Sharm el-Sheikh "City of Peace" ... How to design a simple invitation card bu yourself with Illustrator.

 Sharm el-Sheikh is one of the most popular tourist places in the Arab world. But there are also some very good reasons to visit it if you are not the common tourist, who likes to lie on the beach all day. It is one of the finest diving spots in the world and a trip into the desert is an unforgettable adventure. 

Sharm el-Sheikh card

Sharm el-Sheikh is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 35,000 (2008). It is popular with package holiday makers and divers.

Its Name 
 Sharm el-Sheikh is sometimes called the "City of Peace", referring to the large number of international peace conferences that have been held there.It is also transliterated as Sharm ash- Shaykh and popularly known simply as "Sharm".It means bay of the Sheikh.

Its History and Geography 
 Sharm el-Sheikh is on a promontory overlooking the Straits of Tiran at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba
About 40 years ago, Sharm el-Sheikh was nothing but a small fishing village with about 100 Bedouin citizens,but its strategic importance led to its transformation from a fishing village into a major port .
Sharm el-Sheikh city has been subdivided into five homogeneous centers, namely Nabq, Ras Nusrani, Naama Bay, Umm Sid and Sharm El Maya[ Na'ama Bay part of the city is the center of nightlife and dining: most of Sharm's clubs, cafes, restaurants and shops are here].There is also an airport in Sharm el-Sheikh. Sharm el-Sheikh Airport is the largest in the Sinai, and receives plane-loads of charter tourists daily in the winter high season. The only airline for local flights is Egypt Air .
The land plan shows that the total area of Sharm el-Sheikh is expected to be about 42 square kilometres by the year 2017.

 During the 2011 Egyptian protests, President Hosni Mubarak reportedly went to Sharm el-Sheikh and resigned there on 11 February 2011.

Climate 
 The average temperatures during the winter months (November to March) range from 15 to 35 degrees Celsius (59-95°F) and during the summer months (April to October) from 20 to 45 degrees Celsius (68-113°F). The temperature of the Red Sea in this region ranges from 21 to 28 degrees Celsius (70-84°F) over the course of the year. 

Sharm el-Sheikh's invitation card

Tourism  in Sharm
Sharm el-Sheikh's major industry is foreign and domestic tourism, owing to its dramatic landscape, year-round dry and temperate climate and long stretches of natural beaches. Its waters are clear and calm for most of the year and have become popular for various watersports, particularly recreational scuba diving and snorkeling which some consider to be among the best in the world.There is great scope for scientific tourism with diversity in marine life species; 250 different coral reefs and 1000 species of fish.

Diving
 Diving is the main activity in Sharm el-Sheikh. When you dive into the warm water of the Red Sea and leave the remote desert behind, you will enter a world full of life and colors.


 After all of what I had mentioned about Sharm I decided to design an invitation card with its name .That you can fold like a book in the middle .
The card is designed with illustrator ,and the picture with photo-shop.I hope you will like both .

 HOW TO DESIGN WITH ILLUSTRATOR .  

Lotus Flowers with Illustrator Card Design

 Lotus flower has often been described as the most exquisite wishes of the Mother Nature for the mankind. 

The Meaning Of The Word Lotus

My Illustrator  card design

 Lotus flowers have been influential in cultures across the world from ancient times until today,
from ancient Egypt and India to all across Asia. They have been associated with the human soul, gods and goddesses and featured in stories and legends.  

 To the ancient Egyptians, a lotus bud was a symbol of rebirth and fertility. It closes in the evening and falls to the water, but in the morning it opens and is lifted above the surface.Its behaviour emulates that of the sun. Because of this rising and setting, it is also a symbol of death and rebirth.


 The lotus( The blue water lily) was commonly used in art as a symbol of Upper Egypt. It was combined with  the long stems papyrus flower (the symbol of Lower Egypt) as a representation of the unification of the two lands ( Upper and Lower Egypt).It  was shown throughout Egypt in tombs and temples to symbolize the union of Upper and Lower Egypt, but the blue water lily had a much deeper significance to the Egyptian people.


 The god of the blue water lily was Nefertem, a god not just linked to the sun but to beautification and healing.It was he who brought a water lily to the sun god Ra, to help ease the suffering of his aging body. The perfume of this flower was not only pleasing to the Egyptians, but they saw it as healing as well .Scenes show women holding the water lily and people being offered the flower at parties, smelling its divine fragrance. Some people today believe that the Egyptians used this plant as a narcotic both for its healing qualities and as a recreational drug when soaked in wine, though this is a hotly debated topic.

 The blue water lily was possibly also a symbol of sexuality -  the flower "has a sort of Viagra effect". Women were wooed with the blue water lily.
 The flower wasn't just used at parties, but it was used at funerals.Tutankhamen's innermost gold coffin had blue water lily petals scattered over it along with a few other floral tributes.The Egyptians looked forward to their souls coming to life "like a water lily reopening", thinking that the deceased died as the water lily closed awaiting opening with the morning sun. The Book of the Dead has a spell to allow the deceased to transform into one of these flowers.  
 As a general The Lotus flower basically symbolizes the clarity of heart as well as the mind. In other words the Lotus flower represents strength, good luck, long life as well as honor and respect. Some scholars have even talked of the lotus flower being a universal representation of the spiritual presence in human lives. 


The Appearance:
 In Egypt, two native species of lotus grew, the white lotus and the blue lotus. A third type, the pink lotus was introduced to the country from Persia during the Late period. All three species were depicted in Egyptian art the pink lotus showed up in Hellenistic artworks, however the sacred blue lotus was the flower most commonly used and the one depicted in the hieroglyph. 

The Card Design. 
This is Illustrator design.