Yes, this is indeed the land of the pharaohs. You can see their pyramids from outside of Cairo & Giza. These marvels of Egypt are not way out in the desert. They are there on the doorstep, more than 4500 years old and still standing proud and strong. The desert comes right to the edge of town. The pyramids are in the suburbs. Most of Egypt's ancient monuments It is an integral part of the daily scenes. All along the edges of the fertile Nile Valley, the dry desert climate has preserved the colossal temples of gods and kings, the brilliant colors of ancient wall-paintings, the fabulous jewels of Tutankhamen. They are not the remote and dusty preserve of remote and dusty scholars, but the glowing, vibrant heritage of a warm-blooded nation.
There is no more friendly, generous people than the Egyptians of today, and their link with that glorious past is unbroken. You may still spot in the noble profile of a merchant selling gold and silver in the bazaar a visible kingship with an ancient prince or courtier depicted in the royal tombs, in the fields of the Nile Valley. You will see peasant using much the same hoes to till the soil and pumps to water the crops that served their ancestors in Pharaonic times.
But the hotel and resort facilities are resolutely modern. Opposite the pyramids of Giza and next door to the temples of Luxor are heavens of air-conditioned comfort, dining rooms serving a choice of exotic Middle Easter fare or a wide variety of European cuisines, and sparkling swimming pools for a cool, refreshing dip.
The system of writing known as hieroglyphics appeared in Egypt just before 3000 BC, introduced by merchants from Mesopotamia. The characters developed around 2700 BC, about the time of the Old Kingdom’s Great Pyramids, the ancient script’s last known use was in AD 394.
The alphabet combines Phonograms, signs representing sounds, with ideograms expressing meanings. Practically all consonants, hieroglyphs read from right to left, and, in rare vertical texts, from top to bottom.
Hieroglyphics. From the Greek “sacred stone engravings”, they were used for ritual inscriptions in temples and tombs and, a papyrus and animal hides, for financial accounts and trade inventories.
It was first deciphered by French scholar Jean Francois Champollion (1790-1832) working on the texts of the Rosetta Stones’ Greek translation of the hieroglyphic text and cross reference with the Coptic Egyptian language, the Found ancient writing combined symbolic picture signs like those of our alphabet. Thus, the pharaoh’s name Khufu (known to us by his Greek name of Cheops) was written with a barred disk for –Kh-, a bird for – u-,a viper for-f- and a second bird for-u .
The simplest form in which you will encounter hieroglyphs is in the cartouches engraved on royal monuments and statues. These shield-like forms inscribe the ruler’s principal name or names, the elongated shape symbolizing the universe embraced by the pharaoh. Combining hieroglyphs of sound and meaning, these are some of Egypt’s best-known ruler, including Persian, Greek and Roma monarchs who chose to assimilate themselves to pharaohs.
The Pharaonic civilization was the first to invent reading, writing and drawings. Papyrus was considered the important paper on which they recorded their secrets and knowledge, from engineering and medicine to many other wonderful sciences.
Papyrus is a type of ancient paper that the ancient Egyptians used to write hieroglyphics and record their events, sciences and literature. It was written in bright, wonderful and dazzling colors. Papyrus is made from a plant called by the same name, which is the papyrus plant that grows in the delta and on the banks of the Nile. It was invented in ancient Egypt about 3000 years BC.
Papyrus is a document written on paper rolled side by side and wrapped in a scroll. Papyrus is considered one of the forms of books The beginning of the use of papyrus was in the era of the First Dynasty, as some excavations recorded. Regardless of the writing material, papyrus was used in some handicrafts such as reed boats, mats, ropes and sandals. Papyrus is still produced to this day.
Archaeologists estimate that as much as 90% of all of Egypt’s antiquities remain unexcavated. Most spectacular of recent discoveries are underwater remains of Alexandria’s gigantic pharaohs lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the World that once soared 120 m (393 ft) above the harbor. In additional to hundreds of blocks from the tower’s masonry, French divers located in 1995 remains if three colossal statues, a dozen sphinxes and three obelisks.
Lying at a depth of 7 m (22 ft). they date either from the Ptolemaic era or back to Ramses II’s father, Seti 1 (1250 BC) and brought here from Heliopolis by the Ptolemies. The first finds have been restored and are displayed in the archaeological garden of Kom El Dika at Alexandria.
At Luxor, American archaeologists uncovered in 1994 the biggest and most complex of tombs in the Valley of Kings identified as KV5, containing the combined burial chambers of four sons of Ramses II’s 52 offspring. A hypostyle hall leads to a labyrinth of 62 chambers, probably chapels, with more at a lower level.
Most recent, at Saqqara, is the uncovering in January 1997 of an important decorated chapels in the mastaba tomb of Akhethetep, a noble priest of the 5th or 6th dynasty (2400 BC)
The name means in Arabic “submission to” Allah. Islam’s book, the Koran covers all features of everyday life, in and outside the mosque marriage, property, work eating, drinking and sleeping, as well as prayer. The Koran is Mohammed’s presentation of Allah’s message as he received it from the angel Gabriel. The Allah of the Koran is a loving, just and merciful God. His will determines the lives of all men and women. Their actions on earth determine their place in heaven or hell. The inspired merchant of mecca (570-632) honored the Jewish patriarchs and Jesus as pious but fallible prophets. As the last prophet, he had the last word. It was carried to Egypt in 641, nine years after Mohammed’s death.
Egypt’s fascinating history extending to the world’s civilization makes it the best and oldest destination on earth for travel.
© 2024 Pyramidstrip. All rights reserved.
© 2024 Pyramidstrip. All rights reserved
