The Oracle of Siwa

Copyright © Egypt, Cradle of Civilization

The Temple of the Oracle of Amun at Siwa has attracted many a visitor over the history of ancient civilizations, the most prominent being Alexander the Great. It is said that he reached the temple by following birds across the desert. Alexander the Great came in 331 BC to consult the Oracle of Amun in order to seek confirmation that he was the son of the gods (Zeus and Amun) and consequently the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt and of course of the other lands he conquered. He continued to correspond with the Oracle of Amun until his death through messengers when he needed answers to important questions.

In the ancient world, people were more than superstitious, so manifestations of the gods or Oracles were greatly revered. They were regularly consulted before important decisions as they were able to see into the future. Oracles existed in Egypt well before the Temple of the Oracle at Siwa, which was built during the 26^th Dynasty. The Oracle of Siwa was reputed to have existed well before the temple and continued to flourish well into the Greek and Roman periods.

The area is known to have been inhabited since the 10^th millennium BC, but it was during the 26^th Dynasty that it gained fame when a necropolis was established, and Siwa at the time was given the name Sekht-am or Palm Land.

Greeks that settled at Cyrene (in modern day Libya) made contact with the oasis at the time and Romans later used it as a place of banishment. The first European to visit the temple was the British William George Browne in 1792, and in 1819 the oasis was officially added by Muhammad Ali Pasha (Egypt’s ruler at the time) to modern Egypt. Siwa was the site of some fighting during World War I and World War II.

In fact, until the battles which took place around the oasis in World War II, it was hardly governed by Egypt, and for the previous thirteen centuries it remained mostly a Berber (Zenatiya) community. Siwans continue to have their own culture and customs and they speak a Berber language, called Siwi, rather than Arabic. Because of their geographical isolation the people have remained relatively unchanged. Women still wear traditional costumes and silver jewelers and Siwa remains one of the best places to buy traditional local handicrafts. Interestingly, each October there is a three-day festival during which Siwans must settle all of their past year's disputes.

The Siwa Oasis lying 60 feet below sea level and is located between the Qattara Depression and the Egyptian Sand Sea in the Libyan Desert, 560 km from Cairo and 50 km east of the Libyan border. It is one of Egypt’s isolated settlements, inhabited by 23,000 people descendants from the ethnic Berbers of North Africa.
There are approximately 1,000 sweet water springs that are know to have medical properties. But the most striking feature of the Siwan landscape is the presence of several salt lakes, which diminish in size during the summer; this sets it apart from any other oases of Egypt.

Besides its old ruin Temple of Amun, springs and salt lakes, other sites of interest include Cleopatra’s Bath, the old town of Shali, Gebel Dakrur and Gabal El-Mawta (the Mountain of the Dead). In 2007 there was the discovery of what may be the world’s oldest human footprint, dating back 3 million years. Although the revelations of the oracle which has attracted so many, fell into disrepute under the Roman occupation of Egypt, Siwa still lures people who seek peace, beauty and serenity.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem

The Book of the Dead

Copyright © Egypt, Cradle of Civilization

The earliest copy discovered of the Book of the Dead dates back from the mid 15^th century BC during the 18^th Dynasty (1580 BC- 1350 BC). But it was first given the name "The Book of the Dead” by the German Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius, who published a selection of the texts in 1842.
The Book of the Dead was known to the ancient Egyptians as “Reu nu pert em hru” translating literally to means 'utterances of emergence during daytime' or a slightly looser translation would be ‘The Chapters of coming forth by day.’

When it was first discovered, The Book of the Dead was thought to be an ancient Egyptian Bible. But unlike the Bible, it was not considered by the ancient Egyptians to be the product of divine revelation, nor did it set religious tenets, so it was possible for the Egyptians to change the content of the Book of the Dead over time. In fact it was the product of a long process of evolution from the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom to the Coffin Texts of the Middle Kingdom.

The Book of the Dead did contain the major ideas and beliefs in the ancient Egyptian religion, a religion that stressed an afterlife, so Egyptians devoted much of their time and energy into preparing for their journey to the "next world." Guiding every aspect of Egyptian life, religion was based on polytheism, or the worship of many deities. With as many as 2000 gods and goddesses each representing characteristics of a specific earthly force, combined with a heavenly power. Often gods and goddesses were represented as part human and part animal, including animals like the bull, the cat, the crocodile and the hawk were all considered as holy. The two supreme gods were Amun-Ra and Osiris. Amun-Ra was believed to be the sun god and the lord of the universe. Osiris was the god of the underworld and was the god that made a peaceful afterlife possible.

Although some spells still praised the sun-god Ra as being all important, he was no longer supreme with regard to the afterlife, as Osiris, the king of the underworld, was the judge of the dead before whom a trial would take place to determine if the deceased was worthy to enter the realm of Osiris and spend his afterlife in the ‘Field of Reeds’.
In truth the Book of the Dead remained popular until the Roman period. It is a collection of chapters that contained hymns, spells, passwords and instructions intended to guide the deceased to pass through various trials and obstacles to reach the Land of the West and a happy afterlife. To once more, “come forth by day” as a living man would awaken with the sun and to live forever with the gods. The title 'Coming Forth by Day' refers to the belief that the deceased took a whole night to travel through the realms of the dead then emerge with the sun, triumphant. It was also believed to granted freedom to the spirit forms to come and go as they pleased in the afterlife.

The Book of Dead was most commonly written on a papyrus scroll and placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased. These papyri were commissioned by the deceased before their death. You could commission the finest quality papyrus money could buy or you could purchase one "off the rack" and have a scribe fill in the blanks with your name.
The cost of a typical book might be equivalent to half a year's salary of a laborer, so the purchase would be planned well in advance of the person's death. Only the wealthy could commission a scribe to write the text based on his personal choice of spells. The less wealthy had to make do with the ready made text template, with just a space left for the name of the deceased to be written later. The blank papyrus used for the scroll often constituted the major cost of the work, so papyrus was often reused.


The Book of the Dead was usually illustrated with images or vignettes to illustrate the text, they were even considered mandatory. More time and attention was spent on the pictures to the extent that as much as the images were done at a high level, the quality of the text was often poor, with words misspelled or omitted.

One of the best preserved copies of this type of Egyptian funerary text to survive comes from “The Papyrus of Ani” written in 1240 BC. This version of the book is the most complete, filled with beautiful images of Ani and his wife as they travel through the land of the dead, and to the Halls of Ma'ati and beyond although there were many version of The Book of the Dead. The Papyrus of Ani now resides in The British Museum, London.


The most important point in the journey was the weighing of the heart of the dead person against Ma'ati, or Truth (carried out by Anubis). The heart of the dead was weighed against a feather, and if the heart was not weighed down with sin (if it was lighter than the feather) he was allowed to go on. The god Thoth would record the results and the monster Ammit would wait nearby to eat the heart should it prove unworthy.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem

Sobek

Copyright © Egypt, Cradle of Civilization

The Ancient Egyptians both respected and feared the power of the crocodile. Both the strength and speed of the crocodile became symbolic of the power of the Pharaoh, being that its strength and energy of the animal became the manifestation of the Pharaoh’s own power, showing the ruler’s might.


Sobek (Sobeq, Sebek, Sochet or Suchos) was the god who brought fertility to the land, the “Lord of the Waters,” who rose from the “Dark Water” and created the world and order in the universe. Sobek first appeared in the Old Kingdom as the son of Neith with the epithet "The Rager” and it is suggested that Seth, god of hostility and chaos was his father. The word 'sovereign' was written with the hieroglyph of a crocodile this way the crocodile or Sobek would be linked to the Pharaoh, the sovereign of Egypt. It was believed that Sobek could protect the Pharaoh from dark magic. During the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties, the cult of Sobek was given particular prominence and a number of rulers incorporated him in their coronation names.


Sobek was often depicted either as a crocodile-headed man or as a full crocodile, he was shown wearing a plumed headdress with a horned sun disk or the atef crown (associating him with Amun-Ra) and in his hand he was shown carrying the Was scepter (representing power) and the Ankh (representing the breath of life).


The Egyptians believed that besides having the form of a crocodile, Sobek also had its nature. He could also use this force to protect the justified dead in their after life from Seth, who attacked those souls who traveled through the land of the dead. He was the protector and rescuer of the other gods... yet he could also use that power to savage his enemies and the sinful deceased. He was venerated as one who restored sight and senses to the dead and who protected them. He could bring water and fertility to the land. He was a god that was both feared and respected by the ancient Egyptians.


The tale goes to say that Sobek laid his eggs on the bank of the waters, thus starting the creation process. He was a fertility god, 'He Who Made the Herbage Green' with his sweat (of all things…)! This explains his link to the rebirth of the deceased into the afterlife. The Nile and its waters was important for the survival of crops, the success of trade, and the livelihood of fishing, but the waters were filled with crocodiles, so it only made sense that they only way to appease them is by worshiping their leader, Sobek. He was first mentioned in the Pyramid Text and his worship lasted till Roman Times.


Sobek represented the four elemental gods, Ra of fire, Shu of air, Geb of earth, and Osiris of water, making him a fourfold deity. He was revered for his ferocity and quick movement, it is said that he was the god who caught the four mummiform sons of Horus in a net (Imsety the human headed protector of the liver, Hapy the baboon headed protector of the lungs, Duamutef the jackal headed protector of the stomach and Qebehsenuef the falcon headed protector of the intestines), by gathering them as they emerged from the waters in a lotus bloom. He was also considered an aspect of Horus because Horus took the form of a crocodile to retrieve the parts of Osiris’ body which was cut up by the evil Seth who scattered the 13 pieces across the Nile, the intriguing part is he was also associated with Seth too. Sobek was supposed to have aided Isis when she gave birth to Horus. Later he was also worshiped as the manifestation of Amun-Ra and was often depicted wearing either the headdress of Amun or the sundisk of Ra.


The crocodile was revered in ancient Egypt and were considered sacred and protected. Temples were built in their honor, the tame crocodiles kept were decorated with jewels and fed by priests, meat and honey cakes. They were given elaborate and costly burials when they died. The dead crocodiles were mummified with the use of natron or salt, and then they were wrapped in strips of cloth, just as the humans of the time. Many tombs contained not only crocodiles of all ages but also the eggs of crocodiles. While in some places it was worshiped and revered, in other places the reptiles were killed. In ancient Egypt, Sobek was seen as an ambivalent creature.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem

Crocodilopolis?!?

Copyright © Egypt, Cradle of Civilization

Crocodilopolis ….yes it’s a real place you can visit, and I won’t keep you guessing, it was the official head-quarters for a crocodile worship cult! The city of Crocodilopolis was located on the western bank of the Nile, southwest of Memphis in Egypt. During ancient time it was known by the name of Shedet and was the center of worship for the Egyptian water-god Sobek, or the crocodile god. It was the Greeks that dubbed it “Crocodile City”, or “Crocodilopolis”, but over time it has been given many names.



Its Greek name was Krokodilopolis but when the city passed into Ptolemy hands in the 3rd century BC, it was renamed Ptolemais Euergetis and then renamed again by Ptolemy Philadelphus II to Arsinoe in honor of his wife and sister Arsineo II of Egypt, and during its heyday it had a population of more than 100,000. In modern time, its Arabic name is now Medinet El-Fayoum.


Life in Crocodilopolis has always rotated around Lake Moeris which was in the thin ridge that separated the city from the Nile Valley. During the Middle Kingdom it gained prominence when the oasis swamp of Fayoum was drained, creating a new fertile province. The level of the lake was artificially regulated, and large monuments were built around its shore, although the level of the lake was lower than in the past but still higher than today. In the 12th Dynasty the city became the capital of Egypt.


Crocodilopolis may not have become a major city and may not have had any major political standing in the area, but it was located in the most fertile region in Egypt, which made it a haven for farmers growing vegetables, corn, roses, vineyards and olives.


The protective deity of the whole of the lake area was the crocodile headed god Sobek (Suchos) and his sacred animal was the crocodile of course! The people of Crocodilopolis worshiped a manifestation of Sobek through a sacred crocodile named “Petsuchos” (or “son of Sobek”).The crocodile lived in a special temple, with sand, a pond and food, and was embellished with gold and jewels and had special priests to serve his food. When the Petsuchos died the body would be mummified and given a special burial, and replaced by another promptly.

Beside the lake where the sacred crocodile was kept, was the principle temple, dedicated to the cult of Sobek. During the 12th dynasty the temple already existed but was rebuilt by Ramses II. Sadly what currently remains of Crocodilopolis is no more than several mounds of ruins, a few column bases here and there and a stone obelisk erected by Senusret I during the 12th Dynasty and a few sculptured blocks. Between 1877 and 1878 a great number of papyrus manuscripts were discovered, some of which are important to the earliest Christian history of Egypt.

Fayoum may not attract visitors on account of Crocodilopolis but on account of its waterwheels, there are approximately 200 of these great waterwheels located throughout the oasis. The Seven Waterwheels, which are Fayoum’s landmark and the main attraction to the area, are surrounded by mangos, palms and willows. Fayoum remains one of the most fertile banks on the Egyptian Nile.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem

Borg El-Gezira

Copyright © Egypt, Cradle of Civilization

Renovated recently Cairo Tower or Borg el-Qahera is a modest 187 meters and is located on Gezira Island (Zamalak). It may not be one of the highest towers at present but when it was built 40 years ago it was boasted to be the tallest all-concrete structure in the world with no steel frames or columns.


El-Borg is just 45 meters taller than the Great Pyramids of Giza, which stand 15km to the southeast. But what El-Borg lacks in height it sure makes up for in the spectacular panoramic view of the massive city of Cairo. The view from Cairo Tower is unequaled, definitely not to be missed especially at twilight when millions of twinkling lights of the city start coming to life. El-Borg’s working hours are from 9:00a.m to 1:00a.m daily, and the ticket costs around LE 50, although cameras are free, there is an extra cost for video cameras.

From the eastern side most of the medieval quarter can be visible just beyond the Nile Hilton Hotel and the Television Building. Also eastward the city skyline fades out against the cliff face of the Muqattam Hills. Whereas westward the city limits are marked by the desert and the outline of the Giza Pyramids. But it’s the majestically serene Nile flowing below that is the most bewitching, carving its way through Cairo. Through the telescopes available you can get a better and closer look of the entire city.


Built in 1961 under the direction of Naum Chebib, the design is unique as it resembles a lotus flower, which along with papyrus was the most revered plant in Egyptian history. It is made up of 8 million small mosaic lozenges that form its partially open lattice-work tube that slightly fans out at the top. El-Borg is made of granite which was often used in building by the ancient Egyptians. Crowning the Cairo Tower is a revolving restaurant, cafeteria and an outdoor observation deck.


In November 2004 a renovation project was initiated following a series of renovation projects to several monuments in Cairo that have damaged after a moderate earthquake hit Cairo in 1992. A clean improved Cairo Tower now elegantly stands tall over the city. With seven hundred and seventy light bulbs inserted into each space in the lotus-shaped structure, Cairo Tower requires more than one gigavolt each day to light up at night.


Back in the 60s it was President Gamal Abdel Nasser favorite place to dine out with is family. One of its first visitors was Hollywood movie star, Katherine Hepburn, even though the tower had somewhat of a rocky footing back then in Egyptian-American politics. It was actually financed with American funds, but was not exactly what the Americans expected Nasser to do with the money.


El-Borg may not have been famous for its height or flamboyance but it made up for its fame in print thanks to its controversial origin, which resulted in its mention in countless biographies dealing with Nasser’s Egypt. It was first written about in CIA’s Miles Copeland in “A Game of Nations”, where he revealed how the LE 450,000 tower was paid for with American hush money originally meant as a bribe to Egypt’s strongman to be “used for purchasing presidential security accouterments.” Furious at the suggestion anyone thought he could be bought, Nasser decided to use the American taxpayers’ money to send the most blatant of messages back to the US. So he built the Cairo Tower providing a vantage point and a truly breathtaking view over the entire city!

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem