Construction Ahead: Sphinx Avenue

Avenue of Sphinxes leading up to Luxor Temple.

Avenue of Sphinxes is a 2.7km stretch of road that once connected Luxor Temple to Karnak Temple.  In ancient times the road was lined with sphinxes and was used in special processions, kind of like a parade, between the two temples.

The Pharaoh would walk along the Avenue of Sphinxes during special ceremonies.

Over time the Avenue of Sphinxes has been lost.  Pieces of it have been built over, and other parts of it damaged.  Today it sits nothing more than a short path of sphinxes in front of Luxor Temple.  The government unhappy with this has decided that it is time to rebuild the avenue and restore it to its original beauty, so they have started a massive project that involves restoring and rebuilding the entire avenue.

Such a pretty sight, the Sphinxes lit up at night.

This is an exciting time for Luxor if you are a fan of Egyptology, but not such an exciting time if you live in the city.  Homes are being torn down to make room for the avenue, and there is construction happening all around, closing streets and slowing traffic.  Some people are very unhappy about the project, but hopefully all the inconvenience will pay off once the Avenue of Sphinxes is completed and the citizens of Luxor can marvel at how beautiful their city is again.

Ancient Vampires: Before There was “Twilight”

A statue of Sekhmet, the first vampire ever.

Some people believe the very first vampire came to us from Ancient Egypt, the story all started with a god named Ra.  You see, Ra was the ruler of Upper Egypt and he was being attacked by mortals from Lower Egypt who were trying to take over his Kingdom.  For help and protection Ra called upon the god Sekhmet.  When she arrived he put a spell on her.  The spell turned her into a bloodthirsty beast and he told her to go and feed on the mortals that were attacking his Kingdom.  She did as she was told, and drank the blood of the attackers.  The Kingdom was now safe.

After having tasted blood Sekhmet couldn’t stop.  She became thirsty for more and began killing innocent mortals for their blood.  Ra knew he had to stop Sekhmet so he decided to trick her.  He got buckets full of beer, turned them red and poured the beer out into the streets where Sekhmet roamed.  When she saw the red beer she thought it was blood and drank it all up.  The beer had a powerful effect and made her go to sleep.  While she was asleep Ra put a new spell on her, one that made her stop wanting to drink blood, and from that day forward she became a new god that didn’t have a taste for blood.

This tale is the first known story about vampires.  Do you think vampires really exist, or are they fictional?

Art Project: Paint Like an Egyptian

Some of the original wall paintings in Temple of Hatshepsut

All the temples and monuments in Ancient Egypt were colourfully painted, but how?  It’s not like Ramses II could order his servants down to Home Depot to buy a gallon of paint.  Well, that is where the Egyptians got creative.  They would use different kinds of stones, crush them into a fine powder and then mix them with eggs.  The eggs would act as a paste and the fine powder would stick to the walls of the temples and monuments just like paint.  If you wanted the colour white, you would crush limestone.  If you wanted blue you crushed lapus lazuli used that powder.  You can try this.  Think of what materials you can crush into a fine powder (chalk, dried leaves, etc.) or use stuff that already comes in powder form (sand, glitter, etc) and instead of using raw eggs, which can be unhealthy for you, use white paste.  There you go, you are painting like an Egyptian.  I am interested to see how your paintings turn out.

Valley of the Kings

The Step Pyramid of Saqqara, the oldest pyramid in Egypt.

All the pyramids of Egypt date back to the Old Kingdom, the first kingdom in ancient times.  They were built as a final resting spot for the Pharaoh and the treasures that he was buried with.  Unfortunately the pyramids were also huge signs to robbers, they  screamed, “come to me, I am filled with treasure.”   Unfortunately, all the pyramids were being robbed of their treasures, so the pharaohs decided to start building secret tombs hidden away in the desert, tombs that no robber would be able to find.  These tombs are known to us today as the Valley of the Kings.

The Valley of the Kings was chosen as a burial site for several reasons.  First is the natural pyramid like rock formation that sits on top of the hills around the valley.  With a pyramid being a sacred shape, the pharaohs couldn’t ignore this as a sign.  The next reason is that the Valley is on the west side of the Nile where the sun “dies” at the end of each day as the sun always sets to the west.  So the pharaohs lived on the east side of the Nile (where the sun was born), but would be buried on the west side (where the sun died).

The rocks and hills that surround the Valley of the Kings.

Even though a lot of work was put into hiding the tombs and their treasures, all of them were eventually found by tomb robbers, except of the smallest tomb which belonged to Tutankhamun (but you probably know him as King Tut).  His treasures were found in 1922 by a British archaeologist named Howard Carter.  The treasure he found in the tomb is now on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

The Valley of the Kings across the Nile.

All the tombs are different shapes and sizes, and the bigger the tomb, the longer you ruled as Pharaoh.  The tombs were started when you became Pharaoh and only stopped being built once you died.  That is why the tomb of Ramses II is the largest, he ruled for around 60 years, and the tomb of King Tut is the smallest, because he was only in power for about 10 years. 

Image from inside a tomb taken from the Internet.

Unfortunately no pictures are allowed in the tombs because the camera’s flash can damage the beautifully painted walls, but you can just imagine it (or do a Google search for Valley of the Kings and you will find several images).  Dug deep into the hills of the desert, massive chambers and passageways leading to the tomb were a pharaoh would be laid to rest for eternity. All of this built with no jack hammers, no drills, just some simple tools and their hands.  Amazing!

Temple of Karnak

Standing in front of Karnak Temple, the largest temple in the whole world.

The largest temple in all of Egypt, actually, it is the largest temple in the whole world,  Karnak is unlike anything I have ever seen.  The Temple of Karnak started being built in the Middle Kingdom (Ancient Egypt had three main periods:  the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom, all in that order) and it was still being added to 1300 years later.

A statue of Ramses II in the Great Hall.

Temples were not used as residences, all Egyptians, even the Pharaoh, lived in houses made out of mud brick.  They believed that since life was temporary, their homes should be temporary too.   Temples were made out of stone and marble because they were meant to last forever, just like they believed the afterlife would.  Temples in Egypt were dedicated to gods and used as a spiritual centre.  Karnak is dedicated to the god Amun and it was used daily in special celebrations by the Pharaoh and his priests.

The ram-headed sphinxes all in a row.

The temple is divided into several different areas.  Before entering the temple you must walk down a processional path lined with ram-headed sphinxes then pass through a gate in the first wall.  The wall towers over you and is 45m high.  Once inside the temple you will walk through a Great Court and then enter into the Great Hypostyle Hall.  This hall contains over 100 pillars, each one decorated beautifully with images of gods, pharaohs and hieroglyphics.  Originally the entire temple would have been brightly painted a rainbow of colours.  With the temple being this detailed no wonder it took over 1000 years to finish.

Look at the carvings on each of the pillars.  Each one is completely covered from top to bottom.

The Riddle of the Sphinx

The Great Sphinx of Giza

In front of the Great Pyramids of Giza sits the largest statue of a Sphinx, (part human, part beast) in the world.  It is 76.5m long and about 20m tall.  Not only is it big, but it is also really old.  The Sphinx is one of the oldest monuments on Earth being around 4500 years old.  Now because it is so old we don't know much about it.  There are still questions of who built it, what purpose it served, who it was modelled after and why parts of it are missing (like its nose and beard!)?  So over the years many theories, and even some legends, developed to help people answer questions about the Sphinx.


The Sphinx on guard, keeping evil away from the Pharaoh.

Some believe the Sphinx was built in front of the pyramids to act as a guard, protecting the Pharaoh in the afterlife.  Others believe that he was an image of the sun god and that Egyptians would come and pray to the statue for good luck.

There are some interesting tales about the missing nose too.  Some Egyptologists believe that the nose was cut off by an invading ruler who didn't like the way people were worshipping the statue.  Another story about the nose is that when the French were occupying Egypt it was shot off during target practice by Napoleon's soldiers.

Whatever the true story is one thing is certain, the Sphinx was built to inspire awe, and it can still do that today even after 4000 years.

A different Sphinx in the Ancient City of Memphis.  This one is much smaller than the great Sphinx, but it still has its beard and nose intact.

Mr. P Sees the Pyramids!

Dear Boys and Girls,

Today will be a day that Mr. P remembers for the rest of his life.  I remember hearing about the pyramids when I was a child, they were a symbol of ancient civilizations that came before us.  A group of people that started to change the way we as humans see the world and helped the world get to where it is today.  So to be standing, facing the pyramids was very special to me.  I couldn't help but grin.  Also making the day extra special was my very kind and knowledgeable tour guide, and now friend, Feby.  If ever you are in Egypt and want to arrange a tour of the pyramids, make sure you e-mail her (click on her name above and tell her Mr. P sent you).  She was an amazing host and was excited to give me several stories to share with you.  Wait until you hear the one about the Egyptian vampire!

There are many pyramids in Egypt.  Pyramids were used as a final resting place for Pharaohs and their families.  They were built well in advance of them dying because they usually took around 20 years (if not longer) to build.  The pyramids were stuffed full of treasures, usually things that the Pharaoh was believed to have needed in the afterlife.  The three pyramids at Giza (shown in the picture below) belong to a grandfather, father and son team.  The largest pyramid is known as the Great Pyramid of Cheops.  It is made up of about 2.5 million blocks and rises 137m out of the desert sand and is the most impressive of the three.  You can just imagine how it must have looked 4000 years ago when it was first completed.  Back then it was covered in polished limestone which would have made it shine in the sun, a sparkling pyramid fit for a king.

Standing in the desert.  Oh look...the Great Pyramids of Giza are behind me.  Now how did those get there?

The Egyptians used pyramids as tombs for several reasons; first their shape reminded them of sun rays coming down from the sky.  Also, a pyramid reaches high up into the sky ending in a point that shoots directly up.  Sometimes it looks like the pyramid is actually touching the sun.  The pyramids were believed to give the souls of the dead Pharaohs a way of getting up into the heavens where they would have eternal life.

Great Pyramid of Cheops touching the sun.

There is so much more I could tell you about the pyramids...they are truly amazing, but I will let you sign a book out from the library or do a Google search so you can learn some more on your own.  I can't wait to hear about some of the interesting facts that you learn!

Still grinning,
Mr. Pimentel

The Egyptian Museum: No Pictures Allowed!

I have spent the past couple of days in Cairo exploring many of the museums that can be found here in the city.  Yesterday, I went to The Egyptian Museum and I couldn't believe my eyes.  It was just like something out of a movie.  There were rows of wooden and glass cases filled with ancient artefacts, all of them labelled with little handwritten cards that have yellowed over the years.  There are no big flashy exhibits, nothing interactive to play with, the museum acts simply as a storage facility for all these amazing items, all 120 000 of them. 

The crowd of people getting ready to enter the museum.

Some of the most famous pieces in the museum are King Tut's death mask.  If you look at the header of my blog you will see a cartoon drawing of it.  Seeing it in real life after having read about it, taught about it and even having seen a hologram of it in London, was pretty neat.  The room the mask was in was jam packed full of people, so you don't get any alone time with King Tut.  You simply catch a glimpse of his mask, and then you move on.

A picture of King Tut's death mask taken from Sacred-Destinations.com

Another brilliant part of the museum are the special mummy rooms.  They have rows of mummies on display and you get to see how the mummification process changed over time.  They started painting people's skin yellow, putting rocks under their eyelids to keep the eye sockets full, and even made special rings for their hands and feet so their fingers and toes wouldn't fall off over time.  It was fascinating staring at all the different mummies. To see a picture of the mummy of Ramses II click here (warning, it is pretty spooky looking!)

I am sad that I have no pictures of my own to show you from my trip to the museum, but there are very strict rules about pictures.  You aren't even allowed to bring your camera into the museum with you and have to check-it at the door.  The reason for this rule is that the items in the museum are so special and the light from a camera flash can damage them, so it is a good rule to follow.  So I guess not having any pictures is fine, just means that one day you will have to come to Cairo and see all these sights for youself!

Ancient Egypt: Being a Kid Again.

When I was a little boy I remember this clip from Sesame Street.  It was the first time I learned about the pyramids and Ancient Egypt.  I remember finding this video fascinating.  There was something about it that made me want to learn more about Egypt and the pyramids.



Let's just hope no statues come to life when I am exploring the pyramids in a few day.  That would be really freaky!  I can't wait.