EGYPT
March 2022
What an utterly fascinating country! And really, how can it not be with the history and culture it possesses. It’s chaotic as it is tranquil, old blending in with new, and millennia of history at every corner, Egypt is….well… I haven’t quite found the right word for it.
I started my journey in Cairo, and within a mere hour of arriving, I was already met a with story to tell….but perhaps I’ll save that for another time. And the stories just continued from there.
One of my great loves is history and historical architecture and as such, I thought Egypt would be my place, my wonderland, and I guess some ways it was. I unfortunately was there during Egyptian school holidays, so the temples and mosques were packed. My greatest hate….crowds. My favorite temple was Edfu, and it was so packed, I felt like I couldn’t truly appreciate it. It’s one of the most well preserved temples in all of Egypt, and walking through it, I can imagine how it once was, envision how people walked amongst its halls.
In complete contrast…floating down the Nile at sunset is something that will stay with me forever. It was truly one of the most peaceful things I’ve ever done, it was surreal really.
At its height, Ancient Egypt’s empire stretched as far north as modern day Syria and as far south as today’s Sudan.
Long before it was an empire, Ancient Egypt was a series of small, independent city-states (Heliopolis, Memphis, Abydos, Thebes, Nekton) that bloomed along North Africa’s Nile River. It was divided into two regions, and named according to the flow of the Nile -Upper Egypt, in the South, which was upstream, and Lower Egypt in the North, which was downstream. By 3100 BC, the two halves united, under the first king of the First Dynasty, Narmer. The identity of Narmer is subject to debate, but most Egyptologists identify him as Menes
The reign of the civilization can be divided into three major periods of prosperity:
the Old Kingdom from 2575 BC- 2130 BC
the Middle Kingdom from 1938 BC- 1630 BC
the New Kingdom, from 1539 BC-1075 BC;
in between are two periods of instability from 2130 BC-1938 BC and 1630 BC-1540 BC
Guiding the Egyptian people, was a succession of about 300 rulers, often referred to as Pharaohs.
Pharaoh= Great House
'Pharaoh' was never the rulers’ formal title. It only become synonymous with the ruling individual in modern times, due to its use in the Hebrew bible. These rulers, who were not always men, or even Egyptian, were considered protectors of the Egyptian people, and served as divine liaisons between humanity and the 100s of Gods they worshiped. After the rulers died, Ancient Egyptians believed that they became Gods. To prepare their journey for the after life, the rules constructed elaborate tombs, including the Great Pyramid of Giza, the underground mausoleums in the Valley of the Kings. Rulers filled their tombs with all of the items they could need in the afterlife, including gold, jewelry, food, drinks, and even pets.
Preparing for this journey to the Gods also involved mummifying one’s body. The decreased corpse was embalmed, wrapped in 100s of yards of linen, and placed inside the tomb so the body could be re-animated in the afterlife.
Ancient Egyptian Temples
The Temple of Luxor was constructed around 1400 BC under king Amenhotep III, and was completed by kings Tutankhamen (1333-1323 BC) and Horemheb (1319-1292 BC) . Unlike other temples that were dedicated to a god or deified version of a pharaoh, Luxor Temple was dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship, in this case the Theban Triad of Amun, his consort Mut, and their son Khonsu. It consists of a 2.7 km “path to god”, lined with human-headed sphinxes, connecting it to Karnak Temple.
The Temple of Luxor was continuously used as a place of worship, even up to present day. The end of ancient Egypt, brought the beginning of the Greco-Roman rule (332 BC-629 AD). Where the Temple of Luxor once stood, the Roman sanctuary of Imperial Cult was created under the rule of Alexander the Great. Evidence of this can still be seen in the hypostyle hall, where the ancient Egyptian text was covered over with plaster and painted with Coptic images.
And with the end of the Greco-Roman rule, came the Fatimid rule. After being buried beneath 100s of years of debris, the Abu’l Hajjaj Mosque was built on top of the temple in 640 AD. The doors of the mosque now sit at the level of the roof of the original temple.
Karnak Temple Complex is the site of the ancient Temple of Amun at Thebes. Amun (or Amun-Ra), was a minor Theban deity, who rose to prominence in 2040 BC, when Egypt was unified. The powers of two older gods, Atum (creator god) and Ra (sun god) were combined in Amun, making him the supreme god of gods, both creator and preserver of life.
The Temple of Amun is arguably the largest religious building in the world, and honours not only Amun, but Osiris, Montu, Isis, Ptah and some Egyptian rulers. It’s construction began around 2000-1700 BC with the Temple of Amun, and continued until 305-30 BC, during the Ptolemaic Kingdom (Ancient Greek rule of Egypt) as new rulers were added to it.
It was considered one of the most sacred sites in Egypt, and was continually used for over 2000 years. The priests at Amun gained so much wealth and power, that they were able to take over control of the government of Thebes at the end of the New Kingdom, when Egypt was divided between Upper Egypt (these priests at Thebes) and Lower Egypt (the pharaoh at Pre-Ramesses). The power of the priests is the major factor in the decline of the New Kingdom, and the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period (1069-525 BC).
Great Temple of Ramesses II
Temple of Hathor
Abu Simbel is the site of two temples, the Great Temple of Ramesses II and the Temple of Hathor, both built under the direction of Ramesses II (reigned 1279-13 BCE)
The entrance to the first temple was built to honor Ramesses II, who wished to be a god before death. Despite being a king in Luxor, he built the temple in Aswan, because the priest were too powerful in Luxor, and would not grant him this wish. It displays four 20m (65ft) statues of Ramesses II, at various ages. At the feet of these statues, are smaller statues representing his children, his wife, Nefertari, and his mother, Queen Ti. The temple itself, is dedicated to the sun gods, Amon-Re and Re-Horakhte.
The smaller temple, the Temple of Hathor was built by Ramesses II, to honor both Hathor as the goddess of love/music and his wife Nefertari as a deified queen. The facade, resembling a pylon, has six standing colossal (over 33 feet/10 meters high) statues. On each side of the entrance, two statues of Ramesses flank one of Nefertari dressed as Hathor.
In 1960, the rising waters of the Nile, threatened to destroy the temples. With the help of UNESCO, the entire temples were moved uphill, to a safer location .
Ptolemaic Temples
Temple of Edfu is the most well-preserved temple in all of Egypt, and the was built during the Ptolemaic Kingdom (ancient Greek rule of Egypt), around 237 BC. Despite being built at this time, the temple portrays traditional Ancient Egyptian architecture, and is dedicated to the Egyptian god Horus (god of the sky), seen depicted in his falcon form throughout the temple.
Kom Ombo was built during the Ptolemaic Dynasty, from 180-47 BCE. It’s a unique temple, in that it is dedicated to two different deities: the local crocodile-headed god, Sobek and the falcon-headed god, Horus the Elder.
In Ancient Egypt, the Nile River was infested with crocodiles, naturally scaring the locals. But there was an ancient belief that if they worshipped crocodiles, then they wouldn’t attack them. In addition to creating a temple to do just that, there was a pool within the temple where crocodiles were raised.
Philae Temple was built atop Philae island around 285-246 BC, and is one of the last temples dedicated to Isis, the goddess of the moon, magic and life. Fanciful tales were told of her magical powers, for she had brought her husband Osiris back to life, after being murdered by his brother Seth. Isis and Osiris later went on to have a deity son, Horus, making Isis the Mother of God. Numerous visitors came to the island seeking the secret formula of her powers, only to be met with priest who only claimed to know the mystery.
In 1960, when the High Dam was constructed, Philae Temple was submerged even further underwater. From 1977-1980, UNESCO took on the massive project or dismantling the temple, and moving it to the Island of Agilkia. Today it is perched high on an island, accessible only by boat.
The Great Pyramids of Egypt
Islamic Cairo
Cairo “the city of 1000 minarets”, was founded in 2000 BC and ruled by King Menes, who united upper and lower Egypt. In the 1C, the Romans built the Babylon fortress on the Nile. It was later established as the city of Fustat by the Fatmids in the 10th C, with it a huge period of contruction, with such prominent landmarks of Al-Ashar mosque. It played a major role in the east-west spice route, with the streets of Khan el-Khalili becoming a bustling center of trade.
Mosques of Cairo
Al-Azhar Mosque is the oldest mosque in Cario, established in 972 AD. It is the second oldest, continuously running university in the world, second to the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco. It was established for the sole purpose to spreading the Shiite doctrine, when Egypt was conquered by Jawhar As-Siqilli, the first Fatmid Caliph in Egypt. Currently it teaches Islam according to the Sunni doctrine.
Mosque and Madrasa of Sultan Hassan was built between 1356 and 1363, during the Bahri Mamluk period. It’s construction was remarkable for the fact it occurred during a bout of the Black Plague, and for three years when without a single day of idleness.
Its construction was ordered by Sultan Hassan when he first took power, at the young age of 13 years old. Shortly after one of the four planned minarets collapsed during construction, killing three hundred people, the Sultan was assassinated. He never even got to see his namesake building completed.
Al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Mosque was built in 1318 by the Mamluk Sultan, Al-Nasir Muhammad, to be used by the sultans of Cairo for Friday prayer. The call to prayer was broadcasted to the North, so that the palace troops were able to hear it.
Unlike most mosques at the time, the funds available to build the mosque were much greater than those needed to build the mosque. The funds leftover were used to purchase land and shops to support the mosque, making it one of the wealthiest institutions in the city. The prestige of the Sultan made the Citadel Mosque one of the most desirable places to work. Muezzins, preachers and readers would come before the Sultan, and preach, allowing him to select the best religious leaders to serve in his mosque.
The Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha “Alabaster Mosque” was built between 1830 and 1848, at the site of an old Mumlak (non-Arabic, slave soldiers) building in Cario’s citadel. It was built as a monument to Tusun Pasha, the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the founder of modern Egypt.
Al-Rifai Mosque was built as a zawiya (shrine) to Ahmad Al-Rifa’i (1118-1181 AD), the founder of the Rifai Sufi order, a branch of Sunni Islam. It was constructed in two phases, one in 1869 and one in 1912, under the commission of Hoshiyr Qadin, the mother of Isma ‘il Pasha (the Khedive of Egypt and conqueror of Sudan from 1863 to 1879).
The zawiya was a pilgrimage site for locals who believed that the tomb had mystical healing properties. Hoshiyar envisioned a dual purpose for the new structure, a house for local traditional Sufi relics, and also a mausoleum for the royal family of Egypt.