News — Egyptian History

Luxor Temple is a large ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River in the city of Luxor, in southern Egypt. It was built during the New Kingdom period, around 1400 BC, and was dedicated to the god Amun, his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu. The temple was buried for thousands of years. A mosque was built on top of the temple and was preserved during excavating and still remains at the temple's site. When we visited recently, the call to prayer was playing from speakers outside of the mosque. We visited the temple...

Ancient Egyptians made beads with faience, a mix of quartz and minerals. Today, Egyptians still make ceramic beads to mimic the look and feel of the jewelry worn by the ancients. They are referred to as mummy beads. In the mummification process, jewelry was a part of your funerary goods. Necklaces were found in royal tombs throughout ancient Egypt. Our team of Egyptian craftsmen handmake ceramic beads for our mummy bead necklaces.

On a recent trip to Luxor, Egypt, I was in the backseat of a van on the way to Medinet Habu. I looked out the window and noticed two giant statues sitting in an open field by the road. Our guide turned the car around so we could get a closer look. This was the Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III.   The two 60 foot statues of Amenhotep III stand at the gates of the pharaoh's funerary temple. Behind the large statues, you can see that archeologists are working to excavate and reconstruct the rest of the temple. The...

Ancient Egypt was cat country. The fertile Nile Valley and the arid surrounding desert were home to no less than seven species of cat, ranging from big cats like the great lion to the small desert cat that came to live with humans thousands of years ago. Cats, big and small, became an important part of daily life and religion in ancient Egypt.  Ancient Egyptians loved animals and kept many different species of cats. Lions were the companions of kings; nobles hunted with servals, caracals and cheetahs, while leopard skins clothed lector priests. Families viewed their cats as an essential...