Luxor Travel Information

Ramses the Second

2008-12-02T03:37:00.000-08:00

Everything about Ramses II has to have the suffix "the Great" added. He reigned for a very long period, 67 years, and died in his 90s, at a time when the life expectancy was in the late thirties or early forties. Ramses the Second, also known as Ramesses the Great and alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses is the greatest pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, and one of the most well known Egyptian kings, comparable in fame tAs with most pharaohs, Ramses the Great had two royal names, and about a hundred epithets, such as "The Great Bull, Beloved of Maat, Protector of Egypt, Conqueror of Foreign Lands, Rich in Years, Rich in Victories, Lord of the Two Lands, and so on.
The two most important, his prenomen (king name) and nomen (birth name) are transliterated as User Maat Re Setep en Re and Ra Meses Meri Amen, respectively. It translates as "Powerful one of Maat, the Justice of Ra is Powerful, chosen of Ra, Ra bore him, beloved of Amen".
The pharaoh had four Royal Wives, a large harem and fathered about 80 children. His most beloved and venerated wife was Nefertari. Ramses outlived many of his sons and daughters. Merneptah, his 13th son, eventually succeeded him.
Early in his reign, Ramses the Second decided to attack territory in the Levant which belonged to a more substantial enemy, the Hittite Empire. At the Second Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC towards the end of the fourth year of his reign, Egyptian forces under his leadership marched through the coastal road through Canaan and south Syria through the Bekaa Valley and approached Kadesh from the south. Ramses planned to seize the citadel of Kadesh which belonged to king Muwatallis of the Hittite Empire. The battle almost turned into a disaster, but with bravery at the command of his Amen Brigade and the reinforcement of the Ptah Brigade, Ramses managed to turn the tide of battle against the Hittites. Egypt's sphere of influence was now restricted to Canaan while Syria fell into Hittite hands. Over the ensuing years, Ramses the Second would return to campaign against the Hittites. However, neither power could decisively defeat the other in battle. Consequently, in the twenty-first year of his reign (1258 BC), Ramses decided to conclude an agreement with the new Hittite king at Kadesh, Hattusili III, to end the conflict. The ensuing document is the earliest known peace treaty in world history.
Ramses II drove his attention to campaigning south of the first cataract into Nubia and into massive monument building, including the renowned archeological complex of Abu Simbel, and the mortuary temple known as the Ramesseum. It is said that there are more statues of him in existence than of any other Egyptian pharaoh, not surprising as he was the second-longest-reigning Pharaoh of Egypt after Pepi II. A colossal statue of Ramses the Second of Egypt was taken from a temple in Memphis. reconstructed and erected in 1955 on Ramses Square in Cairo, a well known tourist spot. In August 2006, contractors moved the 3,200-year-old statue from Ramses Square to save it from exhaust fumes that were causing the 83-ton statue to deteriorate. The new site will be located near the future Grand Egyptian Museum. The mummy of Ramses the Great is the most famous attraction in the collection of Royal Mummies at the Egyptian Museum.
In 1995, Professor Kent Weeks, head of the Theban Mapping Project rediscovered Tomb KV5. It has proven to be the largest tomb in the Valley of the Kings which originally contained the mummified remains of some of the pharaoh's estimated 52 sons. Approximately 150 corridors and tomb chambers have been located in this tomb as of 2006 and the tomb may contain as many as 200 corridors and chambers.o King Tutankhamen.

Amen-Ra

2008-11-22T23:27:00.000-08:00

The definiteness of the assertions of this composition suggest that it formed the creed of the worshipers of Amen-Ra, fro every one of them appears to have been made with the express purpose of contradicting the pretensions urged by the priests of other gods, e.g., Aten and Osiris ; and an examination of the sentences will show that Amen is made the universe. It is,however, important to note that he is not in any way identified with Osiris in this text, a fact which seems to indicate that the national god of the Resurrection in Egypt was ignored by the priests of Amen who composed the contents of Nesi-Khensu's papyrus. From what has been said as to the importance of Amen-Ra it will be evident that a large number of shrines of this god must have lived chiefly upon the endowments which the pious Egyptians had provided for gods other than he. We may now consider the various forms in which Amen-Ra is depicted on monuments and papyri. His commonest form is that of a strong-bearded man who appears upon his head lofty double plumes, the various sections of which are colored alternately red and green, or red and blue ; round his neck he wears a deep collar necklace, and his close-fitting tunic is supported by elaborately worked shoulder-straps. His arm and wrists are provided with armlets and bracelets, in his right hand is the symbol of life, and his left the scepter. Hanging from his tunic is the tail of some animal, the custom of wearing which by gods and kings was common in Egypt in the earliest times. In this form his title is "Amen-Ra, lord of the thrones of the two lands,". Instead of the sign of life, he sometimes holds the khepesh war knife, in his right hand. At times he is given the head of a hawk which is surmounted by the solar disk encircled by a serpent as "Amen-Ra-Temu in Thebes" he has the head of a man surmounted by the solar disk encircled by a serpent ; before him is the ankh, which is provided with human legs and arms, offering lotus flowers to the god. Thus he becomes the god both of Heliopolis and Thebes" In many scenes we find Amen-Ra with the head of a ram, when he usually wears the solar disk, plumes, and uraeus at times, however, he wears the disk and urauus or the disk only. In this form he is called "Amen-Ra, lord of the thrones of the two lands, the "dweller in Thebes, the great god appeareth in the horizon," or "Amen-Ra, lord of the thrones of the two lands, governor of "Ta-Kenset {Nubia}." Another form of Amen-Ra is that in which he is represented with the body of the ithyphallic god Amsu, or Min, or Khem, i.e., as the personification of the power of generation. In this form he wears either the customary disk and plumes, or the united crowns of the South and North, and has one hand and arm raised to support, which holds above his shoulder ; he is called "Amen-Ra, the bull of his mother," and possesses all the attributes of Fa-a, i.e., the god of the lifted hand,. IN one of the examples reproduced by Lanzone Amen-Ra in his ithyphallic form stands by the side of a pylon-shaped building, on the top of which are two trees, an the side of a large lotus flower ; the lotus flower represents the rising sun, which was supposed to issue daily from between two trees. In another form Amen-Ra has the head of a crocodile, and he wears the crown which is composed of the solar disk, plumes and horns, and is called the "disposer of the life of Ra and the years of Temu." Finally,the god was somtimes represented in the form of a goose ; the animal sacred to him in many parts of Egypt, and all over Nubia, was the ram. In very late dynastic times, especially in the Ptolamaic period, it became customary to make figures of Amen-Ra in bronze in which every important attribute of the god was represented. In these he has the bearded head of a man, the body of a beetle with the wings of a hawk, the legs of a man with the toes and claws of a lion, and is provided with four hands and arms, and four wings, the last named being extended. One hand, which is stretched along the wing, grasps the symbols, the knives, another is raised to support, after the manner of the "god of the lifted hand" a third holds the symbol of generation and fertility ; and the fourth is lifted to his head. The face of the god is, in reality, that of the solar disk, from which proceed the heads and necks of eight rams. Resting on the disk is a pair of ram's horns, with a disk on each , and stretching upwards are the two characteristics plumes of the god Amen. From the tip of each of these projects a lion-headed uraeus which ejects moisture from its mouth. This form of the god was a production probably of the period immediately following the XXVIth Dynasty, but some modifications of it are not so old. The idea which underlines the figure is that of representing the pact or company of the gods, of which Amen was the chief, and of showing pictorially how every one of the oldest gods of Egypt was contained in him. In the Saite Recension of the Book of the Dead we find several passages to Amen, or Amen-Ra, which appear to belong to the same period, and as they illustrate the growth of a set of new ides about the god Amen, some of them being probably of Nubian origin, they are reproduced here. The first is found in the Rubric to Chapter clxii, which contains the texts to be recited over the amulet of the cow, and was composed with the view of keeping heat in the body of the deceased in the Underworld. The first address is made to the god PAR, which is clearly a form of Amen-Ra, for he is called "lord of plumes," "lord of transformations, whose skin {i.e., complexions} are manifold," the "god of many names," "the mighty runner of mighty strides," etc. The second address is to the Cow Ahat, i.e.,the goddess Meh-urt or Net, who made a picture of herself and placed it under the head of Ra when he was setting one evening, and is the petition which is to be said when a similar amulet is placed under the head of the deceased, and runs, "O Amen, O Amen, who art in "heaven, turn thy face upon the dead body of thy son, and make "him sound strong in the Underworld." In Chapter clxiii. we have the second message as follows :--- "Hail, Amen, thou divine Bull Scarab, "thou lord of the two Utchats, thy name is Hes-Tchefetch, the Osiris {i.e., the deceased} is the "emanation of thy two Utchats, one of which is called Share- " Shapuneterika. The magical name of the deceased is "Shaka-Amen-Shakanasa er hatu Tem sehetch-nef-taui," and on his behalf the following prayer is made :-- "Grant that he may be of the land of Maat, let him not "be left in his condition of solitude, for he belongeth to this land "wherein he will no linger apppear, and 'An' {?] is his "name. O let him be perfect spirit, or {as others say} a strong "spirit, and let him be the soul of the mighty body which is in "Sau {Sais}, the city of Net {Neith}." The third passage is Chapter clxv., which really a petition to Amen-Ra by the deceased wherein the most powerful of the magical names of the god are enumerated. The vignette of the chapter contains the figure of an ithyphallic god with the body of a beetle ; on his head are the characteristic plumes of Amen, and his right arm is raised like that of Amsu, or Min, the god of the reproductive powers of nature. The text reads, Hail, Prince, Prince ! "Hail Amen, Hail Amen ! Hail Par, Hail Iukasa ! Hail God, Prince of the gods of the eastern "parts of heaven, Amen-Nathekerethi-Amen. Kail,, thou whose skin is hidden, whose "form is secret, thou lord of the two horns {who wast born of} "Nut, thy name is Arethi-kasathi-ka, and thy name is Amen-naiu-an-ka-entek-share, "or Thekshare-Amen-Rerethi,. Hail, Amen, let me make supplication unto thee, "for I know thy name, and {the mention of} thy transformations "is in my mouth, and thy skin is before mine eyes. Come, I pray "thee, and place thou thine heir and thine image, myself in the "everlasting underworld. Grant thou that all my members may "repose in Neter-khertet {the underworld}, or {as others say} "in Akertet {the underworld} ; let my whole body become like unto that of a god, let escape from the civil chamber and let "me not be imprisoned therein ; for I worship thy name. Thou "hast made for me skin, and thou hast understood {my} speech, 'and thou knowest it exceedingly well. Hidden "is thy name, O Letashaka, "and I have made for thee a skin. Thy name is Marqatha, thy name is Rerei, thy name is Nasaqebubu, thy name is Thanasa- "Thanasa, thy name is Sharshathakatha. "O Amen, O Amen, O God, O God, O Amen, I adore thy "name, grant thou to me that I may understand thee ; grant "thou that I may have peace in the Tuat {underworld}, and that "I may possess all my members therein." And the divine Soul which is in Nut saith, "I will make my divine strength to protect "thee, and I will perform everything which thou hast said." This interesting text was ordered to be recited over a figure of the "god of the lifted hand," i.e., of Amen in his character of the god generation and reproduction, painted blue, and the knowledge of it was to be kept from the god Sukati, in the Tuat ; if the directions given in the rubric were properly carried out it would enable the deceased to drink water in the underworld from the deepest and purest part of the celestial stream, and he would become "like the stars in the heavens above." A perusal of the above composition shows that we are dealing with a class of ideas concerning Amen, or Amen-Ra, which, though clearly based on ancient Egyptian beliefs, are peculiar to the small group of Chapters which are found at the end of the Saite Recension of the Book of the Dead. The forms of the magical names of Amen are not Egyptian, and they appear to indicate, as the late Dr., Birch said, a Nubian origin. The fact that the Chapters with the above prayers in them are found in a papyrus containing so complete a copy of the Siate Recension proves that they were held to be of considerable importance in the Ptolemaic period, and they probably represented beliefs which were wide-spread at that time. Long before that, however Amen-Ra was unidentified with Horus in all forms, and Ra in all forms, and Osiris in all forms, and the fathers and mothers of these gods were declared to be his ; he was also made to be the male counterpart of all the very ancient goddess of the South and the North, and the paternity of their offspring was attributed to him.

Live the dream

2008-11-18T23:56:00.000-08:00

If you choose to go on a Nile cruise, make sure that the cruise is taken as “all inclusive”, i.e. accommodation, tours and transportation! This option is the best way for you to see all the possible Temples on route.
I would personally recommend, for health and safety reasons, to choose only the five star+ Nile cruises !.
The cost for one nights accommodation, ranges between $70 and $180, per person, per night in a double room.
There are more than 220 Nile cruisers on the Nile between Luxor and Aswan, including 4 star, standard 5 star, deluxe and imperial Ultra deluxe.
Your cabin location
Prices of accommodation depends largely on which deck you have chosen to stay, staying in the lower decks is generally cheaper than “styling it” on the upper deck. Try and obtain a plan of the boat before you book.
Your cabin will be fitted with air-conditioning and a TV set.
Try and avoid engine notice and fumes. Any good cruise boat will keep the cabins that are closer to the engine, for the staff! The guests staying away from engine noise.
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There are 3 types of cruises:
1- Three nights cruise - ==> Usually departs from Aswan to Luxor.
The cruise includes the following visits:
Aswan: The High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and the Temple of Philae Kom Ombo: Visit the Temple of Kom Ombo Edfu: visit the Temple of Edfu Esna: visit the Esna Temple Luxor: visit the west bank in Luxor to see, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, and the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut *This is a short cruise, good for those who want to get just the cruise experience.
Please Note: It is very important to have a tourist guide onboard during your cruise visits.
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2- Four nights cruise - Usually departs from Luxor to Aswan.
The cruise includes the following visits:
· Luxor: visit the west bank to see, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, and the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Then visit the east bank to see, the Temple of Luxor and the Temple of Karnak.
Esna: visit the Esna Temple Edfu: visit the Temple of Edfu Kom Ombo: visit the Temple of Kom Ombo Aswan: visit the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and the Temple of Philae Felucca boat outing to visit the Botanical Island, a trip to a Nubian village (options) Visit to Elephantine Island and the Tombs of the Nobles (optional) *This is a Medium range type cruise, good for those who want more of the cruise experience.
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3- Seven nights cruise - Either Luxor to Aswan or Aswan to Luxor.
This scheme basically includes all the visits mentioned above, but divided over 7 nights, which gives you 2 free nights to relax. It is very good choice for those who seek full relaxation.
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Please Note: Each time you go ashore (on all cruises), you will be given a boarding pass. to help you identify your boat, as well it helps the boats crew know they have all guests back on board, so that they can continue with the next segment of the cruise. Don’t lose it! Keep it in a safe place and hand it to reception each time you come back from a tour.
The following chart will explain to you what you should visit during the various cruise schemes

Click on picture to enlarge
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What You Should Know While On A Cruise
Food on board :
Accommodation aboard the cruise boats is on full board basis. All meals are included and are in an open buffet style, some days there are many varieties, depending of the type and quality of the cruise boat; these meals are served with a fixed timetable.
Tea and coffee is available, while on the move, every day at 5:00 pm. Other drinks are offered in the bar area.
Nightlife:
Every day there is a full entertainment programme, which differs from one boat to the other. On most cruise trips that I have conducted, the first day is usually a cocktail party, run by the boat, where they offer free drinks and introduce the staff on board. This party is also called “the manager’s party”, where the manager introduces his crew to the guests on board; don’t forget to wear formal clothes during this party!
Another night there is a “Galabia party”, where you will be encouraged to get Egyptian outfits and wear the local Galabia. During such parties, some games are conducted; the tour guides on board run the party, which offers much fun!! To buy a Galabia will cost you around 50 LE, but if you do not wish to buy one, you can hire one from the bazaar shop located on board.
Another night will have a Nubian show, where you will see Nubian dancers and singers in their local outfit.
The last evening’s entertainment is usually has: a belly dancing show, a juggler’s show, and local singers and bands.
There are many bazaars outside the Temples that you will be visit during your cruise. Don’t forget to haggle hard!
Your dress onboard:
During the daytime, while enjoying the tours, you can wear whatever you like, though due to the extreme heat it is recommended you wear lightweight clothes. While relaxing on board you may wear shorts and swimming costumes, if you wish. Breakfast and lunch can be taken dressed like this, but for dinner, please wear smarter clothes!
How to pay your Extras:
All extras such as drink, laundry, and telephones bills, should be settled on the last day of your cruise at check out time. Payment can be made with credit cards, traveller’s cheque, or cash. Make sure you have enough cash, just in case your card is not working properly.
Please note: Many cruise boats do not accept personal cheques or money orders!many don't like travellers checks as well
Tipping:
Don’t forget to leave tips for the cruise staff, not less than $ 5-8 USD PER PERSON PER DAY!
So for 3 nights cruise it should be 15-25 USD per person So for 3 nights cruise it should be 20-35 USD per person So for 7 nights cruise it should be 35-55 USD per person These tipping should be given to the boat, place them in an envelope and be over boat reception. This money later will be distributed evenly among the crew onboard. This way each person will get his fair share.
Please Note: this does not include tipping to your Tourist Guide, this should is separate, and it is entirely up to you to decide the size of tip that you will give to him/her.
Know that these are only guidelines, gratuities are personal matter and tipping is entirely at the discretion of the individuals.
Health and Safety onboard cruise ships:
All Nile cruise boats are equipped with safety features and life jackets are normally placed under your cabin bed.
During the daytime, while enjoying the tours, you can wear whatever you like, though due to the extreme heat it is recommended you wear lightweight clothes. While relaxing on board you may wear shorts and swimming costumes, if you wish. But beware of too much exposure to the sun! Apply plenty of high factor sun block!
You should avoid drinking large amounts of alcohol especially if you have equilibrium problems. You are not just putting yourself at peril, but also the other guests and staff too. People with equilibrium problems should not spend too much time on deck at night, on a fast moving ship; it is dangerous in case you fall over. Smoking in bed is dangerous; the mattresses are very flammable! People who tend to sleep walk should never take a cabin with a balcony, an inside cabin with a window would be far safer. Make sure that you know where the muster stations are, in case you have to abandon ship. If you get sick whilst on board, some cruise boats have a resident doctor on board. If not, they have doctors assigned in each town that can be called on in case of emergency. If you need some more heath and safety tips, please read my health page to know more about health and safety on board a Nile cruise.

History of Egypt ( 3 )

2008-11-17T21:52:00.000-08:00

The Time of Muhammad Ali:

The French occupation of Egypt in 1798, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, was a brief interlude, for the French never acquired full dominion or control. The grain-producing regions of Upper Egypt remained in Mameluke hands. Napoleon's invasion was too short-lived to have any lasting impact, but it marked the beginning of a renewed European interest in Egypt. In 1801 an Anglo-Ottoman force expelled the French. For the next few years, struggles between Mamelukes and Ottomans for mastery ruined the country until Muhammad Ali, an Ottoman general of Albanian origin, seized power with the cooperation of the local population. In 1805 the Ottoman sultan declared him the governor of Egypt.

Muhammad Ali, a man of genius, slowly and methodically destroyed or bought off all his opponents until he became the only source of power in the country. To gain control of all the trade routes into Egypt, he embarked on wars of expansion. He first conquered Al Hijaz (the Hejaz, now in Saudi Arabia) in 1819 and Sudan from 1820 to 1822; by 1824 he was ready to help the Ottoman sultan put down an insurrection in Greece. The European powers, however, intervened to halt Egyptian advances in Greece, and Muhammad Ali was forced to withdraw his army.At home, Muhammad Ali encouraged the production of cotton to supply the textile mills of Europe, and he used the profits to finance industrial projects. He established a monopoly over all commodities and imposed trade barriers to nurture industry. He sent Egyptians abroad for technical education and hired experts from Europe to train his army and build his manufacturing industries (which, however, were never as successful as he hoped they would be).In 1831 Muhammad Ali invaded Syria, thereby coming into conflict with his Turkish overlord. The Egyptians defeated the Ottoman armies, and by 1833 they were threatening the Turkish capital, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). Once again, Russia, Britain, and France intervened, this time to protect the sultan. Muhammad Ali's forces withdrew, but he was left in control of Syria and Crete.Egyptian expansion and control over trade routes conflicted with Britain's growing interest in the Middle East as a market for its burgeoning industrial production. The threat to the integrity of the Ottoman Empire also disturbed Britain and roused fears of Russian encroachment in the Mediterranean. For these reasons the British opposed Egypt, and when Muhammad Ali again rebelled against the sultan in 1839, they stepped in for the third time to make him back down. He was offered hereditary possession of Egypt, but had to give up his other conquests and remain an Ottoman vassal.Bankruptcy and Foreign influence After the death of Muhammad Ali in 1849, Egypt came increasingly under European influence. His son, Said Pasha, made some attempt to modernize the government, but left a huge debt when he died. His successor, Ismail , increased the national debt by borrowing lavishly from European bankers to develop the country and pay for the Suez Canal, which was opened in 1869. These spendthrift rulers drove the country into bankruptcy and ultimately into the control of their British and French creditors. In 1876 an Anglo-French commission took charge of Egypt's finances, and in 1879 the sultan deposed Ismail in favor of his son Tawfik Pasha. Army officers, disgusted by the government's weakness, then led a rebellion to end foreign control. Tawfik appealed to the British for help, and they occupied Egypt in 1882.Egypt Under the British:British interest in Egypt stemmed from the Suez Canal as the short route to India. Promises to evacuate the country once order had been restored were broken, and the British army remained in occupation until 1954. Although Tawfik remained on the throne as a figurehead prince, the British consul general was the real ruler of the country. The first and most important consul general was Sir Evelyn Baring (known after 1892 as Lord Cromer).A nationalist movement led by Mustafa Kamil, a European-educated lawyer, was backed by Tawfik's successor, Abbas II, during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Kamil agitated for self-government and an end to the British occupation but was ignored by British authorities.In this period Egyptian agriculture was so completely dominated by cotton grown to feed the textile mills of Lancashire, England, that grain had to be imported to feed the rural population. Irrigation projects were carried out to increase the arable land, and in due course the entire debt to Britain was paid.British promises to evacuate diminished as Egypt and the Suez Canal became an integral part of British Mediterranean defense policy. The illegal occupation was, in fact, internationally sanctioned in 1904, when France recognized British rights in Egypt in return for British acknowledgment of French rights in Morocco.Protectorate Declared: The outbreak of World War I in 1914 brought nationalist activities in Egypt to an end. When Turkey entered the war on the side of Germany, Britain declared Egypt a protectorate and deposed Abbas II in favor of his uncle, Hussein Kamil, who was given the title of sultan. Legal ties between Egypt and Turkey were finally severed, and Britain promised Egypt some changes in government once the war was over.The war years resulted in great hardship for Egyptian peasants, the fellahin, who were conscripted to dig ditches and whose livestock was confiscated by the army. Inflation was rampant. These factors were responsible for increasing resentment against the British and set the stage for the violent upheaval that was to come after World War I ended in 1918.llied promises that former Ottoman territories would be allowed self-determination raised hopes in Egypt of independence once the war was over. A new nationalist movement, the Wafd (“delegation”), was formed in 1918 to plan for the country's future. Hopes were dashed when Britain refused to consider Egyptian needs, and Saad Zaghlul, the leader of the Wafd, was exiled. The country erupted in violent revolt, and Britain was forced to reconsider its decision. Zaghlul was released, but his efforts to get a hearing at the Paris Peace Conference were thwarted by the British. Violence continued until 1922, when Britain unilaterally declared Egypt an independent monarchy under Hussein's successor, who became king as Fuad I. The British, however, reserved the right to intervene in Egyptian affairs if their interests were threatened, thereby robbing Egypt of any real independence and allowing British control to continue unabated.The new constitution of 1924 set up a bic

ameral legislature but, under pressure from the British and Fuad, gave the latter the right to nominate the premier and to suspend Parliament. The result was a tripartite struggle for mastery over Egypt involving the king, the British ambassador, and the Wafd, which was the only grass-roots party. One government after another fell after trying unsuccessfully to extract concessions from the British. In 1936, under pressures caused by the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, an Anglo-Egyptian treaty was finally signed, but it continued the physical occupation of Egypt by the British army and the involvement of the British army in internal affairs.The Coup of 1952World War II (1939-1945) suspended further political bargaining. The war years brought inflation, interparty strife, and disillusion with the Wafd. Fundamentalist religious organizations, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, and Communist groups developed.In 1948 Egypt and several other Arab states went to war in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the establishment of the state of Israel. Blaming the government for its loss, the army turned against King Faruk, Fuad's son, who showed no aptitude for government and a blatant disregard for public well-being and morality. In 1952 a group of army officers carried out a successful coup d'etat that ousted the king and in 1953 declared Egypt a republic.Egypt as a republic :The first president of the republic, General Muhammad Naguib, was a figurehead. The real leader was Gamal Abdel Nasser of the Revolutionary Command Council, the officers who had plotted the revolution. In April 1954 Nasser became prime minister. In November of that year, Naguib was removed from power, and Nasser assumed complete executive authority. In July 1956 Nasser was officially elected president.At first Nasser followed a pro-Western policy and successfully negotiated the evacuation of British forces from Egypt in 1954. Soon he turned to a policy of neutrality and solidarity with other African and Asian nations and became an advocate of Arab unity.The Suez CrisisIn efforts to acquire armaments, which the Western world would not supply to Egypt, Nasser turned to the Eastern bloc. In retaliation, the World Bank turned down Egypt's request for a loan to finance the Aswan High Dam project. Nasser therefore nationalized the Suez Canal and sought to use its revenues to finance the dam. Angered by that move, Britain and France, the main stockholders in the canal, joined with Israel in attacking Egypt in 1956. Pressure from the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) forced the three countries to evacuate Egyptian territory, and United Nations (UN) forces were placed as a buffer between Egypt and Israel.Pursuing his dream of Arab unity, Nasser in 1958 effected a union between Egypt and Syria under the name of the United Arab Republic. Although it lasted only three years before the Syrians rebelled and reaffirmed their independence, Egypt retained the official name of the republic for many years afterward.Arab SocialismWithin Egypt the Nasser regime suppressed political opposition and established a one-party system as a means of reforming political life. A series of decrees limited land ownership and undermined the authority of the landowning elite. In 1961 foreign capital invested in Egypt was nationalized, as were public utilities and local industries, all of which became part of the public sector. This new order, which Nasser called Arab Socialism, aimed at greater social equality and economic growth. In 1962 a national charter was drawn up, and the official National Union Party was renamed the Arab Socialist Union. Women, who had been emancipated earlier, were elected to the union, as were workers. The first woman cabinet minister was appointed.Wars of the 1960s In 1962 Egypt became embroiled in a civil war in Yemen, backing a republican movement against monarchist forces. This venture cost lives and money and left the country weakened. In 1967 Nasser, continuing the Arab struggle against Israel, closed the Strait of Tiran to Israeli shipping and requested that the UN forces be withdrawn from the border. The Israelis, believing that Nasser was preparing for war, struck first, attacking and destroying Egyptian airfields and positions in the Sinai. Israeli forces advanced until they reached the right bank of the Suez Canal. This Six-Day War left Israel in possession of the whole Sinai Peninsula. The UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories. Israel Did decline and continued to occupy the Sinai. When negotiations seemed to be leading nowhere, Nasser turned to the USSR, which rearmed Egypt in return for a naval base.Nasser died suddenly in 1970. Problems of succession to the post of president were settled when Vice President Anwar El-Sadat, a long-time colleague of Nasser, was chosen to succeed him.The Sadat RegimeSadat was elected by opposing political factions as a compromise candidate, on the assumption that he could be manipulated. The new president, however, outwitted his would-be puppeteers and, with the support of the army, put them under arrest. He freed political prisoners who had been incarcerated by Nasser for opposing his policies, and called for a regime of economic and political liberalization, especially for the press, which Nasser had strictly controlled.The 6th of october war :clashes between Egypt and Israel had continued after 1969, and this “war of attrition” had resulted in high Egyptian casualties and burdensome military expenditures. Sadat tried to find a way out of that impress negotiation. successfully he secretly planned a for a war to free the occupied sinai from Israel. He first repaired his fences with the Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, which financed arms purchases from the Soviet Union. Then, on October 6, 1973, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur and during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan(10th of Ramadan), Egypt launched an air and artillery counterattack across the Suez Canal. Within hours, thousands of Egyptian soldiers had successfully crossed into the Sinai. Protected by a missile umbrella that destroyed Israeli aircrafts, they overran and captured the string of Israeli fortifications known as the Bar-Lev line. Israel was caught unprepared. It was a total victory . By the middle of the month, however, with immidate aid from the united states ,it had regained the initiative and was able to encircle Egyptian units on the outskirts of Suez. The United Nations then imposed a cease-fire, and an armistice line patrolled by UN forces was eventually established between the Egyptian and the Israeli armies.peace treaty with Isreal After the war Sadat was ready for negotiations. In 1974 and 1975 Egypt and Israel concluded agreements—again mediated by Kissinger—providing disengagement on the Sinai front. In June 1975 Egypt reopened the Suez Canal, permitting passage to ships carrying Israeli cargoes. Israel withdrew beyond the strategic passes and from some of the oil fields in the Sinai.Meanwhile, Egypt's economic position was growing rapidly worse; by early 1976 the country's debt to the USSR was estimated at $4 billion. The following year, surprising all, Sadat asked the Soviet military advisers to leave the country and threw his lot in with the United States, declaring it held the key to peace in the Middle East. Even more surprising, on November 19, 1977, Sadat flew to Israel and addressed the Knesset (parliament) . The historic journey was followed by further negotiations under U.S. auspices. At a tripartite conference with U.S. president Jimmy Carter at Camp David, Maryland, in September 1978, Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin agreed on a framework for an Israeli-Egyptian settlement. A peace treaty between the two nations, based on the Camp David accords, was signed in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 1979.Sadat regime :The rest of the Arab world denounced Egypt for making a separate peace with Israel, and some of the more “hard-line” Arab leaders branded Sadat a traitor to the Arab cause. The Sinai was gradually restored to Egypt, but later Egyptian-Israeli talks on a settlement of the Palestinian issue made little progress. Egypt was expelled from the Arab League in 1979 because of the peace treaty, and the league's headquarters were moved from Cairo to Tunis, Tunisia. In 1989 Egypt was readmitted to the league; the headquarters were moved back to Cairo the following year.By 1981 Sadat was meeting increasing opposition within Egypt itself, especially from Muslim fundamentalists, who opposed any accommodation with Israel. Sadat responded with a crackdown, arresting and jailing hundreds of his opponents, and placing restrictions on the press. In such an atmosphere he was assassinated by religious fanatics within his own army on October 6, 1981, during a military parade commemorating the Yom Kippur War.Sadat was succeeded by Vice President Hosni Mubarak. While adhering to the Camp David accords, Mubarak sought political liberalization within Egypt as well as improved relations with other Arab states. Israel completed its withdrawal from the Sinai on April 25, 1982. president Mubarak applied and embraced democracy and still doing his best to enhance the life of the Egyptians.

History of Egypt ( 2 )

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The New Kingdom

With the unification of the land and the founding of the 18th Dynasty by Ahmose I, the New Kingdom (1570-1070 BC) began. Ahmose re-established the borders, goals, and bureaucracy of the Middle Kingdom and revived its land-reclamation program. He maintained the balance of power between the nomarchs and himself with the support of the military, who were accordingly rewarded. The importance of women in the New Kingdom is illustrated by the high titles and position of the royal wives and mothers.

The 18th Dynasty Kings

Once Amenhotep I, who reigned 1551-1524 BC, had full control over his administration—he was co-regent for five years—he began to extend Egypt's boundaries in Nubia and Palestine. A major builder at Karnak, Amenhotep, unlike his predecessors, separated his tomb from his mortuary temple; he began the custom of hiding his final resting place, then he continued the advances of the new Imperial Age and emphasized the preeminence of the god Amon. His tomb was the first in the Valley of the Kings. Thutmose II, his son by a minor wife, succeeded him, marrying the royal princess Hatshepsut to strengthen his claim to the throne. He maintained the accomplishments of his predecessors. When he died in 1504 BC, his heir, Thutmose III, was still a child, and so Hatshepsut governed as a regent. Within a year, she had herself crowned pharaoh, and then mother and son ruled jointly. When Thutmose III achieved sole rule upon Hatshepsut's death in 1483 BC, he reconquered Syria and Palestine, which had broken away under joint rule, and then continued to expand his empire. His annals in the temple at Karnak chronicle many of his campaigns. Nearly 20 years after Hatshepsut's death, he ordered the obliteration of her name and images. Amenhotep II, who reigned 1453-1419 BC, and Thutmose IV tried to maintain the Asian conquests in the face of growing threats from the Mitanni and Hittite states, but they found it necessary to use negotiations as well as force.Amenhotep III ruled peacefully for nearly four decades, 1386-1349 BC, and art and architecture flourished during his reign. He maintained the balance of power among Egypt's neighbors by diplomacy. His son and successor, Akhenaton (Amenhotep IV), was a religious reformer who fought the power of the Amon priesthood. Akhenaton abandoned Thebes for a new capital, Akhetaton (see Tall al ‘Amarana , which was built in honor of Aton, the disk of the sun on which his monotheistic religion centered. The religious revolution was abandoned toward the end of his reign, however, and his son-in-law, Tutankhamen, returned the capital to Thebes. Tutankhamen is known today chiefly for his richly furnished tomb, which was found nearly intact in the Valley of the Kings by the British archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon in 1922. The 18th Dynasty ended with Horemheb, who reigned 1321-1293 BC.

The Ramesside Period

The founder of the 19th Dynasty, Ramses I, who reigned 1293-1291 BC, had served his predecessor as vizier and commander of the army. Reigning only two years, he was succeeded by his son, Seti I, who reigned 1291-1279 BC; he led campaigns against Syria, Palestine, the Libyans, and the Hittites. Seti built a sanctuary at Abydos. Like his father, he favored the delta capital of Pi-Ramesse (now Qantir). One of his sons, Ramses II, succeeded him and reigned for nearly 67 years. He was responsible for much construction at Luxor and Karnak, and he built the Ramesseum (his funerary temple at Thebes), the rock-cut temples at Abu Simbel, and sanctuaries at Abydos and Memphis. After campaigns against the Hittites, Ramses made a treaty with them and married a Hittite princess. His son Merneptah, who reigned 1212-1202 BC, defeated the Sea Peoples, invaders from the Aegean who swept the Middle East in the 13th century BC, and records tell of his desolating Israel. Later rulers had to contend with constant uprisings by subject peoples of the empire.The second ruler of the 20th Dynasty, Ramses III, had his military victories depicted on the walls of his mortuary complex at Medinet Habu, near Thebes. After his death the New Kingdom declined, chiefly because of the rising power of the priesthood of Amon and the army. One high priest and military commander even had himself depicted in royal regalia.

Third Intermediate PeriodThe 21st through the 24th dynasties are known as the Third Intermediate period. Kings ruling from Tanis, in the north, vied with a line of high priests, to whom they appear to be related, from Thebes, in the south. The rulers of the 21st Dynasty may have been partially Libyan in ancestry, and the 22nd Dynasty began with Libyan chieftains as kings.

As the Libyans' rule deteriorated, several rivals rose to challenge them. In fact the next two dynasties, the 23rd and 24th, were contemporaneous with part of the 22nd Dynasty, just as the 25th (Kushite) Dynasty effectively controlled much of Egypt during the latter years of the 22nd and the 24th dynasties.

Late PeriodThe 25th through the 31st dynasties ruled Egypt during the time that has come to be known as the Late Period. The Cushites ruled from about 767 BC until they were ousted by the Assyrians in 671 BC. Native rule was reestablished early in the 26th Dynasty by Psamtik I. A resurgence of cultural achievement, reminiscent of earlier epochs, reached its height in the 26th Dynasty.

When the last Egyptian king was defeated by Cambyses II in 525 BC, the country entered a period of Persian domination under the 27th Dynasty. Egypt reasserted its independence under the 28th and 29th dynasties, but the 30th Dynasty was the last one of native rulers. The 31st Dynasty, which is not listed in Manetho's chronology, represented the second Persian domination.The Hellenistic and Roman PeriodsThe occupation of Egypt by the forces of Alexander the Great in 332 BC brought an end to Persian rule. Alexander appointed Cleomenes of Naucratis, a Greek resident in Egypt, and his Macedonian general, known later as Ptolemy I, to govern the country. Although two Egyptian governors were named as well, power was clearly in the hands of Ptolemy, who in a few years took absolute control of the country.The Ptolemaic DynastyRivalries with other generals, who carved out sections of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC, occupied much of Ptolemy's time, but in 305 BC he assumed the royal title and founded the dynasty that bears his name (see Ptolemaic Dynasty). Ptolemaic Egypt was one of the great powers of the Hellenistic world, and at various times it extended its rule over parts of Syria, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Libya, Phoenicia, and other lands.Partly because native Egyptian rulers had a reduced role in affairs of state during the Ptolemaic regime, they periodically demonstrated their dissatisfaction by open revolts, all of which were, however, quickly suppressed. In the reign of Ptolemy VI, Egypt became a protectorate under Antiochus IV of Syria, who successfully invaded the country in 169 BC. The Romans, however, forced Antiochus to give up the country, which was then divided between Ptolemy VI and his younger brother, Ptolemy VIII; the latter took full control upon the death of his brother in 145 BC.The succeeding Ptolemies preserved the wealth and status of Egypt while continually losing territory to the Romans. Cleopatra VII was the last great ruler of the Ptolemaic line. In an attempt to maintain Egyptian power she aligned herself with Julius Caesar and, later, Mark Antony, but these moves only postponed the end. After her forces were defeated by Roman legions under Octavian (later Emperor Augustus), Cleopatra committed suicide in 30 BC.Roman and Byzantine Rule For nearly seven centuries after the death of Cleopatra, the Romans controlled Egypt (except for a short time in the 3rd century AD, when it came under the power of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra). They treated Egypt as a valuable source of wealth and profit and were dependent on its supply of grain to feed their multitudes. Roman Egypt was governed by a prefect, whose duties as commander of the army and official judge were similar to those of the Pharaohs of the past. The office, therefore, was one with which the native population was familiar. Because of the immense power of the prefects, however, their functions were eventually divided under Emperor Justinian, who in the 6th century AD put the army under a separate commander, directly responsible to him.Egypt in the Roman period was relatively peaceful; its southern boundary at Aswan was only rarely attacked by the Ethiopians. Egypt's population had become Hellenized under the Ptolemies, and it included large minorities of Greeks and Jews, as well as other peoples from Asia Minor. The mixture of the cultures did not lead to a homogeneous society, and civil strife was frequent. In 212, however, Emperor Caracalla granted the entire population citizenship in the Roman Empire.Alexandria, the port city on the Mediterranean founded by Alexander the Great, remained the capital as it had been under the Ptolemies. One of the great metropolises of the Roman Empire, it was the center of a thriving commerce between India and Arabia and the Mediterranean countries. It was the home of the great Alexandrian library and museum and had a population of some 300,000 (excluding slaves).Egypt became an economic mainstay of the Roman Empire not only because of its annual harvest of grain but also for its glass, metal, and other manufactured products. In addition, the trade brought in spices, perfumes, precious stones, and rare metals from the Red Sea ports. Once part of the empire, Egypt was subject to a variety of taxes as well.In order to control the people and placate the powerful priesthood, the Roman emperors protected the ancient religion, completed or embellished temples begun under the Ptolemies, and had their own names inscribed on them as Pharaohs ; the cartouches of several can be found at Isna, Kawn Umbu, Dandara, and Philae. The Egyptian cults of Isis and Serapis spread throughout the ancient world. Egypt was also an important center of early Christendom and the first one of Christian monasticism. Its Coptic or Monophysite church separated from mainstream Christianity in the 5th century.During the 7th century the power of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire was challenged by the Sassanids of Persia, who invaded Egypt in 616. They were expelled again in 628, but soon after, in 642, the country fell to the Arabs, who brought with them a new religion, Islam, and began a new chapter of Egyptian history.Egypt Under the the Byzantinans:Alienated by the religious intolerance and heavy taxation of the Byzantine government, the Coptic Egyptians offered little resistance to their Arab conquerors. A treaty was subsequently signed, by which the Egyptians agreed to pay a poll tax (jizyah) in return for an Arab promise to respect the religious practices, lives, and property of the Copts. Besides the poll tax, the male population, estimated at between 6 and 8 million, paid the kharaj, a tax levied on agricultural land.Local Government No changes in the administration were made by the Arabs, who adopted the Byzantine decentralized system of provincial governors reporting to a chief governor, resident in the capital, Alexandria. They did, however, later move the capital to a new, more central location, called Al Fustat (“the tent”), a few miles south of present-day Cairo.For the next two centuries Egypt was ruled by governors appointed by the caliph, the leader of the Muslim community. In this system, mild and generous rule alternated with severity and religious oppression, depending on the character of the governor appointed, his relationship with the population, and his financial needs. Immigration of Arab tribes and the replacement of the Coptic language by Arabic in all public documents began a slow process of Arabization that was eventually to turn Coptic-speaking Christian Egypt into a largely Muslim and wholly Arabic-speaking country. Coptic became a liturgical language.Internal StrifeUnder the Abbasid caliphs (750-868), governors were appointed for brief periods, and Egypt was plagued by a series of insurrections arising from conflicts between the different sects of Muslims who had settled there: the Sunni, or orthodox majority, and the minority Shia sect. On several occasions the Copts also rose to protest excessive taxation. Such uprisings were met with repression and persecution by the government. Internal conditions became so bad in the late 8th century that a group of new immigrants from Andalusia allied themselves with an Arab tribe and seized Alexandria, holding it until an army arrived from Baghdad and exiled them to Crete. Insurrections continued to break out among the Arabs, who even defeated a governor and burned his baggage. Rebellions by the Copts continued until Caliph Abdullah al-Mamun led a Turkish army to put down the revolts in 832. This was a period of ruthless and unscrupulous governors, who abused the population and extorted money from them. The only bulwark against such oppression lay in the chief qadi, the country's leading Muslim magistrate, who maintained the sacred law—the Sharia—in the face of abuse of power, and helped ease the rapacity of the governors.Despite a predominantly rural population, commercial centers flourished, and Al Fustat grew to become a trading metropolis.From 856 onward Egypt was given as an iqta, a form of fief, to the Turkish military oligarchy that dominated the caliphate in Baghdad. In 868 Ahmad ibn Tulun, a 33-year-old Turk, was sent to the country as governor. A man of ability and education, Tulun ruled wisely and well, but he also turned Egypt into an autonomous province, linked with the Abbasids only by the yearly payment of a small tribute. Tulun built a new city, Al Qita‘? (“the Wards”), north of Al Fustat. Under his benevolent rule Egypt prospered and expanded to annex Syria. Tulun's dynasty (the Tulunids) ruled for 37 years over an empire that included Egypt, Palestine, and Syria.The FatimidAfter the last rule by the Tulunids, the country fell into a state of anarchy. Its weak and defenseless condition made it an easy prey for the Fatimids, a Shiite dynasty that in 909, rejecting the authority of the Abbasids, had proclaimed their own caliphate in Tunisia and by the mid-10th century controlled most of North Africa. In 969 they invaded and conquered Egypt and subsequently founded a new city, Cairo, north of Al Fustat, making it their capital. See Caliphate.Al Fustat, however, remained the commercial hub of the country under the Fatimids. It was an impressive, multistoried urban center with an excellent underground sewage system. An Iranian traveler, Nasir-i-Khosrau, who visited Egypt in 1046, marveled at the rich markets and the security of the land. Egypt was then enjoying a period of tranquillity and prosperity.The Fatimids, although Shiites in their beliefs, for the most part coexisted peacefully with the predominantly Sunni population. They founded the oldest university in the world, Al Azhar, and Cairo became a great intellectual center.The Ayyubids:Tranquillity disappeared with later Fatimid rulers, who could not control their unruly regiments of Berber and Sudanese soldiers. A low Nile caused serious famine in 1065. New danger appeared with the First Crusade from western Europe, which established Christian control over Syria and Palestine in the late 1090s. The Fatimid caliphs, by now pawns in the hands of their generals, appealed to Nur ad-Din of Halab (Aleppo), and he sent an army to help them against the Crusaders in 1168. Saladin, one of Nur ad-Din's generals, was installed as vizier. In 1171 he abolished the Fatimid caliphate, founding the Ayyubid dynasty and restoring Sunni rule to Egypt. Saladin reconquered most of Syria and Palestine from the Crusaders and became the most powerful Middle Eastern ruler of this time. His nephew, Sultan al-Kamil, who reigned 1218-1238, successfully defended Egypt against a Christian attack in 1218-1221, but after his death Ayyubid power declined. The Ninth Crusade, led by Louis IX of France, was repelled in 1249, with the aid of the Mamelukes, slave troops in Ayyubid service. The following year the Mamelukes overthrew the Ayyubids and established their own ruling house.The Mamelukes The first Mameluke dynasty, the Bahri, held power as sultans of Egypt until 1382. Hereditary succession was frequently disregarded and the throne usurped by the more powerful emirs (military commanders). Many among them were remarkable rulers, such as Baybars I, who halted the Mongol advance into Syria and Egypt in 1260. Two other Mongol invasions were repelled by the Mamelukes, who also expelled the Crusaders from the region and captured ‘Akko, their last stronghold in Palestine, in 1291. In the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the Mameluke realm extended north to the borders of Asia Minor.The age of the Mamelukes was one of extraordinary brilliance in the arts. It was also an age of commercial expansion; Egypt's spice traders, the Karimi, were merchant princes who vied with the emirs in patronizing the arts.After the death of the last great Bahri sultan, al-Nasir, in 1341, Egypt lapsed into decline. His descendants were mere figureheads who allowed real power to remain in the hands of the emirs. In 1348 the plague known as the Black Death swept over the land, radically reducing the population.The second dynasty of Mameluke sultans, the Burjis, was of Circassian origin and ruled from 1382 to 1517. Most of the Burji rulers exercised little real authority; their dynasty was marked by continual power struggles among the Mameluke elite. In the midst of rebellion and civil strife, the Mamelukes continued to hold Egypt and Syria by virtue of their ability to repel invasions. By the early 16th century, however, they were threatened by the growing power of the Ottoman Empire, and in 1517 the Ottoman Sultan Selim I invaded Egypt and ruled it.The Ottoman Although the real hold of the Ottoman Turks over Egypt was to last only until the 17th century, the country remained nominally part of the Ottoman Empire until 1915. Rather than exterminate the Mamelukes, the Ottomans used them in their administration. They established a governor and settled six ocaks (regiments) in Egypt as a garrison. In time the roman ocaks intermarried with the native people, playing an important role in the country's economic and political life. Rural areas were treated as crown lands, parceled into plots called iqta, the produce of which went to the Ottoman elite.The Mameluke come back:As time went on, an inflationary trend that historians have noted in 16th-century Europe had repercussions in Egypt as well. Rising prices led to rivalry among the ocaks over the country's wealth. This weakened their control, and the Mamelukes stepped into the breach. By the mid-17th century the Mameluke emirs, or beys, had established their supremacy. Land taxes were farmed out among them, and the urban guilds, which were closely allied with the roman ocaks, were heavily taxed as a means of diminishing Ottoman influence and of increasing revenue. The Ottomans acquiesced in the system so long as the tribute was regularly paid.The period from the 16th to the mid-18th century was an age of commercial prosperity when Egypt, at the crossroads of several commercial routes, was the center of a flourishing intermediary trade in coffee, textiles, and spices.The Ottoman governor quickly became a puppet, first in the hands of the regiments, which held the military power, and then in the hands of the Mamelukes, who came to control the ocaks. The leading Mameluke bey, called the Shaikh al-Balad (“chief of the city”), thus became recognized as the real ruler of the land. The beys imposed higher taxes to finance their military expeditions in Syria and Arabia. Although defeated in Syria by the Ottomans, who once more sought to reinforce their authority, the Mamelukes dominated Egypt until 1798. The last 30 years of the 18th century were marked by plagues and famine that reduced the population to a bare 4 million.

History of Egypt (1)

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The origins of ancient Egyptian civilization, which many regard as one of the fountainheads of Western culture, cannot be established with certainty. Archaeological evidence suggests that early dwellers in the Nile Valley were influenced by cultures of the Near East, but the degree of this influence is yet to be determined. Describing the development of Egyptian civilization, like attempts to identify its intellectual foundations, is largely a process of conjecture based on archaeological discoveries of enduring ruins, tombs, and monuments, many of which contain invaluable specimens of the ancient culture. Inscriptions in hieroglyphs, for instance, have provided priceless data.The framework for the study of the Dynastic period of Egyptian history, between the 1st dynasty and the Ptolemaic period, relies on the Aegyptiaca of Manetho, a Ptolemaic priest of the 3rd century BC, who organized the country's rulers into 30 dynasties, roughly corresponding to families. General agreement exists on the division of Egyptian history, up to the conquest of Alexander the Great, into Old, Middle, and New kingdoms with intermediate periods, followed by the late and Ptolemaic periods, but chronology and genealogy are continually being refined in light of new evidence and by the use of increasingly sophisticated dating techniques.

Prehistory:

Some 60,000 years ago the Nile River began its yearly inundation of the land along its banks, leaving behind rich alluvial soil. Areas close to the floodplain became attractive as a source of food and water. In time, climatic changes, including periods of aridity, further served to confine human habitation to the Nile Valley, although this was not always true. From the Chalcolithic period (the Copper age, beginning about 4000 BC) into the early part of the Old Kingdom, people apparently used an extended part of the land.In the 7th millennium BC, Egypt was environmentally hospitable, and evidence of settlements from that time has been found in the low desert areas of southern, or Upper, Egypt; remains of similar occupation have been discovered at Nubian sites in modern Sudan. Enough pottery has been found in Upper Egyptian tombs from the 4th millennium BC (in the Predynastic period) to establish a relative dating sequence. The Predynastic period, which ends with the unification of Egypt under one king, is generally subdivided into three parts, each of which refers to the site at which its archaeological materials were found: Badarian, Amratian (Naqada I), and Gerzean (Naqada II and III). Northern sites (from about 5500 BC) have yielded datable archaeological material of apparent cultural continuity but no long-term sequences such as those found in the south.

Early Dynastic (or Archaic) Period

Archaeological sources indicate the emergence, by the late Gerzean period (about 3200 BC), of a dominant political force that was to become the consolidating element in the first united kingdom of ancient Egypt. The earliest known hieroglyphic writing dates from this period; soon the names of early rulers began to appear on monuments. This period began with a 0 Dynasty, which had as many as 13 rulers, ending with Narmer (about 3100 BC), followed by the 1st and 2nd dynasties (about 3100-2755 BC), with at least 17 kings. Some of the earliest massive mortuary structures (predecessors of the pyramids) were built at Abydos, and elsewhere during the 1st and 2nd dynasties.

The Old Kingdom :

The Old Kingdom (about 2755-2255 BC) spanned five centuries of rule by the 3rd through the 6th dynasties. The capital was in the north, at Memphis, and the ruling monarchs held absolute power over a strongly unified government. Religion played an important role; in fact, the government had evolved into a theocracy, wherein the Pharaohs , as the rulers were called, were both absolute monarchs and, also gods on earth.The 3rd Dynasty was the first of the Memphite houses, and its second ruler, Zoser, or Djoser, who reigned about 2737-2717 BC, emphasized national unity by balancing northern and southern motifs in his mortuary buildings at Sakkara . His architect, Imhotep, used stone blocks rather than traditional mud bricks in the complex there, thus creating the first monumental structure of stone; its central element, the Step Pyramid, was Zoser's tomb. In order to deal with affairs of state and to administer construction projects, the king began to develop an effective bureaucracy. In general, the 3rd Dynasty marked the beginning of a golden age of cultural freshness and vigor.The 4th Dynasty began with King senfru , whose building projects included the first true pyramid at Dahshor (south of sakkara ). Snefru, the earliest warrior king for whom extensive documents remain, campaigned in Nubia and Libya and was active in the Sinai. Promoting commerce and mining, he brought prosperity to the kingdom. Snefru was succeeded by his son Khufu (or Cheops), who built the Great Pyramid at Giza. Although little else is known of his reign, that monument not only attests to his power but also indicates the administrative skills the bureaucracy had gained. Khufu's son Redjedef, who reigned about 2613-2603 BC, introduced the solar element (Ra, or Re) in the royal titular and the religion. Khafre (or Chephren), another son of Khufu, succeeded his brother to the throne and built his mortuary complex at Giza. The remaining rulers of the dynasty included Menkaure, or Mycerinus, who reigned about 2578-2553 BC; he is known primarily for the smallest of the three large pyramids at Giza.Under the 4th Dynasty, Egyptian civilization reached a peak in its development, and this high level was generally maintained in the 5th and 6th dynasties. The splendour of the engineering feats of the pyramids was approximated in every other field of endeavour, including architecture, sculpture, painting, navigation, the industrial arts and sciences, and astronomy; Memphite astronomers first created a solar calendar based on a year of 365 days. Old Kingdom physicians also displayed a remarkable knowledge of physiology, surgery, the circulatory system of the body, and antiseptics.

Beginning of Decline:

Although the 5th Dynasty maintained prosperity with extensive foreign trade and military incursions into Asia, signs of decreasing royal authority became apparent in the swelling of the bureaucracy and the enhanced power of no royal administrators. The last king of the dynasty, Unas, who reigned about 2428-2407 BC, was buried at sakkara , with a body of religious spells, called Pyramid Texts, carved on the walls of his pyramid chamber. Such texts were also used in the royal tombs of the 6th Dynasty. Several autobiographical inscriptions of officials under the 6th Dynasty indicate the decreasing status of the monarchy; records even indicate a conspiracy against King Pepi I, who reigned about 2395-2360 BC, in which the ruler's wife was involved. It is believed that during the later years of Pepi II, who reigned about 2350-2260 BC, power may have been in the hands of his vizier (chief minister). Central authority over the economy was also diminished by decrees of exemption from taxes. The Nomes (districts) were rapidly becoming individually powerful, as the monarchs—governors of the districts—were beginning to remain in place rather than being periodically transferred to different Nomes.

First Intermediate Period :

The 7th Dynasty marked the beginning of the First Intermediate period. As a consequence of internal strife, the reigns of this and the succeeding 8th Dynasty are rather obscure. It is clear, however, that both ruled from Memphis and lasted a total of only 25 years. By this time the powerful nomarchs were in effective control of their districts, and factions in the south and north vied for power. Under the Heracleopolitan 9th and 10th dynasties, the nomarchs near Heracleopolis controlled their area and extended their power north to Memphis (and even into the delta) and south to Asyut (Lycopolis). The rival southern nomarchs at Thebes established the 11th Dynasty, controlling the area from Abydos to Elephantine, near Syene (present-day Aswan). The early part of this dynasty, the first of the Middle Kingdom, overlapped the last part of the 10th.

The Middle Kingdom:

Without one centralized government, the bureaucracy was no longer effective, and regional concerns were openly championed. Egyptian art became more provincial, and no massive mortuary complexes were built. The religion was also democratized, as commoners claimed prerogatives previously reserved for royalty alone. They could, for instance, use spells derived from the royal Pyramid Texts on the walls of their own coffins or tombs.

Reunification:

Although the Middle Kingdom (2134-1784 BC) is generally dated to include all of the 11th Dynasty, it properly begins with the reunification of the land by Mentuhotep II, who reigned 2061-2010 BC. The early rulers of the dynasty attempted to extend their control from Thebes both northward and southward, but it was left to Mentuhotep to complete the reunification process, sometime after 2047 BC. Mentuhotep ruled for more than 50 years, and despite occasional rebellions, he maintained stability and control over the whole kingdom. He replaced some nomarchs and limited the power of the nomes, which was still considerable. Thebes was his capital, and his mortuary temple at Dayr al Bahr? incorporated both traditional and regional elements; the tomb was separate from the temple, and there was no pyramid.The reign of the first 12th Dynasty king, Amenemhet I, was peaceful. He established a capital near Memphis and, unlike Mentuhotep, de-emphasized Theban ties in favor of national unity. Nevertheless, the important Theban god Amon was given prominence over other deities. Amenemhet demanded loyalty from the nomes, rebuilt the bureaucracy, and educated a staff of scribes and administrators. The literature was predominantly propaganda designed to reinforce the image of the king as a “good shepherd” rather than as an inaccessible god. During the last ten years of his reign, Amenemhet ruled with his son as co-regent. “The Story of Sinuhe,” a literary work of the period, implies that the king was assassinated.Amenemhet's successors continued his programs. His son, Sesostris I, who reigned 1962-1928 BC, built fortresses throughout Nubia and established trade with foreign lands. He sent governors to Palestine and Syria and campaigned against the Libyans in the west. Sesostris II, who reigned 1895-1878 BC, began land reclamation in Al Fayyum. His successor, Sesostris III, who reigned 1878-1843 BC, had a canal dug at the first cataract of the Nile, formed a standing army (which he used in his campaign against the Nubians), and built new forts on the southern frontier. He divided the administration into three powerful geographic units, each controlled by an official under the vizier, and he no longer recognized provincial nobles. Amenemhet III continued the policies of his predecessors and extended the land reform.A vigorous renaissance of culture took place under the Theban kings. The architecture, art, and jewelry of the period reveal an extraordinary delicacy of design, and the time was considered the golden age of Egyptian literature.

Second Intermediate Period:

The rulers of the 13th Dynasty—some 50 or more in about 120 years—were weaker than their predecessors, although they were still able to control Nubia and the administration of the central government. During the latter part of their rule, however, their power was challenged not only by the rival 14th Dynasty, which won control over the delta, but also by the Hyksos, who invaded from western Asia. By the 13th Dynasty there was a large Hyksos population in northern Egypt. As the central government entered a period of decline, their presence made possible an influx of people from coastal side of Phoenicia and Palestine and the establishment of a Hyksos dynasty. This marks the beginning of the Second Intermediate period, a time of turmoil and disunity that lasted for some 214 years. The Hyksos of the 15th Dynasty ruled from their capital at Avaris in the eastern delta, maintaining control over the middle and northern parts of the country. At the same time, the 16th Dynasty also existed in the delta and Middle Egypt, but it may have been subservient to the Hyksos. More independence was exerted in the south by a third contemporaneous power, the Theban 17th Dynasty, which ruled over the territory between Elephantine and Abydos. The Theban ruler Kamose, who reigned about 1576-1570 BC, battled the Hyksos successfully, but it was his brother, Ahmose who finally subdued them, reuniting Egypt.

Isis and Osiris

2008-11-10T04:11:00.000-08:00

The story of Osiris is told in a connected form only by Plutarch, whose narrative has been confirmed and to some extent amplified in modern times by the evidence of the monuments. Osiris was the offspring of an intrigue between the earth-god Seb (Keb or Geb, as the name is sometimes transliterated) and the sky-goddess Nut. The Greeks identified his parents with their own deities Cronus and Rhea. When the sun-god Ra perceived that his wife Nut had been unfaithful to him, he declared with a curse that she should be delivered of the child in no month and no year. But the goddess had another lover, the god Thoth or Hermes, as the Greeks called him, and he playing at draughts with the moon won from her a seventy-second part of every day, and having compounded five whole days out of these parts he added them to the Egyptian year of three hundred and sixty days. This was the mythical origin of the five supplementary days which the Egyptians annually inserted at the end of every year in order to establish a harmony between lunar and solar time. On these five days, regarded as outside the year of twelve months, the curse of the sun-god did not rest, and accordingly Osiris was born on the first of them. At his nativity a voice rang out proclaiming that the Lord of All had come into the world. Some say that a certain Pamyles heard a voice from the temple at Thebes bidding him announce with a shout that a great king, the beneficent Osiris, was born. But Osiris was not the only child of his mother. On the second of the supplementary days she gave birth to the elder Horus, on the third to the god Set, whom the Greeks called Typhon, on the fourth to the goddess Isis, and on the fifth to the goddess Nephthys. Afterwards Set married his sister Nephthys, and Osiris married his sister Isis.
Reigning as a king on earth, Osiris reclaimed the Egyptians from savagery, gave them laws, and taught them to worship the gods. Before his time the Egyptians had been cannibals. But Isis, the sister and wife of Osiris, discovered wheat and barley growing wild, and Osiris introduced the cultivation of these grains amongst his people, who forthwith abandoned cannibalism and took kindly to a corn diet. Moreover, Osiris is said to have been the first to gather fruit from trees, to train the vine to poles, and to tread the grapes. Eager to communicate these beneficent discoveries to all mankind, he committed the whole government of Egypt to his wife Isis, and travelled over the world, diffusing the blessings of civilisation and agriculture wherever he went. In countries where a harsh climate or niggardly soil forbade the cultivation of the vine, he taught the inhabitants to console themselves for the want of wine by brewing beer from barley. Loaded with the wealth that had been showered upon him by grateful nations, he returned to Egypt, and on account of the benefits he had conferred on mankind he was unanimously hailed and worshipped as a deity. But his brother Set (whom the Greeks called Typhon) with seventy-two others plotted against him. Having taken the measure of his good brother’s body by stealth, the bad brother Typhon fashioned and highly decorated a coffer of the same size, and once when they were all drinking and making merry he brought in the coffer and jestingly promised to give it to the one whom it should fit exactly. Well, they all tried one after the other, but it fitted none of them. Last of all Osiris stepped into it and lay down. On that the conspirators ran and slammed the lid down on him, nailed it fast, soldered it with molten lead, and flung the coffer into the Nile. This happened on the seventeenth day of the month Athyr, when the sun is in the sign of the Scorpion, and in the eight-and-twentieth year of the reign or the life of Osiris. When Isis heard of it she sheared off a lock of her hair, put on a mourning attire, and wandered disconsolately up and down, seeking the body.
By the advice of the god of wisdom she took refuge in the papyrus swamps of the Delta. Seven scorpions accompanied her in her flight. One evening when she was weary she came to the house of a woman, who, alarmed at the sight of the scorpions, shut the door in her face. Then one of the scorpions crept under the door and stung the child of the woman that he died. But when Isis heard the mother’s lamentation, her heart was touched, and she laid her hands on the child and uttered her powerful spells; so the poison was driven out of the child and he lived. Afterwards Isis herself gave birth to a son in the swamps. She had conceived him while she fluttered in the form of a hawk over the corpse of her dead husband. The infant was the younger Horus, who in his youth bore the name of Harpocrates, that is, the child Horus. Him Buto, the goddess of the north, hid from the wrath of his wicked uncle Set. Yet she could not guard him from all mishap; for one day when Isis came to her little son’s hiding-place she found him stretched lifeless and rigid on the ground: a scorpion had stung him. Then Isis prayed to the sun-god Ra for help. The god hearkened to her and staid his bark in the sky, and sent down Thoth to teach her the spell by which she might restore her son to life. She uttered the words of power, and straightway the poison flowed from the body of Horus, air passed into him, and he lived. Then Thoth ascended up into the sky and took his place once more in the bark of the sun, and the bright pomp passed onward jubilant.
Meantime the coffer containing the body of Osiris had floated down the river and away out to sea, till at last it drifted ashore at Byblus, on the coast of Syria. Here a fine erica-tree shot up suddenly and enclosed the chest in its trunk. The king of the country, admiring the growth of the tree, had it cut down and made into a pillar of his house; but he did not know that the coffer with the dead Osiris was in it. Word of this came to Isis and she journeyed to Byblus, and sat down by the well, in humble guise, her face wet with tears. To none would she speak till the king’s handmaidens came, and them she greeted kindly, and braided their hair, and breathed on them from her own divine body a wondrous perfume. But when the queen beheld the braids of her handmaidens’ hair and smelt the sweet smell that emanated from them, she sent for the stranger woman and took her into her house and made her the nurse of her child. But Isis gave the babe her finger instead of her breast to suck, and at night she began to burn all that was mortal of him away, while she herself in the likeness of a swallow fluttered round the pillar that contained her dead brother, twittering mournfully. But the queen spied what she was doing and shrieked out when she saw her child in flames, and thereby she hindered him from becoming immortal. Then the goddess revealed herself and begged for the pillar of the roof, and they gave it her, and she cut the coffer out of it, and fell upon it and embraced it and lamented so loud that the younger of the king’s children died of fright on the spot. But the trunk of the tree she wrapped in fine linen, and poured ointment on it, and gave it to the king and queen, and the wood stands in a temple of Isis and is worshipped by the people of Byblus to this day. And Isis put the coffer in a boat and took the eldest of the king’s children with her and sailed away. As soon as they were alone, she opened the chest, and laying her face on the face of her brother she kissed him and wept. But the child came behind her softly and saw what she was about, and she turned and looked at him in anger, and the child could not bear her look and died; but some say that it was not so, but that he fell into the sea and was drowned. It is he whom the Egyptians sing of at their banquets under the name of Maneros.
But Isis put the coffer by and went to see her son Horus at the city of Buto, and Typhon found the coffer as he was hunting a boar one night by the light of a full moon. And he knew the body, and rent it into fourteen pieces, and scattered them abroad. But Isis sailed up and down the marshes in a shallop made of papyrus, looking for the pieces; and that is why when people sail in shallops made of papyrus, the crocodiles do not hurt them, for they fear or respect the goddess. And that is the reason, too, why there are many graves of Osiris in Egypt, for she buried each limb as she found it. But others will have it that she buried an image of him in every city, pretending it was his body, in order that Osiris might be worshipped in many places, and that if Typhon searched for the real grave he might not be able to find it. However, the genital member of Osiris had been eaten by the fishes, so Isis made an image of it instead, and the image is used by the Egyptians at their festivals to this day. “Isis,” writes the historian Diodorus Siculus, “recovered all the parts of the body except the genitals; and because she wished that her husband’s grave should be unknown and honoured by all who dwell in the land of Egypt, she resorted to the following device. She moulded human images out of wax and spices, corresponding to the stature of Osiris, round each one of the parts of his body. Then she called in the priests according to their families and took an oath of them all that they would reveal to no man the trust she was about to repose in them. So to each of them privately she said that to them alone she entrusted the burial of the body, and reminding them of the benefits they had received she exhorted them to bury the body in their own land and to honour Osiris as a god. She also besought them to dedicate one of the animals of their country, whichever they chose, and to honour it in life as they had formerly honoured Osiris, and when it died to grant it obsequies like his. And because she would encourage the priests in their own interest to bestow the aforesaid honours, she gave them a third part of the land to be used by them in the service and worship of the gods. Accordingly it is said that the priests, mindful of the benefits of Osiris, desirous of gratifying the queen, and moved by the prospect of gain, carried out all the injunctions of Isis. Wherefore to this day each of the priests imagines that Osiris is buried in his country, and they honour the beasts that were consecrated in the beginning, and when the animals die the priests renew at their burial the mourning for Osiris. But the sacred bulls, the one called Apis and the other Mnevis, were dedicated to Osiris, and it was ordained that they should be worshipped as gods in common by all the Egyptians, since these animals above all others had helped the discoverers of corn in sowing the seed and procuring the universal benefits of agriculture.”
Such is the myth or legend of Osiris, as told by Greek writers and eked out by more or less fragmentary notices or allusions in native Egyptian literature. A long inscription in the temple at Denderah has preserved a list of the god’s graves, and other texts mention the parts of his body which were treasured as holy relics in each of the sanctuaries. Thus his heart was at Athribis, his backbone at Busiris, his neck at Letopolis, and his head at Memphis. As often happens in such cases, some of his divine limbs were miraculously multiplied. His head, for example, was at Abydos as well as at Memphis, and his legs, which were remarkably numerous, would have sufficed for several ordinary mortals. In this respect, however, Osiris was nothing to St. Denys, of whom no less than seven heads, all equally genuine, are extant.
According to native Egyptian accounts, which supplement that of Plutarch, when Isis had found the corpse of her husband Osiris, she and her sister Nephthys sat down beside it and uttered a lament which in after ages became the type of all Egyptian lamentations for the dead. “Come to thy house,” they wailed. “Come to thy house. O god On! come to thy house, thou who hast no foes. O fair youth, come to thy house, that thou mayest see me. I am thy sister, whom thou lovest; thou shalt not part from me. O fair boy, come to thy house… . I see thee not, yet doth my heart yearn after thee and mine eyes desire thee. Come to her who loves thee, who loves thee, Unnefer, thou blessed one! Come to thy sister, come to thy wife, to thy wife, thou whose heart stands still. Come to thy housewife. I am thy sister by the same mother, thou shalt not be far from me. Gods and men have turned their faces towards thee and weep for thee together… . I call after thee and weep, so that my cry is heard to heaven, but thou hearest not my voice; yet am I thy sister, whom thou didst love on earth; thou didst love none but me, my brother! my brother!” This lament for the fair youth cut off in his prime reminds us of the laments for Adonis. The title of Unnefer or “the Good Being” bestowed on him marks the beneficence which tradition universally ascribed to Osiris; it was at once his commonest title and one of his names as king.
The lamentations of the two sad sisters were not in vain. In pity for her sorrow the sun-god Ra sent down from heaven the jackal-headed god Anubis, who, with the aid of Isis and Nephthys, of Thoth and Horus, pieced together the broken body of the murdered god, swathed it in linen bandages, and observed all the other rites which the Egyptians were wont to perform over the bodies of the departed. Then Isis fanned the cold clay with her wings: Osiris revived, and thenceforth reigned as king over the dead in the other world. There he bore the titles of Lord of the Underworld, Lord of Eternity, Ruler of the Dead. There, too, in the great Hall of the Two Truths, assisted by forty-two assessors, one from each of the principal districts of Egypt, he presided as judge at the trial of the souls of the departed, who made their solemn confession before him, and, their heart having been weighed in the balance of justice, received the reward of virtue in a life eternal or the appropriate punishment of their sins.
In the resurrection of Osiris the Egyptians saw the pledge of a life everlasting for themselves beyond the grave. They believed that every man would live eternally in the other world if only his surviving friends did for his body what the gods had done for the body of Osiris. Hence the ceremonies observed by the Egyptians over the human dead were an exact copy of those which Anubis, Horus, and the rest had performed over the dead god. “At every burial there was enacted a representation of the divine mystery which had been performed of old over Osiris, when his son, his sisters, his friends were gathered round his mangled remains and succeeded by their spells and manipulations in converting his broken body into the first mummy, which they afterwards reanimated and furnished with the means of entering on a new individual life beyond the grave. The mummy of the deceased was Osiris; the professional female mourners were his two sisters Isis and Nephthys; Anubis, Horus, all the gods of the Osirian legend gathered about the corpse.” In this way every dead Egyptian was identified with Osiris and bore his name. From the Middle Kingdom onwards it was the regular practice to address the deceased as “Osiris So-and-So,” as if he were the god himself, and to add the standing epithet “true of speech,” because true speech was characteristic of Osiris. The thousands of inscribed and pictured tombs that have been opened in the valley of the Nile prove that the mystery of the resurrection was performed for the benefit of every dead Egyptian; as Osiris died and rose again from the dead, so all men hoped to arise like him from death to life eternal.
Thus according to what seems to have been the general native tradition Osiris was a good and beloved king of Egypt, who suffered a violent death but rose from the dead and was henceforth worshipped as a deity. In harmony with this tradition he was regularly represented by sculptors and painters in human and regal form as a dead king, swathed in the wrappings of a mummy, but wearing on his head a kingly crown and grasping in one of his hands, which were left free from the bandages, a kingly sceptre. Two cities above all others were associated with his myth or memory. One of them was Busiris in Lower Egypt, which claimed to possess his backbone; the other was Abydos in Upper Egypt, which gloried in the possession of his head. Encircled by the nimbus of the dead yet living god, Abydos, originally an obscure place, became from the end of the Old Kingdom the holiest spot in Egypt; his tomb there would seem to have been to the Egyptians what the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem is to Christians. It was the wish of every pious man that his dead body should rest in hallowed earth near the grave of the glorified Osiris. Few indeed were rich enough to enjoy this inestimable privilege; for, apart from the cost of a tomb in the sacred city, the mere transport of mummies from great distances was both difficult and expensive. Yet so eager were many to absorb in death the blessed influence which radiated from the holy sepulchre that they caused their surviving friends to convey their mortal remains to Abydos, there to tarry for a short time, and then to be brought back by river and interred in the tombs which had been made ready for them in their native land. Others had cenotaphs built or memorial tablets erected for themselves near the tomb of their dead and risen Lord, that they might share with him the bliss of a joyful resurrection.

Queen Cleopatra

2008-11-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

When Cleopatra VII ascended the Egyptian throne, she was only seventeen. She reigned as Queen Philopator and Pharaoh between 51 and 30 BC, and died at the age of 39.
Before glancing at Cleopatra's reign, let us first have a look at the keys to her rise and fall. The demise of the Ptolemies power coincided with the rise of the Roman Empire. Having little choice, and seeing city after the other falling into Rome's grip, the Ptolemies decided to ally with the Romans, a pact that lasted for two centuries. During the rule of the later Ptolemies, Rome gained more and more power over Egypt, and was even declared guardian of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy XII had to pay tribute to the Romans to keep them away from his Kingdom. Upon his death, the fall of the Dynasty seemed even closer.
Hence the controversy over Cleopatra's real motives. Was she trying to save her throne, or did she have a more noble cause? Was she protecting her Dynasty, or was she preventing more interference from the Romans in Egypt?
As children, Cleopatra and her siblings wittnessed the defeat of their guardian, Pompey, by Julius Caesar in a duel. Meanwhile, Cleopatra and her brother/husband Ptolemy XIII were dueling, albeit silently, over the throne.
In the middle of all this turmoil, Julius Caesar left Rome for Alexandria in 48 BC. During his stay in the Palace, he received the most famous gift in history: an oriental carpet... with a 22 year old Cleopatra wrapped in. She counted on Caesar's support to alienate Ptolemy XIII. With the arrival of Roman reinforcements, and after a few battles in Alexandria, Ptolemy XIII was defeated and killed
n the summer of 47 BC, having married her younger brother Ptolemy XIV, Cleopatra and Caesar embarked for a two month on a trip along the Nile, aboard a legendary boat. Together, they visited Dendara, where Cleoptara was being worshipped as Pharaoh, an honor beyond Caesar's reach. They became lovers, and indeed, she bore him a son, Caesarion. In 45 BC, Cleopatra and Caesarion left Alexandria for Rome, where they stayed in a palace built by Caesar in their honor.
Caesar's acts were anything but overlooked by the Romans. In 44 BC, he was killed in a conspiracy by his Senators. With his death, Rome split between supporters of Mark Antony and Octavian. Cleopatra was watching in silence, and when Mark Antony seemed to prevail, she supported him and, shortly after, they
too became lovers.
Mark Antony's alliance with Cleopatra angried Rome even more. The senators called her a sorceress, and accused her of all sorts of evil. The Romans became even more furious as Antony was giving away parts of their Empire - Tarsus, Cyrene, Crete, Cyprus, and Palestine - one after the other to Cleopatra and her children.
It was the boiling point when Octavian declared war on Cleopatra, and off the coast of Greece in the Adriatic Sea they met in one of the most famous battles in history: Actium. The Egyptian defeat was often attributed to the early withdrawal of a coward Cleopatra from the battle scene, although this claim is now discredited by most historians.
Octavian waited for a year before he claimed Egypt as a Roman province. He arrived in Alexandria and easily defeated Mark Antony outside the city, near present day Camp César. Antony was asked to be taken to Cleopatra. He died in her arms and was burried as a King.
Ocatvian entered Alexandria in 30 BC. Cleopatra was captured and taken to him, and the Roman Emperor had no interest in any relation, reconciliation, or even negotiation with the Egyptian Queen. Realizing that her end is close, she decided to put an end to her life. It is not known for sure how she killed herself, but many believe she used an asp as her death instrument.
With the death of Cleopatra, a whole era in Egyptian history was closed. Alexandria remained capital of Egypt, but Egypt was now a Roman province. The age of Egyptian Monarchs gave way to the age of Roman Emperors, and Cleopatra's death gave way to the rise of Rome. The Ptolemies were of Macedonian descent, yet they ruled Egypt as Egyptians - as Pharaohs. And, indeed, Cleopatra was the last Pharaoh.

Akhenaten

2008-11-06T23:48:00.000-08:00

Amenhotep IV (throne name Nefer-kheperue-re) becomes Akhenaten, the famous "heretic" pharaoh. The king’s family Akhenaten’s parents were Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy. His wife was Nefertiti who was probably a distant relative. The Couple had six daughters named Ankhesenpaaten, Neferneferuaten-tasharit, Neferneferure, Meketaten, Merytaten, and Sotepenre. Also present in the family are two unknown members in Akhenaten’s family. They are Smenkhkare (successor of Akhenaten) and Tutankhaten who was later renamed Tutankhamen. The king’s life As a young child Akhenaten was raised in a traditional Ancient Egyptian manner and observed religious rituals to the god Amon. In Thebes, Amon was the god that was elevated to the highest position. In time, Akhenaten turned his focus and beliefs to another deity called Aten. (Aten is the sun god and was taken into battle with Tuthmosis IV and later taken by Akhenaten). Soon after becoming pharaoh of Egypt, Akhenaten discarded his royal name and loyalty to Amon. He turned away from old priests and began the cult of the sun disk -- the Aten. Akhenaten acknowledged that Aten was the single god except Re, the sun god. He claimed he was the only person able to converse with his god. This only caused an absence of priests and he soon came to ban those that remained. He banned the worship of Amon and closed down sacred temples. Akhenaten’s wife’s name Nefertiti was also changed to “Nefer Nefru Aten” meaning “Beautiful is the Beauty of Aten.” The couple then moved out of Thebes to a new capitol called Akhetaton. Everyone from the old capitol moved to the new constructed capitol including the court and artisans. Significantly, and for the only time in the history of Egyptian royal art, Akhenaten’s family was depicted in a decidedly naturalistic manner, and they are clearly shown displaying affection for each other. Nefertiti also appears beside the king in actions usually reserved for a Pharaoh, suggesting that she attained unusual power for a queen. Artistic representations of Akhenaten give him a strikingly bizarre appearance, with slender limbs, a protruding belly and wide hips, giving rise to controversial theories such as that he may have actually been a woman masquerading as a man, or that he was a hermaphrodite or had some other intersex condition. The fact that Akhenaten had several children argues against these suggestions. It has also been suggested that he suffered from Marfan’s syndrome. Until Akhenaten’s mummy is located and identified, proposals of actual physical abnormalities are likely to remain speculative. However, it must be kept in mind that there is no good evidence that we are necessarily dealing with a literal representation of Akhenaten’s physical form, or that of his wife or children. As pharaoh, Akhenaten had complete control over how he, his family, and his government in general was represented in art. We can only assume that what we see as an odd physical abnormality was in fact the way that Akhenaten wanted to be artistically portrayed. The End of Akhenaten’s Reign During the 12th year of his reign, Queen Tiy joined Akhenaten in his city. She brought with her a princess named Baketaten (Later Baketamon). Akhenaten soon provided her with housing and constructed a temple in honor of her. Nefertiti was no longer a favorite to Akhenaten and she soon disappears from the time period. Historians are puzzled as to why and where she left. Her daughter soon took her place and held the duties her mother once did. His daughter was then replaced with Ankhesenpaaten. He soon found anther queen who was named Kiya and might have been from the Mitanni heritage. At around the eighteenth year of his ruling Akhenaten died. Everything was destroyed and demolished soon after his death. His mummy has never been found. Everything was ravished and destroyed upon his death.

Queen Nefertiti

2008-11-06T23:32:00.001-08:00

Arguably, to those who are not very involved in the study of ancient Egypt, Queen Nefertiti is perhaps better known than her husband, the heretic king Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV). It is said that even in the ancient world, her beauty was famous, and her famous statue, found in a sculptor's workshop, is not only one of the most recognizable icons of ancient Egypt, but also the topic of some modern controversy. She was more than a pretty face however, for she seems to have taken a hitherto unprecedented level of importance in the Amarna period of Egypt's 18th Dynasty. In artwork, her status is evident and indicates that she had almost as much influence as her husband. For example, she is depicted nearly twice as often in reliefs as her husband, at least during the first five years of his reign. Indeed, she is once even shown in the conventional pose of a pharaoh smiting his (or in this case, her) enemy. Family Line
Nefertiti may or may not have been of royal blood. She was probably a daughter of the army officer, and later pharaoh, Ay, who may in turn have been a brother of Queen Tiye. Ay sometimes referred to himself as "the God's father", suggesting that he may have been Akhenaten's father-in-law, though there is no specific references for this claim. However, Nefertiti's sister, Mutnojme, is featured prominently in the decorations of Ay's tomb in the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank at Thebes (modern Luxor). However, while we know that Mutnojme was certainly the sister of Nefertiti, her prominence in Ay's tomb clearly does not guarantee her relationship to him. Others have suggested that Nefertiti may have been a daughter of Tiye, or that she was Akhenaten's cousin. Nevertheless, as "heiress", she may have also been a descendant of Ahmose-Nefertari, though she was never described as God's wife of Amun. However, she never lays claim to King's Daughter, so we certainly know that she cannot have been an heiress in the direct line of descent.
If she was indeed the daughter of Ay, it was probably not by his chief wife, Tey, who was not referred to as a "Royal mother of the chief wife of the king", but rather 'nurse' and 'governess' of the king's chief wife. It could be that Nefertiti's actual mother died early on, and it was left to Tey to raise the young girl. However, many other explanations have also been suggested.
Personal Life and the Relationship of King and Queen
Together, we know that Akhenaten and Nefertiti has six daughters, though it was probably with another royal wife called Kiya that the king sired his successors, Smenkhkare and Tutankhamun. Nefertiti also shared her husband with two other royal wives named Mekytaten and Ankhesenpaaten, as well as later with her probable daughter, Merytaten.
Undoubtedly, Akenaten seems to have had a great love for his Chief Royal wife. They were inseparable in early reliefs, many of which showed their family in loving, almost utopian compositions. At times, the king is shown riding with her in a chariot, kissing her in public and with her sitting on his knee. One eulogy proclaims her:
"And the Heiress, Great in the Palace, Fair of Face, Adorned with the Double Plumes, Mistress of Happiness, Endowed with Favors, at hearing whose voice the King rejoices, the Chief Wife of the King, his beloved, the Lady of the Two Lands, Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti, May she live for Ever and Always"
Crucially important to Akhenaten was Femininity which was not only basic to his personal life, but also to his thinking and his faith. In fact, it is indeed difficult to find another founder of a religion for whom women played a comparable role. Akhenaten had a number of different women about him, and they are depicted in virtually every representation of a cult-ritual or state ceremony conducted by the king at his new capital honoring the sun god. Nefertiti was not the only queen to be treated well.
Each of the royal women had her own sanctuary, which was frequently called a sunshade temple. They were usually situated in a parkland environment of vegetation and water pools, emphasizing the importance of female royalty in the daily renewal of creation affected by the god Aten.
However, it was the figure of Nefertiti that Akhenaten had carved onto the four corners of his granite sarcophagus and it was she who provided the protection to his mummy, a role traditionally played by the female deities Isis, Nephthys, Selket and Neith.
One influence within the personal lives of Nefertiti and Akhenaten must have been the presence of Akhenaten's mother, Tiye. Tiye would have held a special position as a wise woman in his court, and we can only surmise that this must have had some affect on the younger couple's relationship.
Queen Tiye as the "wise woman" of El Amarna was often depicted with facial features that not only signaled old age, but life experience and wisdom calling for respect and even veneration.
When Nefertiti's face is represented with the first signs of old age, this may well signify that she has assumed the position of "wise woman" following the death of Tiye, at which point her court status would have been even further elevated.
The Religion
Nefertiti and her King lived during a highly unusual period in Egyptian history. It was a time of religious controversy when the traditional gods of Egypt were more or less abandoned at least by the royal family in favor of a single god, the sun disk named Aten. However, it should be noted that the Egyptian religion did not actually become monotheistic, for cults related to the other gods did persist and they were never really erased from the Egyptian theology.
It is believed that Nefertiti was active in the religious and cultural changes initiated by her husband (some even maintain that it was she who initiated the new religion). She also had the position as a priest, and she was a devoted worshipper of the god Aten. In the royal religion, the King and Queen were viewed as "a primeval first pair". It was they who worshipped the sun disk named Aten and it was only through them that this god was accessed. Indeed, the remainder of the population was expected to worship the royal family, as the rays of the sun fell and gave life to, it would seem, only the royal pair.
However, many scholars presume that the Mutnodjme who later married King Haremhab is none other than the younger sister of Nefertiti. In Akhenaten: King of Egypt by Cyril Aldred, the author explains that a fragmentary statue of Mutnodjme discovered at Dendera describes her not only as "Chief Queen", but also "God's Wife [of Amun]", which he explains puts her in the line of those other great consorts who traced their descent from Ahmose-Nefertari. This links both sisters to the cult of Amun, which he tells us could obviously not have been openly proclaimed at Amarna.
Yet we must be very careful with this link between Nefertiti and Amun by way of her sister's later attachment to the cult. Haremhab considered himself to be an adamant restorer of the old religion after the Amarna period, and so just because his Chief Queen took the title of God's Wife does not necessarily mean that Nefertiti held any real interest in that cult.
Doubtless though, Nefertiti may very well, and probably did participate in a similar manner as God's Wife in the cult of Re-Atum. Unlike other chief queens, she is shown taking part in the daily worship, repeating the same gestures and making similar offerings as the king. Where traditionally a relationship existed between God and King, now that relationship is expanded to include the royal pair.
She in fact exhibits the same fashion as God's Wife. From her first appearance at Karnak, she wears the same clinging robe tied with a red sash with the ends hanging in front. She also wears the short rounded hairstyle. In her case, this was exemplified by a Nubian wig, the coiffure of her earlier years, alternating with a queens tripartite wig, both secured by a diadem bearing a double uraei. Sometimes this was replaced by a a crown with double plumes and a disk, like Tiye and her later Kushite counterparts.
She dressed for appeal, and if she fulfilled a similar function as God's wife of Amun in the Amarna religion, part of this responsibility would have been to maintain a state of perpetual arousal. However, since the Aten was intangible and abstract, this appeal must be to his son the king. Ay praises her for "joining with her beauty in propitiating the Aten with her sweet voice and her fair hands holding the sistrums".
In fact, as the wife of the sun god's offspring, she took on the role of Tefnut, who was the daughter and wife of Atum. After the fourth regal year, she began to wear a mortar-shaped cap that was the headgear of Tefnut in her leonine aspect of a sphinx. She was then referred to as "Tefnut herself", at once the daughter and the wife of the sun-god. Therefore, Nefertiti played an equal role with the king who was the image of Re.
Of course, as a god, no mortal could claim to be her mother, which may be the reason why Tey must content herself with the titles of "Wet-nurse" and "Governess" In fact, it may have been that she hid her parentage to conceal the fact that the progenitors of this high and mighty princess were not also equally divine.
Nefertiti's Disappearance
Towards the end of Akhenaten's reign, Nefertiti disappeared from historical Egyptian records. For a number of years, scholars though that she had fallen from grace with the king, but this was actually a case of mistaken identity. It was Kiya's name and images that were removed from monuments, and replaced by those of Meryetaten, one of Akhenaten's daughters. It has been suggested, though there is no hard supporting evidence, that by year twelve of Akhenaten's reign, and after bearing him a son and possibly a further daughter, Kiya became too much of a rival to Nefertiti and that it was she who caused Kiya's disgrace.
It is possible that Nefertiti disappearance a number of years after that of Kiya's simply meant that she died around the age of thirty, though there are controversies on this matter as well. It may not be simple coincidence that, shortly after Nefertiti's disappearance from the archaeological record, Akhenaten took on a co-regent with whom he shared the throne of Egypt. This co-regent has been a matter of considerable speculation and controversy, with a whole range of theories. One such theory puts forward the idea that the co-regent was none other than Nefertiti herself in a new guise as a female king following the lead of women such as Sobkneferu and Hatshepsut. Another theory is that there were actually two co-regents, consisting of a male son named Smenkhkare, and Nefertiti under the name Neferneferuaten, both of whom adopted the prenomen, Ankhkheperure. Undoubtedly, like her husband who was originally named Amenhotep, she too took the new name, Neferneferuaten to honor the Aten (Neferneferuaten can be translated as "The Aten is radiant of radiance [because] the beautiful one is come" or "Perfect One of the Aten's Perfection"). Indeed, she may have even changed her name prior to her husband doing so, but rather this means she also served as co-regent is questionable.
Some scholars are considerably adamant about Nefertiti assuming the role of co-regent, and even serving as king for a short time after the death of Akhenaten. One such individual is Jacobus Van Dijk, responsible for the Amarna section of the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. He believes that Nefertiti indeed became co-regent with her husband, and that her role as queen consort was taken over by her eldest daughter, Meryetaten (Meritaten). If this is true, then Nefertiti may have even taken up residence in Thebes, as evidenced by a graffito dated to year three in the reign of Neferneferuaten mentioning a "Mansion of Ankhkheperure". If so, there could have been an attempt made at reconciliation with the old cults. He also suggests that Smenkhkare might have also been Nefertiti, ruling after the death of her husband, with her own daughter acting in a ceremonial role of "Great Royal Wife".
However, other scholars are equally adamant against Nefertiti ever having been a co-regent or ruling after her husband's death. In his book, Akhenaten: King of Egypt, Cyril Aldred references a funerary objected called a shawabti. On it was inscribed:
"The Heiress, high and mighty in the palace, one trusted [of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt (Neferkheperure, Wa'enre), the son of Re (Akhenaten), Great in] his Lifetime, the Chief Wife of the King (Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti), Living for Ever and Ever."
Aldred claims that this shawabti, according to the above inscription, can only belong to Nefertiti, and not, as some scholars argue, a donation by her to Akhenaten's burial. Presumably, this object was made after the queen's death as it was the custom during this period to make such objects during the embalming process.
Aldred also maintains that is was the custom in orthodox funerary benedictions to follow the name of the deceased with maet kheru (justified). Akhenaten rejected this practice as part of his new religion, but even so, two of his own shawabti were nevertheless inscribed with phrase after his own death. However, even though the phrase returns to favor immediately after Akhenaten's death, it is absent from Nefertiti's shawabti, evidencing her death during his reign.
He also notes that the shawabti represents her as a queen regnant, and not as a co-regent in male attire. Though this single piece of evidence seems somewhat scanty, he believes that Nefertiti died during year 14 of Akhenanten's reign.
If he is indeed correct that Nefertiti died during the reign of her husband, his dating is probably correct. Nefertiti is depicted on a number of reliefs including that of her second daughter's burial, who is believed to have died during the thirteenth year of Akhenanten's reign. However, that is the last that we see of the queen. This is also about the time (year 14) that dockets for delivery of wine from the estate of Nefertiti also cease, so the presumption by Aldred is that Nefertiti must have died sometime very near Akhenaten's 14th year as king.
Recent Controversy
Nefertiti is perhaps best remembered for the painted limestone bust depicting her. Many consider it one of the greatest works of art of the pre-modern world.

Sometimes known as the Berlin bust, it was found in the workshop of the famed sculptor Thutmose. This bust depicts her with full lips enhanced by a bold red. Although the crystal inlay is missing from her left eye, both eyelids and brows are outlined in black. Her graceful elongated neck balances the tall, flat-top crown which adorns her sleek head. The vibrant colors of the her necklace and crown contrast the yellow-brown of her smooth skin. While everything is sculpted to perfection, the one flaw of the piece is a broken left ear. Because this remarkable sculpture is still in existence, it is no wonder why Nefertiti remains 'The Most Beautiful Woman in the World.'
However, the bust plays a part in one recent controversy. For more than eight decades, the serenely beautiful likeness of Queen Nefertiti's head has been the most celebrated exhibit in Berlin's Egyptian Museum, attracting thousands of visitors and resisting all attempts at repatriation.
But a conceptual artwork involving the 3,300-year-old limestone bust and the body of a scantily clad woman has provoked outrage in the queen's homeland and the accusation that Nefertiti is no longer safe in Germany.
The artwork is the brainchild of a Hungarian duo called Little Warsaw, and involved lowering the head of Nefertiti on to the headless bronze statue of a woman wearing a tight-fitting transparent robe.
This angered a number of officials in Egypt for several reasons. First of all, it must be remembered that Egypt is a rather conservative society and the attachment of Nefertiti's head to an almost nude statue was seen as an affront to Egyptian sensibilities. However, it was also pointed out by some Egyptian Egyptologists that such a display might give rise to some damage to the bust.
Irregardless, this controversy is probably short lived. The display apparently only lasted for a few hours and so the controversy has largely been mitigated at this point.
A recent, more enduring controversy surrounding Nefertiti is the possible discovery of her mummy, or at least the new identification of a previously known mummy. Soon after the incident involving Nefertiti's bust, Joanne Fletcher, a noted mummification expert from the University of York in England, announced that she and her team may have identified the actual mummy of the queen.
Back in 1898, the French Egyptologist Victor Loret excavated the tomb of Amenhotep II on the Theban necropolis and came upon a remarkable find. This was the first tomb ever opened in which the Pharaoh was still in his original resting place, and, moreover, eleven other mummies were also discovered in a sealed chamber in the tomb. All but three of these mummies, due to their critical state of preservation, were transferred to the Egyptian Antiquities Museum in Cairo.
One of the three mummies that were left behind became known among Egyptologists as the "Younger Lady" and since then Egyptologists have swayed between believing this corpse to be either Nefertiti or Princess Sitamun, a daughter of Amenhotep III. Fletcher was drawn to the tomb during an expedition in June 2002 after identifying a Nubian style wig worn by royal women during Akhenaten's reign. She also pointed to other clues that suggest that this mummy might indeed be Nefertiti, such as a doubled- pierced ear lobe, which she claims was a rare fashion statement in Ancient Egypt; a shaven head; and the clear impression of the tight-fitting brow-band worn by royalty. "Think of the tight-fitting, tall blue crown worn by Nefertiti, something that would have required a shaven head to fit properly," said Fletcher.
"There is a puzzle," she conceded, and explained that in 1907, when Egyptologist Grafton Elliot Smith first examined the three mummies, he reported that the Younger Lady was lacking a right arm. Nearby, however, he had found a detached right forearm, bent at the elbow and with clenched fingers. She said that the mummy had deteriorated badly; that the skull was pierced with a large hole, and the chest hacked away. Worse still, the face, which would otherwise have been excellently preserved, had been cruelly mutilated, the mouth and cheek no more than a gaping hole. Further examination using cutting- edge Canon digital X-ray machinery, the team spotted jewelry within the smashed chest cavity of the mummy. They also noticed a woman's severed arm beneath the remaining wrappings. The arm was bent at the elbow in Pharaonic style with its fingers still clutching a long-vanished royal scepter.
Following Discovery Channel's coverage of the events, the identification of the Younger Lady's mummy as Nefertiti immediately attracted an eager audience and made headlines around the world. But Egyptologists are not so convinced. In fact, they are divided into two schools of thought. Salima Ikram, author of The Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the Dead for Eternity, sees the identification as "interesting" and one that will doubtless cause endless speculation.
Others express doubt that the remains are those of the legendary queen of beauty. Egyptologist Susan James, who trained at Cambridge University and who spent a long time studying the three mummies, told Discovery Channel, who financed the expedition, " What we know about mummy 61072 would indicate that it is one of the young females of the late 18th dynasty, very probably a member of the royal family. However, physical evidence known and published prior to this expedition indicates the unlikelihood of this being the mummy of Nefertiti. Without any comparative DNA studies, statements of certainty are wishful thinking."
For his part, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Zahi Hawass totally refutes the idea, and describes it as "pure fiction". He accuses Fletcher of lacking in experience, as "a new PhD recipient", and that Fletcher's theory was not based on facts or solid evidence, "only on facial resemblance between the mummy and Nefertiti's bust, and on artistic representations of the Amarna period in which the queen lived".
Hawass asserted, moreover, that the physical resemblance is not significant, "because all the statues of the Amarna era have the same characteristics. Amarna art was idealistic and not realistic," he said, and pointed out that in the Egyptian Museum, there were five of six mummies with the same characteristics. Mamdouh El-Damati, director of the Egyptian Museum, mentioned that this theory was not new, this being the second time that a claim to have discovered Nefertiti's mummy within this group of mummies had been made.
So controversy swirls around Nefertiti as surely as it always has, and probably always might. At best, perhaps someday we may know more about this intriguing queen, but until then we can only make guesses about her life, as well as her remains.

Mummification in Egypt

2008-11-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

Mummification was practiced in Ancient Egypt tin order to preserve the body for the after life .
Ancient Egyptian believed in life after death This practice started and early as the old kingdom time in Ancient Egypt but it reach it is peak during the new kingdom. This ritual was essential to guarantee the survival of both the soul and the body. The ritual of mummification has been through many stages of evolution and, but most of its secrets have not been completely revealed yet.
Traditionally all what we know of the mummification came to us the classical sources of history such as Greek writers and papyrus drawing and wall relives and the rest through studying the mummies that e found intact inside the ancient Egyptian tombs.,

The most common way of mummification was as follows:
The brain was removed through the nose and was discarded. The viscera was removed and stored in jars known today as the canopic jars, while the body was soaked into naturn salt for 70 days until it was dehydrated, artificial ayes were placed instead of the real eyes which had dehydrated , then body is wrapped with 100 's of meters of gum coated linen and the jewels were inserted within the layers of the wrapping.
Canopic Jars:
It was necessary to complete the mummification conserving the interior limbs such as the brain , the viscera and so on , putting them into a square chest which was at first , during the old Kingdom it was divided into 4 compartments and was placed into a pit near to the sarcophagus, this box was made of stone or wood. Then apart from the ends of the Tth dynasty and en general during the Middle Kingdom and the Modern Kingdom that chest was turned to 4 jars .The stopper s of these jars are taken the shapes of 4 different heads ( according to the shapes of the 4 sons of Horus )
The Canopic jars are as follows:

-The first was Am-sty, with human head shape.
-The 2nd one was Hapy with a monkey head,.
-The 3rd one was Dwa-mut-f with a Jackal head,
-The 4th was kbh-snw- f with a falcon head.

The Greeks called these jars the Canopic Jars relating them to the deity of the old City ”Canop” now it is village in the province of (Abu Kyr). That deity was carry the name of Osiris and was represented in the shape of a jar with Osiris head. And during the Ptolemaic period these jars were called the canopic jars.

The US King Tut Exhibit Tour

2008-11-04T23:48:00.000-08:00

It will come as no news to most ancient Egypt enthusiasts that the treasures of the New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty pharaoh, Tutankhamun, perhaps better known to the world as King Tut, are coming to the US in June of 2005. This King Tut Exhibition is no small event, and one not to be missed, because the last time these artifacts left the basement of the Egyptian Antiquities Museum in Cairo for the US was some 26 years ago. There will be more than 130 objects on display, including Tutankhamun's royal diadem. This gold crown was discovered encircling the head of the king's mummified body that he likely wore while living.

The exhibit is being organized by National Geographic, AEG Exhibitions and Arts and Exhibitions International, with cooperation from the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt. The Northern Trust Corporation has entered into an agreement with Los Angeles based AEG to become the National Sponsor of the event.
The layout, flow and scholarly conception of the show is being organized by curator David Silverman, the Eckley B. Coxe Jr. professor of Egyptology and curator-in-charge, Egyptian Section, University of Pennsylvania Museum, who also helped curate the 1970's tour. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities is writing the exhibition companion book, "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," and a children's book, "Tutankhamun: The Mystery of the Boy King," both to be published by National Geographic in June 2005.
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation, which has never participated in an art exhibit in the past, but is now betting some $40 million that the company can run this blockbuster.
That $40 million will go to the Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, and will help pay for antiquity site restoration in Egypt, as well as help finance the building of the new Grand Museum in Cairo. However, this type of "for profit" exhibit is also creating waves among museum curators. Several museums, including New York's famed Metropolitan Museum of Art refused the exhibition.“It's not worth the cost, the hassle, the difficulty of setting up the whole infrastructure,” says Philippe deMontabello, director of the Met. “The Metropolitan has a pay-as-you-wish policy.”
Nevertheless, ticket sales, promoted through radio, print, billboard, television, direct mail, retail tie-ins and electronic marketing, suggest another wave of Tut-mania, despite the world's most famous art museum snubbing the world's most famous mummy. "It is a merging of art and entertainment," said David Stamper, an executive vice president in the Los Angeles office of Chicago-based GolinHarris International, a public relations firm working on the rollout. "When you see these items, they are so incredible and so beautiful, that really all you have to do is to shine a spotlight on them.
The Tut Exhibit actually begins on June 16th, 2005 and runs through November 15th, 2005 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, one of the same venues of it's last visit to the US. That first tour of King Tut's artifacts, which was only half the size of this the new one, is widely considered to be the first museum mega-event. It generated eight million visitors nationwide. Since then, such museum road shows have become commonplace and an opportunity for the various venues to generate new members and revenue.
Michael McDowell, senior director of cultural tourism for Los Angeles, said that the LA museum expects about one million people to attend the show, topping the Van Gogh exhibit in 1998-99 that brought 821,000 during a 17-week run. Tickets are currently on sale. Afterwards, the exhibit will move on to three other cities where it will be on display at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale (beginning in December 2005), the Field Museum in Chicago (beginning in May, 2006) and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia (beginning in February 2007).
The exhibit will include about fifty objects belonging to the boy king that were discovered when Howard Carter unearthed Tutankhamun's Valley of the Kings tomb in 1922. In addition, there will be scans of Tutankhamun's mummy captured through the use of a portable CT scanner and donated by Siemens Medical Solutions. These scans have allowed researchers to see through the mummy's wrappings for the first time and have never been on display in the past. Other documentary media, including videos, will also be on display.
The exhibition also will include more than 70 objects from tombs of other 18th Dynasty royals as well as several non-royal individuals. These stone, faience and wooden pieces from burials before Tut's reign will give visitors a sense of what the lost burials of other royalty and commoners may have been like. They include objects from the tomb of Amenhotep II, the tomb of Tuthmosis IV and the rich, intact tomb of Yuya and Tuyu. All of the treasures in the exhibit are between 3,300 and 3,500 years old.
Tickets for the event can be purchased through any number of sources online, such as Ticket Masters, but there are many opportunities for special deals so shop carefully. For example, a number of LA hotels are offering a summer savings spectacular featuring deals and discount packages in connection with the Tut Exhibit. They include the Le Meridien Hotel in Beverly Hills, the Luxe Hotel Sunset Boulevard, the Doubletree Hotel Westwood, as well as various Holiday Inns and Sheratons.
Interestingly, the excitement of this exhibit seems to be spawning a number of others. For example, various science centers such as the McWane Center in Birmingham, Alabama will be featuring a Tut exhibit featuring 120 high quality replicas of the original treasures

The Death of King Tut

2008-11-04T23:44:00.000-08:00

It all stacked up. It was all circumstantial evidence as such, but frequently that is all that investigators of ancient mysteries have to go on. And yet, the most recent findings on the death of King Tut (Tutankhamun) seem to conclusively indicate that he died of natural causes, rather than being murdered. Specifically, the latest report is that he died of gangrene caused by a broken leg.
There was more than a little reason to believe that King Tut may have been murdered. The two principal suspects, Aye who succeeded him as king, and General Horemhab who in turn succeeded Aye to the throne, both appear to have been powerful men who, in effect, ruled Egypt while King Tut was a child. It would not be unreasonable at all to believe that, as King Tut grew into a young man, the two elder men would have resented losing much of their power. Furthermore, at the time of his death, King Tut was certainly old enough to have sired an heir to the throne himself, which would have at least technically eliminated Aye and Horemhab from ever ascending the throne. It is also noteworthy that the young King Tut was greatly loved in ancient Egypt for restoring the Amun priesthood after the death of his presumed heretic father, Akhenaten. However, this was almost certainly the work of Aye and General Horemhab, who could have even resented Tut receiving all the glory of their work.
Finally, there was the issue of King Tut's widow, Ankhespaton, who was apparently forced to marry Aye after King Tut's death. Only a short time later, she disappeared from the annals of history, leading to speculation that she too might have been murdered.
These circumstances all contribute to an ancient mystery, and much intrigue, a situation that was not completely uncommon in the Egyptian royal court. Attempts had, and would be made to murder pharaohs, a few of which were successful. Usually, these seem to have been plots within the harem with the goal of elevating one wife's son to the throne over another's.
Now we are told, in absolute terms, that King Tut died by natural causes. However, lets take a little closer look.
One of the most interesting aspects of Egyptology is that various scholars very frequently present their interpretation of events as absolute, and particularly in books or releases to the general public, neglect to reveal opposing views. This occurs all the time, frequently with one expert asserting absolutely one conclusion, while another asserting absolutely a completely different conclusion. For example, debates continue to rage over who was actually King Menes, the founder of the 1st ancient Egyptian Dynasty, with some scholars stating unequivocally that it was Aha, with others still believing it to have been Narmer.
In the case of King Tut, one must first remember that his mummy is not in very good condition today. When Carter discovered it, his team basically dismantled the corpse while looking for amulets and other jewelry. Furthermore, many of its parts present at the original examination by Carter are now missing, and both skin and bones were broken in numerous places, supposedly also by the Carter team.
Dr. Zahi Hawass, the Director of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), makes some interesting comments about the most recent findings on King Tut. Though he seems to mostly be in agreement with these findings, he states, for example, that, "...some (not all) team members interpreted a fracture in the left thighbone as evidence for the possibility that Tutankhamun broke his leg badly just before he died".
He goes on to explain that:
"The team has noted a fracture of the left lower femur (thighbone), at the level of the epiphyseal plate. This fracture appears different from the many breaks caused by Carter’s team: it has ragged rather than sharp edges, and there are two layers of embalming material present inside. Part of the team believes that the embalming material indicates that this can only have occurred during life or during the embalming process, and cannot have been caused by Carter’s team. They note that this type of fracture, unlike most of the others, is possible in young men in their late teens, and argue that it is most likely that this happened during life. There is no obvious evidence for healing (although there may be some present, and masked by the embalming material). Since the associated skin wound would still have been open, this fracture would have had to occur a short time, days at the most, before death. Carter’s team had noted that the patella (kneecap) on this leg was loose (now it is completely separated, and has in fact, been wrapped with the left hand), possibly suggesting further damage to this area of the body. The part of the team that subscribes to this theory also notes a fracture of the right patella and right lower leg. Based on this evidence, they suggest the king may have suffered an accident in which he broke his leg badly, leaving an open wound. Although the break itself would not have been life-threatening, infection might have set in. However, this part of the team believes it also possible, although less likely, that this fracture was caused by the embalmers".
"Part of the team believes that the above scenario is absolutely not possible. They maintain that the fracture mentioned above can only have been done by Carter’s team during extraction of the body from the coffin. They argue that if such a fracture had been suffered in life, there would have been evidence for hemorrhage or hematoma present in the CT scan. They believe the embalming liquid was pushed into the fracture by Carter’s team".
However, one of the main reasons that murder has ragged on as a possible cause of King Tut's death is because of a fracture to the back of his head. Revealed in an X-ray of his mummy made by the University of Liverpool, a trauma specialist at Long Island University in the US theorized that the blow was not caused by an accident. However, according to Dr. Hawass,
"The entire team agrees that there is NO evidence for murder present in the skull of Tutankhamun. There is NO area on the back of the skull that indicates a partially healed blow. There are two bone fragments loose in the skull. These cannot possibly have been from an injury from before death, as they would have become stuck in the embalming material. The scientific team has matched these pieces to the fractured cervical vertebra and foramen magnum, and believes these were broken either during the embalming process or by Carter’s team".
So, while some recent news coverage seems to indicate that all of the questions surrounding Tutankhamun's death have now been answered, at least for some scholars, they have not. Perhaps, once all the results of the recent CAT scan have been released, everyone may be in agreement, but there still seems to be some question, at least according to Dr. Hawass, that at least some of the team that examined the CAT scans disagree with the absolute finding that gangrene caused by a broken leg caused King Tut's death.
In fact, Dr. Hawass does reveal in recent media that we are not really completely sure how King Tut died, but that we know it was not murder. We have always had the utmost respect for Dr. Hawass, as we continue to have, but it was long suggested as a hypothesis that King Tut may have been poisoned, so in fact, if we are not certain as to how he died, then murder cannot yet be ruled out.

Tutankhamun (King Tut)

2008-11-04T23:37:00.000-08:00

At this point, it almost seems to be repetitive to remind readers that Tutankhamun (King Tut) was not a major player in Egypt Pharaonic history, or at least, in comparison with other pharaohs. In fact, prior to Howard Carter's discovery of his tomb, almost nothing was known of him and interestingly, the one disappointment in Carter's discover was that there was little in the way of documentation found within his tomb. Therefore, we still know relatively little about Tutankhamun. For example, even who is father was remains a topic of some debate. That has not prevented writers from producing volumes of material on the Pharaoh.
We believe Tutankhamun ruled Egypt between 1334 and 1325 BC. He was probably the 12th ruler of Egypt's 18th Dynasty.
Tutankamun was not given this name at birth, but rather Tutankhaten (meaning "Living Image of the Aten), squarely placing him in the line of pharaohs following Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh, who was most likely his father. His mother was probably Kiya, though this too is in question. He changed his name in year two of his rule to Tutankhamun (or heqa-iunu-shema, which means "Living Image of Amun, Ruler of Upper Egyptian Heliopolis", which is actually a reference to Karnak) as re reverted to the old religion prior to Akhenaten's upheaval. Even so, this did not prevent his name from being omitted from the classic kings lists of Abydos and Karnak. We may also find his named spelled Tutankhamen or Tutankhamon, among other variations. His throne name was Neb-Kheperu-re, which means "Lord of Manifestations is Re.
Left: Tutankhamun from the back of his gold throne.
We do know that he spent his early years in Amarna, and probably in the North Palace. He evidently even started a tomb at Amarna. At age nine he was married to Ankhesenpaaten, his half sister, and later Ankhesenamun. We believe Ankhesenpaaten was older then Tutankhamun because she was probably of child bearing age, seemingly already having had a child by her father, Akhenaten. It is possible also that Ankhesenamun had been married to Tutankhamun's predecessor. It seems he did not succeed Akhenaten directly as ruler of Egypt, but either an older brother or his uncle, Smenkhkare (keeping in mind that there is much controversy surrounding this king). We believe Tutankhamun probably had two daughters later, but no sons.
At the end of Akhenaten's reign, Ay and Horemheb, both senior members of that kings court, probably came to the realization that the heresy of their king could not continue. Upon the death of Akhenaten and Smenkhkare, they had the young king who was nine years old crowned in the old secular capital of Memphis. And since the young pharaoh had no living female relatives old enough, he was probably under the care of Ay or Horemheb or both, who would have actually been the factual ruler of Egypt.
Right: Kiya, a lesser wife of Akhenaten who was probably Tutankhamun's mother..
We know of a number of other officials during the reign of Tutankhamun, two of which include Nakhtmin, who was a military officer under Horemheb and a relative of Ay (perhaps his son) and Maya, who was Tutankhamun's Treasurer and Overseer of the Place of Eternity (the royal necropolis). Others included Usermontju and Pentu, his to viziers of upper and lower Egypt, as well as Huy, the Viceroy of Nubia.
Immediately after becoming king, and probably under the direction of Ay and Horemheb, a move was made to return to Egypt's traditional ancient religion. By year two of his reign, he changed his, as well as Ankhesenpaaten's name, removing the "aten" replacing it with "amun". Again, he may have had nothing to do with this decision, though after two years perhaps Ay's and Horemheb's influence had effected the boy-king's impressionable young mind.
One reason why Tutankhamun was not listed on the classical king lists is probably because Horemheb, the last ruler of the 18th Dynasty, usurped most of the boy-king's work, including a restoration stele that records the reinstallation of the old religion of Amun and the reopening and rebuilding of the temples. The ownership inscriptions of other reliefs and statues were likewise changed to that of Horemheb, though the image of the young king himself remains obvious. Even Tutankhamun's extensive building carried out at the temples of Karnak and Luxor were claimed by Horemheb. Of course, we must also remember that little of the statues, reliefs and building projects were actually ordered by Tutankhamun himself, but rather his caretakers, Ay and Horemheb.
Left: Kiya, a lesser wife of Akhenaten who was probably Tutankhamun's mother.
His building work at Karnak and Luxor included the continuation of the entrance colonnades of the Amenhotep III temple at Luxor, including associated statues, and his embellishment of the Karnak temple with images of Amun, Amunet and Khonsu. There were also a whole range of statues and sphinxes depicting Tutankhamun himself, as well as a small temple in the king's name. We also know, mostly from fragments, that he built at Memphis. At Kawa, in the far south, he built a temple. A pair of granite lions from that temple today flank the entrance to the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery at the British Museum.
Militarily, little happened during the reign of Tutankhamun, a surprising fact considering that Horemheb was a well known general. Apparently there were campaigns in Nubia and Palestine/Syria, but this is only known from a brightly painted gesso box found in Tutankhamun's tomb. It portrays scenes of the king hunting lions in the desert and gazelles, while in the fourth scene he is smiting Nubians and then Syrians. There are paintings in the tomb of Horemheb and as well as the tomb of Huy that seem to confirm these campaigns, though it is unlikely that the young Tutankhamun actually took part in the military actions directly. The campaigns in Palestine/Syria met with little success, but those in Nubia appear to have gone much better.
Though we know that Tutankhamun died young, we are not certain about how he died until very recently. Both forensic analysis of his mummy and clay seals dated with his regnal year support his demise at the age of 17 or no later then 18. As to how he died, a small sliver of bone within the upper cranial cavity of his mummy was discovered from X-ray analysis, suggesting that his death was not due to illness. It has been suggested that he was possibly murdered, but it is also just as likely the result of an accident. In fact, a recent medical examination now seems to indicate that he may very well have died from infection brought about by a broken leg.
Yet it is clear that others certainly had eyes on the throne.
After Tutankhamun's death, Ankhesenamun was a young woman surrounded by powerful men, and it is altogether obvious that she had little interest or love for any of them. She wrote to the King of the Hittites, Suppiluliumas I, explaining her problems and asking for one of his sons as a husband. Suspicious of this good fortune, Suppiluliumas I first sent a messanger to make inquiries on the truth of the young queen's story. After reporting her plight back to Suppilulumas I, he sent his son, Zannanza, accepting her offer. However, he got no further than the border before he was murdered, probably at the orders of Horemheb or Ay, who, both had both the opportunity and the motive. So instead, Ankhesenamun married Ay, probably under force, and shortly afterwards, disappeared from recorded history. It should be remembered that both Ay and Horemheb were military men, but Ay was much older then Horemheb, and was probably the brother of Tiy who was the wife of Amenhotep III. Amenhotep III was most likely Tutankhamun's grandfather. He was also probably the father of Nefertiti, the wife of Akhenaten. Therefore, he got to go first, as king, followed a short time later by Horemheb.
Right: Tut's famous gold funeral mask.
Tutankhamun's famous tomb is located in the Valley of the Kings on the West bank across from modern Luxor (ancient Thebes). It is certainly less magnificent then other pharaohs of Egypt, yet, because of it, Tutankhamun has remained in our memory for many years, and will probably continue to do so for many years to come. Regardless of all the myths surrounding his tomb's discovery, including the "curse of the mummy" and other media hype, it is all a blessing to the boy-king. The ancient pharaohs believed that if their name was remembered, their soul would live on, so not even the powerful Rameses the Great's soul can be as healthy as King .

The Temple of Abydos

2008-11-04T23:21:00.000-08:00

The Temple of Abydos is located to the west of El-Baliana, which is a town in Sohag Governorate. In ancient times it was called Abdu, and the Greeks called it Abydos. The 8th province in ancient Egypt, this area is considered to be amongst the most famous archaeological sites. It was the city were Menna, the unifier of upper and lower Egypt, came from, and from the 11th Dynasty onwards, a burial in Abydos was the ultimate wish, and honour, for any local to have. In Abydos, many tombs were found belonging to the 1st and 2nd Dynasties. Also, many Kings built Temples here, including King Pepi I, King Ahmose I, King Seti I and King Ramses II. Ancient Egyptians believed that the tomb of Osiris, the “God of the Dead”, was located in Abydos, and it is also where his head was buried.

The Temple of Seti I:

The Temple was built in the reign of King Seti I and was finished by, first, his son King Ramses II and then his son, King Mern-Ptah It is unique in design as it is in the shape of an “L”, and it also contains the most complete lists of Kings and Gods. The Temple contains 7 shrines dedicated to 7 Gods: Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amon Ra, Ra HorAkhty and Ptah, and Seti I as a deified King. You will also find the best-preserved painted reliefs and texts from the 18th Dynasty. The Temple of Abydos was constructed with white marble and once had a large pylon built by Ramses II. The front of the Temple is a square columned façade and there are 12 rectangular pillars with decoration of Ramses II welcoming the Gods Osiris, Isis and Horus. The Temple originally had 7 gates leading to 7 shrines originally constructed by Seti I, but Ramses II made additional parts to the construction, and only there is one gate open now. This gate leads to a hypostyle hall, which was built and decorated by King Ramses II, where the columns are decorated with papyrus bud capitals. There are many representations of Ramses II offering to many Gods, here.Further west, you will find the second hypostyle hall, which is the more impressive! Seti II built this hall, the walls depicting Seti I giving offerings, to Osiris and Horus, in front of Osiris shrine. The decorations in this hall are the best in the Temple; the fine painted relief being of the highest standard. Behind that hall there are 7 sanctuaries, dedicated by Seti I, and made for Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amon Ra, Ra HorAkhty, Ptah and Seti I as a deified King. It is believed that these shrines once contained the sacred boats of the God's. Each of them has false doors (except for Osiris) with a Stella mentioning the God. The shrine of Osiris doesn't have a false door; it has representations of the God Osiris’ Jed sign (the pillar of Osiris), with scenes of the Osiris myth.To the left of the 2nd hypostyle hall, there are two entrances. One leads to the hall of Sokker and Nefertum, while the other leads to a narrow decorated hall, with a list of 76 Kings. Missing from this list are the names of the “heretic King”, Akhenaton, and Queen Hatshepsut.This corridor leads to the hall of sacred boats, where the sacred boats where stored, there was also a hall for sacrifices, where

Luxor Travel Information

2008-11-04T04:09:00.000-08:00

Luxor is a city located in Upper Egypt, in the province of Qena. It was the ancient city of Thebes - the capital of Ancient Egypt. The early Arab travelers, who admired Luxor for the numerous monuments and ruins scattered around the city, gave it its name. In Arabic Luxor means "the palaces".Today’s city is among the most famous and popular tourist destinations in Egypt, one of those places you must see. So therefore, all the major travel agencies have main regional tourist offices there that also act as destination service offices.The weather in Luxor is fairly hot all year round. Temperature can reach up to 40-50 C during the summer time

The city of Luxor has population of around 230 thousand

How to get there:

You can reach Luxor by air, train or bus.

By flight:

Luxor International Airport is located 6 KM east of the centre of the city. As it is an International airport, it can receive international flights as well as local, domestic ones. You can fly directly into Luxor from many European airports.Egypt Air runs daily flights from Cairo to Luxor. The flight costs approximately $250 and takes about 50 minutes. Please note: You must book your tickets in advance.

By Trains:

The main railway station in Luxor is located in El- Mahata Square. There are frequent train services from Luxor to Cairo and from Luxor to Aswan, as well as other southern sites such as Edfu and Kom Ombo

From: Luxor to Cairo

From: CairoLuxor to

Hotels:

The city is full of different classes of hotel, to fit many types of budget, from 2 star to 5 star deluxe. The Winter Palace is the most famous and expensive hotel in Luxor, located near the Luxor Temple and surrounded by a shopping area, with banks and the EgyptAir office nearby.

History of Luxor:

Luxor was the ancient city of Thebes, the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom, and the glorious city of the God Amon Ra. The city was regarded in the Ancient Egyptian texts as T-APT (meaning “the shrine”) and then, in a later period, the Greeks called it tea pie, which the Arabs later pronounced as Thebes. The importance of the city started as early as the 11th Dynasty by King Mento-hotepThe city of Thebes was the capital of the fourth Nome of Upper Egypt. The main local god was the God Amon Ra, who was worshipped with his wife, the Goddess Mutt, and their son, the God Khonsou, the God of the moon. Thebes was also known as “the city of the 100 gates”, sometimes being called the southern city, to distinguish it from Memphis, the early capital of the Old Kingdom.Thebes also played a great role in expelling the invading forces of the Hykos from Upper Egypt. From the time of the 18th Dynasty, through to the 20th Dynasty, the importance of the city had risen as the major political, religious and military capital of Ancient Egypt. Such importance faded during the Late Period, but the God Amon Ra remained the main God until the Greco-Roman period

Temple of The Ramesseum

2008-11-04T04:03:00.000-08:00

Temple of The Ramesseum or the Ramesseum Temple
Ramses II built the Temple of the Ramesseum as a funerary Temple in 1304-1207 B.C, and it was dedicated to the God Ra. Most of the Temple is in a very bad condition nowadays, or in ruins. The entrance to the Temple once had two pylons that have now collapsed. In the first courtyard, of the Temple, there is only a colonnaded hall that has survived. In front of the ruins of the first pylon, there once stood a colossal statue of Ramses that was more than 1000 Tons in weight and 18m high! You can still see the remains of it today.Many other Kings have superimposed monuments in the Ramesseum such as Mernptah and Ramses III. The Greeks identified this as the Temple of Memnonium (they associated the colossal statue in front of the Temple with their legendry hero, Memnon, the son of Aurora who's mother, Eos, was the Goddess of dawn. Also they sometimes called it “the tomb of Ozymandias”, a name that might have be derived from the ancient Egypt word “User-Maat-Ra”.

This huge Temple later inspired a poetic verse by Percy Bysshe Shelley: -I met a traveller from an antique landwho said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stonestand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,And on the pedestal these words appear:"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"Nothing beside remains. Round the decayof that colossal wreck, boundless and barethe lone and level sands stretch far away.Percy Bysshe Shelley 1792-1822 The Roman historian, Diodorus, was under the impression that the Temple was the work of the legendry King called Ozymandias, and his tomb was located in there. He even give detailed descriptions of the tomb of Ozymandias and described the inscription that was on its entrance, which says: - " I am Ozymandias, King of Kings. If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass any of my works."
The Temple measures 600 feet by 220 feet. The eastern pylon of the Temple was the main entrance and was once decorated with scenes of the battle of Kadesh, but it is in ruins today! On the right wing of the pylon you will find inscriptions that represent the 118 cities that Ramses III had conquered during his military campaigns. You will also see scenes of prisoners taken to the King. On the left wing of the pylon there are scenes of the famous battle between Ramses II and the Hittites. After that you will proceed onto the first open courtyard, where you will see many damaged statues. Once there was a colossal statue of Ramses II, and at its feet, it read:"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair" In the great hypostyle hall there are 29 columns that are still standing, the ones in the middle are shorter than those on the sides to allow light into the Temple! Here, on the left side, you can see more scenes of the battle of Kadesh.On the right of this hall, and outside the walls of the hypostyle hall, lies a much older Temple, built by Seti I and dedicated to the God Amon Ra. The Second courtyard is in a much better condition, than the first one, and you can see on both sides, two rows of Osiris columns, representing Ramses II. Further south there is another small hypostyle hall that once had 8 papyrus-bud columns. In here the hall of astronomy is located, where the first 12th month calendar is illustrated. This hall is decorated with scenes of offering, and scenes of the sacred boat of Amon Ra. On the western wall you will see Ramses II sitting under the tree of life, where the God Thoth and the Goddess Seshat are recording his name, in the leaves of the tree, for long life.

If you go further into the western side, there are the ruins of two vestibules that lead you to a library, linen room and the badly ruined sanctuary, which was dedicated to the God Amon Ra.To the south of the Temple, Ramses II built a great mud break palace where he stayed during his visits to the site. To the south of this section, lies the small Temple of Mern-Ptah, the successor of Ramses II. In 1896, the great Egyptologist, William Flinders Petrie, did extensive excavations at this site. Petrie found here a very important Stella, known as the “Israel Stella”, which contained the first reference to the “Tribe of Israel”. Because of this Stella, many archaeologists believe that Mern-Ptah is very likely to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus

2008-11-04T03:57:00.001-08:00

The Valley of The Nobles is located on the west bank of Luxor, in an area called Sheik Abd El-Korna. The site has rock cut tombs of Nobles, and high officials of ancient Egypt, who once served the Pharaohs during the time of the New Kingdom. (1500 - 500 BC)
Among the most important tombs in this cemetery is the tomb numbered 55, which belonged to Ra-Mose. He was the mayor of Thebes, and during the end of the reign of Amenhotep III (Amenophis III) and his son Akhenaton, the vizier.
Unfortunately this tomb is unfinished because Ra-Mose moved, with Akhenaton, to the new capital Akht-Aton (modern day Tell El-Amarna), therefore the decoration work stopped, and the tomb was left unfinished, except for the scenes which already had been completed. Because of this, we can appreciate the high techniques that Egyptian art had during that period.
This tomb consists of a square rock-cut court, with a central doorway, opening into a broad columned hall with columns in the papyrus bud form. The inner hall is undecorated! On the left of the broad hall, and under the inner hall, were shafts’ leading below to two burial chambers, but the mummy of Ra-Mose was not found. The relief carving in this chapel is very fine and only some parts were painted.The tomb numbered 100 is another one of the important tombs in this cemetery; it belonged to Re-khme–e, who was vizier of Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep II. It is another rock cut tomb and its walls are decorated with many painted scenes of the various aspects of life in Ancient Egypt. One of the most beautiful scenes is the one that represents the arrival of the foreign delegations to the court of the Vizier Re-khme-Re, carrying presents and tributes to the King of Egypt and his men. These presents and tributes included items such as, utensils, agricultural products and various animals. One of the most important text engraves in the this tomb is the one which mentions the duties and responsibilities assumed by the vizier in order to let the justice prevail on Earth. When you visit the tombs, it is very important to know the number of the tomb you want to visit. This way you can visit exactly what you want to see; otherwise you will be lost, as many of the names of the Nobles are similar.
Here I have selected for you, some of the tombs that I recommend for you to visit.

The Tombs Chapel of Nakht, 52:
The owner of this tomb was one of the Nobles who had the title of the great scribe! He was also an astronomer in the Temple of Amon during the time of the reign of King Tuthmosis IV; his wife was also involved in the activities carried on in the Temple, as she worked as a chanter.The tomb is fairly small but has one the most brilliant colourful scenes; these scenes are well preserved and have great beauty.The tomb is decorated with scenes of agriculture, and a marvellous scene of Nakht in hunting action, together with his wife standing on a boat, harpooning fish. Near to this scene, there is another one of him fowling in the marshes of the Delta, where he is catching birds using a boomerang. Next, there is a wonderful scene where you can see some female musicians playing their instruments, while a blind singer sings for the crowds. You can also see crowds of people, who were invited to this party, watching the show, talking amongst each other and eating from a fruit laden table.
The Tomb of Menna N 69:
It is considered amongst the most famous tombs in the Valley of the Nobles, and one of the most beautiful, as it has many magnificent scenes and still remains in good condition The tomb belonged to a Noble, who had the title of being the land surveyor during the time of King Tuthmosis IV. His job was important, as he was the one responsible for estimating how much in taxes should be levied, for the King, from the local farmers.The tomb is full of scenes of daily life. There are scenes of cultivation, including harvesting, threshing, ploughing the fields and winnowing the seeds (separating the chaff from the seeds).In the middle of the left wall, in the second register of the agriculture scenes, there is a very cute scene that depicts two girls fighting over falling seeds that passing farmers are dropping, while transporting them to the threshing ground.This tomb also includes some offering scenes, here Menna and his wife are offering to the God Osiris.There are also scenes of fishing and fowling in the marshes of the Nile. As well as all of the relief’s, there is also a destroyed statue of Menna and his wife, of which nothing remains but the feet!When looking at the depictions of Menna on the walls, you will notice that his eyes have been destroyed! It seems that he had an enemy, who entered his tomb after the burial and destroyed the eyes in the paintings, meaning that Menna will never be able to see again in the after life.
The Tomb Chapel of Ra Mose
This is my passion and the best tomb so far. This marvelous tomb belongs to the vizier and counselor of the city of Thebes, who lived during the reigns of King Amonhotep III and Akhenaton (or Amenhotep IV) in the 18th Dynasty. In this tomb, there is a complete record of the new cult that Akhenaton, who was regarded as the heretic King, introduced and called Atonism.
Ra-mose lived until the 5th year of the reign of King Akhenaton. Evidence was found that proved that this tomb was opened and re-used by many other Noblemen in a later period; most probably they were the ones who erased the names of King Akhenaton of the walls of the tomb!The high Priest Ra-mose of Amon Ra had great power! It is clear from the style of decoration inside this tomb, that he enjoyed a very unique position.The most interesting part of the tomb was for the worshippers of the sun disk, the God Aton, which illuminates the name and figures of the wives and children of Akhenaton. Next to him, in this scene, there is another one of the high Priests with a long mantle and clean-shaven head.
On the interiors wall to the south, is the fine colour scene showing the funeral ceremony and female mourners. There you will see a group of servants carrying offerings to the deceased. On the eastern wall there is a fine specimen of relief sculpture made by the finest artists of the 18th Dynasty; here the scene shows Ra-mose’s wife, father, uncles and sisters.There is also a large scene that shows Ra-mose sitting on a stool with his wife, and their pet goose sitting underneath. On the southern wall of the tomb, there is a fresco that shows the funeral of Ra-mose, his possessions, and the offerings being made for him. In another scene you can see groups of mourners weeping and wailing. In front of them there is a Priest, standing at the entrance of the tomb.

Temple of Madinat Habu

2008-11-04T03:47:00.000-08:00

The Temple of Medinat Habu is one of the largest memorial Temples in Egypt. It measures 320m in length (east to west) and about 200m in width (north to south). It was built to commemorate Ramses III, after his death, by orders of the King himself. A huge mud brick enclosure wall surrounds the Temple.
This building basically consists of a huge gate, which takes the shape of a Syrian fort, and is decorated with battle scenes of the King’s wars in Syria. After accessing the gate there is a shrine, which dates back to the 18th Dynasty, on the right hand side.
There is also a wide-open court that leads to a huge pylon, which has both towers decorated with battle scenes. On one tower the King, wearing the red crown with his “Ka” or “double”, smiting his enemies in front of Re-Horakhty. On the other tower, the King is represented with the red crown of Lower Egypt, smiting his enemies in front of the God Amon Ra.
One of the most wonderful scenes engraved on the back of the southern tower, is the oxen hunt, which depicts Ramses III, leading his chariot, hunting wild oxen. Here you will notice that the sculptor was very skilful in showing the pain of the wounded animals.
The 1st open court measures 42m long by 33m wide. Its walls are decorated with battle scenes fought against the Syrians and the Libyans.
The 2nd courtyard (42m long by 38m wide) was converted into a basilica in the early Christian times, but there are scenes representing religious ceremonies, especially the festival of the Gods Sokker (also spelt Sokar) and Min. Other scenes represent the King, with the priests, making offerings to various deities.
The 1st Hypostyle is badly damaged, probably by an earthquake in 27 B.C. It contained 24 columns in 6 rows, surrounded by 16 chapels: 8 to the right and 8 to the left. Among the most important shrines on the right side are the first one, which was dedicated to King Ramses III, chapel number 2, which was dedicated to the God Ptah, chapel number 4, which was consecrated for the boat of the God Sokker, and chapel number 7 which was dedicated to the sacred boat of the God Amon Ra.
The chapels on the left side were dedicated to storing the utensils of the Temples, except for chapel number 14, which was dedicated to the sacred boat of King Ramses II, and chapel number15, which was dedicated to the divine boat of the God Montho.
The 2nd Hypostyle hall contains 8 papyrus columns in 2 rows. The 3rd Hypostyle hall is similar to the 2nd Hypostyle hall and its ceiling was supported by 8 columns in 2 rows.

At the end of this hypostyle hall there are three entrances, the one in the centre leads to the sanctuary where the sacred boat of Amon Ra was placed, the one to the right side leads to the chapel of the God Khonso while the one of the left side leads to the chapel of the Goddess Mut. The Sanctuary at the end of the Temple consists of 3 chapels as mentioned before; it was dedicated to the “Triad of Thebes”, and was surrounded by many side chambers.

The Temple of Deir El-Bahri

2008-11-04T03:22:00.000-08:00

The Temple of Deir El-Bahri is one of the most characteristic temples in the whole of Egypt, due to its design and decorations. It was built of limestone, not sandstone like most of the other funerary temples of the New Kingdom period. It is thought that Senimut, the genius architect who built this Temple, was inspired in his design by the plan of the neighboring mortuary Temple of the 12th Dynasty King, Neb-Hept-Re. The Temple was built for the great Queen Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty), to commemorate her achievements and to serve as a funerary Temple for her, as well as a sIn the 7th century AD, it was named after a Coptic monastery in the area, known as the “Northern monastery”. Today it is known as the Temple of Deir El-Bahri, which means in Arabic, the “Temple of the Northern monastery”. There is a theory suggesting that the Temple, in the Early Christian Period, was used as a Coptic monastery.This unique Temple reflects clear ideas about the serious conflict between Hatshepsut, and her nephew and son in law, Tuthmosis III, since many of her statues were destroyed, and the followers of Tuthmosis III damaged most of her Cartouches, after the mysterious death of the queen.anctuary of the God, Amon Ra.The Temple consists of three imposing terraces. The two lower ones would have once been full of trees. On the southern end of the 1st colonnade there are some scenes, among them the famous scene of the transportation of Hatshepsut’s two obelisks.On the north side of the colonnade there is a scene that represents the Queen offering four calves to Amon Ra. The 2nd terrace is now accessed by a ramp; originally it would have had stairs. The famous Punt relief is engraved on the southern side of the 2nd colonnade. The journey to Punt (now called Somalia) was the first pictorial documentation of a trade expedition recorded, and discovered, in ancient Egypt; until now. The scenes depict in great detail, the maritime expedition that Queen Hatshepsut sent, via the Red Sea, to Punt, just before the 9th year of her reign (1482 B.C) This famous expedition was headed by her high official, Pa-nahsy, and lasted for 3 years. His mission was to exchange Egyptian merchandise for the products of Punt, especially gold, incense and tropical trees.
To the south there is the shrine of the Goddess Hathor. The court that leads to this chapel has columns, where Hathor, who is shown with a woman’s face and cow’s ears, is carrying a sistrum (a musical tool); on the walls she is depicted as a cow. In this part of the Temple, King Tuthmosis III erased the Queen’s names. On the northern side of the 2nd colonnade, there is a scene depicting the divine birth of Hatshepsut. The Queen claimed that she was the divine daughter of Amon Ra to legitimise her rule. Beyond the colonnade to the North are the chapel of Anubis, God of mummification and the keeper of the necropolis.
The 3rd terrace is also accessed by a ramp! It consists of two rows of columns, the front ones taking the Osirid form (a mummy form); unfortunately Tuthmosis III damaged them. The columns at the rear, sadly, have all been destroyed; also by Tuthmosis III!The colonnade, which leads to the sanctuary of the Temple, has also been severely damaged. This sanctuary consists of two small chapels.In the Ptolemaic period, a third chapel was added to the sanctuary which was also decorated with various scenes, the most remarkable being the ones representing Amenhotep, son of Habo (18th Dynasty) who, like Imhotep from the 3rd Dynasty, was another genius architect from Ancient Egypt.

The Karnak Temple

2008-11-04T00:24:00.000-08:00

The Temple of Karnak is the largest Temple in the World! The complex contains a group of Temples such as the Great Temple of Amon Ra, The Temple of Khonso, The Ipt Temple, The Temple of Ptah, the Temple of Montho and the Temple of the God Osiris. A 20m high, mud brick enclosure wall, surrounded all of these buildings.This great Temple of Amon Ra was known during the Middle Kingdom period as Ipt-Swt, which means the Selected Spot. It was also called Pr-Imn, which means the House of Amon. The name Al-Karnak in Arabic was derived from Karnak, which means fortified village, probably because the Arabs found many Temples and buildings in the area when they entered it for first time.On your way towards the entrance you will find a ram-headed avenue of Sphinxes, which was built to protect the Temple. There are 20 rams on each side, extending from the small harbour to the 1st Pylon, which was built during the time of King Nektanebo I (30th Dynasty). As you cross this pylon, it takes you into an Open court, whose dimensions are100m long by 80m wide, built during the 22nd Dynasty, and containing rows of bud papyrus columns. In the middle of the 1st Open court, there is a huge column, which is 21m high and has a bud papyrus capital. This part is known as the kiosk of Taharqa who ruled during the 25th Dynasty. This is the only column left from a colonnade that once had 10 columns.On the left side of this Court there are 3 chapels, which were built by King Seti II for the “Triad of Thebes”. On the right side is the Temple of Ramses III. This Temple consists of a small pylon, an open court and Hypostyle hall, leading to the sanctuary. Horemheb built the 2nd Pylon during the 18th Dynasty, though it is now badly damaged. Ramses I, the founder of the 19th Dynasty, later completed it. Passing the 2nd Pylon, we enter the Great Hypostyle Hall, which measures 103m in length and 52m in width. It contains 134 papyrus columns; each column is about 22m in height and 3.5m in diameter. Amenhotep III built it and Ramses I, Seti I, and Ramses II decorated it, while King Seti I erected the other 122 columns in 14 rows. The ceiling in the centre is higher than the laterals, and it allows light into this spot, which was the processional avenue of the Triad during the festival of the Opet. The scenes of the Hypostyle Hall represent King Seti I, in front of different deities, making offerings, while the southern wall is decorated with scenes of Ramses II, making offerings to the different deities or worshipping the Triad of Thebes.The Hypostyle Hall leads to The 3rd Pylon, which was built by Amenhotep III. It is remarkable that stones from previous periods were found incrusted in that Pylon, for example, the marble alabaster of Amenhotep I! Crossing the 3rd Pylon, you come to an open, rectangular court, which is known as the Court of Tuthmosis I. In this court, Tuthmosis I erected 2 obelisks, as most probably this area was the main entrance of the Temple during his reign. Unfortunately, only one obelisk has survived: 19m high and around 310 tons in weight. From the Court of Tuthmosis, we reach the 4th Pylon, which Tuthmosis I also built; beyond this is a rectangular colonnade, which he built as well. When Hatshepsut ascended to the throne she built 2 obelisks in that colonnade, the left one is still in its original position: 29.5m in height, 322 tons in weight and made of red granite! After the death of Queen Hatshepsut, King Tuthmoses III built a high, long wall around these 2 obelisks to hide them.The 5th Pylon, yet again built by Tuthmosis I, is damaged and on both sides of the entrance,Tuthmosis III built two small rooms. We are now at the 6th Pylon, which was built by Tuthmosis III. Beyond this pylon Tuthmosis III built his famous hall, which is known as the Ancestral Room. The original Sanctuary was built by Tuthmosis III, but Philip Arrhidaeus, the half brother of Alexander the Great, later rebuilt it.The sanctuary was built of granite, and it was dedicated to the sacred boat of Amon Ra. Behind the sanctuary you will see a court, dating back to the time of the Middle Kingdom. It is a wide-open courtyard that is badly damaged now. Most probably this spot was the site of an old Temple, dating back to the time of the Middle Kingdom: the origin of the Karnak Temple.

At the end of the Middle Kingdom Courtyard, there is another Hall known as the Akh-Mnw, or the Festival Hall of Tuthmosis III. The hall in the north of the area is called The Botanical Room. This is because the walls were decorated with scenes of plants, animals and birds, which were brought from Syria, to Egypt, by the King.Now we shall go back through the temple until we reach the Court of Tuthmosis 1 again (between the 4th and 3rd Pylons).Turning left, we enter a courtyard, which is in front of the 7th Pylon. In 1902, the French Egyptologist Georges Legrain (1865–1917) discovered a very pre

cious collection of statues hidden in the ground of this court, which is now known as the Court of the Cashet. The 7th Pylon, which is badly damaged, was built by Tuthmosis III.Crossing the 7th Pylon to the court beyond, you will see 2 statues of Ramses II and Tuthmosis III.The 8th Pylon was built by Hatshepsut, decorated by Tuthmosis III, and restored by Seti I. The scenes on the façade of the Pylon represent Hatshepsut with different deities, and a religious scene featuring Tuthmosis III.On the left side of the Court, between the 9th and 10th Pylons, are the remains of the Heb-Sed Shrine, which was built by Amenhotep II and decorated by Seti I.The 9th Pylon, which was built by Horemheb, is badly damaged. A large number of bricks were found inside, which were being used as filling. They belonged to the Aton Temple, which was built by Amenhotep VI (Akhenaten) in the 18th Dynasty and destroyed by later Kings who wanted to eliminate all traces of the “heretic” King.Finally we reach the 10th Pylon, damaged as well, and again built by King Horemheb. In front of this Pylon there are the remains of an avenue of Sphinxes, built by Horemheb, and extending to the gate of Ptolemy II in front of Mut Temple.Before leaving the Temple of Amon Ra at Karnak you should visit the Sacred Lake, which goes back to the time of Tuthmosis III. It measures 80m in length and 40m in width. Near the Sacred Lake there is a scarab, which is considered the biggest scarab left from Ancient Egypt, dating from the reign of Amenhotep III. The Ancient Egyptians called the scarab, Khebry, and it was the symbol of the Sun God. The word itself means to create; it was thought to bring to the sun in the early morning.
While you are in Luxor, why don’t you attend the marvelous Sound and Light show at the Temple of Karnak?Listed below you will find the Sound and Light show schedule.

Show First show Second show third show Fourth show

Day / time 8:00 PM 9:15PM 10:30 11.45
Saturday French English Italian
Sunday German English Italian French
Monday English French Spanish
Tuesday Japanese English
Wednesday German English French
Thursday English French Arabic
Friday English French
Cost 75 LE 75 LE 75 LE 75 LE

Please Note: An additional charge of 35LE is made for video cameras if you are going to take one with you into the show

Luxor Temple

2008-11-03T23:10:00.000-08:00

Luxor Temple, or The Temple of Luxor, is among the most beautiful Temples in Egypt. It was known in the New Kingdom period as Ipt-Rsyt, which means the southern shrine. This was to differentiate between this Temple and Karnak Temple, which was the northern house of Amon Ra.Amenhotep III built Luxor Temple. The architect and overseer of the works of construction was the genius Amenhotep, son of Habu. The Temple run close and parallel to the river Nile from north to south. It was constructed on the site of a small Temple of Amon, built by kings of the 12th dynasty. At the time of Amenhotep III the Temple was only 190m in length and 55m in width. Basically, Luxor Temple was consecrated to Amon Ra in his fertility aspect. Ramses II, with the help of his architect Pak-in Khonso, added the front part and completed the Temple. He also added the present large forecourt, and a Pylon at the (northern) front of the Temple. Kings Merenpetah, Seti I, Ramses III, Ramses IV and Ramses VI built many more small additions. Alexander the Great rebuilt the Sanctuary.During the Christian era, the inner section was converted to a church. The Muslims built a Mosque in the 10th century, which is known as the Mosque of Abou El-Hagag. King Nektanebo built the Sphinx Avenue in front of the Temple that leads to the entrance. In front of the Great Pylon of Ramses II, there once were 2 obelisks. Only one of them remains standing! The other was transported, in 1819, to La Place de le Concorde in Paris, as a gift to King Philip Louis of France by Mohamed Ali (who ruled Egypt 1805-1850 A.D), after he was given a French clock, which has never worked properly - even to this day!There were 6 standing statues in front of the Pylon, only one of them, on the western side, is still in place. Flanking the gate of the first pylon, which is 24m high, there are two seated colossi representing King Ramses II, seated on his throne, with all the royal features. Both towers of this pylon were once decorated with relief’s depicting the Battle of Kadesh, fought between the armies of Egypt and the Hittites, in present day Syria. The 1st open court has double rows of 32 papyrus bud columns. To the right side of the open court there is an old triple shrine made by Queen Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III, dedicated to the sacred boats of the “Triad of Thebes”. To the left is the Mosque of Abou El-Hagag. The open court of Ramses II leads to the Colonnade, which was built by Amenhotep III, and decorated by Tutankhamen and later, Horemheb; Seti I, Ramses II, and Seti II all recorded their names there. It consists of two pairs of large open papyrus columns, which are arranged to make a long processional avenue. The walls of this colonnade are decorated by scenes of the Opt Festival, special ceremonies for the visit of the “Triad of Karnak” to the Temple of Luxor. This feast lasted for about 24 days, including the return to the Karnak Temple.
Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge
The colonnade leads to the Court of Amenhotep III (52m in length and 46m in width). It has a double row of clustered round papyrus bud columns on three sides. The Court of Amenhotep III leads to the Hypostyle Hall, which consists
of 32 columns arranged in 4 columns and 8 columns each. To the left of the Hypostyle Hall stands a Roman altar, bearing Latin inscriptions, dedicated to Emperor Augustus. On the walls of the Hypostyle Hall, there are some reliefs representing Amenhotep III hunting and killing a gazelle in front of Amon Ra, and other scenes representing the King in front of various deities. On the rear of The Hypostyle Hall, and on both sides of the central doorway,
There are 2 long chapels. The one to the east is dedicated to Mut and the One to the west dedicated to Khonso. The Hypostyle opens south to the 1st Antechamber, which originally had 8 columns, but they were removed when the antechamber was converted into a Christian Church. The Birth Room situated to the east, is a side room with 3 columns. Most of the scenes, depicting the divine birth of King Amenhotep III, are in very poor condition.After the Birth Room there is another 3 columned chamber, also with badly damaged relief’s, and then the Sanctuary of Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great, who removed the 4 original columns and built a chapel, open to the north and to the south, rebuilt this sanctuary, which once had a golden plated statue of Amon Ra. Fortunately he did not remove the relief’s on the walls. From the shrine of Alexander the Great, we enter a 2nd antechamber, which has 4 papyrus bud columns. After passing the 2nd antechamber, there are 2 offering rooms, in poor condition, with their scenes also badly damaged. The original sanctuary is a small chamber with 4 clustered papyrus columns. The walls of this room are decorated with scenes depicting Amenhotep III dancing before the God Amon Ra. The outside walls of the Temple, on the west side, are covered with scenes and inscriptions, again representing the battle of Kadesh.

Luxor city Information

2008-11-03T22:38:00.000-08:00

luxor has often been called the worlds greatest open air museum, as indeed it is and much more. The number and preservation of the monuments in the Luxor area are unparalleled anywhere else in the world that know of. Actually, what most people think of as Luxor is really three different areas, consisting of the City of Luxor on the East side of the Nile, the town of Karnak just north of Luxor and Thebes, which the ancient Egyptians called Waset, which is on the west side of the Nile across from Luxor.Right - The west bank across the Nile from Luxor.To say that the Luxor area is a major attraction for tourists in Egypt would be an understatement. It has been a tourist destination since the beginning of tourism. Even in ancient times, during the late Dynasties of the Greek and Roman periods, the area drew tourists, and has been doing so ever since. Today Luxor is well equipped to accommodate tourists with many hotels and in general a tourist industry ready and willing to serve the people from many countries that descend on this area of the Nile Valley every year.Within Luxor, there are only three main streets consisting of Sharia al-Mahatta, Sharia al-Karnak and the Corniched, next to the Nile. The street in front of the train station is Sharia al-Mahatta and runs away from the Nile where it meets the gardens of Luxor Temple. Sharia al-Karnak, or Maabad al-Karnak which means Karnak Temple Street runs along the Nile from Luxor Temple to Karnak Temple. However, Sharia al-Karnak is known as Sharia al-Markaz where it meets Sharia al-Mahatta street, and to the south around the temple it is known as Sharia al-Lokanda. Along this street one will find the colorful signs of restaurants and cafes, as well as bazaars where the usual variety of Egyptian souvenirs can be found. Of interest is the alabaster, which is plentiful along the west bank and miled not far from here. Also look for the clay pots used by the locals for cooking, which are more unusual.Luxor at the Nile
Luxor today is a city of some 150,000 people and is governed by special statues that allow it more autonomy then other political areas of Egypt. One thing you might notice is that various government and other buildings confirm to an 'ancient' building code. Particularly, the National bank of Egypt (located near the winter palace), the spa south of the police station, and the railway station are all designed to appear as pharaonic constructs. All of this occurred after the Egyptianization of the modern town resulting mostly from the mania that resulted from Howard Carter's discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun. As one might think, the city has all the amenities tourists might expect, including a variety of hotels, bars, nightclubs and restaurants.In Luxor proper on the East Bank, one of the first stops must be the Temple of Luxor built by Amenophis III. Head south on Sharia al-Karnak to reach the temple, which was connected to the Karnak Temple via a long stone processional street called a dromos. The dromos (Picture at right) was built by Nectanebo I, and originally was lined on either side by sphinxes. In front of the Luxor temple, the dromos is well preserved, and on the way to the entrance one passes by a Roman chapel of burnt brick dedicated to the god Serapis, which was built during the rule of Hadrian. There is a path that leads to the Nile side of the Temple where one enters the complex.One of the Luxor Bazaars
After leaving Luxor, head back to Sharia al-Karnak and go north towards Karnak. Down the road, near the police station which is near the tomb is the oldest mosque in Luxor, the El-Mekashkesh Mosque. It contains the remains of a 10th century Islamic saint who rumor has it was a monk prior to converting to Islam. The mosque is a popular pilgrimage destination. Here also is the Franciscan Church and its schools, one for boys and the other girls. Beyond this lies a great Coptic basilica.At the Police station, head towards the Nile Corniche. Here, opposite the Mina Palace Hotel you will find the Mummification Museum, which has most anything you would ever want to know about mummifications. From here, head north towards Karnak.About halfway to Karnak, you will discover the Luxor Museum. (The image at left is a Block Statue of Iamu Negh from the Luxor Museum). It should certainly be visited if you plan a well rounded and educated experience. While this is a small museum, most of the relics are from the surrounding area and provide considerable insight to the monuments you will visit.From the Museum, head back to Sharia al-Karnak and continue north towards Karnak. After crossing a small bridge one will begin to see the excavated dromos off the road and running through a small village. A little further on you will pass the ruins of the Temple of Mut where another dromos leads to the gateway of the tenth pylon. The road finally arrives at the domed tombs of two saints, Sidi Ahmed and Sidi Ali, where a road leads past the Department of Antiquities leads to the main Temple of Karnak entrance. This road is built along a canal that once connected the Nile to the Temple. There was a dock in ancient times, but now all that is left is the quay and the raised dais. Just past that is a red brick Roman dock and past that two paved ramps led to the river bank. They are bordered by stone parapets, and were built during the rule of Taharqa. Past these is the Chapel of Achoris, which received the sacred boat of Amun when it was used in ceremonies. To arrive at the entrance one follows the dromos with its crio-sphinxes. They have the head of a Ram and the body of a lion and are symbolic of the God Amun. Arriving at the temple, there is a statue of Ramesses II with his son between his feet. To the right is a structure that has red steps, a red front colonnade and red brick walls. Inside there are pedestals. inscribed with the names of Roman emperors, that once held their statues. This was a Roman chapel dedicated to imperial worship. After leaving the Temple complex on the left is the Franco-Egyptian Center which has managed the temple complex since 1967. Down on the shore of the Nile is the Centre National dl la Recherche Scientifque, or CNRS, which houses the French and the Chicago House, a project of the University of Chicago is near by. After this, you will wish to take a boat trip over to the West bank. This trip had a special meaning to the Egyptians, for they were more crossing the way to the West and life, then to a necropolis. The Valley of the Kings is as good as any to try first, with tombs from the 18th and 19th Dynasties. Outside the Valley of the Kings, the road leads past Antef, named for the