EGYPT THREE ARTICLES

ARTICLE 1

THE NILE

“I will now turn to Egypt, because this country possesses many marvellous things and monuments which surpass all description and comparison with those of any other place…”(Herodotus, Histories, II, 37.)

The Nile, the world’s longest river runs through Upper Egypt, we have all heard of Speke and Burton, who yearned to find its source, of Tutankhamen, the boy king who slumbered undisturbed in the Valley of the Kings for over three thousand years, before Howard Carter shattered his peace forever. Few of us will forget the evocative name shaduff one of the oldest means of irrigation known to man, so romantic is the name we can see the pink haze shimmering in the distance and the white Brahmin cow pulling the pivot bringing forth life in the waters of the Nile.

From the Pharaohs, through to the tales of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar immortalised by Shakespeare, we have listened enthralled. Even Papyrus the world’s first writing parchment was discovered in Egypt. The scarab beetle, the Gods of Ra, Horus and Seth, all evoke something, in all of us. Even the illiterates are not immune to the lure of the great River and Egypt, the classic cinema epics of Cecil B DeMille, The Ten Commandments, The King of Kings, and Cleopatra, all tell the biblical tale of Egypt.

In short the power of mystery and majesty of the world’s greatest River has been etched on every aspect of our consciousness as children. Whether we have an interest in palaeontology, archaeology, history , geography or geometry Egypt entices us, from the literature of Wilbur Smith in the Seven Scrolls and the Sunbird, or the cinema or the Bible. The lure of the Nile that has ebbed and flowed since time began has a memory for all of us and for all of us that memory is different. Fertility is the source of the Nile’s richness, not the fecundity of its people, the richness of its soil. Since the dawn of man water has been vital to the development of fields and agriculture, later towns and later still civilisation.

Life began in the area we know as Egypt about 40,000 years ago. The ancient Egyptians are credited with being one of the first civilisations to plant seeds, despite the fact that the soil on the banks of the Nile is very heavy and it has high clay content. Life evolved around the crop cycle, planting, and harvesting; the annual flooding of the Nile was imperative in a country with almost zero rainfall. The ancient Egyptian’s made clay houses to shelter from the elements. Society had developed to the level of a unified kingdom about 3200 B.C. and a series of pharaohs or kings were to rule for three thousand years. That means that ancient history is of paramount importance in the region, by the time of Christ the area was in decline.

The origins of the unified Egyptian state are as murky as the waters of the Nile. There are no contemporary sources, and later sources are contentious, it is accepted my most scholars that about 3000 BC, the Nile valley was unified. This area is thought to have been from the Nile Delta and the first cataract at Aswan, the seat of its power was the city of Memphis. According to Manetho, an ancient Greek historian, one of the few writers whose works have survived the King was known as Menes.

During the period of the Pharaohs huge burial chambers were built to honour the kings, and the pyramids are the only surviving wonder of the ancient world. The wealth and power of these great dynasties were not rivalled anywhere else in the world. Certainly Chinese civilisation is as old, and as illustrious, but not as wealthy. Ancient Egypt consisted of two upper and lower kingdoms; the Upper kingdom covered the area we know as Southern Egypt today whilst the lower was the North. Whilst this description may seem juxtaposed it does not originate in geography, but geology. The Nile flows north wards or upstream to the Mediterranean that is downstream.

Upper Kingdom.
Stretching along both banks of the Nile from Lake Moeris to the area of the River known as the cataract, or waterfall, which was then the border of the Nubian kingdom. It as a long thin stretch of land barely thirteen miles wide, flanked by mountains, but it is 750 miles in depth. Its major cities were Heracleopolis, Hermopolis, Abydos, and Thebes. Upper Egypt was separated from the Red Sea by a wadi or a dry riverbed. Today there are islands where the power of water has coursed through the hills eroding and isolating them.

Lower Egypt
The kingdom of Lower Egypt was the Nile Delta, a huge basin where according to Pliny seven branches of the River Nile flowed into the Mediterranean Sea. This was the food basin of the two kingdoms as the Nile flooded over the alluvial plains The Delta contained two-thirds of Egypt's arable land and was where most of the principal cities of Lower Egypt lay, Avaris, Tanis (later Pi-Ramses), Sais, and Bubastis. Lower Egypt did contain a small section of the River Nile where the cities of Heliopolis and Memphis were built.

The narrow geographic layout of the old kingdoms made them difficult to attack; however once it did succumb to foreign rule it lasted for over 2,000 years. In 1954 part of President Nasser’s acceptance speech was to state that he was the first native Egyptian to hold sovereignty since 341BC when Nectanebo II, was overthrown by the Persians.

Later the kingdoms were to be ruled by the Greeks, and the Romans. It was the Arabs who brought Islam to Egypt in the seventh Century and they were to reign supreme for the next six hundred years. The Mamluks seized administrative control in the thirteenth Century and they managed to hold it until the Turks invaded in 1517, the Egypt was to become a part of the Ottoman Empire under the control of the Byzantines, until 1882 when it became under the control of Britain, until independence.


The Nile as the world’s longest River is 4132 miles long is more than an Egyptian River; it rises South of the equator in Burundi, flowing through the Congo, Eritrea, Zaire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda. However the Nile transforms Egypt, without it Egypt would have been indistinguishable from any other Saharan country, the Nile and Egypt are intertwined. The origin of the name is the Greek word Neilos or river valley, but the ancient Egyptians called it the River Aur, which means black. Beyond the Nile the country of Egypt is a desert with a series of five fertile oases. Their fertility is ensured by a sandstone bed 500 ft. below the surface,the water forces itself through natural fissures to the surface. One of the phenomena of Egypt is the mirage which can be seen in the desert and the uncultivated lands in the North, the optical illusion of icebergs and ships are co clear they are often perceived to be real.

Many of the modern cities contain the relics of the Pharaohs, Greeks or Romans. The Pyramids of Gizeh are a mere eight miles from the west of the capitol Cairo. There are many monasteries and churches dating back to the earliest times of Christianity. Any traveller in today’s Egypt can witness the character of the orient and the occident, the ancient and modern nestle tantalisingly side by side.

ARTICLE 2

THE EGYPTIAN RED SEA RIVIERA.

THE EGYPTIAN RIVIERA.

The red Sea Riviera is a geographical area on both sides of the Gulf of Aqaba, comprising of Egyptian, Jordanian, Israeli and Saudi Arabian territory. Within Egypt the Red sea Riviera has two distinct areas, the Sinai Peninsula, and the East Coast of Egypt. As we have read the Nile flows through many countries, and Egypt offers far more than Nile cruises. The Sinai is a mountainous desert peninsula, sweeping down to white coral sands. It contains the highest peak in Egypt, which is Mount Catherine, which at 2,629 metres offers a panoramic view of the whole of the peninsula.
























The Sinai Peninsula is Egypt cut off from the mainland by the Suez Canal. It incorporates the past the present and the future, known correctly as South West Asia, it has always been the pathway between Africa and Asia. In the ancient past precious metals were mined here. Alexander the Great fought for the land, the Book of Exodus tells the tale of the wanderings of the Israelites in Exodus, and the ten commandments were revealed on Mount Sinai.

“It has been touched, in one way or another by most of Western and Near Eastern history, both actual and mythic". Sinai, The Great and Terrible Wilderness. Burton Bernstein.

The Northern Sinai Peninsula does not have a coastal region on the Gulf of Aqaba, but south offers a hundred and twenty miles of pure joy! The Egyptian Red Sea Riviera on the Easterly Sinai Peninsula has the towns of Taba, Taba Heights, Nuweiba, Dahab, and the Southerly towns of Sharm el Sheikh. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and superb water sports facilities. It offers a distinctive contrasting character to the Nile resorts of Luxor, Cairo and Aswan.However in common with the rest of Egypt, there is more than meets the eye to the Egyptian Riviera it has another area in the Upper and Lower kingdom. The resorts of El Gouna, Hurghada, Sahl Hashish, Makadi Bay, Soma Bay and Safaga are to be found. To the South there are the resorts El Quseir and Mersa Alam, which are East of the Nile resort Luxor.The Sinai Peninsula is an area closely associated with the Old and New Testaments.

The Northern area is the Sinai desert whilst the Southern points is mountainous and contains the famous Mount Sinai. It was occupied by Israel from 1967 until 1982. Taba is the most Northerly town of the Egyptian red Sea Riviera resorts; it borders Israel, and is a spit across from Jordan. Because of its geographical location it has had a chequered history, it is a very tiny town, populated by of Bedouins, its mass is little more than a thriving bus station and a luxury hotel complex of five star hotels and casinos. (Taba Heights). It was important because it was the last area of the Sinai to be returned to Egypt under the 1979 Israeli Egyptian Peace Treaty. In 1949 it belonged to Egypt, but was captured by the Israeli’s in the 1967 six-day war.

The Israelis built a luxury hotel and it became a popular luxury Israeli getaway resort. Whilst the 1979 peace treaty was being discussed the territory was argued over by both sides. Finally in 1988 after interminable wrangling had got nowhere it was sent for review to a five man commission comprising of three neutral entities, and the territory became Egyptian. However as a concession to the Israeli’s they were given leave to visit the area for up to forty-eight hours without the aggravation of getting a visa. It is still a popular weekend resort, hence the importance of the bus station. The Egyptian Riviera stretches from Taba in the North to the Ras Mohamed National Park nestling where the Gulf of Suez meets the Gulf of Aqaba at Sinai's southern point.

Unlike the ancient cities the area of the South Sinai, where the desert meets the sea, inspire recreation, rather than culture. The dramatic desert mountains flank the pristine golden beaches with crystal clear aquamarine water. Some of the Red Sea ports dates back to the Phoenician’s, Geziret Faroun, or Pharaohs Island lies just five miles from Taba and you can swim to it from the Gulf of Aqaba. In the twelfth century the crusaders built a base from which to disrupt Arab trade, as well as being a safe haven for pilgrims travelling from Jerusalem to the monastery of St Catherine’s. This castle was later fortified by the Mamelukes and reputed to be a refuge for T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia; he made several journeys to the island in June 1914.

In ancient times the Sinai was known as Mafkat or the land of Turquoise. Bronze age settlers found and mined the metal at Wadi Maghareh and Serabit el-Khadim, and these would have been amongst the earliest known mines in the world. Eventually the precious metal came to the notice of the pharaohs and it was often used in ancient pieces of jewelry. There is a temple ruin at Serabit dedicated to Hathor, the ancient God of miners. St Catherine’s, a Greek Orthodox monastery is one of the most famous monasteries in the world; it houses the remains of St Catherine who was beheaded for her beliefs. The monastery’s Byzantium basilica dates back to 527BC. It is famed for its library, which houses the largest collection of Christian manuscripts outside of the Vatican.

The resort of Nuweiba was once the resting place for the Islamic pilgrim’s undertaking the hajj the once in a life-time pilgrimage to Mecca. Nowadays it is a beautiful beach resort between the Gulf of Aqaba and the high desert mountains. The area is still populated by the Bedouin tribe and it is possible to visit their villages by the traditional, but somewhat painful route, on the back of a camel. For those who prefer a little more comfort then jeep safaris are very popular.

The coral and marine life in the Red Sea are magnificent and diverse, it is of course like any other ocean coloured blue, but the backdrop of the mineral rich red mountains was thought to inspire the name Mare Rostrum, or the Red Sea. The Sinai Peninsula offers some of the most spectacular diving and snorkelling opportunities in the world. The beach resorts cater to every taste and budget from the back packer to five-star sartorial elegance. However whilst the diving on the whole of the peninsula is truly spectacular, the Gulf of Aqaba has a lush range of both hard and soft coral. The North Sinai is quieter for the diver it has less of the hustle and bustle of the South. The Northern beaches offering lagoons, fjords, and an island as well as stunning coves are unrivalled in most of the world.

The road between Taba and Nuweiba offers some of the most stunning scenery on the peninsula renowned for its picturesque aspect. Nuweiba lies on either side of the Wadi Watir delta which is nearly sixty miles north of Sharm el-Sheikh, and consists of two Bedouin villages, separated by an eighteenth Century Citadel.Dahab, meaning gold in Arabic, was historically a Bedouin fishing village, it became a backpacker’s paradise, but now it offers excellent five star hotels. It is especially famous for it’s windsurfing, as it has flat beaches and a reliable source of wind. Sharm El Sheikh is the most accessible and developed of the resorts on the Egyptian Riviera, for the tourist it offers a spectacular array of local and foreign merchandise.

Wherever you stay on the Egyptian Riviera the amenities of diving, snorkelling, windsurfing and other water sports are available. The other attractions are desert safaris either by jeep or camel, or riding some of the magnificent Arabian horses. Other available activities are golf, or exploring the antiquities. The Red Sea has always produced spectacular storms and the proof if this lies on its ocean floor. There are nearly twenty ship wrecks in the Red Sea, so the area is also famous for its wreck diving. If you have to take your diving to another level then the range of wreck diving is spectacular. Night diving on a wreck is a experience even experienced divers’ tend not to forget in a hurry. There is something eerie about going in the sea in the pitch black, but it offers a completely different scenario to day diving, watching the fish feed is a magical experience. Many of the wrecks can be seen by boat and snorkelling. In short whatever your preference on holiday the Egyptian Riviera offers something for everyone, whether it is a romantic weekend away, or a family holiday. Whether you want to wander and drift or explore, the antiquities of Egypt, the Red Sea is a perfect destination.

ARTICLE THREE :

THE MYSTERIES OF CAIRO AND EGYPT.
Egypt is absolutely unique; it is the only country to offer a monument that has survived, in our terms, from pre-history. The pyramids of Giza, overlooking their enigmatic sphinx have stood guard since ancient times. Eons before it became a modern wonder it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the only one to survive the ravages of time. Mythology, mystery, monumental forces, ancient pharaohs who live on in the name of Ramses the Great and the boy king Tutankhamun, the enigmatic sphinx waiting to reveal her secret, no tale of Egypt is complete without them.

For over millennium the Nile has coursed through Egypt influencing more than its geography and geology in its confluence. It has irrigated and cut through the desert creating a series of oasis’s that has made Egypt the country it is today. An ancient Arab proverb sums up the archaeological aspect of Egypt

“ Insults should be written in sand, compliments should be carved in stone,” another says“Man fears Time, yet Time fears the Pyramids”. What else can be said of monuments begun 4,500 years ago?

Today, the Great Pyramid, and two other large pyramids which house the tombs of Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura, together with the Sphinx and six smaller pyramids, temples, and other tombs are referred to as the Giza Plateau. Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura were grandfather, son, and grandson, whilst the other six pyramids are the burial place of their Queens. Within the complex each pyramid has its own mortuary and temple. There are also Mastabas or rectangular tombs dotted around the site, and it is supposed that they belonged to members of the family with a lesser rank than King and Queen. The museum of the Sun boat flanks the South side, this beautiful wooden boat was discovered fifty years ago, at the base of the pyramid, buried in a pit. It has been lovingly restored as the vehicle believed to have been used to carry the body of Khufu to his resting place inside the pyramid. Little is known of Khufu the ruler for whom the Great Pyramid is built, but he must have been a man capable of coordinating a kingdom and utilizing a system that mobilized men to build the pyramids.When the great pyramid was built its mathematical precision was extraordinary, it was 481 feet high, and the sloping angle of each side is precisely 51 degrees and 51 minutes. The horizontal cross section of the pyramid is square at every level, and side measures 229 m (751 ft) in length. The maximum error between the side lengths is astonishingly less than 0.1%, and that has been measured with the benefit of modern instruments. It has been built so well that it not possible even today to fit a piece of card between the crevices of the interior walls. Few building today will measure up to those exacting mathematical standards.To put the size into a visual concept is difficult, but the context of over 2 million building bricks each over two tons in weight may be meaningless.

Hypothetically historians have suggested that if the pyramids were to be demolished the resultant blocks of stone could be used to construct a wall approaching the height of two men and a foot thick around the country of France. The purpose of the pyramids has become one of life’s great modern mysteries, but the fact remains that their purpose has been lost in the annals of time. Five hundred years before the birth of Christ the Greek historian, Herodotus visited the pyramids, and he surmised that over a 100,000 people were involved in their construction. Though we will never know modern scientists believe that 20,000 would be a truer estimate.

What is incredible that a work force of that size must have meant an enormous social structure? Where did those workers live, they would have needed houses, shops, cemeteries, they could not have commuted to work. One of the ideas about the construction of the pyramids was that they were constructed by slave labour. Modern archaeologists now think that it was built by workers who were paid for their labour, probably in fiscal terms, but if not then they had a over riding belief in an after life. The discovery of a town where the artisans lived in 2003 has shown that many of them had their own hearth, and therefore lived in a family unit. Both facts as well as the precision of the buildings suggest that the labour was not carried out by slaves.
The finds that are still being discovered means that the ancient world is as relevant today as in the past. Modern discoveries may not be as exciting as Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, but they can shed a lot of light as to how people lived nearly five thousand years ago.

There have been many theories as to the purpose of the pyramids but without straying into an esoteric argument as to whether God was an Astronaut, we will for the moment have to assume the simple truth that the pyramids were tombs for their Royal users to travel to an afterlife. The pyramids at Giza are not the oldest but they are the only ones left standing and it remains to be seen whether or not Sahara will ever yield the rest of her secrets? The riddle of the sphinx refers to the enigma of whose cameo was used? The face of the Great Sphinx is believed to be that of Chephren, the pharaoh who built the second-largest pyramid in the Giza triad. It is carved out of natural limestone and it towers sixty-five feet high and is two hundred and forty feet in length.These pyramids are across the River Nile from Cairo. The Giza Plateau extends to Memphis, Abusir and Saqqara, and most of the pyramids were built in this area.

The Step Pyramid of Doser is located at Saqqara and the Red and Bent pyramids of Senefru are located at Abusir. All these latter pyramids are older than the Giza triad, but they have not weathered time as well. The bend pyramid was intended to be larger than the Giza pyramids, but the bedrock would not hold the weight. None of the pyramids have been built on sand they all have a bedrock base. Memphis founded and named after Menes the first dynasty ruler was the capitol of the old kingdom for most of the times of the Pharaohs. Originally known as inbw-hdj, or "white walls", was thought to have been named after a fort near the modern town of Abusir, which is situated in the valley to the east of the Saqqara necropolis. As Memphis was built next to the riverbed, on low-lying land, the changing patters of the riverbed the rising water table, and time have all ravaged the city, and little of ancient times remain. Memphis exists today less that twenty miles South of Cairo, but in ancient times it was one of the most important cities of the ancient world, by the fifth Century BC it would have been a cosmopolitan city with a population from all over the Mediterranean basin.

Nothing remains from the old kingdom but the remains of the Temple of Ptah can be seen, though in nothing like their former glory, as in its time it was probably one of the major temples of Egypt. Few tombs are in this area as burial grounds were situated at the nearby necropolis at Saqqara, Dashur, Giza, Abusir, Abu Roash and Zawiyet el-Aryan, In fact we do not know why later dynasties chose to move the capitol to Thebes, but the city of Memphis retained its importance as a religious city.

Aswan offers a different world; the Nile here is at its most picturesque. There are many islands and the traditional Arab feluccas can be seen gliding along the water in front of the backdrop of date palms. Feluccas have navigated the waters of the Nile for Centuries and as they only have sails the rate of progression can be brisk or very slow depending on the wind. The temples at Abu Simbel are a visual reminder to most as to how they perceive Egypt to be. During the construction of the Aswan dam in the 1960’s these massive temples were moved 200 feet higher and 600 feet West. Unesco assisted Egypt in the dismantling of the temple and the cliff rock out of which it was carved and the relocation to higher ground across Lake Nasser. Thus ensuring future management of the mighty Nile and a permanent resting place for Ramesses, in exactly the same relation to the sun as they had been carved.The two temples are that of Ramesses II primarily dedicated to Re-Harakhte, and that of his wife, Nefertari dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of love and beauty.

Another archaeological monuments are two statues of Amenhotep III at Thebes, the ancient capital know known as Luxor, or more correctly El-Aksur, it is also known as the City of the Palaces. Modern Luxor actually comprises of three sites, the city of Luxor which is on the East banks of the Nile, the town of Karnak, just North of Luxor and Thebes, and the region which ancient Egyptians named Waset, which is on the west side of the Nile across from the city of Luxor.A Nile cruise without visiting Luxor is inconceivable the area was a major tourist attraction in Roman times!

On the East Bank, is the Temple of Luxor built by Amenophis III, and is regarded as one of the most buildings in Thebes. The temple was known to the Egyptians as Apet Amunresyet, or the "Southern Harem of Amun", dedicated to Amun, his consort Mut and their son the moon god Khons. In common with the design of most temples it has a chapel for the deities, with vestibules and a subsidiary chambers, a large hall and an open court, which was approached from the north by an enormous colonnade. Amenhotep III built his mortuary temple here in Luxor, but all that has survived are his seventy-five foot statues, one with his wife and a daughter and the other with his mother. Adorning the sides of the statues is a relief showing the Nile Gods twining two plants, which symbolizes the fusion of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt. They are known historically as the statues of Memnon, son of Eos and Tithonus, who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War, because the Greek visitors three thousand years ago mistook them for Memnon the statues are known to locals as el-Colossat, or es-Salamat.

The Temples of Karnak are a huge complex of temples, the construction was begun in the Middle kingdom, but for the next two millennium, until the Roman era, they would be embellished enlarged demolished, and restored in a demonic cycle of creation and destruction. It is a sort of an expo Theme park depicting all aspects of Egyptian religion and beliefs. Whether you view the complete complex or just the Hypostile Hall in the Great Temple of Amun this is one of the jewels in the Egyptian antiquaries crown. It was the largest temple complex in history, housing at least thirteen temples, named in ancient times the most hallowed of places. The temple of Amon dominates the complex and because of its size it is often erroneously referred to as the temple of Karnak. The complete complex is 1500 x 800 meters, if you cannot summon the energy to explore all of it then don't miss the Hypostile Hall in the Great Temple of Amun.








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