|
Religion: Islam is the
dominant religion. For Christianity the majority is from the
Coptic Church.
Health: Egypt is free
from diseases that could be met within normal circumstances.
Drinking water in Egypt is safe. But it is recommended to use
mineral water wherever possible. Chemists, clinics and
hospitals are open to tourists and the public every day in
most areas.
Time: GMT + 2 hours
Electricity: 220 VOLTS
AC; 2 Pins plug.
Suggested Clothing: Light
weight cottons during summer with warmer clothes for winter
and the cool evenings. Women should not wear revealing clothes
in religious buildings.
Currency: The Egyptian
pound (LE)=100 piasters.
Banking Hours: Sunday
-Thursday 8:30-2:00pm
Shopping Hours:
9:00am-2:00 pm& then 5:00-10:00pm except Thursday and Monday.
In Winter shops open 9:00am-7:00pm except Monday and Thursday,
when they open till 8:00pm. Shops close on Sundays.
About Ancient Egypt:
Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization
and some of the world's most ancient and important monuments,
including the Giza Pyramids, the Karnak Temple,
the Valley of the Kings and the Great Sphinx of Giza;
the southern city of Luxor
contains a particularly large number of ancient artifacts.
Today, Egypt is widely regarded as the main political and
cultural centre of the Arab and Middle Eastern regions.
The Sphinx is the first large, royal statue
known in ancient Egypt and is one of the world's most
significant monuments. A colossal 240 feet long and 66 feet
high, it lies in the old kingdom quarry, carved from a core of
solid bedrock and completed with masonry.
 It
represents a couchant lion with the head of a king, wearing a
false beard and the traditional Nemes head-dress. The
image represented by the Sphinx is generally accepted as
Chephren, son of King Cheops, builder of the Great Pyramids at
Giza. Most scholars believe that it dates back to about
2500BC, the time of the Fourth Dynasty.
The
earliest information we have about Egyptian mythology comes
from hieroglyphics on the walls of tombs, such as the burial
chambers in pyramids.
Following is a list of the Major gods of ancient Egypt:
NUN -is chaos, the original
ocean which before the creation lay the germs of all plants
and animals. The Egyptians called him the 'Father of the
Gods' .
ATUM -Atum was personified as the setting
sun and the sun before its rising. Atum is always
represented with a man's head, wearing the double crown of
the Pharaohs
RA -means 'creator's the name of the sun,
lord of the sky. He created Shu and Tefnut who later gave
birth to Geb and Nut, who parented Osiris and Isis, Set and
Nepthys. These are the eight great gods." Men and all other
living creatures came from Ra's tears."
KHEPRI -means 'scarab ( beetle)' and 'he who
becomes.' For the Heliopolitans he is the rising sun which,
he was the god of transformation, by which life renewed
itself. Khepri is represented as a scarab faced man or as a
man whose head is removed by an insect.
SHU -his name means
'to raise' and can be translated as 'he who holds up.' Shu
is the Atlas of Egyptian Mythology and supports the sky. Shu
is also the god of air. Shu is always represented in human
form. On his head he wears, a distinctive sign, an ostrich
feather which is an ideogram of his name.
ANHUR -means 'he who leads what has gone
away' it has also been translated as 'sky bearer.' It is
believed that the god of Sebennytus symbolizes the power of
the sun.
GEB -in reality he was the Earth god. Geb is
often represented lying under the feet of Shu. On occasion
his head is surmounted by a goose, which is an symbol of his
name. Geb was assumed to be the father and Nut to be the
mother-of the osirian gods.
OSIRIS - was a Nature god and took over the
spirit of vegetation which dies with the harvest to be
reborn when the grain sprouts. Afterward he was worshipped
throughout Egypt as god of the dead.
SET -was the personification of the spirit
of evil, in eternal opposition to the spirit of good. He was
rough and wild, his skin was white and his hair was red.
HORUS - He was the title of the pharaoh in
power. He was a solar god and represented by a falcon or a
falcon headed god.
 HAROERIS - means Horus the Great, Horus the
elder. In the pyramid texts Haroeris is the son of Ra and
the brother of Set.
BEHDETY -Behdety is usually represented in
the form of a winged solar disk; his followers liked to
sculpture his image above the temple gates.
HARAKHTES -means Horus of the horizon. He
stands for the sun of its daily course between the eastern
and western horizon.
HARMAKHIS -means 'Horus who is on the
horizon.' It's the proper name of the very large sphinx 60
feet high and more that 180 feet long sculptured nearly
5,000 years ago. He is a personification of the rising son
and a symbol of resurrection.
ANIBIS -was conductor of souls. He was known
as 'Lord of the Mummy Wrappings.'
UPUAUT - is a wolf-headed or jackal-headed
god. Upaut means ' he who opens the way.' He was also
worshipped as a god of the dead.
THOTH - he was worshipped throughout Egypt
as a moon god. Thoth is ordinarily represented with the head
of an ibis. He likes to show up as a bird of this sort, but
also at times as a dog-headed ape. Thoth was the keeper of
the divine achieves and the patron of history.
Goddesses in Egyptian mythology:
Each goddess has a particular role. The role
of each goddess is social or political. The Egyptians
believed that if the goddesses were doing well, the people
do well, and if they don't do well the people suffer as
well. When all is well with people and gods and goddesses,
when all is right with universe, Egyptians say maat
is good.
Bast or Bastet is the Goddess of Bubasris.
Her sacred animal is the cat. Statues and pictures of Bast
are of a woman with a cat head.
Buto is the chief goddess of the delta. Buto
is associated with the snake. Buto is the cobra goddess. She
is queen of all the goddesses. Buto is a symbol of the
pharaoh's total power over the to lands.
Hathor is the goddess of joy and love. She
is the consort of Horus. Hathor's sacred animal is the cow.
When a new baby is born she will know what will happen to
him.
Isis is the consort of Osiris. She is
considered the ideal woman, wife, and mother. She has magic
powers. She is the goddess of medicine.
Mayat is the goddess of truth justice and
order of the universe. Her symbol is the feather. Mayat is
responsible for unity and order in the world. Her statue is
of a woman with one feather in her hair.
Nut is goddess of the sky. Nut is the mother
goddess. Nut is said to be the mother of Ra. Nut's sign is
the cow. She creates the darkness. She is the wife of Geb.
Nut is the mother of Isis, Osiris, Horus, Set, and Nephthys.
Renenet is the goddess of children. She
protects every child at birth. She is a woman with a cobra's
head. She is the goddess good fortune and riches.
Sekhment is the goddess of war. Sekhment
defended divine order. She brings destruction to the enemies
of Ra. She is the Eye of Ra. In pictures and statues she is
a woman with the head of a lioness or with a crocodile head,
or as the eye of Ra.
Tauret is the goddess of childbirth. Her
name means the Great One. She has the body of a hippo, the
legs of a lion, and the breasts of a woman and the tail of a
crocodile. She is the protector of pregnant women.
Tetnut is the goddess of moisture, rain, and
dew. She is the symbol of creation. Tefnut has the head of a
lion and wears a solar disk.
As the Egyptian civilization grew and changed
so did the gods, goddess, and creation stories.
To know more about the fascinating world
of ancient Egypt, come and visit the land of pharaohs
|
