«Pendant un an et huit mois, nous avons pêché pour des statues dans le temple de Karnak ... Sept cents monuments en pierre ont déjà sorti de l'eau, et nous ne sommes pas encore à la fin ... " - Gaston Maspero, 1905.   En 1903, l’archéologue Georges Legrain fit une découverte exceptionnelle au nord-ouest de la cour du VIIe pylône, qui avait déjà livré dans sa partie sud de nombreux éléments d’architecture du Moyen et du Nouvel Empire : plus de 700 statues, 17000 bronzes et de nombreux autres objets furent mis au jour, au prix de fouilles rendues difficiles par les eaux d’infiltration. Le chantier se poursuivit jusqu’en 1907 et la plupart des statues rejoignirent le Musée du Caire. En dehors d’un certain nombre d’effigies royales de toutes époques, les statues découvertes appartenaient généralement à des prêtres qui officièrent à Karnak entre le Nouvel Empire et la fin de l’époque ptolémaïque. En cela, la « Cachette » est une mine de renseignements sur le c...

  King Ramesses II  is burning incense before Amun-min Kamutef, The name Kamutef ("bull of his mother") conveys that the god is both father and son and, therefore, self-created. with two phallus   the first one was made a little bit higher so they plaster it and done another one to be perfect with the harmony of his body  Around his forehead, Min wears a red ribbon that trails to the ground, claimed by some to represent sexual energy. The symbols of Min were the white bull, a barbed arrow, and a bed of lettuce, that the Egyptians believed to be an aphrodisiac, as Egyptian lettuce was tall, straight, and released a milk-like substance when rubbed, characteristics superficially similar to the penis. I believe his phallus is on the verge of going limp; the stage after ejaculation. In some depictions of him in Karnak, there are little drops of sperm shooting from his tip. Seeing as Min is a fertility Netjer, I doubt the limp phallus has anything to do with imp...

Coffin set belonging to the temple singer Tamutnofret, composed of an outer coffin, an inner coffin and a "mummy-cover", a full-length death mask that was placed over the mummy. The origin of the set is a now unknown grave in Thebes. It can be dated back to the reign of Ramses II (approx. 1279-1213 BCE). Painted and gilded wood. Louvre, Paris      Funerary reuse essentially involves the re appropriation of ideologically charged objects, and in the case of 20th and 21st Dynasty coffins, this reuse occurred in the context of economic and social crisis. A coffin was essentially meant to make a functional link between the thing and the person – to transform the dead into an eternal Osirian and solar version of him or herself. The coffin was believed to ritually activate the dead. Profoundly, during the 21st Dynasty (and probably during many other time periods), the Egyptians were able to DE-fetishize these objects. They were able to separate the coffin from the es...

Animals carved or painted by the ancient Egyptians tell us about the ecological evolution of species. Thus we find eighteen types of large mammals represented in Egyptian art, whereas only eight continue in spite of obstacles today. The researchers were able to identify three major episodes of decline of predator / prey relationship which coincide with brutal periods when regions become increasingly dry. The presence or absence of a particular species does not seem to have any impact on the food chain, in contrast to what happens today. Ancient Egyptian artefacts, like this elaborately carved ivory knife handle from 3300-3100 BCE, helped scientists determine how mammal populations in Egypt have changed over time

The Palace of Amir Beshtak was built by Amir Beshtak al-Nasiri, one of al-Nasir Muhammad's close khassakiya amirs and his son-in-law, in 1334-39 on the site of the Fatimid Eastern Palace (al-Qasr al-Sharqi). It remains nearly complete in its original form, with two stories, qa'a, a small courtyard, and integrated stables which have a special gate opening onto a side street. The long facade was endowed with many windows opening onto the busiest street in medieval Cairo. In the heart of Islamic Cairo, authentic Arabic music slips away from the Bashtak Palace, currently known as the House of Arabic Singing. Built in the 14th century by Prince Bashtak, this architectural gem is now dedicated to reviving and teaching Arabic and Egyptian classical music and singing schools. The initiative is the brain child of the palace’s director and Arabic music lead singer at the Opera House, Mohsen Farouk.   Amir Beshtak Palace is located in Darb (alley) Qurmuz - Al-Muizz Street – E...

  The Bayt Al-Suhaymi is an excellent example of a private, though wealthy, Egyptian home of the 17th century, and   shows most of the features which made living in Cairo's arid climate tolerable in prior ages.   Not that the Bayt Al-Suhaymi is unique, but this house does provide an interesting perspective of history in g general, a concept which might be brought out here more easily than in other places. The concept is two fold. First, ancient arts and wisdom are lost due to modern invention and progressions, and second, that the ancient   world, because of this, was a much more pleasant place to live than many believe (at least for those with some   wealth). Bayt Al-Suhaymi is a case in point.   Other than the segregation between the men's (salamlik) and women's (haramlik) quarters, most of the spaces  within the house are not designed around     functionality, as houses are today, but around climatic considerations. During th...

Woke up this morning – no sunshine in Cairo!  This was the kind of day I had been waiting for, a day-trip to the jewel of Cairo that hardly any tourists know about – Al Azhar Park!  In 1984 the Aga Khan decided to build a park for the people of Cairo.  The only suitable central location was a rubbish/rubble dump near the 15th century “City of the Dead”.  The site was transformed into what is today a most wonderfully designed relaxing space covering 74 acres.  It has water features, a lake, unique restaurants, hilltops, winding walk ways, exotic flowers, mature trees, a children’s play area, lots of seating in tranquil, intimate settings.  Al Azhar is a must-visit retreat for anyone with spare time in Cairo, especially if you want to get away from the noise and traffic. Entry fee is only 5 LE.  I spent about 4 hours wandering around there today – only left because it started to rain!  Surrounded by the lush lawns, hi...