Well, my passport has arrived. Unfortunately the same can not be said about the new Insight Vacations 2013/14 brochures which I had originally been told by my travel agent were due out at the start of this month. Now apparently they are not due out until the end of August start of September, so I still am unable to officially book my tour. As they say patience is a virtue, but is the waiting for this hard or what!!!
Have also been following the news in Egypt. Is good to see at the moment that the country is not appearing in the news too much. Hopefully things will continue that way now that their Presidential elections are over and done with. 
I have seen a few reports saying that Mursi wanted to stabilise the country enabling tourism to increase again, hopefully it does. Just not too much that I can't get onto the tour I want!! lol
Have a new Egypt map and Cairo road atlas on order at present from book depository in the UK.  Cairo atlas I hope will be of help to me on my final days in Cairo after tour has finished. Am hoping that I will be able to locate things and places I want to do during this time especially on Gezira Island where the Marriott hotel is located.

Anyway as I don't really have much else to ass at the moment shall add a bit more of my artwork.

 Gold Mask of Tutankhamen

This famous gold mask was made from two sheets of gold joined together by heating and hammering.
It is inlaid with obsidian and Quartz (the eyes) and lapis lazuli (brows and stripes on Nemes) and coloured glass.
The mask is 39.30cm wide, 50cm high and weighs about 10kg.

 lid from painted chest

painted ivory plaque from the lid of a chest showing Tutankhamen being offered flowers by his queen Ankhesenamen in a garden

 Detail from back of gold throne

The gold throne is a mixture of the two periods during Tutankhamen's reign. The early part of his reign under his fathers God Aten is shown by the rays of Aten that can be seen between Tutankhamen and his queen and the relaxed poses they are shown in. Their names are also shown in their Aten forms and in their more recognized Amun (Amen) forms from the later part of Tutankhamen's reign.