Egypt ..............Nothing compares

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The ancient city of Memphis

The ancient city of Memphis has all but disappeared under the modern village of Mit Rahina. It is beleived that a temple is buried here that would rival the size ofKarnak. This was the first capital city of Egypt, the first capital in the world, the city of the great god Ptah. But it did not survive into the modern era. One of the few places to see the remnants of this ancient glory is in the open air museum in the enclosure of Ptah. This sphinx that we see here is known as the Alabaster Sphinx, it true identity lost to the ravages of time. 

Egypt

Pharonic Egypt started around 3000 B.C. At this time it became a united country under the rule of the Pharaoh Narmer. It lasted till about 300 A.D. The last Pharaoh was a Roman emperor named Garerius. So as a civilization, Ancient Egypt flourished for more then 3000 years.

. . . . .Allow me tell you a little about the land you are about to visit. It was the perfect place for one of the worlds greatest civilizations to take root and flourish. The geography around the Nile Valley provided one of the most important factors in the longevity and productivity of the culture. Surrounding the peaceful Nile valley were impenetrable obstacles that protected the Egyptians far better then any army could. To the east, invaders would have to cross mountains, desert and the Red Sea, on the west there were cliffs that gave way to a large expanse of desolate and barren desert. They were vulnerable only from the north and the south. From the north by way of the Mediterranean Sea and the Sinai Peninsula. From the south the Nile itself offered some protection in the form of cataracts or rapids in the river which made navigation difficult.

. . . . .This protection gave the Egyptians perhaps the single most important element in building a great and powerful civilization... time. Time to learn agriculture and animal husbandry. Time to develope a code of laws to live by, and deities to worship. And time to create art, a beautifully written language, music and dance.
. . . . .The Nile River, along which most of the people of Egypt lived, stretches more then 4000 miles, but the Egyptians only knew about 1000 miles of it, and that was at the height of their empire. Along the river there is a thin ribbon of land that was nourished by the annual flooding of the Nile, it is lush, and many crops were crown there. The ribbon varies from a couple miles wide in some places and nonexistent in others. The Egyptians called this place Kemet "the black land" because of the richness of the soil. This is the land where the mythological Osiris taught mankind to be civilized. 

he ancient Christian churches

efore Egypt became an Islamic state, it was a mostly Christian country with an ancient Christian heritage. It was a land where Jesus and his family were known to have traveled, and where early Apostles came to spread his word, particularly at first in Alexandria.



Most of the ancient Christian churches of Egypt, contrary to what many travelers may believe, are not located in Old, or Coptic Cairo. What makes Old Cairo special is the fact that a number of ancient churches are located in the area, making visits by tourists convenient, since most of them arrive for tours in that city.

In reality, most of the ancient Christian churches, of which only a very few recently discovered examples predate the 4th century, are located in monasteries and smaller cities throughout Egypt, though in some areas there are concentrations not to be found elsewhere. Many of these churches are built on sacred ground where it is believed that the baby Jesus and his family made stops in their journey through Egypt. Others, many of which are associated with monasteries, are more isolated, built at a time when the Christian religion was outlawed within the Roman empire, or afterwards, when there were violent conflicts between the eastern Christianity of Egypt and the western Christians who ruled Egypt (the Romans).

However, while most text points to an ancient church in Egypt being Coptic, or for example, Greek Orthodox, the earliest churches were technically neither, because Christianity in Egypt predates these slightly more modern divisions. Today, Coptic Christians, who almost by definition are Egyptian Christians (though now, for example, the Ethiopian church has been . incorporated into the Coptic faith), are dominant, but by no means the only Christians in Egypt. There are, of course, the Greeks Orthodox, along with Catholics, and various Protestants variations, among others.

Temple of Karnak

Temple of Karnak today remains the worlds largest religious structure, but what is perhaps even more interesting is that it might not have been, or indeed was probably not Egypt's largest temple. Certainly the Temple of Ptah in Memphis, though for the most part completely gone today, may have been larger. It was older, and located in what was often the capital of Egypt, and more often the administrative center of the ancient country. Other temples in the Nile Delta might have been just as large as Karnak, if not larger.
Sites such as Karnak, Dendera and Kom Ombo would most likely fall under the category of "god's mansion". They were more than religious "temples" however. While the god may certainly have been worshiped in these temples, it was also his symbolic home, if not considered his physical residence, and the functions of the temple were as much to serve his or her symbolic physical needs as they were for the god's worship. There was probably little or no "preaching" as such, or carrying the message of the god to the people by priests associated with these "temples". Rather the efforts were directed inward, towards the care of the gods.
Also, though we often make a very specific distention between mortuary temples of kings, for example, and temples such as Karnak, they were actually very similar. Kings were considered gods, and after their death, they required a "mansion" and the same attention as other gods. Both regular and mortuary temples served to keep the name of the king or god alive.

HISTORICAL ISLAMIC MOSQUES IN EGYPT

One of Cairo's many epitaphs is the "City of 1,000 Minarets". Actually, there are more than that, and so it should be no surprise that there are many historical mosques in Egypt, mostly in Cairo. Many western visitors to Egypt may initially have very little interest in seeing these medieval buildings, but on first sight, those with any interest in architecture will be awestruck by their beauty and design.

Because Egypt has seen many influences from any number of different ruling empires, including Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid Mamluk and Ottoman and others, and because Cairo specifically is a city of the world, Egypt offers a fair overview of mosque styles. Furthermore, its mosques date from the earliest periods of Islam up to and of course, including modern varieties.

Egypt has some very notable, as well as important mosques, some of which may be visited while others are not open to touristic visits. While most of the tourist mosques are to be found in Islamic Cairo, the oldest of them all, the Amr Ibn El-Aas Mosque, is located in Coptic (Christian, or Old Cairo) and may be visited, while the Al-Azhar Mosque, the location of the World's oldest University and one of the most influential mosques in Islam, is not a tourist facility.

Some mosques in Egypt, and particularly Cairo, are actually complexes that include a number of other structures that may, or may not be found attached to other mosques. For example, many mosques include an Islamic school facility, called a madrasa. Others may have mausoleums and tombs, and even hospitals (maristan), along with other structures within the complex.

Mosques may be located in strange places. There is a mosque (Abu Al-Haggag Mosque), which creates a rather strange appearance inside the Temple of Luxor in Upper Egypt, and in the Sinai, a Fatimid mosque is incorporated into the famous St. Catherine's monastery.

While it is difficult to miss the many mosques in Egypt, as they are everywhere, those visiting the country should take at least a moment out of their busy itineraries to appreciate these grand monuments to Islam.

THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT

There are no more famous ancient sites within Egypt, or for that matter elsewhere in the world, than the Great Pyramids at Giza. They are, without question, the icon most associated with the Egypt. They have been both the main destination for tourists, and a source of imaginative thought to the world for over three thousand years.


However, there are actually over 100 pyramids in Egypt, many of which are relatively unknown to anyone who is not an ancient Egypt enthusiast. All but a very few are grouped around and near the City of Cairo, just south of the Nile Delta. Otherwise, only one royal pyramid is known in southern Egypt (at Abydos), that being the one built by Ahmose, founder of the 18th Dynasty and Egypt's New Kingdom.It may have also been the last royal pyramid built in Egypt.


Hence, major pyramids were not built throughout Egypt's ancient history. The Pyramid Age began with a burst of building, starting with the 3rd Dynasty reign of Djoser. Some of the early kings, most specifically Snefru, built more than one pyramid. Almost all of the kings added to their number through the end of the Middle Kingdom, with the possible exception of the First Intermediate Period between the Old and Middle Kingdoms. After the first Pharaoh of Egypt's New Kingdom, Ahmose, royal pyramid building by Egyptians ceased entirely. Somewhat abruptly the kings of the New Kingdom chose, rather than making their tombs completely obvious, to hide them in the hills of the West Bank of Thebes (modern Luxor).


However, smaller pyramids were constructed, for example in the Deir el-Medina necropolis, by private individuals. The Late Period Nubians who ruled Egypt also built relatively small pyramids with much steeper sides, though these were in fact constructed in Nubia itself. This tradition was carried on in Nubia after these southern rulers lost control of Egypt, and eventually, more pyramids were actually built in Nubia than Egypt, though on a much smaller scale.


Other pyramids in the world certainly exist, but their purpose, for the most part, was different than those of ancient Egypt. The most famous outside Egypt are probably those located in Mexico and to the south of Mexico, but these appear to have been built more as temples. In Egypt, all but a select few of the pyramids were built as tombs, sometimes to hold the physical body of a pharaoh (as well as other individuals), or to hold the soul of the deceased (as in the case of the small cult pyramids built next to the larger ones). Otherwise, the purpose of only a few small, regional stepped pyramids remains elusive.


While pyramids were, for the most part, tombs for the Pharaohs of Egypt, one must nevertheless question the reason that Egyptian rulers chose this particular shape, and for that matter, why they built them so large. Today, we believe that they chose the shape in order to mimic the Benben, a pyramid shaped stone found in the earliest of temples, which itself is thought to symbolize the primeval mound from which the Egyptians believed life emerged. This also connected the pyramid to Re, the Sun God, as it was he, according to some of the ancient Egypt mythology, who rose from the primeval mound to create life.


As far the great size of many of the pyramids in Egypt, we can really only surmise that the Pharaohs were making a statement about their own power and perhaps, about the glory and strength of their country. However, it should also be remembered that many of the latter pyramids were not nearly as large as the Great Pyramids at Giza (and elsewhere).


Pyramids evolved. The first of them was not a perfectly formed pyramid. In fact, the first Pyramid we believe that was built in Egypt, that of Djoser, was not a true pyramid at all with smooth sides and a point at the top. Rather, its sides were stepped, and the top of the pyramid truncated with a flat surface (as best we know). As the Egyptian pyramids evolved, there were failures as well glorious failures until finally, they got it right with what was probably the first smooth sided true pyramid built at Meidum. In fact, pyramids continued to evolve throughout their history, perhaps not always in outward appearances, but in the way that they were built and in the theology surrounding their construction. For example, towards the latter part of Egypt's Pyramid Age, Osirian beliefs seem to have had more and more impact on the arrangement and layout of the subterranean chambers.


However, soon after the first pyramids were built, their form became somewhat standardized. Royal pyramid complexes included the main pyramid, a courtyard surrounding the main pyramid, a much smaller cult pyramid for the king's soul, a mortuary temple situated next to the main pyramid, an enclosure wall and a causeway that led down to a valley temple. Some pyramid complexes included subsidiary, smaller pyramids for family members, and most were surrounded by some sort of tombs for family members.


Our thinking on pyramids has evolved considerably over the years. Many of us who are a bit older were taught that the pyramids were built using Jewish slave labor, which is a fabrication of immense proportions. Most of the pyramids were built long before the Jews made their appearance historically and currently, many if not most scholars believe they were not built using slave labor at all (or perhaps a nominal number of slaves).


Otherwise, we can also dismiss offhand alternative theories related to aliens or some lost culture being responsible for pyramid building. There is just far too much evidence, including tools, drawings, evolutionary changes, and even worker villages that rule these farfetched ideas obsolete.


However, some mysteries remain, even in some of the best well known Pyramids. The most famous of them all, the Great Pyramid of Khufu, continues, year after year, to give up a few more secrets, and there doubtless remains much to learn from these Egyptian treasures. There may even be one or more pyramids yet to be discovered.

Egyptian Elections

Last Monday began Egypt is the first step towards establishment of the first democratic parliamentary election free and fair