The Land of the Pharaohs

Ancient Egypt was a civilization in Northeast Africa, concentrated along the Nile River in the place that is now the country Egypt.

Ancient Egypt was one of the world's first civilizations. It is also one of the most famous civilizations in history.

 Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt before 3100 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology) with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes (often identified with Narmer). The history of ancient Egypt occurred as a series of stable kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: The Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.

The ancient Egyptians developed a complex system of writing called hieroglyphics, and they were skilled in mathematics, engineering, and astronomy. They also had a complex religion, with many gods and goddesses, and they believed in the afterlife and the importance of preserving the body through mummification.


Ancient Egypt has left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities were carried off to far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for millennia. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period by Europeans and Egyptians has led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy.

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Here are some of the most important things to know about ancient Egypt:

• The ancient Egyptians were one of the most advanced civilizations in the world. They had a sophisticated understanding of mathematics, engineering, and astronomy.
• They built some of the most impressive structures in the world, including the pyramids, temples, and tombs.
• They developed a complex system of hieroglyphic writing, which is still not fully understood.
• They had a rich and diverse culture, which is reflected in their art, literature, and religion.
• They were a powerful and influential civilization, which had a significant impact on the development of other cultures in the region.

Ancient Egypt is a fascinating and complex civilization, and there is still much that we do not know about it. However, the knowledge that we do have is truly amazing, and it gives us a glimpse into a world that is long gone but still very much worth exploring.

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Here are some additional facts about ancient Egypt:

• The ancient Egyptians believed in a complex pantheon of gods and goddesses.
• They mummified their dead and built elaborate tombs for them.
  
• They used a solar calendar, which was based on the cycles of the sun.
• They invented the first paper, which was made from papyrus.
• They were skilled metalworkers and jewelers.
• They developed a system of irrigation that allowed them to farm the fertile Nile Valley.
  
• They were a major trading power, and their goods were traded throughout the Mediterranean region.

Ancient Egypt is a fascinating and complex civilization, and there is still much that we do not know about it. However, the knowledge that we do have is truly amazing, and it gives us a glimpse into a world that is long gone but still very much worth exploring.


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King Tutankhamun mirror case in the shape of the Ankh sign!

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Have you ever been there?
Have you ever visited Aswan?

Also named Temple of Mandulis

Discover Kalabsha Temple, an Ancient Egyptian temple dedicated to the god Mandoulis and remodelled during the Greco Roman period.

It was originally located at Bab al-Kalabsha (Gate of Kalabsha), approximately 50 km south of Aswan.

Kalabsha Temple

The temple was situated on the west bank of the Nile River, in Nubia, and was originally built around 30 BC during the early Roman era. While the temple was constructed in Augustus's reign, it was never finished.

The temple was a tribute to Mandulis (Merul), a Lower Nubian sun god (Nubian form of Horus).

An image of Mandulis from the Temple of Kalabsha in Nubia

It was constructed over an earlier sanctuary of Amenhotep II. 

The temple is 76 m long and 22 m wide in dimension.

While the structure dates to the Roman period, it features many fine reliefs such as "a fine carving of Horus emerging from reeds on the inner curtain wall" of the temple.

aA fine carving of Horus emerging from reeds on the inner curtain wall

From Kalabsha's "sanctuary chambers, a staircase leads up to the roof of the temple" where one can see a splendid view of the temple itself and the sacred lake.

With help from Germany, the temple of Kalabsha was relocated after the Aswan High Dam was built, to protect it from rising waters on Lake Nasser. The temple was moved to a site, located just south of the Aswan High Dam. 

The process of moving the temple took more than two years.

The temple of Kalabsha was the largest free-standing temple of Egyptian Nubia (after Abu Simbel) to be moved and erected at a new site.

Although the building was never completed, it "is regarded as one of the best examples of Egyptian architecture in Nubia.

Nice to be together

 جميل أن نبقى سويا


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Manal Raafat

A description for the Interior of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel

Massive statues of Ramses II adorn the pillared hall of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel. 

At the end we see the sanctuary of the temple. 

Of the four seated gods residing there we only discern two from this angle: Amun and the deified Ramses.

Interior of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel

This temple is the greatest of the seven rock-cut temples which Ramses constructed in Nubia in the 13th century BC. 

It was not seen by Europeans until the 19th century, when it was discovered by Burckhardt in 1813 and penetrated by Belzoni in 1817.

It was moved to higher ground during the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s, to avoid flooding by Lake Nasser.

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Princess Ankhnesneferibre

Ankhnesneferibre was the daughter of Psamtik II, a pharaoh of the 26th dynasty (6th century BC), which was based in the Delta town of Saite. 

(Saites: name of the 26th dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs, who opened up their country to foreign traders, mercenaries, and settlers.).

Ankhnesneferibre was sent to Thebes to hold the office of ‘God’s Wife of Amun’, which was the highest office in the priesthood of the temple of Amun in Karnak.

She is wearing a so called Nubian wig, a headdress that is built up of layers of tightly curled plaits and which is thought to imitate the thick hairstyles of the Nubian people. 

Princess with Nubian wig

This statue can be seen in the Nubian Museum in Aswan.

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Manal Raafat

Tomb KV2, the tomb of Ramses IV

Tomb KV2, found in the Valley of the Kings, is the tomb of Ramses IV, and is located low down in the main valley, between KV7 and KV1. It has been open since antiquity and contains a large amount of graffiti.

There are two known plans of the tomb's layout contemporary to its construction. One on papyrus (now located at the Egyptian Museum in Turin) provides a detailed depiction of the tomb at 1:28 scale. All of the passages and chambers are present, with measurements written in hieratic script. The papyrus plan also depicts the pharaoh's sarcophagus surrounded by four concentric sets of shrines, the same layout of shrines that were found intact within Tutankhamen's tomb. The other plan of the tomb was found inscribed on a slab of limestone not far from the tomb's entrance, and is a rough layout of the tomb depicting the location of its doors. The latter plan may have just been a "workman's doodle" but the papyrus plan almost certainly had a deeper ritual meaning, and may have been used to consecrate the tomb after it was built.

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Manal Raafat

New statue of Amenhotep III uncovered (discovered)

A close-up of the newly discovered double statue of Amenhotep III and Re-Horakhty. 

The statue was found during SCA excavations at the site of Amenhotep III's mortuary temple on the west bank of Luxor. 

The statue was beautifully carved out of Aswan red granite, but interestingly it has inclusions of a darker solid stone that can be seen in the faces of the two figures.

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  Amenemope was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 21st Dynasty.

  Pectoral of King Amenemope (989 –981 BC, 21st Dynasty). 

Inlaid gold pectoral of 21st dynasty king Amenemope of Sais, Lower Egypt.

Architectural frame representing a temple, in the centre a scarab holding a solar disc.

 The pectoral is in the shape of a shrine, with feminine deities goddess Isis and goddess Nephtys in a mirrored pose (To the left and right), flanking the Kheper scarab of solar manifestations.

  Gold, lapiz lazuli, fayence, height 9.8cm.

 Ancient Egypt.

Egypt, Cairo, Egyptian Museum.

A photo for the pectoral  from the Egyptian Museum


I had collected it for you 
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Learn more about the history of egypt

 A small painted core glass unguent container in the form of a tilapia fish which was a symbol of rebirth, Blue glass was modelled around the central core of probably mainly organic materials and the garland decoration was created by applying softened rods of white and yellow glass. Egypt. Ancient Egyptian. 18th dynasty c 1352 1336 BC. Tell el Amarna.

core glass unguent container

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 Chalice shaped lamp from the tomb of Tutankhamun, The cup is in the shape of an open lotus flower flanked by two carvings of the god Heh kneeling on papyrus plants. The cup was intented to be filled with oil and when the whick was lit then the scene of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun was visible. Back view. Egypt. Ancient Egyptian. New Kingdom, 18th dynasty, 1333 1323 BC. Material/ Size:Calcite, H=51.4 cm. Thebes, Valley of the Kings, Tomb TV62.

Chalice shaped lamp from the tomb of Tutankhamun

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 Relief from the White Chapel of Sesostris I, The chapel was built to celebrate the sed festival, the festival connected with the royal jubilee during which rituals of renewal and regeneration took place. The Kings head. Egypt. Ancient Egyptian. Middle Kingdom 12th Dynasty

Relief from the White Chapel of Sesostris I

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Egypt Cradle of civilization - مصر مهد الحضارة

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The roof of the Hathor Temple at Dendera

Located on the roof of the Hathor Temple at Dendera this kiosk was used during the celebration of the New Year's Festival. 

On the eve of New Year a golden statue of the soul (ba) of Hathor was brought up here from a crypt below the southern wall in a solemn procession. 

The statue, together with images of other gods, was placed below a cloth which was suspended over the Hathor headed columns of the kiosk. 

During the first day of the New Year the cloth was removed at some time so that the rays of the sun could touch the statue, thus rejuvenating its vital energy.

Images of guardian deities decorating the exterior walls of the kiosk protected Hathor's soul statute from the bad spirits of the year's last day.

This part of the Dendera Temple was built during the later Ptolemaic period (first century BC).

Photo by Mick Palarczyk.

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Bent Pyramid in Dahshur

Did you visit the Bent Pyramid in Dahshure before?
Dahshur is a small town near Cairo - Egypt. 40 Km  from Cairo.

Built by Pharaoh Sneferu in Dahshur .
That pyramid is unique amongst the approximately ninety pyramids to be found in Egypt .
The Bent Pyramid is an ancient Egyptian pyramid located at the royal necropolis of Dahshur, approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo, built under the Old Kingdom Pharaoh Sneferu (c. 2600 BC). A unique example of early pyramid development in Egypt, this was the second pyramid built by Sneferu.
The lower part of the pyramid rises from the desert at a 55-degree inclination, but the top section is built at the shallower angle of 43 degrees, lending the pyramid its very obvious "bent" appearance.
Archaeologists now believe that the Bent Pyramid represents a transitional form between step-sided and smooth-sided pyramids.

Bent Pyramid in Dahshur

The Bent Pyramid was probably the first planned from the outset to be a true pyramid, with smooth sides.
The Bent Pyramid has a small satellite pyramid which was the final resting place of Sneferu's queen; interestingly there is a connecting tunnel which runs twenty-five metres between the two pyramids, which was built so that Sneferu could visit his queen in the after life.

Interior passages
The Bent Pyramid has two entrances,one fairly low down on the north side. The second entrance is high on the west face of the pyramid. Each entrance leads to a chamber with a high, corbelled roof; the northern entrance leads to a chamber that is below ground level, the western to a chamber built in the body of the pyramid itself.

The entrance of the Bent Pyramid  .

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Manal Raafat

Arts Of Photos: Hatshepsut Female Pharaoh Of Egypt ؛ Foremost of Noble Ladies.[Part I]

Arts Of Photos: Hatshepsut Female Pharaoh Of Egypt ؛ Foremost of Noble Ladies.[Part I]: Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies.