There are so many travellers' guidebooks on the market that one is hard-pressed to know what to choose. Jill Kamil offers some suggestions Once upon a time and not so long ago, which is to say 60-odd years ago when the monarchy sailed away and the Free Officers took over, there were only two guidebooks on the market. One was the famous Baedeker guide to sites all over Egypt and Nubia; the other my own, Jill Kamil's guides to Luxor, Saqqara and Upper Egypt. Mine long held sway because they were up to date and covered archaeological work in progress. But they, like Baedeker's, eventually became dated, especially after the 1960s when the international missions ended their work on the Nubia Salvage operations and were granted concessions in Egypt. As soon as it was realised that the higher average water table of the River Nile -- one of the disadvantages of the High Dam -- was causing seepage and damage to surviving archaeological sites, excavations were set on motion all over the country of pharaonic, Christian and Islamic sites, not to mention burial grounds. For a time Nagel's Egypt and the Blue Guide held the market; the latter, in translation, still does. However, with the surge in tourism following the exhibition of Tutankhamon's treasures abroad and the new Son et Lumiere shows at the pyramids; and with a further surge following the successful promotion of "Sun and Sea" coastal holidays alongside "Cultural and Recreational" tourism, with new facilities provided, and transport improved, there was an increased demand for all kinds of books on Egypt, especially guidebooks. The choice is enormous: there are illustrated guides, practical guides, pocket guides and specialised guides. And they come in all weights (I use the word advisedly) and sizes, with an equal range of price tags. Hang on, though -- does this mean it's hard to choose the right book? Fortunately choosing is not as difficult as it might be, because for one thing all the most worthwhile travel publications on Egypt are produced by The American University in Cairo Press, and second because of the question of what you really want. If you're looking for easily accessible, effortless to carry, accurate, informative and relatively inexpensive publications, then you can do no better than the EGYPT POCKET GUIDES by Alberto Siliotti, which are, incidentally, on sale worldwide and are published in English, French, German and Italian. The texts are brief and informative. They are well illustrated with between 100 and 200 photographs, and each covers a specialised subject: the Pyramids, the Temples of Thebes, Aswan, Fayoum and Wadi al-Rayan, the Oases of the Western Desert, Sinai, Abu Simbel and the Nubian Temples, Islamic Cairo, and the first and only guidebook to the Gilf Kebir and Uweinat with its special geology, ecology and rock paintings. For those who want more than the brief text provided in the above, look no further than the name Michael Haag. A writer and photographer based in London, he has already photographed and written Alexandria Illustrated, and Cairo Illustrated - best described as Souvenir Publications. New on the market are his EGYPT and CAIRO LUXOR & ASWAN. Each is described as "An AUC Press Guide" and I have no doubt that they will become classics. I confidently recommend Michael Haag's insightful and thoughtful guides, which pack more information and good advice, historical detail and fascinating tidbits into his books than any other travel book on the market. Whether exploring the bazaars of Cairo, the awesome monuments of Upper Egypt, Mamluk architecture, or the monuments of Nubia, Haag captures all facets of the land, its people and its treasures. Simply, the books a delight to handle and his texts are readable. That is more than one can say about a newly published book entitled Egypt 1250 BC: A Traveler's Companion, by Donald P. Ryan. Written by an archaeologist who spent many years excavating in Egypt, and the author of numerous popular books on the ancient world, I am not sure whether his book is meant to be entertaining or informative. I found it confusing. Perhaps I would have been better prepared had I read the Author's Note, which explains that the book is set during the 54th year of the reign of Ramses II, who ruled Egypt between about 1304 and 1237 BC when Egypt was a particularly powerful and internationally engaged country, making it "an extraordinarily interesting time to visit" the country. I might then have understood what was meant by the first sentence of the first chapter: "So you're thinking about visiting Egypt?" This put me in contemporary mode. Unfortunately, the publisher chose to put the author's invaluable note and preparation for what was to come at the very end of the book -- after the maps, useful phrases, and list of Egyptian gods. So, despite my familiarity with the life and times of Ramses, I struggled with the text and the complex layout. Last summer, while standing in front of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, amidst a jostling scrum of 80 or more visitors all trying to take photographs of the painting, or an image of themselves in front of the painting, I realised that much the same thing happens in Egyptian Museum around some of its most well-known masterpieces. It is difficult to take a close look when, thanks to mass cultural tourism actively promoted by an economy-minded government, and the need for tourists to slot in "a bit of culture" between eating and sunbathing, groups of travellers are taken to those very objects which are familiar in the first place. So, escape from the crowds. Take a cruise with Jenny Jobbins and Sherif Sonbol. The Nile Cruise: An Illustrated Journey, is worth possessing even if you don't go on a cruise yourself. And if you do, then it will help you remember a unique experience. Sherif Sonbol, a highly regarded Egyptian photographer, has chosen from his enormous photographic archive, photographs that capture not only the monuments and details of the most unique reliefs and paintings, but images of the Nile itself, the flora and fauna along its banks. And Jenny Jobbins, a talented writer, journalist and co-author of Alexandria and the Egyptian Mediterranean: A Traveler's Guide, celebrates the classic river journey with her appealing prose, interlaced with appropriate quotations. A journey in a lifetime. A journey to be remembered. As for me. I've given up writing guidebooks. An historical overview of Coptic Orthodox Church was the subject of my Christianity in the Land of the Pharaohs, followed by a biography, The Life and Legacy of Labib Habachi, and I'm now working on a book on Old Cairo. Be warned, it is not a guidebook, it is a study of the area from legendary history to modern conservation.
