Ancient Egyptian Travel Log

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City of Alexandria

The city of Alexandria is a port city geographically located on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt and was founded in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great after defeating Persia and reconquering Egypt. In turn, he declared Alexandria the new capital of Egypt. However, Alexander did not stay in Egypt for long, prior to passing this infamous city down to his successors, he did manage to grow accustomed to Egyptian culture and notably utilized most of the Egyptians wealth to conquer the remainder of the Persian empire. The city of Alexandria was further developed under the reign of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, considered the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE. The Dynasty is named after Ptolemy, a general and rumored half-brother of Alexander. This Ptolemaic dynasty is the period responsible for another one of the Seven Wonders of the Word, the most famous lighthouse in antiquity otherwise called Pharos of Alexandria, which is geographically located on the island of Pharos. It was built by the Greek architect, Sostratus of Cnidus, and is considered the archetype of all lighthouses as well as a technological triumph for this period in time. The lighthouse stands at about 350 feet high and almost as tall as the great pyramid of Giza; researchers are unsure of who exactly the lighthouse was for but predicts it could’ve been in remembrance of Alexander the Great, himself. Along with the lighthouse, Alexandria is home to the infamous library of Alexandria which is considered one of the most vital cultural centers in the world rivaling those in Athens, Greece. Externally, the city of Alexandria along with its rich history of the Ptolemic period profoundly displays the attempt to blend Egyptian and Greek culture. This is best represented by the Temple of Serapis, which is a Greco-Egyptian deity of the Sun and is the blend of Egyptian gods Osiris and Apis with the Greek god, Zeus. The composition of this deity truly reveals the need to communicate with such a newfound multicultural society now encompassing Egypt.

Sources:

https://www.worldhistory.org/alexandria/

https://www.worldhistory.org/Serapis/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Seven-Wonders-of-the-World

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Siwa Oasis

Siwa Oasis, otherwise known as the ancient home to the oracle of Ammon, is situated about less than 500 miles west of Cairo. The earliest connection of ancient Egypt lies within a necropolis, here, dated back to the 26th Dynasty. A time period in which Egypt had already been conquered and infiltrated by the Greeks. However, although it is considered a geographically isolated location, there are rumors that, as the fall of the new kingdom dawned upon Ramesses III (the pharaoh during that time), the interest in the Oasis grew. This can also be backed up based on the evidence and direction of the ancient ruins of a fortress in Siwa. In regard to the oracle of Ammon, who was a religious figure designated to communicate the word of Ammon to the community and is also responsible for anointing Alexander the Great as the son of Ammon. Ammon being the Libyan deity, who embodied the ancient Greek deity, Zeus, but with ram horns. Along with the distinctive portrayal of Ammon is the oracle temple that encompasses a courtyard of about 22x11 meters that consists of three sequential rooms all of which are built in a very classical (Greco-Roman) fashion. The known builder of this sanctuary, King Amasis, is illustrated alongside the pharaoh of the Saite dynasty (twenty-sixth dynasty) and across from the ruler of Siwa, a man named Sutekh-Irdes all of which offering bread to the gods, Amun, Mut, Chnum, Chonsu, and others. Overall, this gives us a scenic opening to the culture and religious dynamics of the late period of ancient Egypt. While further annotating that the oasis truly became an integrated part of Egypt after the domestication of the dromedary, modernly known as camels, in the late fourth millennium BCE. The oasis today is considered one of the most attractive and appealing sites for tourists featuring an abundance of knowledge along with a great climate and relaxing hot springs.

Sources: https://www.livius.org/articles/place/ammon-siwa/

https://www.livius.org/articles/place/ammon-siwa/photos/oracle-of-ammon/

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/templeoforacle.htm

https://www.memphistours.com/Egypt/Egypt-Wikis/oases-and-the-western-desert/wiki/Siwa-Oasis

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The Ancient city of Akhetaten

The Ancient city of Akhetaten, modernly known as Amarna, is situated just less than 400 miles south of Cairo and was created by the infamous Akhenaten. Akhenaten was the 10th ruler of the 18th dynasty in Egypt and his reign is commonly known as the Amarna Period. This period encompasses the new style of art ushered in by the change of religious worship from many gods to just one, Aten (the sun). In response, Akhenaten changed his name, meaning favorable to Aton, and created this capital to honor his newfound religion. It is important to note that currently, this city is in ruins, for it is believed to have been purposely destroyed by the ancient Egyptians prior to the end of Akhenaten's reign due to religious indifference. Interestingly enough when the site was first discovered in 1824 by two early explorers, John Gardner Wilkinson and James Burton, there was less knowledge on ancient Egyptian writing and hieroglyphics than now. Therefore, there was a lack of understanding on what exactly they discovered beside the drawing on the walls inside the Great Aten Temple. The Great Aten Temple located on the northern edge of the center city, Akhetaten is just one of the solar temples located in this ancient city. Inside the temple are friezes that showcase the royal family (Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their three children) interacting with one another in such a humanistic way and engaging in everyday activities such as playing with their children. Frankly, this encompasses the entire shift of art during this period, as these were not the conventional renderings of a pharaoh that archeologists have once seen before. Furthermore, this city had an array of private homes that appeared to be very uniform in nature and most likely remnant of the senior working class in this society. Along with the temples, and the homes there is the necropolis which consists of more than twenty-five tombs as well as the royal tomb built for Akhenaten. This, again, highlights the importance of the afterlife in the Egyptian culture despite the differences in religious affairs.

Sources:

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/greattemple.htm

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amarna.htm

Serotta, Anna. “Hidden Secrets of Ancient Egyptian Technology.” Metmuseum.org, 22 May 2015, https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2015/ancient-egyptian-technology

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City of Luxor

The city of Luxor sited in Upper Egypt, located where the ancient city of Thebes once resided and is approximately four hundred miles south of Cairo, is the home to the Valley of Kings. This spot seemed to have been chosen due to its geographical location, enclosed by steep cliffs along with its astronomical alignment with the setting sun, both of which highlight the importance and direct symbolism Egyptians had for the afterlife. Inside The Valley of Kings include the Tombs of Ramses and the tomb of Tutankhamun as well as an area referred to as the Luxor temple, a later of temple complexes of Karnak and Amun-Mut-Khonsu. When the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered, the child of Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, it was said to be surrounded by “enough stuff to fill the whole Egyptian section upstairs of the B.M [British Museum] (Golden Age.146)”. This speaks on the magnitude of the riches and wealth at this location Similarly, to the Giza Plateau, The Valley of Kings appears to be a magnificent marriage between art and engineering that fascinated computer engineer, Christopher Dunn. His examinations of the phenomenon he coined ‘The Ramses Effect’ break down the elements of the Ramses statues found in Ramses Hall inside the temple of Amun-Mut-Khonsu. These statues not only appear to be uniform and exact in measurement and design scheme but are in fact exact base of the photographic analysis in computer-based metrology software. Meanwhile, it is important to note that such technology and equipment, as we know, was not around until less than seventy years ago. Simply put, the ancient society reveals to have developed such tools to work “glass-like stone to a high order of magnitude, proportion, and exactitude” (Dunn) and speaks volumes on the advancement and knowledge of this civilization, still leaving us with the question as to how it was rendered in such an ancient time.

Sources:

Dunn, Christopher. Lost Technologies of Ancient Egypt: Advanced Engineering in the Temples of the Pharaohs. Bear & Co., 2010. https://archive.org/details/ltoaecd

Stevenson, Alice. “A Golden Age? (1922–1939): Collecting in the Shadow of Tutankhamun.” Scattered Finds: Archaeology, Egyptology and Museums, UCL Press, 2019, pp. 145–80, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv550cxt.8

https://www.journeytoegypt.com/en/discover-egypt/valley-of-the-kings

https://www.ecsite.eu/activities-and-services/resources/extra/tutankhamun-his-tomb-and-his-treasures

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Giza Plateau

The Giza Plateau is home to one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great pyramids of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, and the Sphinx. This location is near the modern city of Cairo and showcases the phenomenal craftsmanship of ancient Egyptian architects and engineers. For example, the Great Pyramid of the pharaoh Khufu, required more than two million blocks weighing between two and sixty tons thus forming a structure that covers the length of two football fields and rises in a perfect pyramidal shape, 480 feet in the air (Mark). Logically, it would take an immense number of workers to retrieve the millions of heavy stone blocks which was needed and to be raised to tremendous heights along with being set together with precision in order to create this desired shape. A creation of wonder and mystery indeed for a structure designed to simply house a dead body. Does this bring the question as to why was so much effort placed into such a burial site?

Yes! Of course, although that question still remains a mystery to this day. It is still interesting to examine such items as minuscule as blocks laying on the plateau. Christopher Dunn, the author of the book, Lost Technologies of Ancient Egypt, took a multitude of trips to Egypt and Giza in particular in the early 2000s. As an expert in engineering, he found himself pondering over the contoured granite blocks along the plateau. He described it to have “machine-like precision (Dunn)” for an item that merely was destined to look elegant and attractive. For the Egyptians to put some much detail and focus on such an item provides us with clear evidence of advanced engineering and geometry. Rightfully, the Great pyramids and the entire Giza Plateau should be considered a wonder of the world. Archaeologists and engineers to this day still have no idea exactly how these structures were made without the use of advanced technology. Some even began to bring up ridiculous notions such as the help of aliens or created off the back of Hebrew slaves, with a lack of evidence for either.

Sources:

“Archaeological Site Photographs: Giza.” Archaeological Site Photographs: Giza | The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, https://oi.uchicago.edu/gallery/archaeological-site-photographs-giza#giza01.png

Dunn, Christopher. Lost Technologies of Ancient Egypt: Advanced Engineering in the Temples of the Pharaohs. Bear & Co., 2010. https://archive.org/details/ltoaecd

https://www.worldhistory.org/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza/

https://sailingstonetravel.com/giza-mysteries-of-the-pyramids-sphinx/