Ancient sites and sand
Temperature Everyone thinks Egypt — and then thinks HOT. It is hot in Egypt, but not as hot as you might think during the winter. February is actually quite comfortable, which temps in the eighties or so. The nights get pretty cool, and there were a few times I was thankful for a light sweater. […]
Read MoreMythology There are quite literally hundreds of gods in the Egyptian pantheon, although most of them are considered ‘aspects’ of the major gods. The Sun (Re) is the source of all life and it was worshipped under a variety of names and incarnations by the Egyptians. The sun is most often represented as falcon-headed Ra, […]
Read MoreInscriptions Bas-relief vs incised Even after looking at tons of Egyptian carvings in photos and in books, I was still interested to see the differences between bas-relief carving and incised carving. Bas-Relief is done by removing the *background* of the picture, leaving the figures and writing standing above it, making them looked vaguely (or strongly) […]
Read MoreRoyal Titulary Most everyone is familiar with the common names of the pharaohs, and that fact that they are most often seen in the rounded oval of a cartouche. Even thought the cartouche was not used until later dynasties, it is still easy to identify the names of kings in early documents. Kings have a […]
Read MoreKing Lists Trying to unravel the chronology of a five thousand-year-old culture must be a hard gig. With only scanty remains and inscriptions, puzzling out who ruled when and where gets to be a guessing game. But, egyptologists are lucky. Among the inscriptions and carvings and papyrus finds are a number of histories of Egypt […]
Read MoreMastabas Early kings of Egypt were not buried in pyramids, instead they were buried in smaller buildings called Mastabas. The word means ‘bench’. Mastabas are mutli-roomed tombs that are built above-ground. THey can be very elaborate and contain many storage rooms and passageways. Mastabas are usually rectangular, with a flat roof and slightly sloping walls. […]
Read MoreDavid Roberts Perhaps one fo the first things that drew me to Egypt was a book of the fabulous paintings/lithographs of the Scottish artist David Roberts (1796-1864). He was the first British artist to sketch the monument, and did so during a two and a half month journey along the Nile. He travelled over 800 […]
Read MoreMummification Mummifcation is the act of embalming and wrapping a body for burial. It was practiced by the the Egyptians throughout most of their history. It was performed for everyone, although those with more money obviously got a better job, with the pharaoh receiving the most complex ritual. FOr a pharaoh, it would take 70 […]
Read MoreOases Something like 90% of the population of Egypt lives within a few miles of the Nile. The river provides rich farmland and other resources. Most of the country is inhospitable desert, with only a few areas in the desert fit for habitation. Egypt has several major oases. Fayoum The enormous lake Qaoun is here, […]
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