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Egypt safari and vacation holidays across Egypt's Desert & Oasis

2013-05-05T13:46:00.001-07:00

Egypt safari and vacation holidays across Egypt's Desert & Oasis

BAHARIYA OASIS :

Oasis of temples and Golden Mummies
Bahariya Oasis is easy to reach from Cairo (you will pass through much desert) ,Bahariya is in the middle of Egypt’s Western Desert , about 365 kilometres south-west of Cairo and it is the best starting point for the Black and White Desert . Set in a depression covering over 2000 sq. km. , Bahariya Oasis is surrounded by black hills made up of ferruginous quartzite and dolorite. The oasis is provided with water by many springs. The most famous of these, a thermal spring with medicinal and restorative properties, comes out in the Bedouin village of Bawiti. Wildlife is plentiful, especially birds such as wheatears , Bahariya Oasis might also appeal rock hounds . Golden Mummies were discovered - 'Valley of the Mummies' is the biggest of its kind . Estimates are the four-mile strip of desert holds 5,000 - 10,000 mummies. The mummies are covered with a thin layer of gold and wearing gypsum masks. Sumptuous gilded death masks depict lifelike faces of real people, rather than stereotypical images.They were found in four tombs in the town of Bawiti in Bahariya Oasis.

There are 7 oasis communities of “mainimportance” among a handful of smaller places . Getting to the oases is straightforward . There are good roads and plenty of public transportation that costs next to nothing compared with Western price levels.
The oases are famed for their numerous mineral and sulphur-rich springs, distinguished by their unique chemical composition which places them at a high level world-wide. In addition, the silt contained in these wells has numerous curative properties for the treatment of bone, stomach, chest and skin ailments. Most of the wells are found in the Fayoum, Kharga, Dakhla, Farafra, Bahariya and Siwa Oases as well as in the Qattara Depression .
The Western Desert is another land of history and beauty . The desert with its oases abound in legends . Pharaohs , Kings , Warriors and explorers have all visited this remarkbale of silent desert , fertile oases , and treasures .
Bahariya Oasis is easy to reach from Cairo (you will pass through much desert) ,Bahariya is in the middle of Egypt’s Western Desert , about 365 kilometres south-west of Cairo and it is the best starting point for the Black and White Desert . Set in a depression covering over 2000 sq. km. , Bahariya Oasis is surrounded by black hills made up of ferruginous quartzite and dolorite. The oasis is provided with water by many springs. The most famous of these, a thermal spring with medicinal and restorative properties, comes out in the Bedouin village of Bawiti. Wildlife is plentiful, especially birds such as wheatears , Bahariya Oasis might also appeal rock hounds . Golden Mummies were discovered - 'Valley of the Mummies' is the biggest of its kind . Estimates are the four-mile strip of desert holds 5,000 - 10,000 mummies. The mummies are covered with a thin layer of gold and wearing gypsum masks. Sumptuous gilded death masks depict lifelike faces of real people, rather than stereotypical images.They were found in four tombs in the town of Bawiti in Bahariya Oasis

Siwa Oasis is in western Egypt with 23,000 inhabitants, near the border to Libya, it is some 560km kilometers from Cairo, at an depression of 18 metres below sea level. The oasis is 82 km long and has a width varying between 2 and 20 km. The people are Berbers, and have their own language. To Siwa, there are 3 larger salt lakes, Birket Maraqi, Birket Siwa, and Birket Zaytun. Tourism has gradually given employment for some Siwans . It has beautiful oasis gardens, bathing possibilities and pharaonic temples too. The fortress Shali is pretty much ruined to give a true image of old times.
Fayoum , the Oasis of Peace is Egypt's largest oasis, populated by more than 2 million. It is not a pure oasis like the other ones of Egypt, as most of its water comes from the Nile.
But it is a depression, and it has its own artesian wells, allowing water to reach the surface from underground reservoirs.
The extent of it is quite grand, and the green gardens seem to go on and on. Fayoum's history goes back in time as far as Egypt's . The main town in the oasis is located 85 km south of Cairo . Fayoum has quite a group of monasteries . Saint Anthony (251-356 AD) acted as an inspiration for hermits and there were soon numerous monasteries throughout the country . A number of them are still standing today .
The 12th Century Deir Al-Adhra (Monastery of the Virgin) just off the road to Beni Swef, about 6 km outside Fayoum City, is the most accessible. Fayoum ranks high because of the fabulous oasis gardens, a surreal lake and the many pharaonic monuments.
Farafra Oasis is about 450 kilometres south-west of Cairo . The area west of Farafra is covered by the impenetrable Great Sand Sea. The area north-east of Qasr Farafra is called White Desert and is definitely worth a visit (better by 4x4). Farafra is highly recommended because of charm, great bathing possibilities. The gardens are nice and there are some remaining traditional houses too.
Paris , the Forgotten Oasis . Although Paris , or Baris as it is called in most foreign traveller’s guides , is neglected by almost all travel agencies bringing tourists around the oases in the Western Desert . Few venture out here, but Paris is interesting . It has nice palm trees , though it is filthy since it is mainly abandoned by its former inhabitants and taken over by goats. Upon last investigation, there was one bus a day running between Paris and Kharga.
Dakhla Oasis offers the best preserved architecture of all of Egypts' oases. In some villages, people still live almost like the way their ancestors did. Also there is a selection of fine oasis gardens, and a pharaonic temple makes you realize how deep the history of the oases really is.
Kharga Oasis , the Golden Oasis , is the southernmost of Egypt’s Western oases . It is located in the Libyan Desert, about 200 km to the west of the Nile valley, and is some 150 km long . El Kharga is about 550 km far from Cairo , it seemed that everything there went out of time. There, I was walking longer than I really do in the city. Ain Umm Dabadib is a major ancient settlement located to the north of Qasr Kharga in Kharga Oasis in Egypt's Western Desert , Ain Umm Dabadib includes a slant-sided temple, a Coptic church , numerous tombs, and four underground aqueducts. They run for over 13 kilometers with vents for cleaning and repairs every few meters. As oases go, the local people seemed to be “at your service ” , they are kind and the visitors feel that they are very welcomed . The life there is simple but satisfying the little necessities of its people.

Archeologists , a team of 20 had discovered the tomb of Eyuf the mayor of Bahriyah of the 26th dynasty in a tomb complex of nobles discovered in the 1930s in the town of Bawiti in Bahariya Oasis . Some of the walls are covered in vivid depictions of Eyfu being prepared for the afterlife by Anubis, the god of death . The tombs are part of a vast necropolis found in 1993 after a donkey stumbled into it from above the ground . That stumble revealed an entire forgotten population not just of faceless mummies, but of people with wives, husbands, children, lives, beliefs and personalities, which they took with them in death . The archeologists predicted that complete excavation will take at least a decade. Bahariya is an escape from everyday life with a lot of opportunities for those who are interested in archeology.

Rosalie Moller Wreck Diving - She Hasn't Aged a Bit

2013-05-01T16:43:00.001-07:00

One of the most interesting ship wrecks to explore in the Red Sea is undeniably the 108 m long Rosalie Moller coal ship which was bombed by the German air force in October 1941 as she was transporting coal to Alexandria. The wreck is surprisingly intact today, with some areas covered with hard and soft corals, lying at a depth of 39 to 50 metres. The ship’s mast can be spotted from as low as 17 metres.
Only experienced divers will are allowed to make that dive: the visibility can be low, currents are very strong in that particular area, and technical diving equipment is needed.
The site can be accessed by boat from Hurghada’s port, or by liveaboard safaris.
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Hurghada City/Gebel Abu-Dukhan

2013-05-01T14:40:00.002-07:00

Hurghada City/Gebel Abu-Dukhan

The single porphyry quarry that provided the whole Roman Empire with the basic material to build imperial monuments and architectural features, such as the Hagia Sophia, the Great Palace of Constantinople, columns in Rome, and the revetment of the Pantheon in Greece is actually located in Egypt, a mere 65 kilometres distance north of the current city of Hurghada, in a mountain known today as Gebel Abu-Dukhan.
It is almost hard to believe that for ages, the quarry was “lost.” Even the French Expedition led by Napoleon couldn’t find it. Finally, in 1823, under the reign of Muhammad Ali, the remains of the quarry were discovered by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson, the British pioneer Egyptologist, and James Burton, a British explorer and hieroglyph expert.

Today you can visit the remains of the quarry on a 4X4 day-trip arranged through a local travel agent or your hotel.

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Egyptian Mummy's Elaborate Hairstyle Revealed in 3D

2013-04-30T11:29:00.001-07:00

Nearly 2,000 years ago, at a time when Egypt was under the control of the Roman Empire, a young woman with an elaborate hairstyle was laid to rest only yards away from a king's pyramid, researchers report. She was 5 feet 2 inches in height, around age 20 when she died, and was buried in a decorated coffin whose face is gilded with gold. A nearby pyramid, at a site called Hawara, was built about 2 millennia before her lifetime. The location of her burial is known from archival notes. High-resolution CT scans reveal that, before she was buried, her hair was dressed in an elaborate hairstyle.
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Egypt Nile Cruises Packages with Free consultation

2013-04-22T15:57:00.001-07:00

Egypt Nile Cruises Packages with Free consultation

Nile Cruises Packages

A Nile Cruise trip is a very enjoyable experience that any visitor must do when he visit Egypt. A Nile Cruise boat is a highly appointed, floating, 5-star hotel, with most of the facilities of a normal 5-star hotel, including a relaxing sun deck and swimming pool. All your meals are included, though beverages and bottled water are not included. You will have your own en-suite, air-conditioned cabin (we book upper deck cabins wherever possible), and full use of all the boats facilities (restaurants, ships, sun deck, swimming pool, etc) We use several different cruise boats on the Nile, and we will inform you exactly which boat we will use enough time before your departure, as the boats shuttle back and forth on the Nile between Aswan and Luxor, with regular breaks for cleaning and maintenance. However, we regularly inspect to ensure they are of the same 5-star deluxe standard.
Good To Know Before You Go There are too many Nile Cruises in Egypt. The most difficult is to choose which one to take. A lot of people don't know the Difference between Nile Cruises and why there are some cruises are very expensive and others are very cheap. That's why we tried to make this Web Site as a reference for most Nile Cruises in Egypt in order to help visitors to choose the right one for them. Our Free consultation will help you to understand every detail about your trip before you book it. We believe that the client must know what he is going to take and take the value of the money he paid.

SMILE

2013-04-14T02:41:00.000-07:00

The first emotion _- SMILE - in history (sure where else) ... in E ♥ g ♥ y ♥ p ♥ t

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Ancient Egypt: The civilization of God’s wrath

2013-04-14T01:37:00.000-07:00

The pharoahs graves were dug up and looted. Their bones broken, their sarcophagus opened and their gold taken. Their tombs raided and their weapons sold off. Their graves moved or erased and or covered up. And this is the following of the nine gods. As I said in another chapter here, nine is of the occult and Egypt was one of the deepest of occult civilizations.
From their beliefs in the book of the dead and its magic spells to pass through the nine gates of the underworld to their building of the pyramids and their idols of half men, half animal gods. Their love was for gold and is of the god of riches and wealth. And all this and one man, one mild man God used to go in and go out and with him, take many out of bondage and slavery.
One man in a robe and staff to go up against the most advanced civilization of Egypt and against the pharoah! The place where the largest of structures of Earth have been built. And Moses walked it off like a good sport.

The egyptians worshipped cats, idols and were into black magic arts. The pharoah’s priests opposed Moses and tried to out do him with their magic arts, but Moses defeated that attempt with his single staff.
The pyramid has been a symbol of the occult and new age since any of us were born and when you see it, it is a warning to us that it is of something to think into the past about. When the one who was leader of this civlization defied God’s messanger and his warnings.
The pyramid is the symbol of idol worship and idolatry of self. When they say this is the true, original trinity and that the christian trinity is the follow up, false trinity…this is far from the truth. Do not believe this! The devil knew what was coming and does know his time is short and knows his fate. To counter God’s HOLY Trinity and to deceive many, he would create his own unholy trinity…in many forms. This doesn’t just come from the RA, ISIS, Horus trinity but there are others too. And just because it came BEFORE Christ…does NOT mean it is more true or more worthy than the trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The New age teachings are based on pyramidology, book of the dead, egyptology, black magic and channeling the unseen. These are the unseen forces that also the pharoah’s high priests were in touch with. And like Hitler who received information from such forces to create an anti-christ army, so too did the high priests of Pharoah to consult with the unseen to gain the knowledge needed for the building of the structures of Egypt. How else do we believe that Hitler knew so much more advanced technology for the domination of the air in his time, compared to the advanced technology of the pyramid structures during the pharoah’s time? His arm broken by God? The next anti-christ is said to be one armed and with one eye and with akward legs and twisted hair, stout in size and of the anti-messiah that many accept as the true messiah. How accurate those physical features will be…is only to be known when this comes.
Their god was the lord of the underworld, sun god RA and the mother goddess of earth, ISIS and the god of war, son of RA, the plant MARS is represented by this and is the aeon of Horus that is approaching for the end of days…days of the global order under the rule of the new pharaoh.
The protest by blacks in 07 that King Tut was black. Actually, he was Egyptian with dark skin that made him appear to look black but he was not African. There were simply similarities to the features but the African black is different of the Egyptian dark skin. Many of the blacks supporting this are going by only appearance. There are also asians who are chinese and korean and taiwan or Japan and many look alike but are different races. This is the same with King Tut.

Would you connect yourself with a civilization that received the WRATH of God? That insulted God’s messanger? That defied God’s words? That tested God’s will? That enslaved God’s people? That worshipped idols? That were involved in the underworld and the book of the dead vs the book of life? That were of astrology, fallen angels, nephilium connections and are today heavy within occult secret societies? Would you associate yourself with any symbol related to such? With any religion founded on such research as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormans and Catholicism has basis in. Egyptian Oblisk center of the wheel at the vatican. Book of the Divine ages by Charles Russel of JWs. Egyptian plates read by Joseph Smith.
So, there you have it. This and there is a lot more to discover. However, today we have the novus ordo seclorum or New World Order under what on the back of US dollar? And what eye over the dollar? The all seeing eye of God or the eye of Horus? You be the judge. I simply show what is obvious.
I personally wondered for a long time why there is a pyramid on US $ money. And why anything related to Egyptian monuments or symbols are related to the Catholic church?

God took no time at all to take down the most powerful nation and civilization in the world with using the King of Babylon against the pharaoh and to scatter the people of Egypt and that HE DID. And it did not last against the God of Moses.
So…shall it come in our future, don’t be surprised of the fallen angels and the new world order.

Wanderung vom Tal der Königinnen (QV) durch die Berge, vorbei am Sanktuar des Ptah und der Meretseger, nach Dier el Medina und von da nach Qurna.

2013-04-14T01:29:00.002-07:00

this article was taken from www.isis und osiris .de

Wir nehmen euch heute mal auf die "kleine" Wanderung mit.
Wir sind ins Tal der Königinnen (QV) das auch "Biban el-Harim" genannt wird gefahren und haben uns da erst die Gräber angesehen.
Als erstes kommt man an dem Grab der Nerfertari vorbei. Das Grab der großen Königlichen Gemahlin Nefertari Meri-en-Mut die Ehefrau von Ramses II. QV 66 ist 1904 von dem Ägyptologen Ernesto Schiparelli entdeckt worden. Die J.Paul Getty Stiftung hat das Grab für fast 10 Millionen US-Dollar restauriert und 1995 wieder für die Öffentlichkeit zugänglich gemacht.
Leider ist das Grab nur noch mit Genehmigung aus Kairo, verbunden mit einer hohen Summe (es wird von 20000 LE geredet Stand 2007) und einem Eintrittsgeld von 100LE zu besichtigen
Das Tal der Königinnen (250 m x 140 m) ist etwas größer als das Tal der Könige. Hier sind die Gräber entlang des Wadis ausgerichtet und nicht wie im Tal der Könige "wahllos" verteilt.

Nun geht es weiter zum Grab von Chaemwaset QV 44
Chaemwaset war der zweitälteste Sohn von Isisnofret. Er hatte die Titel Sem Priester des Ptah, Oberster Leiter der Künstlerschaft, Oberster Leiter des Sed-Fest des Herrn der beiden Länder Usermaatre-Setepenre inne. Er war auch für die Planung und den Bau des Serapeums verantwortlich. Chaemwaset war auch als Restaurator der Altertümer bekannt. So wurde z.B. am Grabbezirk des Djoser in Saqqara gearbeitet, sowie am Grab des Schepseskaf, der Pyramide des Unas, der des Sahure, dem Sonnentempel des Niuserre und der Großen Pyramide von Giza - wie die dort gefundenen Restaurationsinschriften bezeugen. Das ganze Grab ist mit Scheiben vor den Wänden geschützt. Die Scheiben sollen die Kunstwerke vor heutigen Vandalen und Ignoranten, von denen es leider zu viele im Tal der Könige und Königinnen gibt, schützen.

Im Tal der Königinnen sind über 80 Gräber gefunden worden aber nur ca. 50 % sind eindeutig zuzuordnen. Viele der Gräber waren auch noch nicht fertiggestellt. Im Tal der Königinnen wurde ca. 500 Jahre lang gearbeitet - von der 18. bis zur 20. Dyn.. Weiter geht es zum Grab von Titi QV 52
Sie hatte die Titel Erbprinzessin, Königstochter, Schwester des Königs, große Königliche Gemahlin, Gottesmutter, Herrin der beiden Länder und Gottesmutter inne.

Nun kommen wir zum letzten Grab für heute. Das Grab QV 55 des Prinzen Amun-her-chepeschef.
Der Eingang zum Grab von Prinz Amun-her-chepeschef liegt tiefer als die anderen Eingänge und führt dann noch weiter nach unten in den Felsen. Der große Granitsarkophag für den schon jung verstorbenen Amun-her-chepeschef fällt einem als erstes auf. Er hatte den Namen von Ramses II. erst geborenem Sohn bekommen, ... damit er von seinen Taten lerne ... Ramses III. hatte vielen seiner Söhne Namen von seinen Vorgängern gegeben. In der Grabkammer des jungen Prinzen hat man auch einen 5 Monate alten Fötus gefunden (kleine Vitrine im Hintergrund rechts). Die Ägyptologen sind sich noch nicht einig warum man hier einen Fötus finden konnte, denn Amunherchepeschef ist schon als Junge verstorben. Auf dem Bild sehen wir eine Gesamtansicht des Grabes von Amun-her-chepeschef, dem vierten Sohn von Ramses III. (User-maat-re Meri-amun). Von ihm selbst ist leider nicht viel bekannt, da er schon früh als Kind verstarb.

Leider waren viele Gräber hier im Tal geschlossen wegen Restauration. Closed for Restauration ... ein Schild das wir auf unserer ganzen "Expedition" zu oft gesehen haben :( alles was für uns interessant gewesen wäre war somit in weite ferne geraten.

Nun geht unsere Wanderung weiter durch die Berge in Richtung Dier el-Medina. Auf dem Weg zurück zum Eingang (Ticket-Häuschen) seht ihr schon den Trampelpfad der von da ab in die Berge geht.

Das Heiligtum ( Sanktuar ) des Ptah und der Meretseger hat man recht schnell erreicht. Hier haben die Arbeiter die auf dem Weg ins Tal der Königinnen waren zum arbeiten ihr "Andacht" abgehalten. Ptah war der Schutzgott der Abeiter und somit brachten die Arbeiter hier ihre Opfer da.
Von hier aus seht ihr das Tal der Königinnen und es zeigt euch die Aussicht das es nicht so weit weg liegt. Das schöne Heiligtum das uns sehr überrascht hatte mit seinen noch gut erhaltenen Reliefs usw.

Hier seht ihr, dass das Heiligtum gut in der Felswand versteckt liegt und somit auch etwas geschützt lag.

Diese schönen Reliefs haben wir hier wie gesagt nicht erwartet. Hier lohnt es sich eine kleine Pause einzulegen und die Stille der Berge zu geniesen.

Von hier aus Blicken wir noch mal zurück ins Tal der Königinnen.

So nun genug Pause gemacht und weiter geht es den Berg hinauf. Das rote Gebäude das ihr da oben seht ist das Wachhaus das am Ende der Treppen errichtet wurde. Keine Angst so weit hoch gehen wir heute nicht das behalten wir uns für die nächste Tour vor.

Nun haben wir den Höchsten Punkt für heute erreicht. Von hier oben gehen wir nun wieder den Berg runter und besichtigen uns da die Gräber von Sennedjem ( TT 1 ), Paschedu ( TT 3 ) und das von Imherkau ( TT 359 )

Nach dem wir uns nun die Gräber und die Siedlung genau unter die Lupe genommen haben gehen wir weiter zum Hathor Tempel. Der Tempel von Deir el-Medina (Kloster der Stadt) wurde von Ptolemaios IV. Philopator im 3.JH. v. Chr. (222 - 205 v. Chr.) begonnen und von Ptolemaios XIII. fortgeführt aber nie vollendet. Geweiht war der Tempel den Göttinnen Maat und Hathor. Die Siedlung von Deir el-Medina war fast 500 Jahre lang bewohnt. Danach wurde der Tempel der Hathor in eine Kirche umgewandelt und christliche Eremiten nutzten die offenen Gräber als Wohnungen. Erst im siebten Jahrhundert nach Christus war der Ort endgültig verlassen worden.
Ein paar Schritte weiter kommen wir zum "Brunnenschacht". der 42 Meter tief ist. Hier hat man etwa 10.000 Ostraka (Tonscherben, die für kurze Notizen und Aufzeichnungen verwendet wurden) mit nicht literarischem Inhalt - überwiegend aus der Ramessiden-Zeit geborgen. Da diese mächtige antike Zisterne als Abfallanlage der Künstlerstadt diente hat man hier viele Informationen aus dem Alltagsleben der Bewohner gefunden. selten gibt es an einem Ort so eine Fülle an Informationen über das "normale" Leben, die Verwaltung eines Dorfes oder die kommunale Gerichtsbarkeit. Selbst Aufzeichnungen über Anwesenheit, die Länge der Arbeitstage, wann und warum ein Arbeiter unpünktlich zur Arbeit erschien oder daß ein Arbeiter zu hause blieb, weil seine Frau ihn geschlagen hatte gibt es. Es wurden Listen mit den Lebensmittellieferungen und Listen mit Dingen des täglichen Bedarfs gefunden. Ebenso Verträge und Protokolle bei Gerichtsverhandlungen und Privatbriefe.

Nun geht unsere Wanderung weiter nach Qurna. Nach ca. 15 min weiter laufen haben wir Qurna erreicht. Man kommt in der Ecke des Rammeseums wieder auf die Straße. Im Rammeseum Caffe haben wir natürlich wieder Rast bei den "Rassuls" eingelegt um unseren Durst zu stillen.
Hier endet auch unsere Wanderung für heute aber die nächste kommt bestimmt :-)

Saffgräbern in el-Tarif

2013-04-14T01:26:00.002-07:00

this article was taken from www.isis&osiris .de

El-Tarif ist in dem Gebiet nördlich des Totentempels Sethos I. zu finden. Er wird auch als Antef-Friedhof bezeichnet, da hier drei große Grabanlagen gefunden wurden die den Antef-Herrschern (-Königen) zugeschrieben werden. Es handelt sich um Saff el- Kisasija, Saff el-Baqar und Saff el-Dawaba das wir auch besucht haben.
Bei der südlichsten Grabanlage Saff el-Dawaba handelt es sich wahrscheinlich um das Grab Antef I. Die mittlere Grabanlage, Saff el-Kisasija wird Antef II. zugeschrieben da dort die sogenannte Hundestele (Grabstele) gefunden wurde, auch wurde das Grab im Papyrus Abbott erwähnt. Saff el Baqar wurde als drittes Grab errichtet und wird Antef III. zugewiesen. (Quelle: Arnold El-Tarif S. 22)
Mariette soll hier im hintergrund auch noch noch Reste von Ziegelpyramiden gefunden haben.
Arnold erwähnt weiter das hier 250 Gräber auf diesem Friedhof gefunden wurden. Er schätzt das es ehemals zwischen 300 und 400 Saffgräber gab. (Arnold, El-Tarif S. 44). Von ihnen wurden 250 Gräber auf diesem Friedhof gefunden. Die Gräber gehören den hohen Beamten der Zeit vor der Reichseinigung unter Mentuhotep Nebhepetre. Vereinzelt werden noch unter Mentuhotep III. "Vornehme Adelige" hier beigesetzt. Im südwestlichen Teil des Friedhofes sind Gräber einer "ärmeren Bevölkerungsschicht" bis in die 12. Dynastie hinein zu finden.

Hier haben wir die Grabanlage Saff el-Dawaba bei der es sich wahrscheinlich um das Grab Antef I. handelt. Ihr seht selbst das es nicht ganz so einfach ist die Anlage zu finden, da sie sich mitten in dem heutigen Dorf befindet, diese Umstand macht auch eine weiter Grabung zunichte. Bei Arnold (El-Tarif, S. 20) ist auch über das Ostende des Hofes zu lesen "das dort der Felsboden des Hofes ohne nennenswerte Verschüttungen offen liegt." Spuren einer Abschlußmauer, oder einer Ziegelkapelle wie beim Saff el-Kisasija wurden hier nicht gefunden.
Der Hof hat heute noch eine länge von 300m und eine breite von 54m.
Der Aushub der Gräber wurde als Aufschüttung um die Grabanlage verteilt, so daß sie 12m unter dem heutigen Bodenniveau liegt.

Das Grabinnere soll laut Arnold vollendet gewesen sein nur die Hofanlage wurde wohl nie fertig gestellt. Heute ist nicht mehr viel zu finden außer diesen Pfeiler an dem man noch erkennt wie er bearbeitet wurde.

auch findet man noch die "Grabnische", leider wurde dieser Platz irgendwie als Müllhalde "mißbraucht"

Hier versucht einer unserer Expeditionsteilnehmer in den Umgang der Grabanlage zu gelangen in dem auch noch Grabkegel gefunden wurden. Leide ist dieser Gang komplet zerstört.

Wir haben noch einige Saff Gräber im Bereich des muslimschen Friedhofes gefunden. Leider habe ich werder bei Porter Moss noch bei den Plänen von Arnod gefunden um welche Gräber es sich nun handelt. Ich kann nur mutmaßen das sie noch zum Saff el-Dawaba gehörten, aber das ist nur meine meinung (nach der einsicht der Karten) von daher kann ich es nicht belegen.
Hier ein Blick von außen auf die Gräber, so hat man auch einen Einblick wo sich die Gräber befinden.

und hier das ganze bei näherer Betrachtung

bei dieser Aufnahme kann man sehr gut sehen das die heutigen Ägypter die alten Grabstätten "wieder verwenden" für ihre Toten.

diese Gräber befinden sich auf der anderen Seite der modernen Straße in Richtung Totentempels Sethos I.

... auch hier ist mehr Unrat in den Gräbern als das man noch viel
erkennen könnte :-( ...

Abydos

2013-04-14T01:23:00.002-07:00

Aerial plan of the Temple of Seti I. Click to enlarge. Wadi Umm al-Qa'ab: the desert beyond Abydos that was believed to be the entrance to the underworld. Photo . Stairs from the forecourt to the second court. . Reliefs from Abydos at the Louvre Museum. . The Osireion behind the Temple of Seti Aerial view of the Temple of Ramses II at Abydos. Ahmose complex at Abydos. . Headquarters for ongoing Abydos . Funerary stela from Abydos at the Met Museum in NYC (Mary Harrsch); mosque in the nearby town of al-Balyana

For the Ancient Egyptians, Abydos was one of the holiest sites in the world. As the cult center of the god Osiris and gateway to the underworld (believed to lie under the nearby hills), it was a popular place of pilgrimage and burial. Today, Abydos is a large archaeological site in northern Upper Egypt, often visited in conjunction with nearby Dendera. Today the pilgrims are New Age devotees following in the footsteps of Dorothy Eady (d. 1981), who believed herself to be the reincarnation of an Abydos temple priestess. The main monument at Abydos is the Temple of Seti I, built around 1300 BC by Seti and his son Ramses II. It is especially notable for its fine reliefs, considered among the best of the New Kingdom.

History

Abydos has been used as a burial site and sacred site since predynastic history. It was originally sacred to the jackal-headed god Wepwawet, who "opened the way" to the realm of the dead. Anhur appeared in the XI Dynasty at Abydos; Anubis rose to importance in the Middle Kingdom then vanished in the XVIII Dynasty. The worship of Osiris in his various forms appeared at Abydos in the XXII Dynasty and became increasingly important, until the entire site was considered sacred primarily to him by the XIX Dynasty. The Temple of Seti I at Abydos was begun during the reign of Pharoah Seti I (1318-1304 BC) and completed by his son Ramses II (1304-1237 BC) during the XIX Dynasty of the New Kingdom. The temple represents an artistic revival of Old Kingdom forms and was part of Seti's attempt to consolidate the Ramessid dynasty after the losses under Akhenaten. By identifying himself with the great gods and previous rulers of Egypt, Seti added legitmacy to a ruling family that had been mere warriors just a few generations ago. Pharaoh Merneptah added a great Hypogeum of Osiris to the temple of Seti. The final building to be added was the Temple of Nectanebo I in the XXX dynasty, but various additions to the site were made through the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Thanks to its impressive carvings, the Temple of Seti I has been a tourist attraction since the 1830s. Abydos began to be excavated in the early 20th century by Flinders Petrie and excavations still continue today. In more recent times, Abydos was the home of New Age practitioner Dorothy Eady from 1946 until her death in 1981. Mrs. Eady believed herself to be a reincarnation of an Abydos temple priestess and lover of Seti I, was known as Umm Seti (Mother of Seti), experienced trances and uttered prophecies. More details can be had in her book Abydos: The Holy City in Ancient Egypt and the biography by Jonathan Cott, The Search for Omm Sety.

What to See

The site of Abydos is huge, and includes a number of ruins and mounds around the edge of the desert. Most visitors, however, stick to the grand Temple of Seti I because of time and police restrictions. The Temple of Seti I has an unusual L-shaped layout and multiple sanctuaries, but otherwise incorporates the elements common to Egyptian temples. Entrance is on the north side, where the pylon and forecourt are mostly destroyed but still contain some partial reliefs (such as Ramses II defeating enemies at Qadesh, on the left side of the forecourt). Stairs lead from the forecourt to the upper second court, where damaged statues are displayed. Overlooking the second court is a facade with square pillars covered with reliefs of Ramses II greeting Osiris, Isis and Horus. The upper part of the facade has been rebuilt in concrete. The Outer Hypostyle Hall contains sunk-reliefs completed by Ramses II after Seti's death. They are not very impressive, suggesting that Ramses redeployed Seti's best craftsmen to work on his own temple, the Ramesseum. On the entrance wall, Ramses measures the temple with the goddess Selket and presents it to Horus. On the right wall, Ramses offers a falcon-headed box of papyrus to Isis, Horus and Osiris and is led to the temple by Horus and the jackal-headed Wepwawet to be anointed with holy water (represented by interlinked ankhs). One of the roof lintels in the Outer Hypostyle Hall bears a cartouche that has become famous for including the so-called "Abydos helicopter." Internet theorists hold that the ancient engraving shows a helicopter and submarine; archaeologists disagree and explain the unusual shape as resulting from erosion and the layering of one cartouche over another. The Inner Hypostyle Hall, made of sandstone on the east and west sides and limestone on the north and south, was the last part to be decorated before Seti's death. Some sections remain incomplete, but the reliefs that were finished are excellent. On the right wall, Osiris and Horus prou holy water from garlanded vases over Seti, who makes offerings before the shrine of Osiris. Osiris is attended by Maat and Ronpet (goddess of the year) in front and Isis, Amentet (goddess of the west) and Nephthys in back. Seti's profile bears a close likeness to his mummy, which is on display in the Cairo Antiquities Museum. The reliefs on the back wall are still brightly colored, and show Seti being anointed and crowned by the gods. An especially notable section is high on the left, between the sanctuaries of Ptah and Re-Herakhte, with Seti kneeling before Osiris and Horus with the sacred persea tree in the background. Two projecting piers on the side walls near the back of the hall show Seti worshipping the Djed column while wearing the combined crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Behind the Inner Hypostyle Hall are seven sanctuaries, which contain the best reliefs in the temple. From left, the small sanctuaries are dedicated to Seti I, Ptah, Re-Herakhte, Amun, Osiris, Isis and Horus. Each one is roofed with false vaults carved from rectangular slabs and end in false doors (except for Osiris' sanctuary, which has a real door to his inner sanctuaries). The reliefs in the Sanctuary of Seti emphasize the pharaoh's recognition by the gods, who are shown leading him into the temple and ceremonially uniting the Two Lands (Upper and Lower Egypt) along the northern wall. Near the back of the left wall, Seti receives a list of offerings from Thoth and leopardskin-wearing High Priest Iunmutef. Seti is lastly shown leaving the temple on a palanquin borne by jackal-headed (from Upper Egypt) and hawk-headed (from Lower Egypt) deities. Behind the seven sanctuaries are the inner sanctuaries of Osiris, with three side chapels dedicated to Isis, Seti and Horus respectively. The reliefs in these chapels retain much of their bright colors, but have been blackened by mold in the last few decades. The portal nearest Seti's sanctuary leads into the columned Hall of Sokar and Nerfertum (deities of the north representing the cycle of death and rebirth, who were integrated into the cult of Osiris) in the southern wing of the temple. Reliefs include Seti receiving Sokar (with hawk's head) and Nefertum (in human and lion form, crowned with a lotus blossom). In the Chapel of Sokar, Osiris returns to life grasping his phallus, while Isis hovers over him in the form of a hawk on the opposite wall. The Chapel of Nerfertum requires a flashlight to see anything in. Another portal a little further from Seti's sanctuary leads into the Gallery of Kings, named for the list of Seti's predecessors carved into the right wall. Hatshepsut and Akhenaten (with his heirs) are omitted from the list in accordance with custom, and Seti's own name is listed as Menmare Osiris-Merneptah instead of Menmare Seti-Merneptah in order to distance himself from Seth (a.k.a. Seti), the enemy of Osiris. Seti and Ramses II are depicted facing the list, which has proved very useful to archaeologists and historians. From the Gallery of Kings, a side corridor leads past a relief of Seti and Ramses harnessing a bull and running to greet Wepwawet. From here, a rear door leads behind the temple to the Osireion, the cenotaph or "dummy tomb" of Seti I. Osireions did not contain pharaohs' mummies but were intended to promote a close association between the pharaoh's ka and Osiris. Seti's is the only one of these now visible, but it is still half-buried and partly inaccessible by stagnant water. The Osireion is made of massive blocks and encloses a room that once contained a mound surrounded by a moat, symbolizing the primal mound that arose from the waters of Chaos at the dawn of Creation, and an empty sarcophagus. About 300m northwest of the Temple of Seti I is the ruined Temple of Ramses II. Fragments of reliefs showing the Battle of Qadesh survive on the enclosure walls and pillared courtyard.

Griffith Institute Squeezes made in Theban tomb TT 57, of the Overseer of Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt, Khaemhet, of the reign of Amenophis III (1391-1353 BC)

2013-04-14T01:15:00.001-07:00

Concept and editing: Jaromir Malek
Cataloguing and editorial assistance: Elizabeth Fleming
Scanning: Junghwa Choi and Jenni Navratil
Griffith Institute, Oxford Although the tomb of Khaemhet has been re-recorded in modern times, V. Loret's incomplete publication in Mémoires publiés par les membres de la Mission Archéologique Française au Caire i (1889), 113-32 pls. i-iv has not yet been superseded. The squeezes presented here almost certainly show details which can no longer be seen in the tomb. All the descriptions and the plan have been taken from B. Porter, R. L. B. Moss and E. W. Burney, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, i Part 1 (Oxford, 1960).
Squeezes 4.1-68D were made, or were acquired, by the Revd. Henry Stobart (1824-1895) in Egypt in 1854-5. Squeezes 1.1-15 were made by an unknown person in the 1880s or 1890s.

Court.

(1) Stela, Dyn. XIX. Two registers, Suemmerenhor, Custodian, censes and libates to Osiris and Western goddess in I, and adores Anubis in II.
(2) Khaemhet censes and libates with hymn.
(3) Stela, Khaemhet purifies shrine containing four protecting goddesses and Sons of Horus, with canopic jars below.
(4) Lower part of stela with remains of purification scene, and Opening the Mouth instruments and jars below.
(5) Khaemhet adores with hymn.

Hall.

(6) Door leading into the entrance room. Outer jambs, text with Khaemhet seated at bottom. Left thickness, Khaemhet (upper part now in Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum, replaced by a cast) adoring, with hymn to the sun.
Griffith Institute squeezes 1.1a, 1.1b, 4.1, 4.1a, 4.1b, 4.1c and 4.2
Head of Khaemhet, from left thickness.

(7) Khaemhet offers on braziers to Amun-Re-Harakhti. Sub-scene, butchers and three offering bearers.
Griffith Institute squeeze 4.3.
Offerings on braziers.

(8) Two remaining registers, I and II, remains of measuring crop and recording grain. Sub-scene, Khaemhet with two offering bearers (one holding sheaf with quails) offers on braziers to serpent-headed Termuthis suckling King as child.
(9) Two remaining registers. I, II, Unloading freight ships, and market.
(10) Niche containing statues of Khaemhet and Imhotep, Royal scribe, with Khaemhet's wife in relief between them. Side walls, litany and offering list (repeated at (24), (26) and (28)), and Khaemhet offering with Opening the Mouth text on right side wall. Left of niche, butchers. Right of niche, victims.
Griffith Institute squeeze 4.49
Hands of priest holding Opening the Mouth instrument, and text, from west wall of niche.

(11) Khaemhet and three registers, I-III, men bringing cattle, before Amenophis III (head in Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum, 14442, replaced by cast) in kiosk, with sphinx slaying captive on arm of throne, captives on side of throne, and Nine Bows on base of kiosk.
Griffith Institute squeeze 4.56
Text above Khaemhet.

Griffith Institute squeeze 1.3
Nine men, from left end of register I.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.4 and 4.4a
Upper part of six men, from left end of register I.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.5 and 4.5a
Six calves, from left end of register I.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.6 and 4.6a
Three calves, and part of text behind Khaemhet, and part of text behind Khaemhet in register I.
Griffith Institute squeezes 1.4a and 1.4b
Upper part of three calves from group at right end, and part of text behind Khaemhet in I.
Griffith Institute squeezes 1.5a, 1.5b and 4.68A
Upper part of two men in III.
Griffith Institute squeezes 1.6a, 1.6b, 4.8, 4.8a and 4.8b
Head of Amenophis III.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.68B
Top left-hand corner of kiosk.

Griffith Institute squeezes 1.2, 4.7, 4.7a and 4.7b
Sphinx slaying captive, with bound captives below, on arm of throne.

(12) Khaemhet offers on braziers. Griffith Institute squeezes 1.7a and 1.7b
Upper part of Khaemhet.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.32, 4.32a, 4.32b, 4.32c and 4.33.
Head of Khaemhet.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.34 and 4.34a
Offerings held by Khaemhet, and text.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.35, 4.35a and 4.35b
Offerings on braziers.

(13) Three registers, I, Khaemhet inspects men measuring crop. II, Waiting chariots, with preparation of food under trees at each end. III, Two rows, waiting mule-chariot, man asleep under tree, boy playing pipe, carrying and threshing grain. Sub-scene, two rows, agriculture, including felling trees, and winnowing with offerings to harvest deity, before Khaemhet seated.
Griffith Institute squeezes 4.24, 4.24a and 4.24b
Upper part of Khaemhet.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.21
Boy and two men, from scene of measuring crop, from upper row of register I.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.25 and 4.25a
Four men behind Khaemhet, from upper row in register I.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.26
Four men behind Khaemhet, from lower row in register I.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.22
1st, 2nd and 3rd men from left, from scene of measuring crop, from lower row of register I.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.23
3rd, 4th and 5th men from left, from scene of measuring crop, from lower row of register I.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.27
Men holding horses in register II.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.28
Two men, chariots and horses in register II.

Griffith Institue squeeze 4.29
Men behind rear chariot in register II.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.30
Man asleep under tree, and waiting mule chariot, from upper row in register III.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.31
Boy playing pipe, and carrying grain, from upper row in register III.

(14) Remains of three registers, man offering to Khaemhet and wife(?).
Griffith Institute squeeze 4.20
Upper part of man offering to Khaemhet, from top register.

(15) Khaemhet and three registers, I-III, officials of Upper and Lower Egypt, rewarded by Amenophis III (head in Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum, 14503, replaced by cast) in kiosk on throne similar to that at (11), with text of year 30. Griffith Institute squeeze 4.12
Head of Khaemhet.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.55
Text above Khaemhet.

Griffith Institute squeeze 1.9
Official being rewarded, from left end of register I.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.13, 4.13a and 4.13b
Upper part of official being rewarded, from left end of register I.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.14
Upper part of official being rewarded, from middle of register I.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.15
Upper part of official and six men, from middle and right end of register I.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.16
Upper part of 1st, 2nd and 3rd officials from left, in register II.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.17
Upper part of 3rd, 4th and 5th officials from left, in register II.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.18
Upper part of 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th officials from left, in register II.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.19
Upper part of 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th officials from left, in register II.

Griffith Institute squeezes 1.8, 4.9, 4.9a, 4.9b and 4.9c
Head of Amenophis III.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.11 and 4.11a
Cartouches of Amenophis III.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.10 and 4.10a
Sphinx slaying captive on arm of throne, and upper part of captives on side.

Passage.

(16) Outer lintel, double scene, Khaemhet before Osiris and Isis, and before Osiris and Nephthys. Jambs, offering texts. Left thickness, remains of text at bottom (replaced). Right thickness, long texts including 'appeal to visitors'.
Griffith Institute squeezes 4.36a, 4.36b and 4.37
Osiris and Isis, from left half of outer lintel, and Nephthys, from right half.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.36
Osiris, from left half of outer lintel.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.68
Khaemhet, from right half of outer lintel.

Griffith Institute squeeze 1.10
Part of five columns of text from right thickness.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.50
Middle part of columns 2-6 of text on right thickness.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.51
Bottom part of columns 2-6 of text on right thickness.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.52
Top part of columns 2-6 of text on right thickness.

(17) Khaemhet.
Griffith Institute squeezes 1.11a, 1.11b, 4.38, 4.38a and 4.39
Upper part of Khaemhet.

(18) and (19) Remains of three registers, I-III, funeral procession and ceremonies (including foreleg rite) before Western goddess with [cryptographic text] behind her in I, 'Nine friends', male mourners, and men with funeral outfit, in II, and boats in III, all before Osiris and Western goddess with men in booths with food tables and female mourners below them.
Griffith Institute squeeze 4.48
Eight columns of cryptographic text.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.60, 4.60a, 4.63, 4.63a and 4.63b
Men with funeral outfit, from register I or II.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.62
'Nine friends' and male mourners in register II.

Griffith Institute squeezes 1.12, 4.42, 4.42a and 4.42b
Female mourners and part of boat scene, in register III.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.40 and 4.40a
Western goddess with cryptographic text behind her, from register I.
Griffith Institute squeezes 4.43 and 4.43a
Heads of Osiris and Western goddess.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.43b
Upper part of Osiris and Western goddess.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.43c
Insignia held by Osiris.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.43d
Upper part of Western goddess.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.41
Head of Western goddess.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.64 and 4.64a
Men in booths, offering bearers and rowers (below Osiris and Western goddess).

(20) Damaged scene, Khaemhet purified and acclaimed by priests.
Griffith Institute squeeze 4.57
Priest pouring libation, from top row.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.47
2nd priest from bottom.

(21) and (22) Khaemhet with staff, Fields of Iaru, part of text of Book of the Dead, statue of Khaemhet purified by priest, and Khaemhet with Anubis standard adores [god]. Sub-scene, Abydos pilgrimage to tomb (including horse and chariot in boat), and priest with female mourners censing and libating before chair with bouquets in centre.
Griffith Institute squeezes 1.15, 4.58 and 4.58a
Upper part of Khaemhet.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.61, 4.61a and 4.61b
Man ploughing with oxen, and another sowing, from Fields of Iaru.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.65, 4.65a and 4.65b
Two men before squatting deities.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.53
Part of text of Book of the Dead, columns 3-11.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.68C
Priest with female mourners, from sub-scene.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.45 and 4.45a
Upper part of priest libating.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.46, 4.46a and 4.46b
Khaemhet and wife(?) in 2nd boat from right in sub-scene.

Griffith Institute squeezes 4.44, 4.44a and 4.44b
Empty chair with bouquets, from centre of sub-scene.

Inner Room.

(23) Outer lintel, double scene, Khaemhet kneeling, with part of Book of the Dead, adores souls of Pe and of Nekhen. Left jamb, Khaemhet 'entering Ro-setau'. Left thickness, [Khaemhet] adoring.
Griffith Institute squeeze 4.54
Upper part of Khaemhet adoring, and text above him.

(24) Niche with statues of Khaemhet and woman. Side walls, litany and offering list (as at (10)) with oryx below on left wall, and victims below on right wall.
Griffith Institute squeeze 4.66
Gazelle and oryx, from bottom of left wall of niche.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.67
Offerings, from right wall of niche.

(25) Upper part of Khaemhet with staff, in Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum, 2063 (replaced by cast).
Griffith Institute squeeze 1.13
Upper part of Khaemhet.

(26) Niche with statues of Khaemhet as Mahu and wife. Side walls, litany and offering list (as at (10)).
(27) Khaemhet adoring (the statues at (28)).
Griffith Institute squeezes 1.14 and 4.68D
Upper part of Khaemhet.

Griffith Institute squeeze 4.59
Offerings.

(28) Niche with statues of Khaemhet and Imhotep, Royal scribe, with wife of Khaemhet in relief between them. Side walls, remains of litany and offering list (as at (10)), in Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum, 24365-6.

Tips for Cruising Solo

2013-03-17T15:29:00.001-07:00

Tips for Cruising Solo
Not every potential guest has an endless travel budget and the cruise lines reach out by offering accommodation options. As the 'buyer' you must begin thinking creatively. Instead of choosing a prestige suite with verandah, choose one of their well-appointed ocean view or inside staterooms. Cut down on amenities -- fresh flowers and champagne are lovely in your room but you can have a fabulous time without them. Book only one extra shore excursion rather than three. Shop less and drink less (better for you) in exchange for the luxury of having your very own cabin with your very own washroom
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info@egyptraveluxe.com

Visit Egypt in the Easter

2013-03-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

we will take you to the 'must see' sites in Egypt so you don't miss a thing. will also get the chance to see some fantastic mastabas, including the mastaba of Mereruka, the largest one built in ancient Egypt. You will then be able to marvel at the Pyramid Texts inside the Pyramid of Teti before heading off to the ancient capital of Egypt: Memphis.
A Nile Cruise trip is a very enjoyable experience that any visitor must do when he visit Egypt. sail the Nile in style with our fantastic itinerary and deluxe Nile cruises ,relax and explore on your own pace with your private guide .
www.egyptraveluxe.com
Trip Itinerary 9 Days / 8 Nights From April 4th To April 23th:

Day 1: April 4th .: Cairo

Arrive to Cairo International Airport meet and assist by Egyptraveluxe representative
to help you through the immigration formalities. Overnight at your hotel Mina House
in Cairo.

Day 2: April 5th. Cairo / Cairo

After breakfast you will be picked up for exploration of the vast necropolis of Sakkara
containing tombs from almost every period of Egyptian history. The Step Pyramid of
Zoser is the most conspicuous landmark of the necropolis, lunch at the Pyramids foot.
In the afternoon, we will visit the three Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx. With a 15
min camel ride at Giza Plateau Later that evening you will be transferred to your
hotel at Cairo, check-in hotel.

Day 3 :April 6th.

After breakfast you will be picked then start your tour to The Egyptian
Museum , enjoy the legendary treasures of the Egyptian Museum, which houses about
250.000 antique pieces including the statues, sarcophagi & the fabulous treasures of
Tutankhamun, also explore the old Cairo mosques and churches and the Citadels then
transferred to Giza train station to catch the sleeping train to Luxor dinner and
Overnight on board
.
Day 4 :April 7th.

Breakfast and free morning, lunch on board. In the afternoon depart for visits of the
East Bank of Luxor, including the Luxor & Karnak temples. Then relax in the Nile
Cruise or you can walk through history, ride on a horse-drawn carriage, sail in a
felucca, or explore the city of mysteries. Dinner & Overnight on board.

Day 5 :April 8th. Luxor / Komombo

At morning you will be picked up to Visit The West Bank,
Valley of The Kings, Colossi's of Memnon and queen Hatshepsut Temple. Sail to
Esna. Overnight on Cruise

Day 6 :April 9th . Komombo/Aswan

Morning after Breakfast Visit Edfu Temple. Sail to Komombo. Visit Komombo
Temple at the afternoon sail to Aswan night on board.

Day 7 :April 10th. Aswan

Early morning you pick your breakfast box and Drive to Abusimble temples visit the
Magnificent temples of King Ramasses then back to Aswan Lunch on board your
cruise ,enjoy the Nile. Felucca Ride to see The Botanical Garden and Agha Khan
Mausoleum (FROM THE NILE NO ENTRY). Overnight in Aswan.

Day 8 :April 11th. Aswan / Abusimbel

After Breakfast Visit the High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk and Philae Temple and catch
the flight back to Cairo spend the night in your Hotel in Cairo .

Day 9 :April 12th.Cairo

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Cairo International airport for the final
departure.
wish you a happy holiday

Tour Price Include :

3 Nights accommodation in Mina House or similar in Cairo with
breakfast .
Sleeping train tickets .
Abu simbel Tour
Flight tickets Aswan/Cairo
4 nights on board Super deluxe 5* Nile Cruise Ms premium or
similar full board .
English speaking tour guide during the tour
all required transfers in a deluxe a/c private van.
entrance fees to the mentioned sites.

New Luxor Tombs Discovered In Egypt Beneath King Amenhotep II Temple

2013-03-11T14:47:00.000-07:00

New Tombs Discovered In Luxor - Egypt Beneath King Amenhotep II Temple

Egypt's Antiquities Minister says Italian archaeologists have unearthed tombs over 3000 years old in the ancient city of Luxor.

Mohammed Ibrahim says the discovery was made beneath the mortuary temple of King Amenhotep II, seventh Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty who reigned from 1427 to 1401 B.C. The temple is located on the western bank of the Nile.

Ibrahim says remains of wooden sarcophaguses and human bones were found inside the tombs.

Mansour Barek, head of Luxor antiquities, says jars used to preserve the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines of the deceased were found. They were decorated with images of the four sons of the god Horus – figures seen as essential by ancient Egyptians to help the soul of the deceased find its way to heaven.

Get your perfect tour in Luxor and learn in depth and visit exclusively the newly discovered sites with an Egyptologist tour guide with Egyptraveluxe Tours :info@egyptraveluxe.com

www.egyptraveluxe.com

Luxor's new discovery-More Sekhmet statues unearthed at Amenhotep III's temple in Luxor

2013-03-11T14:39:00.001-07:00

More Sekhmet statues unearthed at Amenhotep III's temple in Luxor
www.egyptraveluxe.com

Black granite statues of the ancient Egyptian lioness goddess Sekhmet were unearthed Monday at King Amenhotep III's temple on the west bank of Luxor
Egyptian and European excavators unearthed a collection of black granite statues depicting the ancient Egyptian lioness Goddess Sekhmet during their routine excavation at King Amenhotep III funerary temple in the Kom Al-Hittan area on the west bank of Luxor.

The statues depict the goddess Sekhmet in her usual form, sitting on the throne with a human body and lioness's head.

"This is not the first time statues of the lioness goddess have been unearthed at Kom Al-Hittan," said Mohamed Ibrahim, minister of state for antiquities adding that the Egyptian-European mission led by German Egyptologist Horig Sourouzian has previously unearthed 64 statues of Sekhment of different shapes and sizes.

Ibrahim explained that such a large number highlights the important role of the goddess during the reign of the 18th dynasty king Amenhotep III, father of the monotheistic king Akhnaten and grandfather of the golden king Tutankhamun.

Sekhmet was believed to be a protective goddess as she was also the goddess of war and destruction. "Some Egyptologists," pointed out Ibrahim, "believe that king Amenhotep constructed a large number of goddess Sekhmets in an attempt to cure him of a specific disease that he suffered during his reign." Sekhmet was well known of her supposed ability to cure critical deseases.

Mansour Boreik, supervisor of Luxor antiquities, told Ahram online that the statues are very well preserved and each one is two metres tall. He continued saying that the newly discovered statues prove Amenhotep III's funerary temple was once filled with Sekhmet statues of different sizes and shapes, similar to his temple on the east bank of Luxor, known as goddess Mut temple. This temple acted as a symbol of stability and prosperity during Amenhotep III's reign.

10 years ago, the archeologists unearthed a large number of statues of Amenhotep III and his wife Queen Tiye; they also unearthed some parts of the temple's walls.

"The work we are doing here is not only about advancing historical knowledge, but also about saving the last remnants of a temple that was once very prestigious; it is unfortunate that it been badly damaged," Sourouzian said.

The teams aim to produce a virtual reconstruction of the temple using the latest computer programmes, she added, saying that this reconstruction would show the original position of every surviving piece within the original temple.

Transition in the use of cobalt-blue colorant in the New Kingdom of Egypt

2013-03-09T01:42:00.000-08:00

Abstract

Cobalt-blue colorant was first used in the 18th Dynasty in the New Kingdom of Egypt. The source of this cobalt was cobaltiferous alum from the Western Oases of Egypt. The use of this alum, especially in glass, was suddenly limited at the end of the 18th Dynasty. There is little evidence of the production of cobalt-blue glass in the Ramesside Period (the 19th–20th Dynasties) in the New Kingdom of Egypt. In this study, we brought a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to two archaeological sites located in the Memphite region and used it for onsite analyses of Ramesside cobalt blue-colored glasses and faiences. This method revealed that the compositional characteristics of the cobalt-blue colorant in these Ramesside glasses and faiences is different from the colorant derived from cobaltiferous alum used in the 18th Dynasty, based on the comparison of transition metal composition and alumina content with those of the cobalt blue-colored artifacts from the 18th Dynasty. This result suggests that a new cobalt source other than cobaltiferous alum from the Western Oases was utilized in Egypt during the Ramesside Period.

Highlights

► Numerous Ramesside cobalt-blue glasses and faiences were found in Memphite sites. ► We analyzed these Ramesside cobalt-blue artifacts using a portable XRF spectrometer. ► We found that newly discovered source of cobalt colorant was used in Ramesside Egypt. ► The Ramesside colorant was different from the colorant used during the 18th Dynasty.

Cairo Private Tour: Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis, Sakkara

2013-03-08T08:40:00.001-08:00

Cairo Private Tour: Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Memphis, Sakkara
How did the Pharaohs build the massive pyramids?

That's certainly the first question that comes to your mind every time you see the Pyramids. You really wish you could have " a time machine " to travel back in time and find out by yourself.
Step back in time to the days of ancient Egypt on a private tour of the Great Pyramids of Giza and Sphinx, the necropolis of Sakkara and the former capital, Memphis. With your own private Egyptologist guide to lead the way on this private tour, you can determine the amount of time you'd like to spend at each of the sites you'll visit.

The Giza Plateau is only around 30 minutes from Cairo, where your qualified Egyptologist guide will provide a fascinating introduction to each of the three pyramids: Cheops, Khafre and Menakaure. You will have free time to enter one of the pyramids (additional cost), though your guide is not permitted to enter with you, or take a camel ride (additional cost).

After visiting the pyramids, you'll continue across the plateau for a photo opportunity of the three pyramids rising from the sands, with the Cairo skyline in the background. A short drive to the city side of the plateau finds you standing at the feet of the Sphinx, for thousands of years the enigmatic symbol of Egypt. Also in Giza you may visit the Solar Boat Museum (optional), home to the remarkably well preserved funerary boat of Khufu.

Your next stop is Sakkara, home of Egypt's oldest pyramid, built in 2650 B.C. Your guide will provide a brief history of the famous Step Pyramid and you'll have free time to walk around.

Your final stop is Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt. Here you will see artifacts from many of the great rulers of Egypt, including the fallen statue of Ramses II. You will also have the chance to visit a Papyrus Institute to see how the famous artwork is made.

Tour Highlight :
- Pick-up at the hotel (or any other point in Cairo you find convenient).
- Drive to Saqqara. See the Step Pyramid of Zoser.
- Have a camel ride by the pyramid and across the Sahara (optional).
- Proceed to the tombs of the nobles.
- Have lunch in a local restaurant (optional).
- Head for Giza and visit the 3 great pyramids of Egypt.
- Go back to the hotel (or any other place you choose).
- This tour lasts for eight hours.

if you want to spend the evening outside the hotel, you can book sound & light show or have a dinner cruise which is a unique experience in a 5* boat with an interesting program including oriental Egyptian dancing ,folkloric show&open buffet with a delicious Egyptian and international food

Responsible Tourism:
By employing one guide for every two travelers (compared to one guide for 10-12 people at other companies), Egypt Traveluxe Tours has been committed, from inception, to investing in the local people and economy. Today, Egypt Traveluxe Tours has taken this commitment to supporting education for disadvantaged children in the Egyptian

Egyptraveluxe Day Tours is a fast growing incoming travel agency in Egypt

2013-03-08T07:05:00.001-08:00

Egyptraveluxe Day Tours , Egypt Travel for individuals and small groups
"turn your trip in Egypt into a wonderful experience,select the perfect day tour in any of the different Egypt's cities,with a private guide and a deluxe transfer,Day tours in Cairo ,Giza ,Aswan ,Luxor ,Alexandrea ,Siwa ,Fayoum oasis ,Dahab resort ,Sharm Eksheokh ,Hurghada ,Safage port , with unique trips to new sites for the 2nd time visitor to see more of Egypt's hidden treasures .

Antique Statue of Amenhotep III 1400 BC.

2013-02-09T14:06:00.001-08:00

Antique Statue of Amenhotep III 1400 BC.
This statue was found inside Luxor Temple in 1900.
The great about this photo ,the face of the little boy setting next to the statue and the amazing similarity of their facial features and face structure .....!!!!! what do you think ?

Tom and Jerry in pharaohnic Egypt

2013-02-09T14:00:00.003-08:00

Tom and Jerry in pharaohnic Egypt ,this is a scene back to nearly 1400 BC. ,Where the artist depicted one of the priests as a mice mocking at him while the chief of artisans as the cat who forced to serve him propriety .
This is known as Ostraka piece and it is one of thousands other similar ostrakas were found near the artisans village of Deir Elmadina -Luxor west bank.
Ostrakas for ancient Egyptian artist is a stone sketch board .

Is Egypt Safe for Tourists to visit ?

2013-02-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

Is Egypt Safe for Tourists To visit? Yes.

The truth about Egypt is that its recent restlessness is more about internal domestic issues and about a proud and awakened people yearning for freedom and dignity. That's what the Egyptian Revolution in January 2011 was all about, and the country continues to make its way toward this goal. Ordinary Egyptians all over the country warmly welcome foreign tourists, especially Americans, and they are always incredibly happy to see them returning.
foreign media continue to perpetuate the myth that Egypt is unsafe for foreign tourists, and they love to play old clips of rallies and demonstrations in one tiny square in one city of Egypt from specific days every time a story on Egypt is reported. The funny thing to those is actually on the ground in Egypt every month is that we see these same news reports and stories on TV from , then look out the window and see life on the streets of Cairo going on as normal - calmly and peacefully.

Those who can see past the facade and who are willing to come visit Egypt are always surprised to find out how amazing the experience is, even now, and the fact that tourism is depressed generally across the region means that it's the perfect time to come see this country without the congestion and crowds that you normally see at Egypt's world-famous sites and monuments.

www.egyptraveluxe.com

with Egyptraveluxe Tours get your private Tour and enjoy exploring at your own pace .

:info@egyptraveluxe.com

Egypt biblical Tours

2013-02-05T15:05:00.001-08:00

Egypt biblical Tours

The Bible stories concerning the relationship of God's people with Egypt have been subject to much ridicule. Critics regard Biblical stories, such as the accounts of Joseph and the Exodus, as mythology.
The stones of archaeology were silent witnesses to the dramas of the past, and it was only after 1799, when the was discovered, that the ancient records could be deciphered. It took Jean-François Champollion 20 years to decipher the ancient hieroglyphics from the Rosetta Stone. The Stone was unique in that three languages were inscribed upon it, each telling the same story. The science of archaeology is thus a fledgling science, and most of its treasures have only been subject to scrutiny in the last century.
Today it is possible to not only read hieroglyphics, but also the ancient writings. Astoundingly, the ancient relics have succeeded in silencing many of the Biblical critics. The harmony between Scripture and archaeological findings has shed new light upon the debate.
Concerning the story of Joseph, it is known that the Semitic Hyksos overthrew the Egyptian dynasties from the year 1780 BC to 1545 BC, a period of just over a quarter of a century. During this time, it would have been possible for a Semite to reach the position of prestige occupied by Joseph. In recent times, have been found in Egyptian tombs depicting fat and thin cows, and inscriptions have been found referring to seven lean and seven opulent years, making this Biblical story more than just a myth. One of the most exciting stories in Scripture, however, is the Exodus.

According to Biblical chronology, Moses was born in 1530 BC, during the reign of Tutmoses I, who ruled from 1532 to 1508 BC. Tutmoses I was the third pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. The first pharoah was Amoses 1570 to 1553 BC, followed by Amenhotep 1553 to 1532 BC, who was the father of Tutmoses I. This is the pharaoh who issued the decree that all the sons born to the Israelites were to be thrown into the river, but that girls were permitted to live (Exodus 1:22).
Aaron, the brother of Moses, was born in 1533 BC, prior to the reign of Tutmoses I, and he had thus escaped the vicious decree. According to Biblical chronology, Moses fled Egypt 40 years after his birth in 1490 BC (Remember, we have to calculate backwards, as we are dealing with the time before Christ). Exodus 2:15 tells us about Pharaoh's reaction:

"When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh, and went to live in Midian" (NIV).

It was here, in Midian of Sinai, that the Lord revealed Himself to Moses. Two pharaohs reigned simultaneously during the exile of Moses. Tutmoses I, who issued the decree to kill the newborn sons of the Israelites, was the father of Hatshepsut, the princess who is the most likely candidate for having found Moses in the Nile. It is probable that Moses grew up as a foster child in the house of Pharaoh. Tutmoses I had no sons, and, upon his death in 1508 BC, Moses could have become the pharaoh, but he declined. Acts 7:20 tells us, "Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in speech and action."
In Hebrews 11:24, we are told, "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter."

After Moses' refusal, Tutmoses II (the husband of Hatshepsut) became pharaoh, but he only ruled from 1508 to 1504 BC, a period of just four years. Again, Moses could have become pharaoh, but again he refused. Hatshepsut herself became the next pharaoh. Her mortuary temple is at Deir el Bahri, and she ruled Egypt from 1504 to 1482 BC; a total of 22 years. The illegitimate son of Hatshepsut's husband became co-regent together with her. He was Tutmoses III, who was favored by the Egyptian priesthood.
The story of Hatshepsut is a sad story. In 1488, six years prior to her death, all official records of Hatshepsut ceased. Her royal wall paintings on the walls of her mortuary temple at Deir el Bahri were defaced, and her statues were destroyed. To this day, only a few small busts have been found. Such drastic action was only taken if pharaohs were disloyal to Egyptian deities. It is probable that Hatshepsut adopted the Hebrew religion in 1488, when Egyptian documentation about her ceased. Moses at this time was already in exile, having fled before the wrath of Tutmoses III, who enjoyed the support of the Egyptian priesthood.

Moses heard about the death of Hatshepsut while he was in exile, and her death is recorded in his writings. Exodus 2:23 states, "During that long period, the king of Egypt died." The sole ruler in Egypt was now Tutmoses III, and with Hatshepsut out of the way, and the protection she probably afforded the Israelites no longer available, Tutmoses suppressed them in a most cruel fashion.

"The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groanings and...looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them" (Exodus 2:23-25).

The return of Moses and his fear for Pharaoh is now understandable, particularly since the same pharaoh that induced him to flee became the sole ruler in Egypt.
Tutmoses III was one of the greatest pharaohs in history. He was known as the Napoleon of Egypt. He ruled until 1450 BC, which, according to the chronology in 1 Kings 6:1, is the year of the Exodus. According to the Bible, the Exodus took place on March 17, 1450 BC. The precise dates of the Passover and the Exodus are recorded in the Scriptures. The Bible tells us that the pharaoh then ruling (Tutmoses III) followed the Israelites through the Red Sea, and that he was killed in the process. The biography of Tutmoses III, written by Amenemhab says, "Lo, the king completed his lifetime of many years, splendid in valour, in might and triumph: from year 1 to 54."

1504 to 1450, a reign of 54 years, brings us precisely to the date of the Exodus. Amenemhab mentions the month and the day of his death:

"The last day of the third month of the second season... He mounted to heaven, he joined the sun: the divine limbs mingled with him who begot him."

According to the Egyptologist James Breasted, this translates to March 17, 1450 BC. A mummy of Tutmoses III in the Cairo museum was analyzed by two Egyptologists, Harris and Weeks, in 1973 and found to be a mummy of a young man, whereas Tutmoses III must have been at least 80.

Egyptians had a way of disguising their embarrassments. The pharaoh was probably never recovered from the Red Sea, and to hide this fact, a fake mummy was put in his place. There is more circumstantial evidence from the 18^th dynasty to support this argument. Tutmoses III co-reigned with his son, Amenhotep II (after the death of Hatshepsut), and Amenhotep II was not in Egypt at the time of the Exodus, but in Syro-Palestine suppressing an uprising with most of the Egyptian army. According to Egyptian writings, he returned in June 1450 BC, when he apparently defaced many Egyptian monuments. This act needs an explanation. The Bible tells us that all the first-born in Egypt died in the last plague. On returning to Egypt, he would have found not only the Israelites gone, but he would have also found his father dead, and his first-born son killed in the plague. One can now understand the emotion felt by Amenhotep that caused such a violent outburst.

The next pharaoh to rule was Tutmoses IV, who was the second born son of Amenhotep II. According to succession rights, the first-born should have become pharaoh, but he died. To explain this apparent anomaly, there is an inscription on the Sphinx telling the story of how the second-born son became pharaoh in the place of the first-born. Apparently, Tutmoses IV was resting between the legs of the Sphinx when he heard a voice telling him to clear the sand from between the legs, and the Sphinx would see to it that he, rather than the first-born, would be the next pharaoh. An unlikely story, and another demonstration of attempts to cloud the issue, so that the embarrassment should not be made public to the descendants.
Monotheistic worship in Egypt did not die with the death of Hatshepsut. During the Amarna Period of the 18th dynasty, again surfaced in Egypt. The pharaoh after Tutmoses IV was Amenhotep III. This son of Tutmoses IV was still an idolater, but during the reign of his son (Amenhotep IV), the religion of Egypt shifted from the worship of Amun to that of Aten. Atenism was the worship of the one Creator God. The symbol of the sun and its rays was used to described Aten's care for mankind. The sun was not worshiped in Atenism, but served merely as a symbol. There is good evidence that Atenism has its basis in the Hebrew religion.

The Exodus must have left its mark upon the Egyptian people, and many adhered to the God of the Hebrews, rather than to the Egyptian deities. The essence of the Egyptian religion was that of sun worship, but numerous gods played secondary roles in their belief system. Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten, >symbolizing the change from Amun worship to Aten worship (Amenhotep means "Amun is pleased"). Further evidence of Akhenaten's break with the old religion is that he shifted his capital from Luxor to a new capital Akhetaten. In a song written by Akhenaten to his god, there are 17 verses corresponding with Psalm 104.

Under Akhenatan's influence, Egyptian culture experienced a period of realism. In statues of pharaohs and their families, pharaohs were no longer depicted as larger than life, but statues of Akhenaten and his family portray him with all his defects, and his wife and children are portrayed in a loving bonding relationship with the pharaoh. His wife was the famous Nefertiti, whose name means "maiden of joy." They had six daughters, of which one was engaged to a young man by the name of Tutankaten. The daughter's name was Ankensenpaaten. Note that the names end in "aten," portraying their mode of worship. Upon the death of Akhenaten, Tutankaten was to become the next pharaoh. However, his change of name to Tutankamun indicates that his pharaohship was subject to the change of his religion. The greatest archaeological finds concern this pharaoh, and tell the story of a short but splendid reign.
Was it worth giving up the truth for the sake of earthly glory? The defacing of the statues associated with the reign of Akhenaten again demonstrates the hatred and rivalry between and the worship of the Creator God.

THE LEGEND OF THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF HORUS, AND OTHER MAGICAL TEXTS

2013-02-02T02:22:00.000-08:00

The Metternich Stele--Obverse.

The Metternich Stele--Reverse.

in Egypt, it became the custom to make house talismans in the form of small stone stelae, with rounded tops, which rested on bases having convex fronts. On the front of such a talisman was sculptured in relief a figure of Horus the Child (Harpokrates), standing on two crocodiles, holding in his hands figures of serpents, scorpions, a lion, and a horned animal, each of these being a symbol of an emissary or ally of Set, the god of Evil. Above his head was the head of Bes, and on each side of him were: solar symbols, i.e., the lily of Nefer-Tem, figures of Ra and Harmakhis, the Eyes of Ra (the Sun and Moon), etc. The reverse of the stele and the whole of the base were covered with magical texts and spells, and when a talisman of this kind was placed in a house, it was supposed to be directly under the protection of Horus and his companion gods, who had vanquished all the hosts of darkness and all the powers of physical and moral evil. Many examples of this talisman are to be seen in the great Museums of Europe, and there are several fine specimens in the Third Egyptian Room in the British Museum. They are usually called "Cippi of Horus." The largest and most important of all these "cippi" is that which is commonly known as the "Metternich Stele," because it was given to Prince Metternich by Muhammad 'Ali Pasha; it was dug up in 1828 during the building of a cistern in a Franciscan Monastery in Alexandria, and was first published, with a translation of a large part of the text,
The importance of the stele is enhanced by the fact that it mentions the name of the king in whose reign it was made, viz., Nectanebus I., who reigned from B.C. 378 to B.C. 360. The obverse, reverse, and two sides of the Metternich Stele have cut upon them nearly three hundred figures of gods and celestial beings. These include figures of the great gods of heaven, earth, and the Other World, figures of the gods of the planets and the Dekans, figures of the gods of the days of the week, of the weeks, and months, and seasons of the year, and of the year. Besides these there are a number of figures of local forms of the gods which it is difficult to identify. On the rounded portion of the obverse the place of honour is held by the solar disk, in which is seen a figure of Khnemu with four ram's heads, which rests between a pair of arms, and is supported on a lake of celestial water; on each side of it are four of the spirits of the dawn, and on the right stands the symbol of the rising sun, Nefer-Temu, and on the left stands Thoth. Below this are five rows of small figures of gods. Below these is Harpokrates in relief, in the attitude already described. He stands on two crocodiles under a kind of canopy, the sides of which are supported by Thoth and Isis, and holds Typhonic animals and reptiles. Above the canopy are the two Eyes of Ra,

each having a pair of human arms and hands. On the right of Harpokrates are Seker and Horus, and on his left the symbol of Nefer-Temu. On the left and right are the goddesses Nekhebet and Uatchet, who guard the South of Egypt and the North respectively. On the reverse and sides are numerous small figures of gods. This stele represented the power to protect man possessed by all the divine beings in the universe, and, however it was placed, it formed an impassable barrier to every spirit of evil and to every venomous reptile. The spells, which are cut in hieroglyphics on all the parts of the stele not occupied by figures of gods, were of the most potent character, for they contained the actual words by which the gods vanquished the powers of darkness and evil. These spells form the texts which are printed on p. 142 ff., and may be thus summarized:--
The first spell is an incantation directed against reptiles and noxious creatures in general. The chief of these was Apep, the great enemy of Ra, who took the form of a huge serpent that "resembled the intestines," and the spell doomed him to decapitation, and burning and backing in pieces. These things would be effected by Serqet, the Scorpion-goddess. The second part of the spell was directed against the poison of Apep, and was to be recited over anyone who was bitten by a snake. When uttered by Horus it made Apep to vomit, and when used by a magician properly qualified would make the bitten person to vomit, and so free his body from the poison.

The next spell is directed to be said to the Cat, i.e., a symbol of the daughter of Ra, or Isis, who had the head of Ra, the eyes of the uraeus, the nose of Thoth, the ears of Neb-er-tcher, the mouth of Tem, the neck of Neheb-ka, the breast of Thoth, the heart of Ra, the hands of the gods, the belly of Osiris, the thighs of Menthu, the legs of Khensu, the feet of Amen-Horus, the haunches of Horus, the soles of the feet of Ra, and the bowels of Meh-urit. Every member of the Cat contained a god or goddess, and she was able to destroy the poison of any serpent, or scorpion, or reptile, which might be injected into her body. The spell opens with an address to Ra, who is entreated to come to his daughter, who has been stung by a scorpion on a lonely road, and to cause the poison to leave her body. Thus it seems as if Isis, the great magician, was at some time stung by a scorpion.
The next section is very difficult to understand. Ra-Harmakhis is called upon to come to his daughter, and Shu. to his wife, and Isis to her sister, who has been poisoned. Then the Aged One, i.e., Ra, is asked to let Thoth turn back Neha-her, or Set. "Osiris is in the water, but Horus is with him, and the Great Beetle overshadows him," and every evil spirit which dwells in the water is adjured to allow Horus to proceed to Osiris. Ra, Sekhet, Thoth, and Heka, this last-named being the spell personified, are the four great gods who protect Osiris, and who will blind and choke his enemies, and cut out their tongues. The cry

of the Cat is again referred to, and Ra is asked if he does not remember the cry which came from the bank of Netit. The allusion here is to the cries which Isis uttered when she arrived at Netit near Abydos, and found lying there the dead body of her husband.
At this point on the Stele the spells are interrupted by a long narrative put into the mouth of Isis, which supplies us with some account of the troubles that she suffered, and describes the death of Horus through the sting of a scorpion. Isis, it seems, was shut up in some dwelling by Set after he murdered Osiris, probably with the intention of forcing her to marry him, and so assist him to legalize his seizure of the kingdom. Isis, as we have already seen, had been made pregnant by her husband after his death, and Thoth now appeared to her, and advised her to hide herself with her unborn child, and to bring him forth in secret, and he promised her that her son should succeed in due course to his father's throne. With the help of Thoth she escaped from her captivity, and went forth accompanied by the Seven Scorpion-goddesses, who brought her to the town of Per-Sui, on the edge of the Reed Swamps. She applied to a woman for a night's shelter, but the woman shut her door in her face. To punish her one of the Scorpion-goddesses forced her way into the woman's house, and stung her child to death. The grief of the woman was so bitter and sympathy-compelling that Isis laid her hands on the child, and, having uttered one of her most potent

spells over him, the poison of the scorpion ran out of his body, and the child came to life again. The words of the spell are cut on the Stele, and they were treasured by the Egyptians as an infallible remedy for scorpion stings. When the woman saw that her son had been brought back to life by Isis, she was filled with joy and gratitude, and, as a mark of her repentance, she brought large quantities of things from her house as gifts for Isis, and they were so many that they filled the house of the kind, but poor, woman who had given Isis shelter.
Now soon after Isis had restored to life the son of the woman who had shown churlishness to her, a terrible calamity fell upon her, for her beloved son Horus was stung by a scorpion and died. The news of this event was conveyed to her by the gods, who cried out to her to come to see her son Horus, whom the terrible scorpion Uhat had killed. Isis, stabbed with pain at the news, as if a knife had been driven into her body, ran out distraught with grief. It seems that she had gone to perform a religious ceremony in honour of Osiris in a temple near Hetep-hemt, leaving her child carefully concealed in Sekhet-An. During her absence the scorpion Uhat, which had been sent by Set, forced its way into the biding-place of Horus, and there stung him to death. When Isis came and found the dead body, she burst forth in lamentations, the sound of which brought all the people from the neighbouring districts to her side. As she related to

them the history of her sufferings they endeavoured to console her, and when they found this to be impossible they lifted up their voices and wept with her. Then Isis placed her nose in the mouth of Horus so that she might discover if he still breathed, but there was no breath in his throat; and when she examined the wound in his body made by the fiend Aun-Ab she saw in it traces of poison. No doubt about his death then remained in her mind, and clasping him in her arms she lifted him up, and in her transports of grief leaped about like fish when they are laid on red-hot coals. Then she uttered a series of heartbreaking laments, each of which begins with the words "Horus is bitten." The heir of heaven, the son of Un-Nefer, the child of the gods, he who was wholly fair, is bitten! He for whose wants I provided, he who was to avenge his father, is bitten! He for whom I cared and suffered when he was being fashioned in my womb, is bitten! He whom I tended so that I might gaze upon him, is bitten! He whose life I prayed for is bitten! Calamity hath overtaken the child, and he hath perished.
Whilst Isis was saying these and many similar words, her sister Nephthys, who had been weeping bitterly for her nephew Horus as she wandered about among the swamps, came, in company with the Scorpion-goddess Serqet, and advised Isis to pray to heaven for help. Pray that the sailors in the Boat of Ra may cease from rowing, for the Boat cannot travel

onwards whilst Horus lies dead. Then Isis cried out to heaven, and her voice reached the Boat of Millions of Years, and the Disk ceased to move onward, and came to a standstill. From the Boat Thoth descended, being equipped with words of power and spells of all kinds, and bearing with him the "great command of maa-kheru," i.e., the WORD, whose commands were performed, instantly and completely, by every god, spirit, fiend, human being and by every thing, animate and inanimate, in heaven, earth, and the Other World. Then he came to Isis and told her that no harm could possibly have happened to Horus, for he was under the protection of the Boat of Ra; but his words failed to comfort Isis, and though she acknowledged the greatness of his designs, she complained that they savoured of delay. "What is the good," she asks, "of all thy spells, and incantations, and magical formulae, and the great command of maa-kheru, if Horus is to perish by the poison of a scorpion, and to lie here in the arms of Death? Evil, evil is his destiny, for it hath entailed the deepest misery for him and death."
In answer to these words Thoth, turning to Isis and Nephthys, bade them to fear not, and to have no anxiety about Horus, "For," said he, "I have come from heaven to heal the child for his mother." He then pointed out that Horus was under protection as the Dweller in his Disk (Aten), the Great Dwarf, the Mighty Ram, the Great Hawk, the Holy Beetle, the Hidden Body, the Divine Bennu, etc., and proceeded

to utter the great spell which restored Horus to life. By his words of power Thoth transferred the "fluid of life" of Ra, and as soon as this came upon the child's body the poison of the scorpion flowed out of him, and he once more breathed and lived. When this was done Thoth returned to the Boat of Ra, the gods who formed its crew resumed their rowing, and the Disk passed on its way to make its daily journey across the sky. The gods in heaven, who were amazed and uttered cries of terror when they heard of the death of Horus, were made happy once more, and sang songs of joy over his recovery. The happiness of Isis in her child's restoration to life was very great, for she could again hope that he would avenge his father's murder, and occupy his throne. The final words of Thoth comforted her greatly, for he told her that he would take charge of the case of Horus in the Judgment Hall of Anu, wherein Osiris had been judged, and that as his advocate he would make any accusations which might be brought against Horus to recoil on him that brought them. Furthermore, he would give Horus power to repulse any attacks which might be made upon him by beings in the heights above, or fiends in the depths below, and would ensure his succession to the Throne of the Two Lands, i.e., Egypt. Thoth also promised Isis that Ra himself should act as the advocate of Horus, even as he had done for his father Osiris. He was also careful to allude to the share which Isis had taken in the restoration of Horus to life, saying, "It is the words

of power of his mother which have lifted up his face, and they shall enable him to journey wheresoever he pleaseth, and to put fear into the powers above. I myself hasten [to obey them]." Thus everything turned on the power of the spells of Isis, who made the sun to stand still, and caused the dead to be raised.
Such are the contents of the texts on the famous Metternich Stele. There appears to be some confusion in their arrangement, and some of them clearly are misplaced, and, in places, the text is manifestly corrupt. It is impossible to explain several passages, for we do not understand all the details of the system of magic which they represent. Still, the general meaning of the texts on the Stele is quite clear, and they record a legend of Isis and Horus which is not found so fully described on any other monument.

edfu temple THE LEGEND OF HER-BEHTET AND THE WINGED DISK

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Horus holding the Hippopotamus-fiend with chain and spear. Behind stand Isis and Heru Khenti-Khatti.

Horus driving his spear into the Hippopotamus-fiend; behind him stands one of his "Blacksmiths".

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Horus driving his spear into the belly of the Hippopotamus-fiend as he lies on his back; behind stands on of his "Blacksmiths".

Horus and Isis capturing the Hippopotamus-fiend.

the legend assumes that Ra, was still reigning on earth, though he was old and feeble, and had probably deputed his power to his successor, whom the legend regards as his son.
In the 363rd year of his reign Ra-Harmakhis 1 was in Nubia with his army with the intention of destroying those who had conspired against him; because of their conspiracy (auu) Nubia is called "Uaua" to this day. From Nubia Ra-Harmakhis sailed down the river to Edfu, where Heru-Behutet entered his boat, and told

him that his foes were conspiring against him. Ra-Harmakhis in answer addressed Heru-Behutet as his son, and commanded him to set out without delay and slay the wicked rebels. Then Heru-Behutet took the form of a great winged Disk, and at once flew up into the sky, where he took the place of Ra, the old Sun-god. Looking down from the height of heaven he was able to discover the whereabouts of the rebels, and he pursued them in the form of a winged disk. Then he attacked them with such violence that they became dazed, and could neither see where they were going, nor hear, the result of this being that they slew each other, and in a very short time they were all dead. Thoth, seeing this, told Ra that because Horus had appeared as a great winged disk he must be called "Heru-Behutet," and by this name Horus was known ever after at Edfu. Ra embraced Horus, and referred with pleasure to the blood which he had shed, and Horus invited his father to come and look upon the slain. Ra set out with the goddess Ashthertet (Ashtoreth) to do this, and they saw the enemies lying fettered on the ground. The legend here introduces a number of curious derivations of the names of Edfu, &c., which are valueless, and which remind us of the derivations of place-names propounded by ancient Semitic scribes.
In gladness of heart Ra proposed a sail on the Nile, but as soon as his enemies heard that he was coming, they changed themselves into crocodiles and hippopotami,

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Horus standing on the back of the Hippopotamus-fiend, and spearing him in the presence of Isis.

The "Butcher-priest" slicing open the Hippopotamus-fiend.

so that they might be able to wreck his boat and devour him. As the boat of the god approached them they opened their jaws to crush it, but Horus and his followers came quickly on the scene, and defeated their purpose. The followers of Horus here mentioned are called in the text "Mesniu," i.e., "blacksmiths," or "workers in metal," and they represent the primitive conquerors of the Egyptians, who were armed with metal weapons, and so were able to overcome with tolerable ease the indigenous Egyptians, whose weapons were made of flint and wood. Horus and his "blacksmiths" were provided with iron lances and chains, and, baying cast the chains over the monsters in the river, they drove their lances into their snouts, and slew 651 of them. Because Horus gained his victory by means of metal weapons, Ra decreed that a metal statue of Horus should be placed at Edfu, and remain there for ever, and a name was given to the town to commemorate the great battle that had taken place there. Ra applauded Horus for the mighty deeds which be had been able to perform by means of the spells contained in the "Book of Slaying the Hippopotamus." Horus then associated with himself the goddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet, who were in the form of serpents, and, taking his place as the winged Disk on the front of the Boat of Ra, destroyed all the enemies of Ra wheresoever he found them. When the remnant of the enemies of Ra, saw that they were likely to be slain, they doubled back to the South, but
Horus pursued them, and drove them down the river before him as far as Thebes. One battle took place at Tchetmet, and another at Denderah, and Horus was always victorious; the enemies were caught by chains thrown over them, and the deadly spears of the Blacksmiths drank their blood. After this the enemy fled to the North, and took refuge in the swamps of the Delta, and in the shallows of the Mediterranean Sea, and Horus pursued them thither. After searching for them for four days and four nights he found them, and they were speedily slain. One hundred and forty-two of them. and a male hippopotamus were dragged on to the Boat of Ra, and there Horus dug out their entrails, and hacked their carcases in pieces, which he gave to his Blacksmiths and the gods who formed the crew of the Boat of Ra. Before despatching the hippopotamus, Horus leaped on to the back of the monster as a mark of his triumph, and to commemorate this event the priest of Heben, the town wherein these things happened, was called "He who standeth on the back ever after.
The end of the great fight, however, was not yet. Another army of enemies appeared by the North Lake, and they were marching towards the sea; but terror of Horus smote their hearts, and they fled and took refuge in Mertet-Ament, where they allied themselves with the followers of Set, the Arch-fiend and great Enemy of Ra. Thither Horus and his well-armed Blacksmiths pursued them, and came up with them at the town

Horus of Behutet and Ra-Harmakhis in a shrine.

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Horus of Behutet and Harmakhis in a shrine.

Ashthertet ('Ashtoreth') driving her chariot over the prostrate foe.

Left: Horus of Behutet spearing a Typhonic animal, and holding his prisoners with rope.
Right: Horus of Behutet, accompanied by Ra-Harmakhis and Menu, spearing the Hippopotamus-fiend.

called Per-Rerehu, which derived its name from the "Two Combatants," or "Two Men," Horus and Set. A great fight took place, the enemies of Ra were defeated with great slaughter, and Horus dragged 381 prisoners on to the Boat of Ra, where he slew them, and gave their bodies to his followers.
Then Set rose up and cursed Horus because he had slain his allies, and he used such foul language that Thoth called him "Nehaha-her," i.e., "Stinking Face," and this name clung to him ever after. After this Horus and Set engaged in a fight which lasted a very long time, but at length Horus drove his spear into the neck of Set with such violence that the Fiend fell headlong to the ground. Then Horus smote with his club the mouth which had uttered such blasphemies, and fettered him with his chain. In this state Horus dragged Set into the presence of Ra, who ascribed great praise to Horus, and special names were given to the palace of Horus and the high priest of the temple in commemoration of the event. When the question of the disposal of Set was being discussed by the gods, Ra ordered that he and his fiends should be given over to Isis and her son Horus, who were to do what they pleased with them. Horus promptly cut off the heads of Set and his fiends in the presence of Ra and Isis, and be dragged Set by his feet through the country with his spear sticking in his head and neck. After this Isis appointed Horus of Behutet to be the protecting deity of her son Horus.

The fight between the Sun-god and Set was a very favourite subject with Egyptian writers, and there are many forms of it. Thus there is the fight between Heru-ur and Set, the fight between Ra and Set, the fight between Heru-Behutet and Set, the fight between Osiris and Set, and the fight between Horus, son of Isis, and Set. In the oldest times the combat was merely the natural opposition of light to darkness, but later the Sun-god became the symbol of right and truth as well as of light, and Set the symbol of sin and wickedness as well as of darkness, and ultimately the nature myth was forgotten, and the fight between the two gods became the type of the everlasting war which good men wage against sin. In Coptic literature we have the well-known legend of the slaughter of the dragon by St. George, and this is nothing but a Christian adaptation of the legend of Horus and Set.
After these things Horus, son of Ra, and Horus, son of Isis, each took the form of a mighty man, with the face and body of a hawk, and each wore the Red and White Crowns, and each carried a spear and chain. In these forms the two gods slew the remnant of the enemies. Now by some means or other Set came to life again, and he took the form of a mighty hissing or "roaring" serpent, and hid himself in the ground, in a place which was ever after called the "place of the roarer." In front of his hiding-place Horus, son of Isis, stationed himself in the form of a hawk-headed staff to prevent him from coming out. In spite of this,

Horus of Behutet and Thoth spearing human victims with the assistance of Isis.

Horus of Behutet and Thoth spearing Set in the form of a crocodile.

however, Set managed to escape, and he gathered about him the Smai and Seba fiends at the Lake of Meh, and waged war once more against Horus; the enemies of Ra were again defeated, and Horus slew them in the presence of his father.
Horus, it seems, now ceased to fight for some time, and devoted himself to keeping guard over the "Great God" who was in An-rut-f, a district in or near Herakleopolis. This Great God was no other than Osiris, and the duty of Horus was to prevent the Smai fiends from coming by night to the place. In spite of the power of Horus, it was found necessary to summon the aid of Isis to keep away the fiends, and it was only by her words of power that the fiend Ba was kept out of the sanctuary. As a reward for what he had already done, Thoth decreed that Horus should be called the "Master-Fighter." Passing over the derivations of place-names which occur here in the text, we find that Horus and his Blacksmiths were again obliged to fight bodies of the enemy who had managed to escape, and that on one occasion they killed one hundred and six foes. In every fight the Blacksmiths performed mighty deeds of valour, and in reward for their services a special district was allotted to them to dwell in.
The last great fight in the North took place at Tanis, in the eastern part of the Delta. When the position of the enemy had been located, Horus took the form of a lion with the face of a man, and he put on his head the Triple Crown. His claws were like flints, and with

them he dragged away one hundred and forty-two of the enemy, and tore them in pieces, and dug out their tongues, which he carried off as symbols of his victory.
Meanwhile rebellion had again broken out in Nubia, where about one-third of the enemy had taken refuge in the river in the forms of crocodiles and hippopotami. Ra counselled Horus to sail up the Nile with his Blacksmiths, and when Thoth had recited the "Chapters of protecting the Boat of Ra" over the boats, the expedition set sail for the South. The object of reciting these spells was to prevent the monsters which were in the river from making the waves to rise and from stirring up storms which might engulf the boats of Ra and Horus and the Blacksmiths. When the rebels and fiends who had been uttering, treason against Horus saw the boat of Ra, with the winged Disk of Horus accompanied by the goddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet in the form of serpents, they were smitten with fear, and their hearts quaked, and all power of resistance left them, and they died of fright straightway. When Horus returned in triumph to Edfu, Ra ordered that an image of the winged Disk should be placed in each of his sanctuaries, and that in every place wherein a winged Disk was set, that sanctuary should be a sanctuary of Horus of Behutet. The winged disks which are seen above the doorways of the temples still standing in Egypt show that the command of Ra, was faithfully carried out by the priests.

Horus of Behutet in the form of a lion slaying his foes.

Egyptian Medicine

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(All of these recipes are authentic and were taken from the Papyrus Ebers.)

Found in Egypt in the 1870s, the Ebers Papyrus contains prescriptions written in hieroglyphics for over seven hundred remedies. This prescription for an asthma remedy is to be prepared as a mixture of herbs heated on a brick so that the sufferer could inhale their fumes.
Georg Ebers (18371898)

Cure for Diarrhoea:
1/8th cup figs and grapes, bread dough, pit corn, fresh Earth, onion, and elderberry.
Cure for Indigestion:
Crush a hog's tooth and put it inside of four sugar cakes. Eat for four days.
Cure for Burns:
Create a mixture of milk of a woman who has borne a male child, gum, and, ram's hair. While administering this mixture say: Thy son Horus is burnt in the desert. Is there any water there?There is no water. I have water in my mouth and a Nile between my thighs. I have come to extinguish the fire.
Cure for Lesions of the Skin:
After the scab has fallen off put on it: Scribe's excrement. Mix in fresh milk and apply as a poultice.
Cure for Cataracts:
Mix brain-of-tortoise with honey. Place on the eye and say: There is a shouting in the southern sky in darkness, There is an uproar in the northern sky, The Hall of Pillars falls into the waters. The crew of the sun god bent their oars so that the heads at his side fall into the water, Who leads hither what he finds? I lead forth what I find. I lead forth your heads. I lift up your necks. I fasten what has been cut from you in its place. I lead you forth to drive away the god of Fevers and all possible deadly arts.

Herbal Remedies used by the Ancient Egyptians

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Acacia (acacia nilotica)- vermifuge, eases diharea and internal bleeding, also used to treat skin diseases. ·
Aloe vera - worms, relieves headaches, soothes chest pains, burns, ulcers and for skin disease and allergies. ·
Basil (ocimum basilicum)- excellent for heart. ·
Balsam Apple (malus sylvestris)or Apple of Jerusalem - laxative, skin allergies, soothes headaches, gums and teeth, for asthma, liver stimulant, weak digestion. ·
Bayberry(Myrica cerifera) - stops diarrhea, soothes ulcers, shrinks hemorrhoids, repels flies. ·
Belladonna - pain reliever;camphor tree - reduces fevers, soothes gums, soothes epilepsy. ·
Caraway (Carum carvi; Umbelliferae)- soothes flatulence, digestive, breath freshener. ·
Cardamom( Eletarria cardamomum; Zingiberacae)- Used as a spice in foods,digestive, soothes flatulence. ·
Colchicum (Citrullus colocynthus) - also known as "Meadow Saffron", soothes rheumatism, reduces swelling. ·
Common Juniper tree (Juniperis phonecia; Juniperus drupacea)- digestive, soothes chest pains, soothes stomach cramps. ·
Cubeb pepper (Piper cubeba; Piperaceae)- urinary tract infections, larynx and throat infections, gum ulcers and infections, soothes headaches. ·
Dill (Anethum graveolens)- soothes flatulence, relieves dyspepsia, laxative and diuretic properties. ·
Fenugreek(Trigonella foenum-graecum) - respiratory disorders, cleanses the stomach, calms the liver, soothes pancreas, reduces swelling. ·
Frankincense(Boswellia carterii) - throat and larynx infections, stops bleeding, cuts phlegm, asthma, stops vomiting. ·
Garlic (Allium sativa) - gives vitality, soothes flatulence and aids digestion, mild laxative, shrinks hemorrhoids, rids body of "spirits" (note, during the building of the Pyramids, the workers were given garlic daily to give them the vitality and strength to carry on and perform well). ·
Henna (Lawsomia inermis) - astringent, stops diarrhea, close open wounds (and used as a dye). ·
Honey was widely used, a natural antibiotic and used to dress wounds and as a base for healing unguants, as was castor oil, coriander,beer and other foods. ·
Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra - mild laxative, expels phlegm, soothes liver, pancreas and chest and respiratory problems. ·
Mustard (Sinapis alba) - induces vomiting, relieves chest pains. ·
Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha) - stops diarrhea, relives headaches, soothes gums, toothaches and backaches. ·
Onion (Allium cepa) - diuretic, induces perspiration, prevents colds, soothes sciatica, relieves pains and other cardiovascular problems. ·
Parsley (Apium petroselinum) - diuretic. ·
Mint (Mentha piperita) - soothes flatulence, aids digestion, stops vomiting, breath freshener. ·
Sandalwood (Santallum albus) - aids digestion, stops diarrhea, soothes headaches and gout (used, of course, in incense). ·
Sesame (Sesamum indicum)- soothes asthma. ·
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)- laxative. ·
Thyme (Thymus/Thimbra) - pain reliever. ·
Tumeric (Curcumae longa) - closes open wounds (also was used to dye skin and cloth). ·
Poppy (papaver somniferum) - relieves insomnia, relieves headaches, anesthetic, soothes respiratory problems, deadens pain.