Ownership and (De)Nile: 

World Heritage In and Beyond Egypt

By: Ashleigh Breske

I first traveled to Egypt in February 2007. I was a graduate student working on my master’s thesis on Roman cult religions, and I wanted to see the Philae Temple Complex since it was the last temple to close amidst Christianity in AD 537. The temple was far to the south in the country, and even after the closing of temples to other ancient religions, there was a close connection to themes in Christianity and Isis/Horus at Philae. Also, who wouldn’t travel to Egypt if they could find even the vaguest reason to do? 

My research interests have focused on cultural property, tourism, and repatriation. Egypt has been a tourist destination since antiquity, so it’s a unique place to visit and see the changes in tourism over time. As a professor of international studies, I wanted to start a study abroad program for students at Hollins University. I was able to travel to Egypt in January 2024 with Ramona Kirsch to do a test-run of this trip and again with Hollins Alums in October 2024. The country has changed significantly since I first visited in 2007, and I’m excited to continue researching the politics of tourism and UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country. Since Abu Simbel and the building of the High Dam in Aswan were the impetus for the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, I wanted to make sure that students could experience this site, as well as the Philae Temple Complex, which was also moved to protect it from flooding. 

Prior to traveling, students completed site-specific research and theories on tourism. This included John Urry’s work in The Tourist Gaze, which examines how we perceive our traveling experiences and take them home with us to share with others. Through a reading from Bob McKercher and Hilary du Cros, they learned about the five types of tourists:  the purposeful tourist who is primarily influenced by culture as their motivator for visiting a location; the sightseer who is interested in culture but is satisfied by a shallower experience; the serendipitous tourist who stumbles across a deeper cultural experience by chance; the casual tourist who is weakly motivated and seeking a surface experience, and the incidental tourist who visits but isn’t necessarily motivated by a cultural experience (2002, p. 38). Our goal on this trip was to be purposeful tourists. I was so incredibly impressed with the time and effort students put into this trip. They were a joy to travel with and I thank them for their work! Thank you as well to my colleague, Dr. Genevieve Hendricks, for traveling with us and helping to make this a memorable journey!

Works Cited:

McKercher, Bob and Hilary Du Cros (2002). Cultural Tourism: The Partnership Between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management. Haworth Hospitality Press.

Urry, John (1990). The Tourist Gaze: Leisure and Travel in Contemporary Societies. 1st ed. Sage Publications.

A Brief Overview of the Itinerary

We began our trip in Cairo with an introduction to the pyramids. This included a trip to Saqqara and the Step Pyramid of Djoser, followed by the Giza Pyramid Field and the Sphinx. After an exceptionally early flight to Luxor, we visited Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple before boarding our Nile River cruise ship. This is one of the traditional tourist experiences in the industry, and it also meant we could have lectures on the top deck while drinking tea and watching life on the river. 

Before leaving Luxor, we visited the Valley of the Kings and Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple Complex on the West Bank. The following day, the boat docked in Edfu, and we visited the temple dedicated to Horus. After a day of sailing, we docked at Kom Ombo to visit the double temple dedicated to Sobek and Horus. We then sailed to Aswan, and over a few days, we visited the Philae Temple Complex, Abu Simbel, the High Dam, and the unfinished obelisk. We returned to Cairo and saw the Coptic area of the city and the Museum of Egyptian Civilization before leaving. 

Tourism and Our Travel Blog

Students have written reflections and discussions of sites we visited that inspired them. You will see that not every site listed in this itinerary has an individual post. The ten students selected sites they felt most interested in, and that’s what you’ll read here. We encourage you to explore Egypt and do more research on your own. 

This course focused on understanding and critiquing the tourism model in Egypt. Throughout our trip, we had guides, drivers, and contacts who helped us experience one of the popular tourism routes.