Are you in Cairo March 13? No? A pity, as you’ll miss a very interesting talk. Here’s the abstract.

Egypt from above: Using Google Earth to explore Egypt’s history and culture

Google Earth has not just revolutionized how we access geographical information; it has also made it possible for anyone to publish such information online. With most of Egypt now shown in high resolution, Google Earth is an especially useful tool for exploring the country’s cultural and historical patrimony in new and compelling ways. From 3D models of ancient Egyptian temples to panoramic photos of modern day archaeological sites to a tour of 40-million year-old whale fossils, this talk looks at all the ways in which both amateurs and professionals are using Google Earth to make Egypt come alive geographically.

Yes, I’ve been corralled by my egyptologist friends into giving that talk, to be held at 6pm on Thursday, March 13 at the Netherlands Flemish Institute in Cairo, part of their popular ongoing weekly lecture series.

It will be interesting to look at the myriad of Google Earth’s default layers and third-party KML files through the prism of a single country. That said, if you have anything neogeographical related to Egypt that you think I absolutely should include in the talk, do let me know about it.