All posts tagged Brooklyn Museum

UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK VIII

Deserts have always had a mesmerising, almost terrifying, effect on men. It’s vast, well-nigh endless, and very confusing. It is alien in its features, eerily quiet and when a sound ruptures the silence you would think it is screaming at you from all directions at once.

But they are also magnificently serene, and it is hard to beat a desert’s night sky for its glory.

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UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK VII

Not all who visited Egypt, whether in ancient or relatively modern times, were impressed with the ancient architecture of the early Egyptians. Some, like Herodotus and Diodorus of Sicilia, didn’t think very highly of the pyramids builders, especially Kheops and Khefren, they thought they were tyrants and heretics. Others, like French writer Pierre Loti who visited Egypt in 1907, thought the sight of the Pyramids, the Sphinx and the surrounding desert, looked apocalyptic, awful, and surreal! Read more…

UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK VI

A confession… Irregularity has become part of the publishing process on this blog, a trend that we’re working hard to reverse! We can blame it all we like on the events taking place in Egypt, and though they can deflate the most enthused of writers, they’re not completely to blame for the randomness of postings. Insha’Allah a noticeable change is on the horizon, so we would like to extend our gratitude for staying with us all this time.

In 1867 One of the greatest literary minds in American history along with a group of Americans toured Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Holy Land (Palestine). The writer is non other than Mark Twain, and the trip was aboard a retired Civil War ship called Quaker City, the trip lasted for five months and his humerus chronicles would eventually be published in 1869. Read more…

UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK V

Long before the relocation of Philae, the temple would get flooded, especially in times of a high inundation levels. Travellers would sail through the temples in boats, which is very evident in their inscriptions high up on some of the columns. The temple and the island of Philae have been a source of wonder for millennia; Philae is mentioned by numerous ancient writers, including Strabo, Diodorus, Prolemy, Seneca, and Pliny the Elder.

They would not be the last of the travellers to marvel at its wonders. Read more…

UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK IV

In the 1960s, after the Nasser Regime disastrously insisted on building the Aswan High Dam, Nubia was submerged and with it lost a lot of Nubian heritage and more architectural marvels got buried under water than they were able to save. An international project was initiated by UNESCO in order to save what can be saved. A gargantuan project to say the least! Read more…

UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK III

In the 19th century, with the rise of Egyptology due to the the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte. The subsequent publication of Description de l’Égypte between 1809 and 1829, a race of sorts took shape. It was a race to acquire Ancient Egyptian artefacts and antiquities by national and private collections; a viciously competitive endeavour that eminated from ruthless ambition on all sides involved, particularly among the British and the French. Read more…

UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK II

Somewhere along the way, and a few thousand years, monuments such as Karnak fell into disrepair. Between the ever relentless sands of the desert reclaiming its territory, the Nile’s inundation, and the passage of time, they almost faded out of memory. Every now and then through the millenia, travellers and explorers would stumble upon an obelisk here, or statue there, and if they were persistant and lucky enough, maybe a pylon and gate into a mysterious past. Read more…

UNSEEN EGYPT: LANTERN SLIDES PLACES WEEK I

Lots of reasons prevented any writing in the second half of 2013, mainly the state of affairs in Egypt after the bloody coup of June 30th of that year. Everyone had high hopes for Egypt to emerge trimuphant after the rosey days that followed the Jan25 revolution. But it seems that the people didn’t really understand what freedom is, what it means, and most of all, what it takes to keep it. They failed, and Egypt was lost. Hopefuly the next time the people rise up, they will have learned from their mistakes. Read more…

WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XVIII

By Islam El Shazly

This week we mark the finale of this series of Wednesday Nostalgia, hopefully we accomplished what we set out to do, which is reconnect the people in Egypt with their past and their heritage. Something that was lost to us for far too long, but now since the thick veil of 60 years of tyranny has been lifted, we are free to dig and find that which has been lost, and relish in the memory of our predecessors and build on it. Read more…

WEDNESDAY NOSTALGIA: LANTERN SLIDES WEEK XVII

By Islam El Shazly

Tradespeople, craftsmen, artisans, farmers, and people who are handy with their hands and with a tool are all but extinct in Egypt. Same as people who have pride in the work they do, they too are all but extinct. Over the generations, less and less youth became interested in the trades, or in learning a craft, they were misguided into thinking that anything other than being an employee in a company is beneath them. And the ones who end up working in a trade, end up just doing a job, they want it over and done with, so we get sloppy work and shoddy workmanship. Even the clothes they wear are usually unkempt and dirty. Read more…