Category Archives: Egypt

Kom el Shoqafa – the catacombs of Alexandria, Egypt

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Kom el Shoqafa catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt

Kom el Shoqafa catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt

The Kom el Shoqafa catacombs of Alexandria were lost to the world for many centuries until discovered accidentally in 1900. The oft-cited tale of their discovery, that a donkey fell through the ceiling from the road above, may or may not be true.

The catacombs were carved from the bedrock in the 2nd century CE and used for about 200 years. They consist of three levels, with a central shaft. A funerary temple likely also stood on the surface over the tunnel entrance. A staircase winds around the shaft, which may have been used to lower bodies of the deceased to their final resting place. On the first level below the surface, there is a banquet hall, the Triclinium, where families of the deceased would feast at the time of burial and on periodic visits thereafter. The name of the catacombs, Kom el Shoqafa, translates to pile of shards, which refers to the large amounts of broken pottery found at the site. The pottery containing food for the funerary and memorial feasts was broken and left behind because it was considered tainted by the place of death. The 2nd and 3rd levels hold burial niches and chambers, including the so-called Hall of Caracalla, which contains the mass burial of Christians slaughtered by the Roman emperor Caracalla. The 3rd level is currently inaccessible due to flooding.

Kom el Shoqafa was built at a time of convergence of three cultures – Egyptian, Greek and Roman; and the unique, hybrid style of architecture and art within the necropolis may be its most interesting feature. Egyptian-style sarcophagi have been found, as well as niches for the remains of those who followed the Greek and Roman tradition of cremation.

We recommend visiting Kom el Shoqafa with a licensed guide.

Egyptian Mummies

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Ancient Egyptians preserved the bodies of their dead because they believed the soul would need the body in the afterlife. After death, the soul would encounter a series of tests. If it passed, it would go on to eternal life, an idyllic version of the life they had before death, complete with their well-preserved body and all the comforts of the objects they had loved in life, which were buried with them.

The mummification process varied some over many centuries; for example, sometimes the brain was removed, sometimes not. When it was removed, a hook was inserted up the nasal passage and the brain was pulled out bit by bit through the nose.

The lungs, liver, intestines and stomach were removed and packed in natron, a kind of salt, which pulled the moisture out. The heart was considered the seat of the soul and intelligence, so was left in place.

The removed organs were stored in canopic jars and buried with the mummy or packed back into the body after being dried. Even when the organs were returned to the body, the canopic jars went into the tomb to protect them. The god Imsety, with the head of a man, protected the heart. Hapy, the baboon-headed god, protected the lungs. Duamutef, the jackel-headed god, protected the stomach. Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed god, protected the intestines.

canopic jars, photo courtesy of the British Museum

canopic jars, photo courtesy of the British Museum

The body was packed in natron and left for 45 days. Then it was oiled and wrapped in linen strips, which were coated in resin for a tight seal. Amulets were placed around the body inside the wrapping to aid in the passage to the afterlife. The well-wrapped body was placed in one or more coffins, usually more, which were then placed in a sarcophagus.

The whole process was very sacred and performed by priests, with prayers and incantations throughout. For the most part, only royalty and the upper classes could afford to be mummified. The poor person’s mummification happened naturally in the super-dry climate of Egypt.

Visit the Mummy Room at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo to see royal mummies from the New Kingdom, when the mummification process was most advanced.

Nile Cruise Diary – Day 4

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The last full day of our Nile cruise was spent in and around the city of Aswan, in the deep south of Egypt.

Our first visit was to the Aswan High Dam. This was an interesting contrast to all of the ancient monuments we’ve seen the last few days and just as impressive. The first dam was built at Aswan at the turn of the 20th century. Prior to that, for millennia, Egypt’s economy was at the mercy of the Nile’s annual flood. When there was too much rain up river, Egyptian crops were drowned; when there was too little rain, crops died of thirst. With the dams, the amount of water released into the Nile Valley and Nile Delta can be controlled. Continue reading →

Nile Cruise Diary – Day 3

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Today, day 3 of our Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan, I got up early and sat on deck for a while before breakfast. I wrote a little, but mainly just looked at the river. There were a few small boats out and lots of birds, all seeking breakfast, I imagine. For the first time since we started this cruise, I had some time to ponder the magnificence of the river and its immeasurable impact. It’s a difficult thing to get one’s mind around. I finally gave up trying to visualize and quantify the millennia of history known here and, instead, cleared my mind and meditated on the Nile. When I stopped grasping at the significance of the place, that significance snuck up on me through some forgotten back door. I resolved to stay passively open for the rest of my tour. Continue reading →

Nile Cruise Diary – Day 2

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We began the day with a delicious breakfast buffet, which included a variety of fresh fruits, flakey pastries, crusty breads, cheeses, olives, a ful bar (that’s ful with one ‘L’ – the traditional breakfast of mashed fava beans garnished with any or all of the following – olive oil, chopped boiled egg, onion, tomato, cucumber, parsley, lemon juice… Click to see a recipe for ful.), omelettes and pancakes made to order, yogurt, cereal, fresh juices, coffee, and tea.

Then we headed out for a morning of touring on the west side of the river. Tombs and mortuary temples are located on the west because the sun sets in the west. Continue reading →

Nile Cruise Diary – Day 1

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This morning we flew from Cairo to Luxor for a 4-night Nile cruise. Flight time was exactly one hour.

Luxor airport is pretty low-key. We had our bags and were on our way within about 15 minutes of landing. The drive from the airport to the center of Luxor, where our boat was docked, is less than 5 miles.

Although some of the cruise boats were double parked so cruisers had to walk through a boat or two to reach their vessel, we were lucky to find ours parked right alongside the dock. We were cruising on the deluxe 5-star Amarco, in a junior suite.

our cruise boat

our cruise boat

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Valley of the Kings, Egypt

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Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt

Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt

The capital of the New Kingdom period of Ancient Egypt (approximately 1550-1070 BCE) was Thebes in Upper Egypt (modern-day Luxor), about 300 miles south of Cairo. Southern Egypt is called Upper Egypt because it’s upriver from northern (Lower) Egypt. The Nile is one of the rare rivers that flows northward, from central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea.

The 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties ruled during the New Kingdom. It was the golden age of ancient Egypt, with expanded territory and increased political stability, wealth and power. The pharaohs of the New Kingdom used the resources they might otherwise spend on warring to build massive temples, colossal statues and obelisks. They also began to hide their tombs rather than advertise them with pyramids.

A valley deep within the mountains on the west bank of the Nile across from Thebes was chosen as the burial grounds of New Kingdom pharaohs, their families and members of the nobility. In general, burial places were located on the west bank of the Nile, where the sun “died” each day and temples on the east bank, where the sun rose. To date, 62 tombs have been discovered in the Valley of the Kings, ranging in size from a single chamber to sprawling networks of passageways with over 100 chambers.

Ancient Egyptians believed they would live on after death in an idealized version of the life they had known. They were buried with all the furnishings and fixtures of their life because they would need them. (That is, if they made it through the rigorous tests of character that led from death to the afterlife, but that’s a subject for another post.)

Tomb robbing was quite an industry in those days. In the New Kingdom period, even common people took their worldly goods to the grave but, of course, the pharaoh had the best goods of all and royal tombs were hunted with singular focus by smart and daring thieves. The remoteness of the Valley of Kings was part of its security system. As a further precaution, the tombs were cut deep into the mountains and then constructed in complicated layouts, with the valuables stashed in the deepest, most out-of-the-way crevice. Despite all that, very few tombs survived unmolested into the modern age and most were pillaged within a few years of being sealed.

The tomb of Tutankhamun is the most famous intact tomb discovered. King Tut’s tomb can be visited in the Valley of the Kings and the tomb treasures can be seen at the new Grand Egyptian Museum.

Not all tombs in the Valley of the Kings are open to visitors and those that are open rotate to protect them from the impact of the thousands of tourists that come through every day. Admission tickets include three tombs. The admission to King Tut’s tomb is not included in the general admission to the Valley of the Kings.

What you’ll find in the tombs are intricately painted corridors and rooms. Walls and ceilings are covered in scenes from the life of the pharaoh, happy experiences that he would like to carry with him into the afterlife, as well as prayers and spells to help ensure that he reached his destination. The way to the afterlife was treacherous and tomb paintings envisioned a successful passage, with the help of various gods.

Click here to see tours to Egypt that include a visit to the Valley of the Kings.

NAME THAT COUNTRY

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This little fellow is called Anubis. In the ancient religion of our mystery country, he was a sort of guide dog (jackal really, dog-adjacent) and protector of the dead. Death and the afterlife was of paramount concern in this religion, with heavy emphasis on the afterlife.
Death was seen as a series of tests and trials leading, if all went well, to a peaceful, eternal afterlife. The dead would be armed with prayers and spells to ease the passage. At the final hurdle, the dead would be judged on the life they lead by weighing their heart against the feather of justice. Anubis presided over this ultimate test. If the scales balanced, the soul of the dead was accepted into eternal paradise. If the heart was heavier than the feather, it was instantly devoured by a hideous beast known as, well, the Devourer, and that was that.

 

Can you name that country? 
See below for answers.

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