The temple at Dendera is less popular for tourists than many of the other places in Egypt but holds a strong historical significance. At the waning of the Egyptian civilization, the Greeks and Romans were in awe of the power and intelligence that the Egyptians developed. They appeared to have come with a desire to conquer yet an eagerness to learn from the Egyptian advancements, …
Abydos is a sacred part of Egypt as it is symbolically important to the god Osiris. Osiris was a very powerful god and represented resurrection and eternal life. He is perceived as the supreme god, and was revered in life as well as the afterlife. As death was taken very seriously by the ancient Egyptian people, so too were their temples and holy places devoted …
The Nile is the longest river in the world, running in at 6,738 km in length. The Nile has played a pivotal role in the development of the vast and incredible ancient Egyptian civilization. Some experts say that its historical annual flooding from July to October is one of the predominant reasons why the ancient civilization was so successful: every annual flood would leave a …
The ram god, Khnum, was thought of as responsible for the creation of mankind, which he made from the mud of the Nile on his potter’s wheel. The temple located at Esna is a tribute to him. Khnum is a very ancient deity dating back to the Old Kingdom, and was closely associated with creation and the annual flooding of the Nile. He is typically …
Saqqara is the location of the famous Step Pyramid, the grandfather of all pyramids. The Step Pyramid is the oldest stone structure known in the world and is also home to an immense necropolis, or cemetery. It has been speculated that this is where many of the people involved in constructing the pyramids were laid to rest. When Djoser, one of the earliest Egyptian Pharaohs, first …
Now the capital of modern day Egypt, Cairo is a hub in the junction of three major continents – Asia, Africa and Europe. The largest city in Africa, Cairo is home to 8 million people (about one-tenth of the Egyptian population), most of which are Muslim. The Triumphant City, Cairo, known officially as Al-Qāhirah is one of the world’s largest cities and promises many sites …
When one thinks of Egypt, almost without fail, the pyramids come to mind. They symbolize the power and success of the ancient civilization. Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the pyramids are the only wonder that still remains. The pyramids were born out of the early era of the Egyptian civilization, known as the Old Kingdom (3000 BC- 2150 BC), the 4th dynasty …
Kom Ombo is the only ‘double temple’ from ancient Egypt. So named because it combines two architectural styles: modern by ancient Egypt’s standards, as well as representing two different gods simultaneously. It combines the Ptolemaic and the Roman period to commemorate the crocodile god Sobek, and the hawk god Horus. There is a main axis along which the two temples were symmetrically built. The layout …
West Thebes is most certainly a formidable location in Egypt. Tombs here are dug out of the valley, within a labyrinth of rock faces. The pharaohs hoped they would remain protected in death within the Valley of the Kings. Pharaohs had abandoned the idea of erecting pyramids to be kept in after death and wanted to find an inconspicuous way to hide their remains. One …
The famous rock cut of Rameses II towers over the edge of the Nile in another postcard Egypt moment. Rameses II ruled in the New Kingdom from 1279 BC- 1213 BC. A spectacular edifice, it had to be relocated in the 1960s because of concern that the dam that was being renovated in Aswan, downstream, would flood it in its old location. This process was …
This temple took over 180 years to build and was a late addition as far as the ancient civilization was concerned. Constructed between 237 BC and 57 BC during the reigns of six Ptolemies, its style is thought to be typical of the Ptolemaic period, which marked the beginning of the end of the ancient Egyptian civilization (the Greco-Roman period). This temple is thought to …
The temple devoted to the goddess Isis was located on Philae, an island, but in the 1960s, was threatened (like a few other temples) when the British proposed to develop a dam to control the flow of water in the Nile. To save the temple, an additional dam was built around the temple in 1972, in the hopes of preventing water from coming in, while …
