Tour around Africa: Stage 31 - Asyut (HEAT) to Daraw
(HE23)
MS Flight Simulator VFR Flight Plan Previous stage -
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At the bottom of this page you will find the download link of
this Flight Plan (.PLN file)
In this VFR - GPS Flight Plan we take off from
Asyut International Airport (HEAT) [Egypt], fly southwards following the course
of the Nile, overfly the Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Luxor, Edfu and Kom Ombo, and
landing in the aerodrome of Daraw (HE23) [Egypt], that does not have ATC .
Find below a short extract and screenshots of the main points of the route. In
this journey around Africa I have used the Cessna 172S (Skyhawk)
Taking off from the airport of
Asyut (Assiut).
Getting back to the Nile
Following the course of the Nile.
Overflying Sohag.
Sohag (Arabic: سوهاج ), also spelled as Sawhāj, Suhag and
Suhaj, is a city on the west bank of the Nile in Egypt. It has been the capital
of Sohag Governorate since 1960, before which the capital was Girga and the name
of the governorate was Girga Governorate. It also included Esna Governorate
(nowadays Qena Governorate).
Until the 19th century there was only a village in the area. In
1960, the capital of the Governorate of Girga was transferred from the city of
Girga to Sohag and the governorate was renamed accordingly. It is unclear how
long this site has been inhabited. There are several mummies that date back to
Roman times in the village. In Coptic times a community of monks lived at the
White Monastery in the area.
Sohag lies on a fertile agricultural plain on the western bank
of the Nile, approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) southwest of Akhmim. The
city includes two islands; Karaman-ez-Zahur Island is larger and uninhabited,
and ez-Zahur Island (جزيرة الزهور, Ǧazīrat az-Zuhur, "Flower Island") has some
homes. (*1)
We temporally leave the Nile
towards the Valley of the Kings.
The northwest flank of the massif where the Valley of the Kings is located .
The city of Luxor appears behind the mountains right before beginning the
descend to the Valley of the Kings, on the left.
Flying over the Valley of the Kings.
The Valley of the Kings (Arabic: وادي الملوك Wādī al-Mulūk), also known as
the Valley of the Gates of the Kings (Arabic: وادي أبواب الملوك Wādī Abwāb al-
Mulūk), is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the
16th to 11th century BC, rock-cut tombs were excavated for the pharaohs and
powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties of
Ancient Egypt).
The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes (modern
Luxor), within the heart of the Theban Necropolis. The wadi consists of two
valleys: the East Valley (where the majority of the royal tombs are situated)
and the West Valley (Valley of the Monkeys).
With the 2005 discovery of a new chamber and the 2008 discovery of two
further tomb entrances, the valley is known to contain 63 tombs and chambers
(ranging in size from KV54, a simple pit, to KV5, a complex tomb with over 120
chambers). It was the principal burial place of the major royal figures of the
Egyptian New Kingdom, as well as a number of privileged nobles. The royal tombs
are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues as to the
beliefs and funerary practices of the period. Almost all of the tombs seem to
have been opened and robbed in antiquity, but they still give an idea of the
opulence and power of the pharaohs.
This area has been a focus of archaeological and Egyptological exploration
since the end of the eighteenth century, and its tombs and burials continue to
stimulate research and interest. Since the 1920s, the valley has been famous for
the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, and is one of the most famous
archaeological sites in the world. In 1979, it became a World Heritage Site,
along with the rest of the Theban Necropolis. Exploration, excavation and
conservation continues in the valley, and a new tourist center has recently been
opened. (*1)
View of the central East Valley,
showing area around KV62
By
Peter J. Bubenik (1995) -
CC BY-SA 2.0
Tomb of Ramesses
III, KV11
By
Luestling -
CC BY-SA 2.0
Leaving the Valley of the Kings.
Flying over the city of Luxor. The temples of Luxor and Karnak are hardly
visible in FS2020.
Luxor (Arabic: الأقصر l-aqṣur) is a city in Upper (southern) Egypt and the
capital of Luxor Governorate. The population of Luxor is 127,994 (2020), with an
area of approximately 417 square kilometres (161 sq mi). It is among the oldest
inhabited cities in the world.
The modern city includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Waset, also
known as Nut and to the Greeks as Thebes or Diospolis. Luxor has frequently been
characterized as the "world's greatest open-air museum", as the ruins of the
temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor stand within the modern city. Immediately
opposite, across the River Nile, lie the monuments, temples and tombs of the
west bank Necropolis, which includes the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the
Queens.
Thousands of tourists from all around the world arrive annually to visit
these monuments, contributing greatly to the economy of the modern city. (*1)
Edfu (Arabic: إدفو also spelt Idfu, or in modern French as Edfou) is an
Egyptian city, located on the west bank of the Nile River between Esna and
Aswan, with a population of approximately sixty thousand people. Edfu is the
site of the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus and an ancient settlement, Tell Edfu.
About 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Edfu are remains of ancient pyramids.
The town is known for the major Ptolemaic temple, built between 237 BC and 57
BC, into the reign of Cleopatra VII. Of all the temple remains in Egypt, the
Temple of Horus at Edfu is the most completely preserved. Built from sandstone
blocks, the huge Ptolemaic temple was constructed over the site of a smaller New
Kingdom temple, oriented east to west, facing towards the river. The later
structure faces north to south and leaves the ruined remains of the older temple
pylon to be seen on the east side of the first court. (*1)
The forecourt of
the temple, looking south-east
By
I, Rémih
-
CC BY 3.0
Kom Ombo and its famous temple, just before landing in the small aerodrome of
Daraw nearby.
Kom Ombo (Arabic: كوم أمبو), Ancient Greek: Ὄμβοι Omboi or Ὄμβος Ombos or
Latin: Ambo and Ombi, is an agricultural town in Egypt famous for the Temple of
Kom Ombo. It was originally an Egyptian city called Nubt, meaning City of Gold
(not to be confused with the city north of Naqada that was also called Nubt/Ombos).
Nubt is also known as Nubet or Nubyt (Nbyt). It became a Greek settlement during
the Greco-Roman Period. The town's location on the Nile, 50 kilometres (31 mi)
north of Aswan (Syene), gave it some control over trade routes from Nubia to the
Nile Valley, but its main rise to prominence came with the erection of the
Temple of Kom Ombo in the 2nd century BC.
The Temple of Kom Ombo is an unusual double temple. It was constructed during
the Ptolemaic dynasty, 180–47 BC. Some additions to it were later made during
the Roman period.
The building is unique because its 'double' design meant that there were
courts, halls, sanctuaries and rooms duplicated for two sets of gods. The
southern half of the temple was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, god of
fertility and creator of the world with Hathor and Khonsu. Meanwhile, the
northern part of the temple was dedicated to the falcon god Haroeris ("Horus the
Elder"), along "with Tasenetnofret (the Good Sister, a special form of Hathor or
Tefnet/Tefnut) and Panebtawy (Lord of the Two Lands)." The temple is atypical
because everything is perfectly symmetrical along the main axis. (*1)
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(*1) Credits: The descriptive texts are mainly an excerpt of those provided by
Wikipedia. Visit
Wikipedia to read the
full descriptions.
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