The funerary temple of Djoser at Saqqara (Sakkara) pictured here was built nearly 5,000 years ago for one of the earliest kings of our mystery country.The area served as the burial grounds for the national capital at Memphis. Djoser’s nearby tomb was an architectural prototype of the world-famous royal tombs at Giza, some 15 miles to the north.
Can you name that county?
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The Luxor Museum is perfectly located on the Luxor corniche (Nile-front promenade) between Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. This museum is much smaller than Egyptian Museum in Cairo but that’s not a bad thing. It’s well-organized and free of clutter, with beautifully displayed artifacts documented in both Arabic and English. (The Cairo Museum is not to be missed, for sure, but the contents seem to have been tossed about with little thought to ease of viewing.) Continue reading
Here’s an absurdly easy one for the first week of spring ~
Imagine a place where the world’s most famous and mysterious monuments anchor the horizon. Imagine catching your first glimpses of these legendary shrines in the fleeting spaces between buildings as you make your way through the world’s craziest traffic.This mystery country, which has been attracting tourists for millennia, is just beginning to pull out of a 5-year tourism slump. The recovery of this vital industry will certainly be a factor in the long-term economic and political stability of the country.
Can you name that country?
See below for answers.
St. Virgin Mary’s Coptic Church is the best-known ancient church in the old city of our mystery country’s capital. The church is commonly known as The Hanging Church (El Muallaqa in Arabic) because it is built over a gate in the Roman fortress that surrounds the old city, with the nave of the church hanging over the passageway.
Coptic Christians settled within the fort very early in the Christian era and it remains a Coptic enclave still.
The mosaic depicts Mary, Joseph and Jesus, fleeing into our mystery country to escape the Slaughter of the Innocents. According to the Bible, after learning of the birth of a new king, Herod the Great ordered the death of all male infants in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:13-23)
Can you name that country?
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For thousands of years, Hathor was one of the most beloved goddesses of our mystery country. Her attributes and powers broadened over the centuries as she mingled with and absorbed a number of other deities. She was “the mother of mothers,” patron of women, fertility, childbirth and children. As the “mistress of life,” she represented joy, love, beauty, art, music and dance. She was a sky goddess, who gave birth to the sun god Ra each morning and conceived the coming day with him each night. In the underworld, she welcomed the souls of the newly dead with motherly reassurance as they made their way to eternal judgement. She was often represented as a cow or as a woman with cow ears, as above in the Chapel of Hathor at the Temple of Hatshepsut near Luxor.
Can you name that country?
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The White Desert National Park pictured above is in the geographic center of our mystery country. Except for a green ribbon of river valley, this country is all desert.
The park features bizarre white chalk formations sculpted by blowing sand.
Can you name that country?
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