Ancient Egypt Archives - Travel To Eat

April 30, 2018 by Kurt Buzard Leave a Comment

Chickens and Guineafowl in Africa and Beyond

The Four Great River Civilizations: Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley and China

In the great river civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and China, pastoralists preceded the true neolithic settlers. The initial domesticated animals included cattle from wild Auroch, sheep and goats from their wild equivalents. Pigs and Fowl followed later and have an intertwined history. As time progressed, irrigation along rivers allowed large scale farming and the establishment of permanent communities. With the advent of these communities came inevitable population increases and increased pressures concerning the utilization of available resources. Fortunately, at first there was plenty for all but climate changes around 2500 BCE contracted the availability of arable land and led to conflict. This whole narrative is nicely summarized in the “Tragedy of the Commons”, an economic theory proposed by William Forster Lloyd in 1833 that is still relevant today. I suggest you read it but for now let us continue with the history of the chicken, a mobile source of protein more suited to mixed farming, unmatched in both the ancient and modern world.
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April 15, 2017 by Max Distro LLC Leave a Comment

Around the World Sunsets

Horseshoe Bend. Page Arizona

Every photographer loves the golden hour, that special time between dusk and dark. Sunsets can be spectacular, unusual and surreal. Since I just got back from Page Arizona to photograph the natural beauty of the area, including of course Horseshoe Bend at sunset, I have decided to collect a few of my favorite sunsets from around the world. Not all sunsets depend on color to make them spectacular, although Horseshoe Bend might be the exception. Often it is the subtle interplay of light and dark, the delicate colors rather than flashy vibrance and it is always about that soft light that fills our senses as the embers of the day play out.

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December 30, 2016 by Max Distro LLC Leave a Comment

Memphis and Saqqara, Life and Death in Egypt

Sphinx of Memphis in the Village of Mit Rahina or Memphis Museum. Egypt

Memphis, founded around 3,100 BC, is the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt. Early on, Memphis was more likely a fortress from which Menes controlled the land and water routes between Upper Egypt and the Delta. Having probably originated in Upper Egypt, from Memphis he could control the conquered people of Lower Egypt. However, by the Third Dynasty, the building at Saqqara suggests that Memphis had become a sizable city. Memphis has had several names during its history of almost four millennia. Its Ancient Egyptian name was Inbu-Hedj (translated as “the white walls”. Memphis became the capital of Ancient Egypt for over eight consecutive dynasties during the Old Kingdom. The city reached a peak of prestige under the 6th dynasty as a centre for the worship of Ptah, the god of creation and artworks. The alabaster sphinx that guards the Temple of Ptah serves as a memorial of the city’s former power and prestige. The Memphis triad, consisting of the creator god Ptah, his consort Sekhmet, and their son Nefertem, formed the main focus of worship in the city.

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September 25, 2016 by Max Distro LLC Leave a Comment

Cairo Egypt

Downtown Cairo Egypt. Ritz Carleton (left) Intercontinental (right) with Kasir el Nile Bridge Between

The point of this post is to provide a general orientation to downtown Cairo and the advisability of travel to Egypt. The Sinai insurgency comprises a series of actions by Islamist militants in the Sinai peninsula, initiated in early 2011 as a fallout of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. The actions of those Islamist elements, largely composed of tribesmen among the local Bedouins, drew a harsh response from interim Egyptian government since mid-2011 known as Operation Eagle. It is true that people lose their lives in terrorist attacks, but the reality of the threat comes nowhere close to warranting the amount of energy and resources that has already been allocated to this ghost-chase. For the number of individuals worldwide who have been killed by a terrorist attack, the majority of victims in those cases come from foreign countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, and Nigeria. As an experienced international traveler, I can unequivocally state that the chances of being involved in a terrorist attack in Egypt are equivalent to a myriad of random objects and activities. To put it in perspective, more people are crushed to death by their televisions or furniture each year, than they are targeted or harmed by any terrorist. The police in your own city pose more of a threat to your liberty than any terrorist ever would. According to 2011 data, the chances of you being attacked by a terrorist are roughly 1 in 20 million. [Read more…]

September 9, 2016 by Max Distro LLC 6 Comments

Ancient Egyptian Goddesses

Isis (left), Nephthys (center), Isis (right). Temple of Isis from Philae

The point of this post is to facilitate identification of goddesses in temples and museums. There are many excellent sources for the functions of these goddesses and while I will give a short description of each goddess, the main point here is identification. In Egypt the Goddesses represented different aspects of life and nature. There were hundreds of Egyptian Goddesses and Gods, while some were recognized throughout Egypt, others were patrons of specific cities or regions. This makes the study of this field more complex as there are many different Goddesses that perform the same functions. Egyptian Goddesses were also represented in numerous ways. The early tribal Goddesses were often given an animal forms. Unfortunately we can not know for certain why a particular deity was associated with a particular animal, as there are no records on the meanings of animal symbolism in Egypt at that time. Later as civilization advanced, many of the Egyptian Goddesses took on human characteristics. Others were depicted as strange hybrids with human bodies and animal or bird heads. [Read more…]

August 30, 2016 by Max Distro LLC Leave a Comment

Edfu Temple Egypt

Front Pylon of Edfu Temple Egypt

Edfu was one of several temples built during the Ptolemaic period, including Dendera, Esna, Kom Ombo and Philae. Its size reflects the relative prosperity of the time and it remains one of the best preserved temples. The present temple, which was begun in 237 BCE, initially consisted of a pillared hall, two transverse halls, and a barque sanctuary surrounded by chapels built on the west side of the Nile. The building was started during the reign of Ptolemy III and completed in 57 BC under Ptolemy XII. It was built on the site of an earlier, smaller temple also dedicated to Horus, although the previous structure was oriented east-west rather than north-south as in the present site. A ruined pylon lies just to the east of the current temple; inscriptional evidence has been found indicating a building program under the New Kingdom rulers Ramesses I, Seti I and Ramesses II. We can also clearly see the mast grooves for the flags which would have fluttered at the entrance. The site of Edfu Tell was known as Wetjeset-hor (classical name Apollinopolis Magna), the place where the god Horus was worshipped and where the battle between Horus and his traditional enemy Seth in ancient mythology took place. Of all the temple remains in Egypt, the Temple of Horus at Edfu is the most completely preserved. Built from sandstone blocks, the huge Ptolemaic temple was constructed over the site of a smaller New Kingdom temple, oriented east to west, facing towards the river.

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August 20, 2016 by Max Distro LLC Leave a Comment

Crocodile Museum at Kom Ombo Egypt

The small town of Kom Ombo is situated on the East side of the Nile, 45 kilometers to the North of the city of Aswan, about 800 kilometers to the South of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Surrounded by fields of sugarcane and corn, Kom Ombo is a pleasant agriculture town that now hosts many Nubians that were displaced after when the water of the Nile flooded their hometowns after the construction of the Nasser Lake. The word “Kom” in Arabic means the small hill and the word “Ombo”, in the Hieroglyphic ancient Egyptian language means the gold. Therefore, the word Kom Ombo, as a whole, means the hill of the gold. The word Ombo was actually originates from the Pharaonic word “Nbty” which is an adjective derived of the word Nebo that meant gold. During the Coptic period, the word was slightly changed to become Enbo and when the Arabic language became common in Egypt, the word became “Ombo”. Egypt's first museum devoted exclusively to crocodiles was inaugurated in 2012 by Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim. [Read more…]

August 17, 2016 by Max Distro LLC Leave a Comment

Kom Ombo Temple Egypt

Double Entrance of Kom Ombo Temple Egypt

In ancient times, Kom Ombo stood on an important crossroads between the caravan route from Nubia and trails from the gold mines in the eastern desert. During the reign of Ptolemy VI Philometor (180-145 BC), it became a training depot for African war elephants, which were used to fight the fierce pachyderms of the Seleucid empire. The temple at Kom Ombo was also built at this time, under Ptolemy VI. Since this bend in the Nile was a favored spot for crocodiles to bask in the sun and threaten locals, it is natural that the temple would be dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god. But it is unusual in having a double dedication: it also honors Haroeris, a form of the falcon-headed god Horus. The Kom Ombo basin has significance in the Nile Valley archaeology of the Late (Upper) Paleolithic (c. 15,000-12,000 BC). In the 1920s, Edmun Vignard identified and excavated prehistoric sites having a stone working industry he named Sebilian. Vignard's work has been revised by that of P. E. L. Smith and Fekri Hassan, who have also identified two other industries in the region, Silsillian and Sebekian, which appear to have coexisted with the Sebilian. All the temples buildings in the southern part of the plateau were cleared of debris and restored by Jacques de Morgan in 1893. [Read more…]

December 17, 2015 by Max Distro LLC Leave a Comment

Khufu Ship at the Giza Pyramids

The Khufu ship is an intact full-size vessel from Ancient Egypt that was sealed into a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2500 BC. The ship now is preserved in the Giza Solar Boat Museum. The ship was almost certainly built for Khufu (King Cheops), the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Like other buried Ancient Egyptian ships, it was apparently part of the extensive grave goods intended for use in the afterlife, and contained no bodies, unlike northern European ship burials. The Khufu ship has been on display to the public in a specially built museum at the Giza pyramid complex since 1982. The ship was one of two discovered in 1954 by Kamal el-Mallakh, undisturbed since it was sealed into a pit carved out of the Giza bedrock. It was built largely of Lebanon cedar planking in the “shell-first” construction technique, possibly using unpegged tenons of Christ's Thorn. The ship was built with a flat bottom composed of several planks, but no actual keel, with the planks and frames lashed together with Halfah grass, and has been reconstructed from 1,224 pieces which had been laid in a logical, disassembled order in the pit beside the pyramid.

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December 14, 2015 by Max Distro LLC Leave a Comment

Abou Shakra Restaurant, Cairo

Abou Shakra was established in 1947 by Ahmed Abou Shakra in one of the oldest districts in old Cairo, El Kasir El Einy. Since then they have expanded to twelve locations in Egypt although I think this is the original location. Apparently they run a successful takeout business as well. There is nothing astounding about an Egyptian restaurant in Cairo that serves up a wealth of grills, kofta, mezzas and more. There are a few notable restaurants that rise above the rest, and Abou Shakra is one of them. Lauded in the past as a high-quality venue with traditional Egyptian cuisine, Abou Shakra is today a mid-range eatery with fairly satisfactory local cuisine. For me it was a place with good air conditioning in downtown Cairo, as an alternative to not taking pictures in the non-airconditioned Cairo Museum. As I have stated repeatedly, the current Egyptian regime/Supreme Counsel of Antiquities/Zahi Hawass does not allow any photographs in any museums or inside temples (and they wonder why there are no tourists).

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Chickens and Guineafowl in Africa and Beyond

Around the World Sunsets

Memphis and Saqqara, Life and Death in Egypt

Cairo Egypt

Ancient Egyptian Goddesses

Edfu Temple Egypt

Crocodile Museum at Kom Ombo Egypt

Kom Ombo Temple Egypt

Khufu Ship at the Giza Pyramids

Abou Shakra Restaurant, Cairo

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