King Tut Ankh Amon

The Young Pharaoh Tut

The most famous Egyptian pharaoh today is, without doubt, Tutankhamun. However, before the spectacular discovery of his almost intact tomb in the Valley of the Kings in November 1922, Tutankhamun was only a little known figure of the late 18th Dynasty.
The name "Tutankhamun" is derived from the hieroglyphs which translate as Tut-ankh-amun meaning the "Living Image of Amun." Today, many people refer to him as Tut.
When Tut was born, he was given the name Tutankhaton meaning the "Living Image of the Aton”, Aton was the single god worshipped during the rule Akhenaton, the heretic king who is believed to have been the father of Tutankhamun.
Not long after Tutankhaton became Pharaoh, there was a restoration of the previously-deposed state god Amun and Tut's name was changed to Tutankhamun.

Tutankhamun lived over 3,300 years ago during the period known as the New Kingdom. For two centuries, Egypt had ruled as a world superpower, while its Royal family lived the luxurious lifestyle. The powerful priesthood of the god Amun had controlled vast temples and estates.

At such a young age, Tutankhamen would not have been responsible for the real decision making. This would have been handled by two high officials called Ay (possibly the father of Nefertiti) and Horemheb, commander-in-chief of the army.
Sometime around the ninth year of Tutankhamen’s reign, possibly 1325 BC, he died and Ay is depicted in tomb paintings as overseeing Tutankhamen’s burial arrangements which lasted 70 days.

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The Red Pyramid

The Red Pyramid at Dashur has the second largest base of any pyramid in Egypt (only slightly smaller then the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza); each side measures 220m (722 feet). However, with it's sides sloping at 43°22', it is substantially shorter at 104 meters (343 feet). Nevertheless, it is the fourth highest pyramid ever built in Egypt, with almost 160 layers of stone.
Stripped from its limestone casing, this pyramid reveals the reddish sandstone used to build most of its core. This explains its modern-day name, the Red Pyramid. Its Ancient Egyptian name was "The Shining One".
The severe structural problems encountered while building the Bent Pyramid South of Dashur, led Snofru (Sneferu) to build yet another pyramid, at a small distance to the North. Significantly, the Red Pyramid was the first successful, true, cased Pyramid built in Egypt, ushering in the era of the Giza style pyramids.
Built by Khufu's father, Snefru, what really makes this pyramid special today is the lack of crowds and circus atmosphere that plagues the Giza Plateau, along with the fact that it can currently be entered without limitation.

Tura limestone was used as casing stone to cover the pyramid. Though some casing still remains, most has been removed. However, about every twentieth casing stone discovered had inscriptions on the back sides. Some were inscribed with the cartouche of Snefru while others had inscriptions in red paint naming the various work crews, such as the "Green Gang" or the "Western Gang". Snefru's cartouche was an important discovery, particularly since there are no identifying inscriptions within the pyramid.
East of the pyramid is what remains of a mortuary temple, as well as the first capstone (Pyramidion) ever found belonging to an Old Kingdom Pyramid. It was recovered in fragments and reconstructed. The mortuary temple itself, though nothing much remains, is significant because Snefru pioneered the east west alignment of Egyptian temples to match the path of the sun.

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The Temples

Temples of Ancient Egypt

The temples were the House of Worships to the many the Gods & Godesses the ancient Egyptians worshipped. All was to be kept clean and in order according to the laws of Ma'at. If not, the god or goddess would leave and great unrest would result for Egypt.
Temples were found everywhere. Each city had a temple built for the god of that city. The purpose of the temple was to be a cosmic centre by which men had communication with the gods. As the priests became more powerful, tombs became a part of great temples. Shown below is a typical temple flood plan with the purposes of each section given.
There are two parts of the temple; the outer temple where the beginning initiates are allowed to come, and the inner temple where one can enter only after proven worthy and ready to acquire the higher knowledge and insights.
The highest priest for any and all gods was of course Pharaoh, who in his turn appointed high priests and other priests to perform his duties to the gods. And it was only Pharaoh or the priest on duty who was ever allowed into the innermost chamber of the temple, where the naos was kept (the shrine built of wood), where the statue of the god was situated. This they did only at the morning ceremony, the midday and evening ceremony. At all other times no one entered that part of the temple.
The rest of the priesthood were the only ones who were allowed beyond the outer court. The worshippers (the Shemsu) were never allowed further than the outer court, where they could leave their offerings to priests who brought them into the temple. So the temple was indeed considered the home of the god, it did not function like the temples of other cultures where people come and go more or less as they please. These temple precincts were the domains of the god, who was believed to be resident in actual fact.
The most important task of the priesthood was to see to it that the god was well cared for and got everything that he could need. They were indeed "servants of the god". They had the duty to ensure that the god wanted to remain in his home and in Egypt so that all would be well. If he were to be discontent he would no longer protect the land but leave it.
But the relationship between the average Egyptian and his god was nevertheless an intense one. Those who lived near an important cult centre or even a smaller temple could always go to the outer court and leave their offerings and there was also a backdoor behind the main building where they could hand in their ostraca on which they had scribbled prayers and questions, or they could whisper their troubles to an attending priest. The priests took care of it and usually provided the questioner with an answer of sorts.
Then there were the festival days when the god was carried on his barque in procession through the city. At those occasions the processional route was lined with worshippers and residents who came to get a glimpse of the statue, even though it was usually hidden with hangings and shaded with great ostrich feathers. These festive occasions were much cherished and longed for, and it was probably allowed then for the commoner to enter the temples and, after having made a suitable offering he could perhaps wander across the holy courtyards and maybe visit the place where the sacred animals were kept.

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Egypt

In about 3100 B.C., Egypt was united under a ruler known as Mena, or Menes, who inaugurated the 30 pharaonic dynasties into which Egypt's ancient history is divided, the Old and the Middle Kingdoms and the New Empire. The pyramids at Giza (near Cairo), which were built in the fourth dynasty, testify the power of the pharaonic religion and state.Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world. Nominally independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty following World War II. The completion of the Aswan High Dam in 1971 and the resultant Lake Nasser have altered the time-honored place of the Nile river in the agriculture and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to ready the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure.

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The Sphinx

The Sphinx





The Great Sphinx is to the northeast of Khafre's (Chephren) Valley Temple. Where it sits was once a quarry. We believe that Khafre's workers shaped the stone into the lion and gave it their king's face over 4,500 years ago. Khafre's name was also mentioned on the Dream Stele, which sits between the paws of the great beast. However, no one is completely certain that it is in fact the face of Khafre, though indeed that is the preponderance of thought. Recently, however, it has been argued that Khufu, builder of the Great pyramid, may have also had the Great Sphinx built.
The Great Sphinx is believed to be the most massive stone sculpture in the round ever made by man. However, it must be noted that the Sphinx is not an isolated monument and that it must be examined in the context of its surroundings. Specifically, like many of Egypt's monuments, it is a complex which consists not only of the great statue itself, but also of its old temple, aNew Kingdom temple and some other small structures. It is also closely related to Khafre's Valley Temple, which itself had four colossal sphinx statues each more than 26 feet long.

The material of the Sphinx is the limestone from the Moqatam hills; the good, hard limestone that lay around the Sphinx's head was probably all quarried for blocks to build the pyramids. The limestone removed to shape the body of the beast was evidently employed to build the two temples to the east of the Sphinx, on a terrace lower than the floor of the Sphinx enclosure, one almost directly in front of the paws, the other to the south of the first one.

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