit between Europe and India. Muhammad Ali had proceeded to buy the rail when the French who had an interest in building a canal instead, pressured him to abandon the rail project.

TRACKS MESURMENTS

In 1851 Muhammad Ali successor Abbas the First  contracted Robert Stephenson to build Egypt's first standard gauge railway. A “1435 mm gauge” track. (The width from one rail to the other) Broader gauge railways are generally more expensive to build, but offer higher speed, stability, and capacity. For routes with high traffic, greater capacity may more than offset the higher initial cost of construction.

The first section, between Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast and Kafr el-Zayyat on the Rosetta branch of the Nile was opened in 1854. This was the first railway in the Ottoman Empire as well as in Africa and the Middle East. This same year Abbas died and was succeeded by Sa'id Pasha, in whose reign the section between Kafr el-Zayyat and Cairo was completed by the year 1856 followed by an extension from Cairo to Suez in 1858. This completed the first modern transport link between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, 11 years before Ferdinand de Lesseps completed the Suez Canal waterway in 1869.

At Kafr el-Zayyat the line between Cairo and Alexandria originally crossed the Nile with an 80 feet (24 m) car float. However, on 15 May 1858 a special train conveying Sa'id's heir presumptive Ahmad Rifaat Pasha fell off the float into the river and the prince was drowned.

EARLY MAP OF TRAIN STATIONS IN THE DELTA

Stephenson then replaced the car float with a swing bridge nearly 500 metres (1,600 ft) long. By the end of Sa'id's reign branches had been completed from Banha to Zagazig on the Damietta branch of the Nile in 1860, to Mit Bera in 1861 and from Tanta to Talkha further down the Damietta Nile in 1863.

Sa'id's successor Isma'il Pasha strove to modernize Egypt and added momentum to railway development. In 1865 a new branch reached Desouk on the Rosetta Nile and a second route between Cairo and Talkha was opened, giving a more direct link between Cairo and Zagazig. The following year a branch southwards from Tanta reached Shibin El Kom. The network started to push southwards along the west side of the Nile with the opening of the line between Imbaba near Cairo and Minya in the south in 1867. A short branch to Faiyum was added in 1868. A line between Zagazig and Suez via Nifisha was completed in the same year. The following year the line to Talkha was extended to Damietta on the Mediterranean coast and a branch opened to Salhiya and Sama'ana.

TRAIN TO ALEXANDRIA EARLY 1890'S

Imbaba had no rail bridge across the Nile to Cairo until 1891. However, a long line between there and a junction west of Kafr el-Zayyat opened in 1872, linking Imbaba with the national network. From Minya the line southwards made slower progress, reaching Mallawi in 1870 and Assiut in 1874. The rails lines on the West bank reach Nag Hammadi from where it crosses to the east bank of the Nile till Aswan.

ROYAL TRAIN

A shorter line southwards linked Cairo with Tura / Maadi in 1872 and was extended to Helwan in 1875. In the Nile Delta the same year a short branch reached Kafr el-Sheikh and in 1876 a line along the Mediterranean coast linking the termini at Alexandra and Rosetta was completed.

By 1877, Egypt had a network of key main lines and the Nile Delta had quite a network, but with this and other development investments, Isma'il had gotten the country deeply into debt.

EARLY EGYPT TRAINS

For its first 25 years of operation Egypt's national railway had never even produced an annual report. Council of Administration with Egyptian, British and French members was then appointed in 1877 to put the railway's affairs in order. They published its first annual report in 1879, and in the same year, the British Government had Isma'il Pasha deposed, exiled and replaced with his son Tewfik Pasha. 

In 1882, the British essentially invaded and occupied Egypt since that time until 1956.

With these developments, the Egyptian Railway Administration's rail network stagnated until 1888, but it also put its management in much better order. In 1883 the ERA appointed Frederick Harvey Trevithick, as Chief Mechanical Engineer. Trevithick found a heterogeneous fleet of up to 246 steam locomotives of many different designs from very different builders in England, Scotland, France and the USA. This lack of standardization of locomotives or components complicated both locomotive maintenance and general railway operation.

ALEXANDRIA RAILWAY STATION

From 1877 to 1888, the ERA struggled to keep up with even basic maintenance but by 1887 Trevithick managed to start a program to renew 85 of the very mixed fleet of locomotives with new boilers, cylinders and motion. For the others he started to replace them with four standard locomotive types introduced from 1889 onwards: one class of 0-6-0 for freight, one class of 2-4-0 for mixed traffic, one 0-6-0T tank locomotive for shunting and one class of only ten 2-2-2 locomotives for express passenger trains. Trevithick ensured that these four classes shared as many common components as possible, which simplified maintenance and reduced costs still further.

TRAIN TO ASSIUT

By 1888, the ERA was in better order and could resume expanding its network. In 1890 a second line between Cairo and Tura opened. On 15 May 1892 the Imbaba Bridge was built across the Nile, linking Cairo with the line south following the west bank of the river. The civil engineer for the bridge was Gustave Eiffel. (It was reformed and renewed in 1924 which is still the only railway bridge across the Nile in Cairo.) Cairo's main Misr Station was rebuilt in 1892. The line south was extended further upriver from Assiut reaching Girga in 1892, Nag Hammadi in 1896, Qena in 1897 and Luxor and Aswan in 1898. With the railroad's completion, construction began the same year on the first Aswan Dam and the Assiut Barrage, main elements of a plan initiated in 1890 by the government to modernize and more fully develop Egypt's existing irrigated agriculture, export potential, and ability to repay debts to European creditors.

EGYPT RAILWAYS MAP

In 1891, a link line was opened between Damanhur and Desouk. The line to Shibin El Kom was extended south to Minuf in the same year and reached Ashum in 1896. By then a line across the Nile Delta from a junction north of Talkha on the line to Damietta had reached Biyala. By 1898 this reached Kafr el-Sheikh, completing a more direct route between Damietta and Alexandria. An important extension along the west bank of the Suez Canal linking Nifisha with Ismaïlia, Al Qantarah West and Port Said was completed in 1904. Thereafter network expansion was slower but two short link lines north of Cairo were completed in 1911 followed by a link between Zagazig and Zifta in 1914.

TRAIN PASSING BY ZAGAZIG

Sinai

PALESTINE RAILWAY SYSTEM
FROM CAIRO TO BEIRUT
AND HIGAZ

The first El Ferdan Railway Bridge over the Suez Canal was completed in April 1918 for the Palestine Military Railway. It was considered a hindrance to shipping so after the First World War it was removed. During the Second World War a steel swing bridge was built in 1942 but this was damaged by a steamship and removed in 1947. A double swing bridge was completed in 1954 but the 1956 Israeli invasion of Sinai severed rail traffic across the canal for a third time. A replacement bridge was completed in 1963 but destroyed in the Six-Day War in 1967. A new double swing bridge was completed in 2001 and is the largest swing bridge in the World. However, the construction of the New Suez Canal has since disconnected the Sinai from the rest of Egypt’s rail network again. Instead of the bridge, two rail tunnels are planned under the canal, one near Ismailia and one in Port Said.

TRAIN TICKET FROM
EL KANTARA EGYPT
 TO TEL AVIV PALESTINE

Historically, the Palestine Railways main line linked Al Qantarah East in Egypt with Palestine and Lebanon. It was built in three phases during the First and Second World Wars. Commenced in 1916, it was extended to Rafah on the border with Palestine as part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire. The route was extended through to Haifa in Mandate Palestine after World War I, to Tripoli, Lebanon in 1942 and became a vital part of the wartime supply route for Egypt.

Many Syro-Lebaneese living in Egypt would board the train from Cairo and travel to Haifa then to Lebanon for the summer vacations departing from the Cairo rail station for  a 24 hours long ride.

EL-FERDAN THE LONGEST DOUBLE SWING BRIDGE 
IN THE WOLD
CROSSING THE SUEZ CANAL 

As a result of the 1946–48 Israeli War of Independence and subsequent 1948 Arab-Israeli War the Palestine Railways main line was severed at the 1949 Armistice Line. The 1956 Israeli invasion severed Sinai's rail link with the rest of Egypt but reconnected its rail link with Israel. Israel captured a 4211 class 0-6-0 diesel shunting locomotive and five 545 class 2-6-0 steam locomotives. Israel also captured rolling stock including a six-wheel coach dating from 1893 and a 30-ton steam crane built in 1950, both of which Israel Railways then appropriated into its broken down fleet. 

Before being forced to withdraw from Sinai in March 1957, Israel systematically destroyed infrastructure including the railway. By 1963 the railway in Sinai was reconnected to the rest of Egypt but remained disconnected from Israel.

TRAIN STATION IN EGYPT

In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured more Egyptian railway equipment including one EMD G8, four EMD G12 and three EMD G16 diesel locomotives all of which were appropriated into Israel Railways stock. After 1967 Israel again destroyed the railway across occupied Sinai and this time used the materials in the construction of the Bar Lev Line of fortifications along the Suez Canal.

After numerous years' of service on Israel Railways the Egyptian 30-ton crane, 1893 Belgian 6-wheel coach and one of the EMD G16 diesels are all preserved in the Israel Railway Museum in Haifa Museum.

OLD LOCOMOTIVE IN MUSEUM

Egypt's railway museum was built in 1932 next to Misr Station (now Ramses Station) in Cairo. The museum opened in January 1933 to mark the city's hosting of the International Railway Congress. Its stock of over 700 items includes models, historic drawings and photographs. Among its most prominent exhibits are three preserved steam locomotives:

(The X-X-X is the design standard called the Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement)

A graphic of the Whyte notation, with the wheel-arrangement shown being a 4-8-4. (Four leading wheels, eight drive wheels, and four trailing wheels.

2-4-2 no. 30, built by Robert Stephenson and Company in 1862

0-6-0 no. 986, built by Robert Stephenson and Company in 1861

4-4-2 no. 194, built by the North British Locomotive Company in 1905 Operations

4-4-0 locomotive number 694: one of a class of 15 built by the North British Locomotive Company in Scotland for Egyptian State Railways in 1905-06

In 2005 ENR operated 5,063 kilometres  of standard gauge 1,435 mm track. Most of the rail system is focused on the Nile delta with lines essentially fanning out from Cairo. In addition, there is a line to the west along the coast that eventually could link to Libya as it did during World War II. From Cairo goes a major line south along the east bank of the Nile to Aswan in Upper Egypt.

CAIRO RAILWAY MUSEUM

Neighbouring Israel uses the same standard gauge but has been disconnected since 1948. In the South the railway system of Sudan operates on a narrow gauge and was reached after using the ferry past the Aswan dam. After the new High dam was build and the Nasser lake was formed the rail system to Sudan was abandoned.

Rail service is a critical part of the transportation infrastructure of Egypt but of limited service for transit. 63 kilometres  of the network was electrified, namely commuter lines between Cairo-Helwan and Cairo-Heliopolis. In recent years the lines have been replaced by a new metro system and the network extended by many kilometres .

ENR buys locomotives and rail abroad but passenger coaches are built and refurbished in Egypt by the Société Générale Egyptienne de Matériel de Chemins de Fer (SEMAF).

Cargo volume transported by ENR is about 12 million tons annually.

On January 16, 2015 Egyptian National Railways signed a €100 million contract with Alstom to supply signaling equipment for the 240 km Beni Suef-Asyut line and maintain services for five years. Alstom will also provide smartlock electronic interlocking system to replace the existing electromechanical system, which in turn will increase the number of trains that operate on the route by more than 80%.

Passenger trains

Imbaba Train Bridge linking Cairo with Aswan
Bridge build by Mr. Gustave Eiffel

ENR is the backbone of passenger transportation in Egypt with 800 million passenger miles annually. Air-conditioned passenger trains usually have 1st and 2nd class service, while non-air-conditioned trains have 2nd and 3rd class. Most of the network connects the densely populated area of the Nile delta with Cairo and Alexandria as hubs. Train fares in commuter trains and 3rd class passenger trains are kept low as a social service.

Sleeper trains

The Alexandria–Cairo–Luxor–Aswan route is served daily in both directions by air-conditioned sleeper trains of Abela Egypt. This service is especially attractive to tourists who can spend the night on the train as it covers the stretch between Cairo and Luxor. A luxury express train also links Cairo with Marsa Matruh towards the Libyan border.

Data research and Pictures from internet