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This week’s guest post by by Gurdeep Gola brings us on a cinematographic journey through Egypt. With the political chaos happening in Egypt, now might not be the best time to travel to Egypt. Nonetheless, Egypt is one of the most enchanting places I’d visited, and remains an extremely rewarding destination for all travelers. Hopefully when peace is restored, travelers will continue to visit the land of mystique. Let these movies remind us of Egypt’s haunting landscapes, rich history and natural beauty.

The movie list here is an eclectic mix: ranging from the Biblical epic The Ten Commandments and intense cult classic Passion in the Desert right through to the slightly more lighthearted Asterix and Cleopatra and hilariously inflammatory Team America. All these films feature Egypt and its landscapes in some shape or form, and give a sense of the amazing history and culture of the country. So treat yourself to a preview of Egypt holidays to come, or just immerse yourself in the Egyptian culture.

Asterix and Cleopatra

The second animated film to be made of Goscinny and Uderzo’s hugely successful Asterix book series, Asterix and Cleopatra was released in 1968. Our Gallic heroes come to the assistance of Queen Cleopatra, who makes a bet with Caesar that she can have a palace built in three months. With the help of the druid Getafix, Asterix and his friend Obelix overcome all sorts of plots against the project, and end up, as always, celebrating their victory with a hearty feast.

The Mummy (1932)

Is it dead or alive? Human or inhuman? You’ll know, you’ll see, you’ll feel the awful creeping, crawling terror that stands your hair on end and brings a scream to your lips. According to the chap on the trailer anyway. Classic horror fun.

The Night of Counting the Years

Also known as Al-Mummia, or The Mummy, this is seen as being among the most important Egyptian films ever made. Director Shadi Abdel Salam uses unusual camera angles and creates a striking visual style for the film. It’s hard to get hold of and is scripted in classical Arabic, but it’s well worth the effort.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Grossing over $384 million dollars, this first outing for Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’ suave adventurer Indiana Jones was a huge hit. Indie is battling with the Nazis to find the long-lost Ark of the Covenant, said to have supernatural powers, and the search takes them all to Cairo as the digging begins. A hugely entertaining adventure classic as the plot unfolds.

The Spy Who Loved Me

The tenth movie outing for James Bond, here played by old smoothie Roger Moore with the beautiful Barbara Bach as his rival-then-sidekick. Featuring a spectacular ski-chase and the famous union-jack parachute escape, as well as some great battles between Jaws and Bond in Egypt, this is a top-notch Bond outing.

Team America

Considerably cruder and more offensive than this trailer even begins to convey, Team America was the brainchild of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park. Thunderbirds-style puppets are used to satirise America’s political worldview, as well as typical action movies, to brilliant effect.

The Ten Commandments

Okay, so this early Hollywood epic’s Egypt scenes were actually filmed in California, but it’s still set in Egypt. Director Cecil B. DeMille created a second version of the film in 1956, starring Charlton Heston.

Cleopatra (1963)

Starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, this version of Cleopatra VII’s story was the highest grossing film of 1963 and yet still failed to recoup costs in its first year. High production costs of $44 million dwarfed the year’s first-year gross revenue of $26 million. The film, taking inflation into account, remains the third most expensive film ever made, thanks to being plagued with production problems.

Passion in the Desert

An unusual film with a cult following, Passion in the Desert was based on the Honore de Balzac novella with the same title. It is the story of a soldier in 1798 who gets lost in the Egyptian desert and is taken in by a wild leopard, which he names ‘Simoom’. He transforms himself into a kind of wild leopard-man and the film charts their somewhat bizarre relationship thereafter.

Rendition

Bit of a modern flick to finish off the list, this political drama stars Meryl Streep, Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon. The film explores the alleged US government practice of extraordinary rendition – where terrorist suspects are handed over to regimes where torture is practiced. The film is loosely based on the story of Khalid El-Masri, who was mistaken for a suspected terrorist with a similar surname, flown to Afghanistan and interrogated by the CIA. Gripping stuff…