Two different depictions of Anubis on a sarcophagus. This photo is from the open-air museum in Memphis, Egypt. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.
While the open-air museum at Memphis is known for the colossal statue of Ramses II there are two great deception of the Pharaoh wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt on the grounds. The first is found next to the garden area. The second is found among the rows of broken statues. Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and reviews.
Custom cartouche necklaces. The most common souvenir in Egypt. You'll find hotels, your Nile cruise ship, and numerous shops selling these to you. They also take 24-48 hours to make and return. The first step is deciding what it should say. For me my first name is too boring, so I decided to go with initials (yes...I have that many middle names...). After that you'll choose the cartouche (you'll see tons of styles), what metal the cartouche and the letters should be. (Its hard to tell but the cartouche is silver, while the letters are gold.) And you can also choose if
I had the opportunity to see the Colossus of Ramses II at the Memphis museum a few years ago. Tourism was way down in Egypt, and I was the only person in the viewing room (and one of 3 people in the entire open air museum). Memphis is not on most people's tourist track since its out of the way. But I really enjoyed looking at the details of this statue, thinking how it was carved out of a single block of red granite. If you really like statues or ancient Egyptian history, than I really recommend a visit. Seeing the
The Temple of Hathor at Dendera is one of the best preserved temples in Egypt. Even so, early christians who sheltered here defaced many parts of this Roman-Hellenistic temple. Here you can see the face of Hathor has been partially defaced at the top of these columns in the first hypostyle hall. But even so the blue paint shines through. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.
At the Temple of Hathor in Dendera, Egypt you can still see the lion-headed gargoyles that funneled the captured rain off the roof, and into scared wells. Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the photos.
The Verse of Light from the Qur'an is written very pretty, and is a good fit for looking up at the many glass lamps in the Mosque of Muhammad Ali, in Cairo, Egypt. The verse goes like this: God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is a niche wherein is a lamp— the lamp is in a glass, the glass as it were a glittering star— lit from a blessed olive tree, neither eastern nor western, whose oil almost lights up, though fire should not touch it. Light upon light. God draws parables
One thing many people don't realize is that the monuments and temples of Ancient Egypt were actually vividly painted. But time has erased many of the colors or they are hard to see in dimly lit temples where flashlights and flash is outlawed to protect what colors remain. Which is why when I visited the Cenotaph Temple of Ramesses II at Abydos, a mostly ruined temple, I was excited to not only see amazing colors, but they were close enough to the light outside to take good photos! Every Friday Lili shares her favorite photography & the stories behind the
These crosses are a jarring contrast against the detailed hieroglyphics you see throughout Philae Temple, so its not hard to spot them. On columns and entryways they are found. They stand out more than the ancient graffiti. And even stand out more than the defaced images of Egyptian Gods, Goddesses, Pharaohs and everyday people. When I first saw these, as a fan of Ancient Egypt I was peeved. Philae Temple is so impressive, and the carvings that remain intriguing. But upon reflection these crosses shows how ancient temples found new uses in later times. They were refuges for early oppressed Christians as
Near the Nilometer on Elephantine Island in Aswan, Egypt, there are massive boulders you can see from the river with hieroglyphics inscribed with the cartouche of Psamtik II. It is really amazing to see these hieroglyphics so clearly from the water. And to withstand the test of time. The entrance to the Nilometer is an unassuming doorway with steps leading to the nile. It is one of the oldest Nilometers in Egypt and was in use until the 19th century. Every other week Travel Thursday brings you travel tips and information on the amazing sights and activities the world has to offer.