Un-Holy Desecration!… “He Who Robs The Graves Of Egypt DIES!”
“Herein Are Set Down, The Magic Words By Which “Isis” Raised “Osiris” From the Dead… “
“Oh Amen-Ra… Oh! God of Gods… Death is But The Doorway to New Life! We live Today – We Shall Live Again In Many Forms Shall We Return”
~ Imhotep ~
A destitute archeology team in Suburban Philadelphia, PA, has dreamed up a way to make enough money to fund any and all future expeditions. The idea would eliminate the need to seek or petition colleges or universities and other factions as well, for funding digs and excavations. They could become independent business moguls with this new idea… The scheme of things would be to start an educational touring and teaching foundation – a school and membership club. The groups sessions would include world-wide travel to ancient lands and burial sites across the globe. “All we have to do is put together a pricing package and schedule a few classes with assignment projects to keep the members… students interested and excited about the traveling aspect… I do believe they’ll go for it. Think about it – the church’s and religious groups do it all the time… except we’ll be a legitimate teaching entity – a bonafide school of higher learning… none credit of course.”
The first class began four months later… The first study course assignment is “Ancient Egyptian Burial Sites and The Mummies Therein!”
Beginning with a visit to the “Temple of Karnak” and “The Tomb of Amen” – “Ipet Isut,” and “The Tomb of “Meraruka” in Sakkara, Kemet.
One of the female students suddenly felt cold… like someone with icy-fingers was stroking her spine. She shivered with cold and a horrible dread.
“I’ve never before felt such and aura of menace… It’s as if death was stalking us with this new assignment. I so terribly feel drawn to the dig… it’s as if I am compelled to go on this expedition, this class trip, and search for something… someone!”
Egypt is an ancient city. The Nile Valley is one of the birthplaces of world civilization. Down through the ages, this region has remained one of the most romantic places in the world. It harbors wondrous monuments, which border the Nile from below Aswan in the south to Cairo in the north. The great pyramid(s) of Giza was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and is the only one that has survived. The “Sphinx” has mystified and fascinated people for centuries.
Well-preserved, brilliantly colored wall paintings in ancient tombs picture the life of the Egyptian People some 4,000 years ago. For centuries, people from many lands have visited Egypt to see the marvels. Among the visitors of long ago was the Greek Historian Herodotus, who said, “Egypt is the gift of the Nile!”
Egypt is bordered by Libya on the west and by Sudan on the south. It extends north as far as the Mediterranean Sea and east to the Red Sea and the Guild of Suez. Egypt also includes the Sinai Peninsula. The Peninsula is the site of Egypt’s highest mountain, Gebel Katherina (Mount Catherine), which rises to an altitude of 2,637 meters (8,651 feet). Except for the Nile River and its delta, Egypt is a land of brown arid deserts. To the west of the Nile stretches a part of the vast Libyan Desert. The east lies the Arabian, or Eastern, Desert.
Outside the Nile Valley and the Nile-irrigated Suez Canal Region, there are few areas where water is available for farming. The Faiyum Oasis, on the edge of the desert, lies southwest of Cairo. In the Libyan Desert are the “Kharga,” “Dakhla,” “Farafra,” and “Siwa Oasis.” The Siwa Oasis is noted for having been visited by ‘Alexander The Great.’
The Sun shines almost every day in Egypt. Rain is scarce throughout the entire land. Alexandria; located in the wettest part of the country, gets only about 200 millimeters (8 inches) of rain each year. The southern parts of the country average 75 millimeters (3 inches) or less.
Summers in Egypt are hot and dry. Temperatures reach about 40’C (105’F). In parts of the Libyan Desert, the temperature may rise to almost 50’C (about 120’F) when the Khamsin – a hot, dry, desert wind – blows.
Winters are warm and pleasant. Egypt (Kemet) is primarily an agricultural country. Intensively cultivated, the Nile Valley is one of the most productive areas in the world. Recently, the leaders of Egypt have been making great efforts in bringing the country into age of industrialization. Most of the people live on less than four percent of the land. Nearly 80,000 wandering ‘Bedouins’ live in the deserts, which make up the other ninety-six percent of Egypt’s/Kemet’s area.
Egyptian “City-Dwellers” live in apartment houses, in private homes in suburbs, or in crowded tenement districts. House furnishings are similar to those in Western lifestyles and cities. These city-dwellers work in the same kinds of occupations that are found in most western cultures. The building of factories near the cities has attracted a large number of unskilled laborers from the farms. Many women work in clerical and administrative jobs and careers. A great many of Egypt’s social-welfare organizations are run by women.
Western apparel are quite common in the cities. But the laborers, especially those who grew up on the farm of the Nile Valley, sometimes wear the ankle-length cotton “Gallabiyea, or Robe,” and skullcap (Kufi) or Turban that have been worn for many centuries by the men and/or farmers of Egypt.
Most Egyptians are “Muslims.” There are five to six million Egyptian Christians (Copts), who are found in rural and urban areas of the land. Throughout Egypt/Kemet all levels of public education, from primary school to college, are free to both girls and boys. Thousands of girls go on to college and then hold positions in all fields, including law, engineering, and medicine.
Primary education is compulsory for children between the ages of six and twelve. Many of those who complete primary school go on to preparatory and secondary or vocational schools. The preparatory school course lasts three years and prepares students for secondary school. There are three basic programs of study in secondary school, which also lasts three years. These are a program in domestic science, a technical studies program, and a program of general studies, with emphasis on academic subjects.
Egypt/Kemet has a number of national universities, which are free. The University of Cairo was founded in 1908 as a private university. The universities at Alexandria, Ain Shants (Cairo), Asyut, Helwan, Mansura, Minya, Tanta, and Zagazig were all founded by the Egyptian Government.
Al-Azhar University, in Cairo, was established in the 10th Century. Many consider it to be the oldest university in the world. It was founded as a center for teaching Arabic Literature, Islamic Law, and Muslim Theology. In 1961 the curriculum was expanded to include technical subjects along with its traditional course of study. There is now a women’s college connected with the Al-Azhar as well.
There is only one foreign university in Egypt/Kemet today – the American University in Cairo… It was founded in 1919 by a group of United States Philanthropists. Many of its students come from outside the borders of Egypt/Kemet.
‘Cairo,’ the capital of Egypt and the largest city in Africa, is/was the cultural center of the Arab world for centuries. It has many museums, including the famed Egyptian Museum with its collection of Egyptian antiquities. In addition to being Egypt’s seat of government, Cairo is a busy commercial, banking, and tourist center. The city also hosts Industrial plants, fringed along its outskirts.
On the Mediterranean Sea is the second largest city in “Africa”… ‘Alexandria.’ Founded by “Alexander The Great,” is also a very busy port on the Mediterranean. This city was founded, according to history, in 332 B.C. Alexandrain attracted poets and scholars from around the world (as it was known), including “Euclid,’ the great mathematician, and “Ptolemy,” the famous geographer. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world was “The Pharaohs,” or “The Lighthouse of Alexandria.” It was destroyed in the 14th century. “The Library of Alexandria is said to have contained over Four hundred thousand books. Alexandria is regarded as the summer headquarters for the national government. This location is famous for its white beaches, its rose gardens, and its palace museums.
The most famous of the country’s ancient cities is “Luxor.” Currently, it is a tourist city of luxury hotels overlooking the mysterious and beautiful Nile. Luxor also hosts “The Valley of the Kings!” The “Temple of Karnak,” “The Tombs of the Queens and Kings,” The Tombs of the Nobles, “Deir el Bahri (The funeral Temple of Queen Hatshepsut),” “The Colossi of Memmon (two Towering Statues of of AmenhotepIII),” “The Ramesseum” with its statues of “Ramses II,” and “The Temple of Luxor” are all located within ‘Luxor.’
“Aswan” is Egypt’s winter resort. Aswan boasts of being one of the country’s most rapidly growing city. Thanks to the construction of the “Aswan High Dam project” and the rapid growth of “Hydroelectric” and “Industrial Plants,” its a sound and warranted “Pat-On-The-Back.”
The country now known as “The Arab Republic of Egypt” has one of the longest histories in the world. The written history of the country goes back almost five thousand years, to the dawn of civilization. It was the ancient Egyptians who invented our first calendar.
“Members of The People’s Assembly,” Egypt’s legislative body, are elected for five year terms. Half of the members must be either workers or farmers. The first multiparty elections for the assembly since 1952 were held in 1979. The head of state is the president, who is also commander in chief of the armed forces. The president is elected for a six-year term. Constitutional changes approved in 1980 allow the president to serve an indefinite number of terms. The president is assisted by a prime minister and a council of ministers.
The judicial branch of the government is independent of the other two branches. No member of the other two branches may interfere with the courts. All trials are conducted by three judges. There are no juries.
There used to be two court systems; the civil courts, which dealt with police cases; and the religious courts, which heard cases concerning such matters as marriage, divorce, and inheritance issues.
In 1956, the religious courts were abolished. But a constitutional amendment in 1980 made the Islamic Code the Chief Source of Law.
Some of the most impressive structures known, including the Great Pyramids (tombs for the early Egyptian Kings) and the ‘Sphinx’ at “Giza,” were built before 200 B.C. The largest of the pyramids was constructed by “King Khufu, or Cheops,” perhaps about 2600 B.C. Although there is and have been disagreements about early Egyptian dates, it is thought that Egypt came into being sometime around 3200 B.c., when a king named “Menes (also called “Narmer)” united the cities of northern and southern Egypt under one government.
In 640, Muslims (member of the newly formed religion of Islam), according to one record, swept westward from the Arabian Peninsula and conquered Egypt. The Muslims founded the city of Cairo in 969 and made it the capital of Egypt. Muslim “Caliphs” and their ministers ruled Egypt for many succeeding centuries. One of the most famous of the rulers of Egypt during this period of Muslim rule was “Saladin (1138-1193),” who fought the Christian Crusaders at the end of the 12th Century. The “Ottoman Turks” followed these rulers, dominating Egypt from 1517 to 1805, almost 300 years.
However, according to many scholarly sources, “The Hyksos,” an eastern people whom very little is known, invaded Egypt and conquered the land, bringing with them the first horses and chariots ever seen in Egypt. Later, the Egyptians did drive out the usurpers… all this occurred between 1500 and 1675 B.C. In or around 1375 B.C., “Amenhotep IV” (Akhenaten) became king of Egypt. He abolished the worship of the many ancient Egyptian gods and introduced worship of only one god. Akhenaten was one of the world’s first monotheists (believers in only one god). But after Akhenaten’s death the believers in the old gods gained power again, and Akhenaten’s reforms were disregarded.
“Menpehtyre Ramesses I” (or Ramses) was the founding pharaoh of ancient Egypt’s 19th dynasty. The dates for his short reign are not completely known but the time-line of late 1292-1290 BC is as well as 1295-1294 BC. While Ramesses I was the founder of the 19th dynasty, in reality his brief reign marked the transition between the reign of Horemheb who had stabilized Egypt in the late 18th dynasty and the rule of the powerful pharaohs of this dynasty, in particular his son Seti I and grandson Ramesses II, who would bring Egypt up to new heights of imperial power.
One of the best known Egyptian kings was “Ramses II (1292-1225 B.C.),” who is known for his monuments and temples at ‘Karnak’ and for the temple he carved out of the cliffs on the western bank of the ‘Nile River’ at “Abu Simbel.”
Around 1000 B.C., Egyptian power declined. Between this time and 332 B.C., Egypt was ruled in turn by the “Libyans,” “Ethiopians,” “Assyrians,” and “The Persians.” In 332 B.C. the country was conquered by “The Greeks,” under “Alexander The Great.” Upon his death one of his generals became ruler of Egypt, as “Ptolemy I.” The dynasty of the ‘Ptolemies’ ended in 30 B.C., when “Cleopatra (69-30 B.C.),” the last of the line, took her own life. Egypt then became a ‘Roman Province.’ The succession of rulers for the next six-hundred-and-seventy years were appointed by ‘Roman’ and ‘Byzantine’ emperors. Egypt became largely ‘Christian’ during this period and was the home of the earliest ‘Christian Monasticism.’
During ‘Turkish’ rule, “Napoleon I of France” landed in Egypt. His expedition to Egypt aroused great interest in the country on the part of ‘Europeans.’ One of Napoleon’s officers discovered the “Rosetta Stone,” which furnished the key to ancient Egyptian writing called “Hieroglyphics!”
Recorded text continues to explain Egypt’s history with the entrance of “Mehemet Ali (Mohammed)” in 1805. He was of ‘Albanian’ descent. Mehemet was made “Pasha,” or governor, of Egypt by the ‘Ottoman Turks.’ He seized power for himself and founded the “Last Egyptian Dynasty!”
It was during the reign of this dynasty that the “Suez Canal” was built and cotton became the country’s most important crop. ‘Mehemet Ali’ and his successors often turned for funds to the ‘British’ and ‘French.’ British influence grew when, in 1875, the Egyptian government sold controlling interest in the Suez Canal to Britain. “Britain” declared “Egypt” a British Protectorate at the beginning of “World War I.”
Egyptian Independence was recognized in 1922, when “Fuad I (1868-1936)” became ruler. Egypt fought on the side of the ‘Allies’ in World War II and became a charter member of the “United Nations” with strong British influence. Egypt and other Arab States objected to the formation of the new “Jewish Nation” after the proclamation of “Israel’s Independence” in 1948. Albeit, part of this area was historically the ‘Jewish Homeland,’ Arabs had been living there for centuries. The Arabs felt, therefore, that their homes were being unfairly taken away from them. Undeclared war broke out between Israel and its Arab neighbors, which included Egypt. Armistice agreements were signed in 1949, but sporadic border fighting did not stop.
Discontent was a long lasting endurance with the corruption of “King Farouk (1920-1965)” led to a revolution by the army under “General Muhammad Naguib” in 1952. The country was declared a republic in 1953. In 1954, ‘Naguib’ stepped down in favor of “Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser,” who served as president until his death in 1970. He was succeeded by “Anwar el-Sadat.”
When Egypt nationalized the ‘Suez Canal’ in 1956, Israel was refused use of the canal. Aide by France and Britain, Israel invaded Egypt and occupied almost the entire “Sinai” peninsula. Anglo-French landings took place in the “Port” side area. The United Nations intervened, and the invading forces withdrew. A United Nations emergency force was stationed on the Egyptian side of the border until 1967. in 1967 and 1973, Israel and Egypt fought two more wars in the ‘Sinai’.
A United Nations peace-keeping team was again stationed in the area. The ‘Suez Canal’ was reopened to traffic in 1975.
The subject of “Arab Unity” has been discussed from time to time in the “Arab World.” Syria and Egypt, in 1958, joined to form the “United Arab Republic.” But Syria withdrew from the union in 1961, and Egypt changed its name to “The Arab Republic of Egypt, Syria, and Libya.” The three Arab Republics approved the plan(s) to form a federation – but the proposed unification never came to fruition. Later, Egypt and Sudan signed a joint defense pact and have co-operated in a number of joint ventures on the economic development frontier(s). They held their first joint parliamentary sessions in 1977, but they have discussed no plans to create a single nation between the two.
The Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat made a historic visit to Jerusalem in 1977. Since its founding in 1978, Sadat became the first “Arab Leader” to visit Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister, “Menahem Begin,” “Sadat,” and United States President “Jimmy Carter” met at ‘Camp David, Maryland’ in 1978. They worked out an agreement for peace between Egypt and Israel and drew up a framework for a broader peace for the entire “Middle East.” In stages, Israel agreed to withdraw from the “Sinai Peninsula” in 1982. With this action, the two nations did establish diplomatic relations in 1979.
The “Nobel Peace Prize” was shared in 1978 by ‘Sadat’ and ‘Begin.’ Many Arab Nations condemned Egypt’s recognition of Israel and withdrew their aid and expelled Egypt from “the Arab League.” Sadat was assassinated in 1981 by Muslim Extremists; according to the various reports; who opposed his policies, including the peace treaty with Israel. His successor, “Hosni Mubarak,” continued to support the agreed upon peace treaty.
The last Israeli Troops withdrew from the ‘Sinai’ on April 25, 1982, and the area was returned to Egypt. However, relations between Israel and Egypt got bigger… strained again after Israeli Forces invaded “Lebanon” later that year.
Today, there remains unrest, hatred, suspicion, and hatred throughout the “Middle East.”
Oh, what will happen next in such an historic land… ?
“There are more things in Heaven and Earth Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”
