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VIVIANNE ROWAN ANCIENT EGYPT/ HISTORIAN AND EXPERIENCED CRUISE LECTURER AND DESTINATION SPEAKER

 

From an early age I have always held a fascination for the history of ancient civilisations, always wanting to understand "how they began their culture and development." I was particularly interested in ancient Egypt and its surrounding neighbours and civilisations.

After a successful career in accounts management I took early retirement to concentrate and pursue my interests, initially in ancient Egypt and later civilisations geographically based within in the red sea and Mediterranean areas.  After studying via open learning and residential studies via Manchester, Liverpool and oxford universities, I gained diplomas and certificates in Egyptology and hieroglyphs.

I had the fortunate experience to work on special "hands on " projects at the Egyptian museum in Cairo under the supervision of Dr Zawi  Hawass, and have also worked in the Petrie Museum In UCLA.

I have travelled extensively in pursuit of my interest, visiting many of the ancient sites around the Mediterranean and Red Sea areas, on a number of occasions acting as a guide. I lived in Cairo for a short period and have visited Egypt some seventy times.

For a number of years I have been giving enrichment lectures on cruise ships, always endeavouring to deliver my lectures to suit the audience making them interesting, informative and most importantly enjoyable.

Additional to my experience on cruise ships I teach and run courses for the Worker's Education Authority on ancient Egypt and its surrounding civilisations and have given talks and lectures to schools and voluntary organisations.

The cruise ships I have lectured on are: Thompson, Celebrity Eclipse and Infinity, Royal Caribbean, Holland America Rotterdam and Princendam, Saga, Princess cruises Pacific Princess, P&O cruises, Aurora and the Oriana.

 

TOPICS 

 

1) THE HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT. This talk tells the beginnings of Ancient Egypt, the importance of the River Nile which enabled the Egyptian people to farm and build houses. It also covers the gods and goddesses and their importance in the Egyptian way of life, the story behind 5 of the most important gods.

 

2) IN SEARCH OF A TOMB. The story of Howard Carter and his trials and tribulations in his search for the tomb of Tutankhamen, the discovery of the tomb and his relationship with Lord Carnarvon. This talk is shown in Black/White photographs from the records of Howard Carter books. (accessible on the internet). 

 

3)THE TREASURE OF TWO PHARAOHS. The story of Tutankhamen, his treasures in full colour (they were seen in b/w in the previous talk). I also cover the story of The silver Pharaoh in this talk as his treasures were just as comparable as Tutankhamen's but little is known about him as he was found in world war II and was forgotten.

 

4) HOW, WHY, AND WHEN This covers the Pyramids, how they were built, why they were built and when they were built and for whom.

 

5) ANCIENT INVENTIONS STILL IN USE TODAY. Ancient inventions that are still in use today such as toothpaste, batteries, make up, and lots of others that people wouldn't think of. In this talk I get the audience involved which is very popular.

6) THE HISTORY OF THE SUEZ CANAL. This tells the complete history of the Suez canal from its beginning to the present day statistics. I have also had the honour of being asked would I go in the bridge and give a running commentary to all the passengers on historic points as we transited the canal last year.

 

7) THE ANCIENT 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD AND THE NEW 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD. This talk covers the Ancient 7 wonders tells their story and it also includes the new 7 wonders which were voted for by the world population on thee 7/7/2007. I also involve the audience to see how many people can name them . Again this proves very popular.

 

8) TEMPLES, TOMBS & HIEROGLYPHS. This gives the history of the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, the discoveries of the tombs, how they were named and who by. The history of the Temples of Karnak & Luxor and which Pharaohs built them.

 

9) THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE. Is a series of lectures of the construction of a city that would influence the world for over a 1000 yrs and the birth of a civilisation that would take history from antiquity to the renaissance period. The Byzantine Empire covers the rise of Constantine the 1st emperor of the Byzantine empire his life, achievements and one of them being the first to adopt Christianity and the construction of Constantinople. The empire at its height under the rule of Justinian & Theodora, its conflicts. The fall of Constantinople and the beginning of the end of the byzantine empire by Turkish ruler Mehmet 2nd. The great schism In 1054. The art and architecture still around today.

 

10) Pryamids from around the world

 

11) The Vikings Myths & Legends

 

There are many more lectures I can put together to suit all itineraries. 

 

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