Luxor City Research Articles

Demarketing As an Effective Technique for Sustaining Heritage Sites in Luxor City

Demarketing As an Effective Technique for Sustaining Heritage Sites in Luxor City

Geoelectric and mineralogical studies for foundation soil characterization in new Luxor city, Upper Egypt

The new Luxor city was proposed by the Egyptian government as a new constructional and building site in order to face the increasing population density around the two banks of the river Nile. It is important prior construction of buildings to characterize the foundation soil. So, vertical electrical resistivity survey and mineralogical investigation were conducted for this purpose. The results obtained from the interpretation of the sounding data indicate that the lithological succession of the study area consists of four geoelectric layers. The top layer corresponds to the surface loose sediments of conglomerate, gravel, and sand. The second geoelectric layer is composed of sand and gravel. The third layer is composed of silty clay, sandy clay, and clayey sand. The fourth geoelectric layer is composed of dry sandstone. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results of samples collected from the clay-rich layer revealed the presence of smectite mineral as predominate clay minerals which is characterized by its swell potentiality on wetting. Accordingly, the clay zone recorded within the third layer must be taken into consideration during designing the foundations at new Luxor city especially this layer was located at shallow depth range between 1.6 and 7.5 m and attains a relatively big thickness that reach up to 33.5 m in some parts. This study emphasizes the importance of the integration of geophysical investigation and mineralogical analysis of the foundation soil for optimal characterization of a site.

Antibiotic resistance pattern of Clostridium perfringens isolated from necrotic enteritis cases of broiler chickens in Luxor city

Antibiotic resistance pattern of Clostridium perfringens isolated from necrotic enteritis cases of broiler chickens in Luxor city

Employment of The Ancient Egyptian Feast Foods in Egyptian Hotel Menus and Its Impact on Promoting Food Tourism.

Food provided to customers and good menus are important factor in competitiveness for the tourist destination. There is a critical contribution for food in growing tourists yield. The relevance between regional food and culture enables the promotion of cultural heritage by promoting food tourism. The objectives of this research were two-fold. The first objective was to assess the extent of tourists’ approval of employing the Egyptian feast foods to the menus presented in Egyptian hotels. The second goal was to explore the effect of employing Egyptian feast foods to the menus presented in Egyptian hotels on the promotion of food tourism at the Egyptian tourist destination. The research adopted a quantitive approach and used a questionnaire that was distributed to a sample of foreigner and Egyptian tourists at Luxor city. The findings revealed that Egyptian tourist and hotel establishments do not do their best to promote food tourism. Furthermore, using social media to promote Egyptian feast foods in Egyptian hotel menus can be a good way to influence tourists' conviction to include heritage foods on food menus. Another important finding of the research showed that the more the customer visit experience, the more tourists tend to heritage foods and the more to promote food tourism in the Egyptian tourist destination.

Inhibitory Effect of Cinnamon and Thyme Essential Oils Against Acinetobacter baumannii strains Isolated from Raw Milk and Some Milk Products

Abstract A total of 250 random samples including raw milk samples collected from street vendors, dairy shops and dairy houses in addition to some milk products including Kariesh cheese, Domiati cheese, cream, and milk powder, were collected from different areas in Luxor city, Egypt. for detection of Acinetobacter species by conventional method and PCR for the presence of blaox51 like gene. results revealed that the 10% of Acinetobacter spp. were recovered from whole raw milk samples, species were A. baumannii, A. calcoaceticus and A. haemolyticus with percentages of 5.3, 2.7 and 2%, respectively. street vendors raw milk samples showed the highest prevalence (14%) of Acinetobacter spp. Regarding milk products samples, 8% of Acinetobacter spp. were isolated from kariesh cheese. A higher percentage of 25% were recorded from cream samples. All Acinetobacter baumanni strains harbored blaox-51 like gene, showing strong lipolytic activity on tributyrin agar, the antibacterial effect of cinnamon oil and thyme oil against 16 Acinetobacter baumanni isolates showed high antibacterial activity. Keywords. Acinetobacter species., Dairy products, PCR, blaox51 like gene, Essential oils

Site Effect Estimation Using Microtremor Measurements at New Luxor City Proposed Site, South Egypt*

The present study aims mainly at investigating the site effect at the new Luxor city, Egypt, using microtremor measurements. Accordingly, 41 ambient noise recordings were implemented covering the investigated area in a reasonable manner with spacing nearly 1 km between each measurement station. The data were analyzed using Nakamura’s technique. The results show that; the investigated area exhibits low fundamental frequency values ranging between 0.28 - 0.47 Hz and its corresponding amplification factor values vary between 2.3 and 6.8. Consequently, the studied site is characterized by the presence of thick soft sediments overlying a hard bed rock. The seismic vulnerability index (Kg) was estimated, relying on the estimated fundamental frequency (F0) and amplification factor (A0), through the range between 11 and 95 across the mapped area. The obtained Kg values were noticed to be compatible with amplification level results. The central part of the investigated area reflects the higher Kg and A0 values.

DETECTION OF MULTI DRUG RESISTANT FOOD BORN BACTERIA IN READY TO EAT CHICKEN MEAT

One hundred fifty samples were read to eat chicken meaty collected from different restaurants in Luxor city to evaluate bacteriological quality RTE chicken meat. The mean values of APC, Coliform, Staphylococcus counts, Anaerobic count, Yeast count, Mould count (cfu /g). 1.36X104±2.94X103&8.42x102±3.90x102,4.67±1.15&1.00±0.73&7.67±2.23,2.67±1.26 to chicken shawirma without addition, 5.58X103±1.16X103&3.34x102±9.82x10&2.33 ±1.24&1.00±0.75&8.33±2.40&2.67±1.26 for chicken burger without addition and 4.62X103±7.42X102&1.53x102±4.85x10&1.33±0.79&3.00±1.37&4.33±1.64,1.67±0.84 for fried chicken, all samples not detected for Shigella, respectively.9 E.coli (6%) were isolated from samples represented 4(8%),(2)O125:H2,(1)O143:H8and (1)O111:H1from chicken shawirma without addition, 3(6%) O55: H2, O158:H3and O86a:H1 from chicken burger without addition, 2 (4%) O142:H3, O26:H1from fried chicken, Also, 8(5.33%) Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from samples. Represented as 4(8%) isolate from chicken shawirma without addition, 3 (6%) from chicken burger without addition, 1(2%) from fried chicken. 6(4%) of Salmonella were isolated from Samples represented as 2(4%) S. typhimurium and 1(2%) S. enteritidis from shawirma without addition, 1(2%)S. enteritidis and 1(2%) S. Anatum from chicken burger without addition, 1(2%) S.Kentucky from fried chicken. Isolates. Most of E.coli isolate sensitive for Colistin sulphate(10ug) and Nalidixic acid(10ug). St.aureus isolates sensitive to Ampicillin (10ug) and Vancomycin (15ug). Most of Salmonella isolate sensitive for Gentamycin (10ug), Colistin Sulphate(10ug) and Ceftriaxone.

MEASUREMENT OF TRANS FATTY ACIDS IN READY TO EAT CHICKEN MEAT

High intake of TFA leads to more health problems as heart disease, breast cancer and diabetes. So we worked in this study for measurement of trans fatty acids (TFA) of ninety ready to eat chicken meat samples from restaurants of Luxor city, and effect of different material of fried on TFA to help people and tourists for determined awareness of TFA in these restaurants and material of fried. In this study found mean of TFA and elaidic acid in chicken burger samples (1.813 mg100 gm, ± 0.151 mg100 gm, and 1.450 mg100 gm, respectively). In fried chicken samples (0.159 mg100 gm, ± 0.024 mg100 gm, and 0.127 mg100 gm, respectively), and in chicken shawirma samples (4.016 mg 100 gm, ± 0.583 mg100 gm, and 3.212 mg100 gm, respectively). In this study also an experiment to what happens of TFA in ready to eat chicken meat when used of vegetable oil, butter, or margarine was carried out. It was found TFA of chicken burger, fried chicken and chicken shawirma with use of oil (0.343 mg100 gm, 0.065 mg100 gm, and 1.622 mg100 gm, respectively). TFA of chicken burger, fried chicken and chicken shawirma use of butter (1.836 mg100 gm, 12.855, and 0.446 mg100 gm, respectively). TFA of chicken burger, fried chicken, Chicken shawirma which use of margarine (3.278 mg100 gm, 4.139 mg100 gm, and 3.22 mg100 gm, respectively). In conclusion: throughout the samples analysis in our study, chicken shawirma samples from restaurants showed the highest content of trans fatty acids and elaidic acid. The TFA formation was found to be varied with the food ingredient and with the material used for frying.

Assessing Travel Agencies' Social Responsibility Performance in Luxor

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the travel agencies reflects a complex and multifaceted concept. CSR relates to travel agencies' commitment to achieve sustainable development not just in the environment dimension but also in social and economic terms. The World Business Council for SD believes that human rights, employee rights, environmental protection, community engagement, supplier relationships, and stakeholder rights are the driving force behind CSR. The purpose of this paper is assessing travel agencies' social responsibility performance in Luxor and exploring the challenges which face the application of their social responsibility in Luxor by travel agencies. To achieve the aims of the study a quantitative approach based on a questionnaire was developed and directed to a sample of executives and employees of travel agencies in Luxor city. The questionnaire was handled to 142 Travel agencies in Luxor, Where was distributed one questionnaire within each company. Out of this number 120 forms were available for analysis (representing 84.5% response rate). The results showed the most obstacles that influence of adopting CSR are a lack of financial resources in the company and lack of awareness among some managers of travel agencies and their employees regarding the concept of social responsibility

Geological heritage of Luxor and its vicinities, Egypt: a new assessment and geotourism perspectives

Geological heritage is an important resource for socio-economic development of Egypt, and, thus, it requires careful exploration. Potentially unique geological features available in Luxor city and its vicinities, including the Dababiya Protectorate, are reassessed on the basis of literature review and field work. This permits to establish six geological heritage types, namely, stratigraphical, palaeogeographical, sedimentary, palaeontological, geochemical, and geomorphological types. Localities representing these types are proposed as geosites, namely, the Dababiya Quarry with the Global Standard Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base-Eocene and horizons representing the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), Gebel Gurnah with the type section of the Thebes Formation, and the localities of the Hatshepsut and Luxor temples representing geological activity of the past civilization. Global rank is assigned to two of these geosites, namely, the Dababiya Quarry and the Hatshepsut Temple. Generally, the geological heritage of Luxor and its vicinities boasts significant geodiversity that is adequately displayed at the geosites. Involvement of the documented geological heritage into tourism activities is possible via integration of geotourism with some other kinds of tourism (cultural, archaeological, etc.) and strategic planning of urban geotourism.

Geoelectrical analysis for evaluating the groundwater characteristics of wadi El Madamud Area, Southeast Luxor, Egypt

In this work, the totally 31 Vertical Electric Soundings (VESes) were carried out at wadi El Madamud, Southeastern Luxor city. These are processed and interpreted the forms of geologic models composed of five geoelectric layers of varying resistivities, lithologies, depths and thicknesses. They are surfacial unconsolidated dry silts, sands and gravels, consolidated silts, sandy gravels, sandstone and clay saturated with water, clay with unsaturated sand intercalations and chalky limestone with chert bands. The surficial layer, dry silts, sands and gravels layer (Quaternary) is cropped out on the surface of the whole area with a very small thickness range (0.5-2.2 meter (m.)) and average thickness 1.1 meters. The surficial layer, Unconsolidated wadi deposits composed of silts, sands and gravels which show the highest resistivity range (3073-90,581 Ω.m.) with average value 27,968 Ω.m. throughout the whole study area. The consolidated silt, sandy and gravels is the second geoelectric layer, which has decreasing resistivity values than the first layer. Thickness of the second geoelectric layer ranges from 1–14 meter. The third geoelectric layer is sandstone and clay saturated with groundwater, which has resistivity range from 4 to1887 Ω.m. and average value 234 Ω.m. and thickness range from 18 to 41 meters with average 21.3 meters. The main target is the shallow aquifer which represented in third geoelectric layer. The clay with unsaturated sandstone intercalation is forth geoelectric layer and has resistivity range from 11 to 10,700 Ω.m. and thickness ranges from 44 to 83 m. The last geoelectric layer is the chalky limestone with chert band, having a wide resistivity range (264–37,045 Ω.m.) with non-defined thickness. The thickness and true resistivity maps of the different layers and 2D geoelectric cross sections are generated for the represented layers to delineate their spatial distribution. The aquifer hydraulic characteristics; such as hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity within the salty aquifer, as well as the groundwater quality (salinity) are estimated, utilizing the true resistivity values acquired on the surface through the geoelectric resistivity survey.

THE ROLE OF SOUVENIRS AND HANDICRAFTS IN ACHIEVING TOURISTS’ SATISFACTION "APPLIED ON LUXOR CITY"

THE ROLE OF SOUVENIRS AND HANDICRAFTS IN ACHIEVING TOURISTS’ SATISFACTION "APPLIED ON LUXOR CITY"

Analysis of The Driving Forces of Urban Expansion in Luxor City by Remote Sensing Monitoring

Luxor in Egypt is a city of great historical importance, rich in archaeological sites and natural resources. To ensure sustainable development in Luxor city, it is essential to understand the driving forces of its growth. Both Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and satellite Remote Sensing (RS) were successfully used to evaluate these overall driving forces. This paper is aimed at monitoring the growth dynamics of the urbanization process that occurred in Luxor city during a 20-year period from 1996 to 2017. The archived time series medium resolution Landsat ETM+ and TM satellite imagery are used to study and analyze spatial patterns of urban in order to improve understanding the impact of driving forces of urban expansion in Luxor. The GIS was not only used to identify the driving forces but also to provide an integrated monitoring of the study area. This offered a unique advantage to simultaneously store and manipulate spatial and attribute data of a large amount. A very significant increase in urban area has taken place in the last decade in Luxor city, which was revealed an important outcome. A net increase of 36.7 km2 was witnessed in the last 20 years (especially in recent years), in the built-up urban area. The built-up urban area in 2017 saw an increase that was twice that in 1996, with an annual average increase of 1.75 km2, and an annual change rate of 4.6%. The analysis of this dramatic change revealed that city infrastructure, economic growth, population growth, topographic elements, and city planning, and policies were the major driving forces for the rapid expansion of built-up urban area, albeit with different weights for these different forces. In this study, we explored a method of monitoring parameters related to the architectural heritage of Luxor governorate using “remote sensing big data” to provide data support for the city’s urban planning and policy formulation.

The management Perception toward the concept and challenges facing the traditional food in the hotel sector: A research in Luxor city

Traditional foods are an expression of culture, history, and lifestyle of the local people, traditional foods are also often related to local foods referring to the used of specific local ingredients in local production which highly involve the knowledge and expertise of local people. The aim of this research is to examine the factors affect on the spread of traditional food in the tourism areas at Luxor and identify the benefits and challenges of using traditional foods in Luxor hotels One hundred seventy questionnaires were distributed to food & beverage managers and supervisors in five-star hotels in Luxor, one hundred fifty were fully completed and returned with a response rate of 88.2%. The main findings indicated that the majority of respondent give the right definition of traditional food and the respondents indicated they serve to the guest traditional food like Koushary - Kebab Halla - Moulkhia - Rise Khalta - Tamia - Fool Medamis - Weka - Aish Shames - Sheesh Kebab - Besara - Thikhna – Fata The researcher suggests taking into consideration the important contribution of foods and beverages in the tourist activity, incorporation of some of the traditional food items is a good idea for the hospitality industry in Egypt.

Traffic Management in Residential Areas: Case Study the South District of Luxor City, Egypt

Traffic management includes the implementation of a wide range of measures, devices and techniques based on a combination of parallel strategies, to improve safety and livability on streets by reducing the effect of vehicular traffic.The local residential streets have the intended traffic function of providing access to limited numbers of local residents. Traffic management for residential streets helps to preserve and enhance streets by minimizing the negative impacts of traffic and seeks to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and all other road users.The problem is that the planning of Egypt’s existing cities depended on grid and linear network streets withoutseparation land-use. Where the residential areas are always mixed land-use, (residential and commercial uses). This situation reflects on congestion residential areas; noisy, Traffic confusion, . . . . . . etc. So, the author aimed to create the traffic methodological for existing residential areas.This paper is applied in the south district of Luxor city, where the city’s authorities took some procedures formanaging traffic to no avail.This practical study includes: designing the traffic methodological framework, applying the framework at casestudy, and comparing the designed model with the current state of case study. The software programs used are SPSS and excel.The results show that the current state ignores some principles in comparison to the designed model. The important recommendations of research are: the designed model should be applied at case study, and the framework of traffic methodological for existing residential areas is applicable in different areas.

Detection of Multi-Drug Resistant Food-borne Bacteria in Ready-to-Eat Meat Products in Luxor City, Egypt

A total of five Escherichia coli and eight Salmonella isolates were recovered from ready-to-eat meat samples obtained from different street vendors in Luxor city, Egypt. Bacterial isolates were assayed for antimicrobial susceptibility, its virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes. The total number recovered positive Salmonella spp and E. coli were 8 (6.66%) and 5 (4.16%) respectively. All E. coli isolates were exhibited resistance against streptomycin and cephalothin. While all Salmonella isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid. PCR screening for virulence genes showed that 2 (40%) of the E. coli (O111:H4) serovar were positive for stx1, stx2, and eaeA. While Salmonella enteritidis, typhimurium, and virchow hold invA, hilA and stn genes with percentage of 37.5, 25 and 12.5% respectively. The identified tetracycline resistance gene for E. coli isolates were tetB (60%), tetC (20%) and tetD (20%). The β-lactamase resistance gene blaCTX was identified in 50% of Salmonella isolates represented by S. enteritidis, S. typhimurium and S. Virchow. The blaCMY genes were detected in S. typhimurium and S. infantis (37.5%). These results highlighted the role of ready-to-eat meat as a potential source for multidrug-resistant strains of E. coli and Salmonella. The current results indicate the need for applying hygienic practices in food outlets - especially in street vendors - to reduce the incidence of food-borne bacteria and to prevent future food-borne outbreaks in the studied area.

Cultural Heritage and Identity: The Case Study of Luxor City, Egypt

Cultural Heritage and Identity: The Case Study of Luxor City, Egypt

Geo-Environmental Estimation of Land Use Changes and Its Effects on Egyptian Temples at Luxor City

Over the years, the Egyptian temples at Luxor city have been intensely investigated, but most of these studies just focused on the classical sides of the archaeological and historical descriptions. Many of the environmental problems are the inevitable results of the unplanned urban crawling around the monuments temples. This paper aims at assessing the environmental changes around some temples of Luxor City using remote sensing and GIS techniques. In particular, a historical database made up of Corona and Landsat TM data have been investigated along with the new acquisitions of Quickbird 2 and Sentinel 2. Results from our investigation highlighted rapid changes in urban and agricultural areas, which adversely affected the Egyptian monumental temples causing serious degradation phenomena. Using the information obtained from our RS&GIS based analysis, mitigation strategies have been also identified for supporting the preservation of the archaeological area.

Monitoring the Environmental Risks Around Medinet Habu and Ramesseum Temple at West Luxor, Egypt, Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

Today, the preservation of cultural heritage is a pressing issue especially for territories subjected to a long period of human action that could adversely influence environment and heritage properties, thus producing a deterioration of archaeological features and alteration of historical landscape. In this paper, the environmental risks and their effects on preservation issues are investigated for the archaeological area of the Luxor city (south of Egypt) where the most famous Temples in Egypt are located. A comprehensive analysis has been conducted for the Ramesseum and Medinet Habu temples considering their building material and characteristics, environmental (geological and hydrological) setting, and past and ongoing changes around the monument areas. Satellite multitemporal images have been used to detect all the changes mainly linked to the expansion of urban and agriculture areas. Results from the analysis conducted along with in situ investigations have suggested that many of the environmental problems around the archaeological areas are coming as a result of urban and agriculture sprawling. Both of them strongly influence the distribution in the levels of groundwater which along with temperature are considered as the main causes of the deterioration process affecting the Medinet Habu and Ramesseum temple. The degree of weathering damage appears to be much more dependent on exposure characteristics of the investigation areas, especially as related to salt weathering processes. Innovative solutions to support the preservation of these temples are herein presented and discussed.

AFLATOXIN M1 RESIDUES IN RUMINANTS MILK IN LUXOR GOVERNORATE

This study was carried out to investigate aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in raw milk of ruminant animals (cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats and camels) in Luxor Governorate to know any of these species milk is contaminated by the toxin and to determine its concentration to avoid its harmful effect on consumers' health. A total number of 165 milk samples were collected from various villages at the main three cities in Luxor Governorate (Esna, Armant and Luxor cities) in winter season 2015-2016 (11 milk samples from each species per city) and the samples had been analyzed by ELIZA test kits. The obtained results revealed that AFM1 levels were lower than previous surveys in Egypt. The percent of positive milk samples in all species were 32.7, 58.18 and 56.36% from Esna, Armant and Luxor cities, respectively. AFM1 could not be detected in sheep and goat samples from Esna, camel and goat samples from Armant and camel samples from Luxor city. Overall, the percent of positive milk samples in all cities from Luxor Governorate were 66.6% (22 out 33) in cows, 63.6% (21 out 33) in buffaloes, 15.2% (5 out 33) in camels, 66.7% (22 out 33) in sheep and 33.3% (11 out 33) in goats. AFM1 mean values in milk samples of cows, buffaloes, camels, sheep and goats were 4.518, 1.951, 0.091, 2.966 and 0.582 ng/l respectively. The highest mean value of AFM1 (10.953 ng/l) was found in cow's milk from Armant followed by sheep milk from Luxor (6.811ng/l) then buffaloes milk from Armant (4.005 ng/l). The highest value of AFM1 (14.307 ng/l) was detected in cow's milk from Armant city followed by (13.177 ng/l) in buffaloes milk from Luxor. Concerning the health hazard for consumers, no milk samples exceeded the permissible limits of the US regulations (500ng/l) and the European Commission regulations (50ng/l), while all positive samples of raw milk are exceeding Egyptian regulations (free from AFM1). In conclusion, high prevalence of AFM1 in milk from Luxor Governorate indicated that the contamination of raw milk is very high and this due to the contamination of feedstuffs of these animals with AFB1. Because of these findings, we need to survey aflatoxins incidence and levels in feedstuffs and milk during all seasons of the year in this areas.