The name Nile results from a Greek word Neilos meaning valley, the river Nile is he longest river in the world whose source is known to Jinja Uganda. It is a great river of Northeast Africa that begins its journey in well watered regions near the equator and then flow north word across the dreadful Sahara desert before emptying in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The river is 6695 km (4184 miles) long. The river flows through a total of nine countries although it is most associated to Uganda and Egypt. The other countries include Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Sudan.

This longest river consists of mainly two principle branches that is the white and blue Nile which then joins in Khartoum to form the Main Nile that consists of the Egyptian Nile and the Cataract Nile. The longest segment the White Nile further divides into three 1) The Central Sudan region; 2) The Sudd; and 3) the Lake Plateau region.

The Nile has played a large role in the civilization life and history of some of these countries especially Egypt and Uganda. The Nile is a source of energy to the Ugandans, as the countries major electricity damn is built on the Nile. It has also provided water for human life and its banks are so fertile that despite the fact that Egypt is a dry land, it has enabled the Egyptians sustain their lives throught irrigation and the fertile soils at the banks. The Nile has also provided water to animals like the crocodiles that live at the banks of the river in Egypt. The Nile crocodiles in Egypt are about 4 metres in length although some have been reported as longer.

The Nile as a river has a lot to offer to tourists ranging from boat trips to the source, to activities like rafting, kayaking, Fishing on the Victoria Nile and bungee jumping in Uganda. For Egypt it’s a whole new story as there are lots of things to see on the Nile bank including the historical sites. Individuals interested in experiencing the Nile up close and personal can journey along the famous river aboard riverboat cruises that depart from numerous cities along the bank. On any of your trip to Africa, the Nile- the natural wonder is one of the historical sites places that you shouldn’t Miss.

An awe inspiring country always leaves you finishing your holiday with much more than happiness. It’s the memories that you take with you, the things you see and in this case, the knowledge and the things you see that make you talk about Egypt for a generation. Holidays to Egypt can be filled with more than enough to keep conversations flowing long after your visit. Here is a guide to some of the unmissable sights in North Africa’s most popular destination.

Valley of the Kings

Found on the West Bank of the Nile at Luxor the Valley of the Kings houses many historical places. The Valley of the Kings is home to over 60 tombs and over 120 chambers. This is where the pharaohs were buried and was believed by them to be the place they hoped to meet their gods in the afterlife. You will also find the area that the tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered. Unfortunately the majority of the tombs are not open to the public. This is a truly unique place and is still a popular location for archaeological exploration, and has been since the 18th Century. It is also one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world and in 1979 it became a World Heritage Site.

Luxor Temple

The Temple at Luxor is right in the centre of Luxor, so if you do head to Luxor you shouldn’t miss it. The temple was built around 1400BC mainly to celebrate the annual festival of Opet. You will look at this place in awe as you realise that it is has been there well over 3000 years. Coming here in the evening you will see the complex lit up spectacularly. The temple is definitely worth a visit.

The Temple of Karnak

This vast complex of ruined temples, pylons and chapels is located near Luxor. It has been noted in history as on of the most important places of Ancient Egypt’s worshiping. Everything here is decorated in hieroglyphics and looks spectacular. You can also find historical performances and sound and light shows here explaining much more about the history of Karnak’s Temples.

The Egyptian Museum

Located in Cairo, the Egyptian Museum is home to over 120,000 items of treasured found around Egypt. It is imperative to arrive at the museum early as this will probably be one of the busiest attractions in Egypt. It is here you will find many of the treasures that were discovered within the tombs as well as over 20 actual mummies in the Royal Mummy Room. However the star attraction here is the tomb of Tutankhamen and all the treasures that were buried along with it. You will normally see a good crowd around the solid gold mask that rested upon the Kings head. This mask weighs 24.5pounds of solid gold and the face on the front is believed to look very much like the Kings face.

The Great Sphynx of Giza

The Great Sphynx is the largest statue created from one piece of stone. With the body of a lion and a human head it was believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians in around 3000BC. The complete Sphynx was only fully uncovered in the 1920s prior to that it was up to its neck in sand.

The Pyramids of Giza

If you are at the Sphynx then there is not a chance that you will be missing the Pyramids. Giza houses 3 main pyramids, one of which being the Great Pyramid. Originally the Pyramids exteriors were made from smooth polished limestone, but as the years of weather have eroded this away, we are left with step like structures to the top. Only the top of the smallest pyramid has some of its limestone left but this lacks the polished texture too due to erosion. The Great Pyramid is the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world still in existence.

Egypt is definitely a place that will make for some memories. If you are taking advantage of the cheap holidays to Egypt that you can find, then you cannot afford to miss any of these amazing attractions that this awe inspiring country has to offer.

The scarab beetle has been a symbolic motif in Egyptian jewelry for thousands of years. The scarab is a symbol of regeneration and rebirth, thus scarab jewelry was thought to bring protection, luck and vitality to the wearer. Egyptian soldiers were given scarabs before going into battle. Women were given scarabs for fertility. Scarab beads and designs were commonly fashioned into bracelets, pendants and rings.

Scarab jewelry was made from a wide range of stones and materials. Archeologists have found examples of scarab beads and artifacts made from clay, soapstone, green basalt, glass, bone, precious metals, wood, semi-precious gemstones and many other types of stone. The colors of scarabs were symbolic so plain stone was often glazed or enameled in bright colors. The most common colors found in enameled scarab jewelry were green (symbolizing new life), blue (for the sky and the River Nile), and red (for the sun). In addition to enamels, brightly coloured semi-precious gemstones were used in scarab jewelry making including lapis lazuli, amethyst, carnelian, agate, jasper, onyx and turquoise. Today, scarab jewelry is still made from gemstones, enameled materials, and precious metals.

The symbolism in scarab jewelry derives primarily from its association with the Egyptian god of the rising sun, Khepri. One type of scarab, the “Sacred Scarab” or dung beetle, lays its eggs in a ball of dung which it rolls along the ground and finally into a hole where the eggs hatch and new beetles emerge from. This scarab was seen as the earthly representation of Khepri in that it was believed that this god rolled the sun across the sky each day, thus renewing life. The scarab is also associated with astrology and may have preceded the crab as the symbol we know as Cancer.

Scarabs were also used in ancient Egypt for protection in the afterlife. Large “heart scarabs” with hieroglyphic inscriptions on the underside, were placed across the chest of the deceased in the tomb. They were also found in place of the heart in mummified bodies. These heart scarabs were believed to protect the dead in the final judgment. The most famous of these was a chest or “pectoral” scarab found in Thebes in the tomb of King Tutankhamen. Today, heart scarabs are valued for ornamental purposes, and many still bear hieroglyphs and symbolic carvings on the underside.

Since Egyptian history and art are still studied today, the fascination with the scarab continues. Scarab jewelry and decor are still made in Egypt and by craftsmen around the world.

Rarely we write about Americans who were granted another citizenships by marriage which they have opted for on their own-will. Karen is an American citizen by birth with a naturalized Egyptian citizenship as of 2001 and both of her children carry dual citizenships too. She committed to raising both children as Muslims while Karen embraces and adheres to Protestant Christian practices. Karen and her husband with their children observe fasting during Ramadan and celebrations of all Islamic and Christian holidays. A living story of tolerance between Christians and Muslims through understanding of Allahʼs* (the creator) messages. Graduate of Brown University with a BA in International Relationship including History and Political Science. In Egypt In November 2014, Karen and her husband traveled to Egypt, carrying two suitcases of donated books to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Karen shared a presentation and activities related to Hands Around the Library to children in the Manshiet Nasser neighborhood of Cairo during an after school program operated by the Egyptian Nebny Foundation. Each child received a copy of the book in Arabic (translated and published by the BA). Karen coordinated with Lamia Abdel Fattah, Head of the Library Sector, a two-day conference on literacy and informal education, at the BA October 12 – 13, 2015. More than 650 people attended from Egyptian NGOs, educators, librarians and others, shared projects and collaborated on better ways to improve the educational outlook for poor children in Egypt. Karen is a life-long journalist and writer – for radio, newspapers, magazines and now childrenʼs books. Her first childrenʼs book – the award-winning Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egyptʼs Treasured Books – was published in 2012 in English and Arabic. It is the story of protesters who held hands around the library in Alexandria, Egypt, to protect it from vandals throwing rocks during the 2011 revolution. A new edition of Karenʼs picture book biography, Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words, will be published in early 2019. Karen is an active advocate for including people with disabilities, especially intellectual disabilities, in all of society. Karen is an active board member of Baltimore Luxor Alexandria Sister City Committee and Co-Chair of Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Chapter. In this capacity, Karen is leading and facilitating online discussions between sixth graders in Egypt and the U.S.A.

The Baltimore Luxor Alexandria (Egypt) Sister City Committee (baltimoreegypt.org) is facilitating online exchanges between children in Alexandria, Egypt, and the United States (Baltimore and Arlington). Sometimes the children have live conversations via Skype or Google Hangout. This fundraising will help provide technical support – high quality microphones and speakers – but will also enable us to use the secure Narrative Atlas platform provided by another nonprofit organization, MapWorks Learning (mapworkslearning.org). Students will be able to share artwork, essays and videos, create videos together and map their own communities. Eventually, they may work together to learn about and address some of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (undp.org) “The highest result of education is tolerance.”

The tomb ornaments in the New Kingdom were gorgeous, and at first Egyptologist believed the paintings to be Egyptian dreams and fancies. But once the Amduat (book about the underworld), was found the real meaning to Ancient Egyptian tomb paintings was discovered.

During the Eighteenth Dynasty the walls of the burial chamber, the columns, the anteroom, and the shaft spot were decorated. But by the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasty the entire tomb was decorated.

The procedure of the painting even changed from simply paint to raised, then to sunk relief painting.

The Amduat clarified the nightly voyage the sun god Ra took to the underworld on his barque. It was very important that the dead pharaoh participated in this quest, to become one with Ra and live for ever.

At this point in time, only pharaohs were believed to be able to go on to the afterlife. Typical Egyptians did not have that privilege.

Tomb designs typically illustrated the pharaoh’s journey with Ra. Hieroglyphs and images directly from the Amduat were decorated onto the walls of the kings’ tombs.

The Amduat helped explain tomb ornaments by explaining the sun god’s quest with the dead king. Specific phases of the twelve hours of night journey were painted around the pharaoh’s tomb.

Each hour Ra and the spirit of the dead king would come across some kind of friend or opposing forces. The primary purpose for the quest was to supply the names of particular gods and opposings forces to the dead pharaoh, so he might utilize them for help or call upon their name to defeat them.

The very first hour of the quest, the sunlight god travel west. In hours 2 and three, the sun god would pass through a water globe called Waters of Osiris.

In hour four, Ra would reach Sokar, the sandy realm of the underworld hawk god. Throughout the fifth hour Ra might arrive at Osiris’s tomb which was hidden beneath a lake of fire, and covered by a pyramid like mound, where Isis and Nephthys stood guard.

During the sixth hour, the ba of Ra united with the ba (soul) of Osiris. During this hour the sunshine god started his regrowth.

In the seventh hour, Apep, the enemy of the gods, laid in wait on a sandbank in the shape of a gigantic serpent. The snake would scoop the water of the underworld lake away from the boat to cease it from continuing on its journey.

Ancient Egyptians believed if the sunlight’s cycle was ever stopped, it would be the end of the world. Thus Apep is defeated by Ra (some variations point out Isis and Seth assistance in this struggle) and his body is depicted on the royal tombs as being cut into pieces.

In the eighth hour, Ra opened the doors of the tomb and left Sokar. He then rowed promptly back into the water for the ninth hour.

In the tenth hour the regrowth process continued with Ra immerging in the waters till the eleventh hour. Ra’s eyes were then totally regenerated (an indication of wellness). In the twelfth hour, Ra would rise in the east to prepare the new day’s sunshine.

During the Eighteenth Dynasty tomb decorations altered. King Horemheb’s tomb showed an additional book of the underworld was made use of, the Book of Gates.

Like the Amduat it displayed the night quest of the Ra on the solar barque. The difference was, the hours were not depicted. Instead an image of all the different gates the king had to go through were painted.

And at each gate Ra and the dead king would encounter a particular god or goddess.

The Book of Gates was meant for everyone, not merely royalty. The perspectives about Ancient Egyptians not having a soul had altered, and now they believed they were entitled to an afterlife.

In the Twentieth Dynasty, the Book of Caverns replaced the Amduat in tomb decorations. The Book of Caverns did not break out the twelve hours of Ra’s journey, as an alternative it was a much more comprehensive about the afterlife and their idea of hell.

Having driven the Hyksos eastwards out of Egypt, King Ahmose first sacked and then rebuilt their capital city, Avaris. His new Delta citadel included a fortified palace whose frescoed walls were decorated with vibrant bull-leaping scenes set against a maze-like background representing the bull-leaping ground. These scenes are so familiar to those found on the walls of the contemporary Minoan palace of Knosses, we must conclude that Ahmose employed Minoan artists. Bulls had religious significance in Egypt, where they associated with the solar cults, but bull-leaping and bull-grasping were purely Minoan rituals. So why had Ahmose – in all other respects a highly traditional Egyptian – chosen to decorate his northern palace in this outlandish foreign style? We have no idea, but some experts have suggested that he may have designed his palace to please a Minoan wife. This idea ties in well with an unexplained title held by the King’s Mother Ahhotep, ‘Mistress of the Shores of Hau-nebut’. Hau-nebut is an unknown land that may well be Crete. But there is as yet no more concrete evidence to support this theory, and some scholars believe Hau-nebut to have been a more generalized geographical term meaning the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

Ahmose married both his sisters (Ahmose-Nefertari and Ahmose-Nebta) and Ahmose-Nefertari became his consort. Even more influential than her redoubtable mother Ahhotep, Ahmose-Nefertari bore a string of titles including the now-standard ‘King’s Daughter, King’s Sister, and King’s Great Wife’, and the more unusual ‘God’s Wife of Amun’. The Donation Stela, recovered from the Karnak temple, tells us how Ahmose purchased the ‘Second Priesthood of Amun’ to endow his wife with a fund of lands, goods and male administrators, an endowment that was to be held by the queen and her descendants forever. A third, and entirely separate, religious position, the office of Divine Adoratrice, brought Ahmose-Nefertari even more independent wealth. This personal income allowed Ahmose-Nefertari to make an unprecedented series of ritual offerings throughout Egypt, and her name has been recorded in temples at Abydos, at Thebes, and at Serabit el-Khadim in Sinai, the last being a focus of Hathoric cult that would become particularly associated with 18th Dynasty royal woman.

Ahmose-Nefertari did not confine her influence to the religious sphere. Texts recovered from the Memphite limestone quarries, and from the Asyut alabaster quarries, record her name alongside that of Ahmose. When the king decided to build the Abydos cenotaph for his grandmother Tetisheri, he discussed his plans with his ‘companion’ first; his use of the word companion perhaps suggests that Ahmose-Nefertari is to be equated with the Egyptian goddess Maat, the constant companion of Ra and of all Egypt’s kings.

Ahmose-Nefertari gave birth to at least four sons and five daughters, five of whom died in infancy or childhood. Following the death of Ahmose she acted as regent for her young son, Amenhotep I. Later, following the death of his childless sister-wife Meritamun, she resumed the role of consort to support her son, playing an active role in the selection of Amenhotep’s adopted successor, Thuthmose I. Dying during Thutmose’s reign, she was buried in the Dra Abu el-Naga cemetery on the Theban west bank. Her mortuary temple stood close by, but is not almost completely destroyed.

Ahmose-Nefertari’s mummy, stored in an enormous coffin that also housed the body of the 20th Dynasty king Ramesses III, was recovered from the Deir el-Bahari mummy cache. Unwrapped by Emile Brugschin September 1885, her badly decomposed body smelt so unpleasant that it was hastily reburied in the museum grounds until the offensive aroma went away. Re-examination of her now odour-free, remains has shown that Ahmose-Nefertari died in her 70’s, an impressive age even by today’s standards. Her thinning hair had been augmented by a series of false plaits that would magically become real hair in the Afterlife, and she shared the family trait of buck teeth already seen in the mummy attributed to her grandmother, Tetisheri. Ahmose-Nefertari’s right hand wasmissing, presumably stolen by ancient thieves in search of jewelry.

Mother and son had become so closely linked that, after their deaths, both were deified as patrons of the state-owned west bank village of Deir el-Medina, the village built to house the workers involved in excavating and decorating the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings (and later the Valley of the Queens). Here Ahmose-Nefertari, now honored as a goddess of resurrection, ‘Mistress of the Sky’ and ‘Lady of the West’, would be worshiped until the end of the New Kingdom. Often, in this context, she was shown with the black skin that denoted fertility and rebirth rather than decay.

The ancient Egyptian civilization was one of the first and greatest civilizations on the whole world..and the fact that the ancient Egyptians had done many achievements which covered most sides of the human life, including the political and social improvements , as well, their advances in many scientific majors. Let’s talk now about what they have achieved in the science of astronomy.

The Egyptians were very interested in the stars and constellations and they gave much care for that exciting science. From the Middle Kingdom, constellations were often depicted on coffins as star clocks, showing the length of time stars were visible or invisible.

From the New Kingdom, ceilings of tombs and temples often displayed the constellation of stars. These constellations were the same as the ones we see today, but represented differently. For example, Orion was represented as a man turning his head and Ursa Major was represented as a bull’s foreleg. From the Middle Kingdom, the Egyptians were able to recognize five planets, known as stars that know no rest, which were often associated with Horus, the Egyptian god of the sky:

* Jupiter, known as Horus who limits the two lands

* Mars, known as Horus the red

* Mercury, known as Sebegu (a god associated with Seth)

* Saturn, known as Horus, bull of the sky

* Venus, known as god of the morning

The ancient Egyptians had used astronomy for many different practical sides..and one of their best achievements was setting the new year always to coincide with the rising of Sirius in mid-July and the annual flooding of the Nile.

Flooding was happening every year and at the same time. The ancient astronomers and priests, noticed that the flooding always occurred at the summer solstice, which also just happened to be when the bright star Sirius rose before the sun and so, they were able to predict the annual flooding, a skill which in turn rendered them considerable power. Then they divided the year into twelve months of 30 day, followed by a five day feast period.

In addition to this,..the Egyptians used astronomy in scheduling temple-building ceremonies, which relied on the visibility of the constellations we refer to now as the Great Bear and Orion… as well,..they could set the cardinal points for the orientation of the pyramids by observing the North Star. Finally, it is important to say that The stars were not used to predict the fate of humans in Egypt until the Ptolemaic period when the Greeks introduced astrology. The most famous zodiac in Egypt is on the ceiling at Denderah and dates to the first century AD. This zodiac displays all the familiar zodiac signs, including Leo, Aries, and Taurus.

Potato-leek soup recipe- Can be enjoyed hot or cold, though best enhanced by serving hot along with melted cheese over top!

Discover or distinguish leeks at your nearby grocery store, or a local farmers market The leek (porrum- plant having a large slender white bulb and flat overlapping dark green leaves), like the Welsh onion, forms only a cylindrical, instead of a rounded bulb. Entertain eating another vegetable related to our current-day onion.

Ever had a generous amount of potatoes on-hand, and at a loss for innovative ideas to create for making a new, different, yet delightful dish? I know that leeks are NOT the first vegetable to come to mind; though, please know, leeks when added with other vegetables and spices can really make a smooth, easy to digest soup when cooked and flavored properly.

Leeks are an uncommon vegetable; not regularly purchased or utilized for everyday cooking in America.

The history of leeks is said to possibly date back to Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt.

It is rumored that Egyptian Emperor Nero ate leeks- His believed that by eating leeks often, that he could improve the quality of his voice. It is not really clear what part of his voice he wanted to enhance, though voice enhancement is what he sought, no less.

HERE’S A SIMPLE, YET TASTY RECIPE FOR INCORPORATING LEEKS INTO YOUR POTATO SOUP, WITH ADDED CREAM AND SPICES- A HEARTY and DIFFERENT ADDITIVE TO EVERYDAY SOUP INGREDIENTS.

Suggested Ingredients;

One large stalk of leeks; cleaned and chopped discarding most of the bitter darker green parts, which are less tasty and more bitter, as well as cutting the roots and the parts that came directly from the ground.

sea salt —- 4 teaspoons

white pepper— 2 teaspoons

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

three cups of low-sodium beef, chicken or vegetable broth or stock

1 to 1/2 cups heavy cream or non-dairy cream of your choice, to taste-* Almond milk or coconut milk are also great alternatives to milk, or cream products.

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese topper; or Mozzarella cheese—- added at the end and sprinkled, sparingly in your individually served cup or soup bowl

3 to 4 starchy IDAHO potatoes

two stalks of celery, add the leaves too, full of powerful antioxidants and loaded with flavor when cooked in porridge, broth, soups or stews.

Begin:

Start by sauteing chopped leaks, and celery. Season with sea salt and white pepper let rest.

In another stock pot or pressure cooker, to save time, add your stock and more sea salt and sliced medium-sized potatoes, cutting in rounded slices for less cooking time. Add all ingredients and bring to a boil; let simmer an additional 20 minutes, do not over cook potatoes.

Upon cooked potato, leek, and celery mixture puree in an electric blender when blended to soup consistency return to stock pan and add heavy cream; cooking on medium-low heat.

Season with additional salt,and ground nutmeg finish by adding a teaspoon of smoky cumin.

Serve topped with Parmesan cheese or any other grated, rich cheese of your choice and top with dry parsley flakes for color! Serve with oyster crackers or sliced bread

The leek (porrum), like the Welsh onion, forms only a cylindrical instead of a rounded bulb. The leaf of the leek, however, is flattened and solid, while the leaf of the onion is cylindrical and hollow.

Leeks have been cultivated since at least 3000 BC, and they are native to the broad region stretching from Israel to India.

I enjoy learning from you and from others offering me knowledge continuously!

King Tutankhamun (King Tut) was the young Pharaoh who succeeded his father Akhenaten towards the end of the 18th Dynasty. During his short 9 year rule he restored Thebes (Luxor) as the Capital of Egypt and started the return of worship of Amon. Little was known of the King other that he came to a sudden end.

Egyptologists were not interested in finding his tomb as they assumed it would have poor content. At the time it was determined that that Valley of Kings had yielded all its’ tombs. Lord Carnarvon a wealthy Englishman thought differently and was convinced that there was an intact tomb.

Howard Carter, headed up Lord Carnarvon’s Team and worked dedicatedly for six seasons. Approximately 200,000 tons of rubble were moved, and Howard Carter was forced to accept that there were no more tombs to be found in the Valley of the Kings. There was one last remote possibility, the site immediately beneath the tomb of Ramses VI. It was covered with workmen’s huts and Carter had his men remove them.

In 1922 a doorway of a tomb was found at the bottom of some steps. The seals appeared to be intact and Lord Carnarvon was informed while preparations were made to open the tomb. When they entered the tomb it far exceeded their wildest dreams.

We can only imagine the awe and amazement on finding the treasures now found in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Lord Carnarvon attended the opening but never lived to see the full contents of the tomb. The death of Lord Carnarvon was attributed to ‘The Pharaoh’s curse – a sting from a mosquito.

The tomb was small but packed with furniture, statutes, jewelry and a wealth of treasures that where meant to be used by the King in his after life. Carter spent 10 years cataloging the contents and recorded 171 objects in the first room alone. When he made a small opening in the door of the tomb chamber, there appeared to be a solid wall of gold. It was an enormous gold gilded shrine with 3 other shrines layered inside. In the center was a stone sarcophagus and three mummy coffins. The one holding King Tut’s remains was solid gold and weighed 2,488.8 Ibs.

The mummy itself was covered in gold objects, bracelets, chains, collars, gold beads and necklets of precious and semi-precious stones, engraved scarabs and garlands of flowers. A solid gold mask covered the head. Only the inner mummy case, which contained the actual mummy of the Pharaoh has been left in the tomb itself. The rest of the treasures are now displayed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

The tomb is the smallest found in the Valley of the Kings the first chamber measuring 8 x 4 meters with bare walls. The small second annex contained containers for oils, baskets of fruit and seeds, wine jars and pottery, all decorated in alabaster, ebony, turquoise, gold, lapis-lazuli and Ivory. The walls in this chamber were also bare.

The burial chamber itself is the only one with decorated walls. The paintings of religious scenes and inscriptions are in excellent condition retaining the vivid colors of the days they were painted. There are full-length figures on three of the walls beneath a dark colored roof which represents the sky. The figures appear top heavy which is characteristic of the Amarna period. Another wall has representations from the Book of the Dead.

Why were there so many treasures in the young King’s Tomb and why did it appear that they were in total disorder rather than placed in a tidy pattern? This can be readily explained. Tutankhamun was the last of his family line and his tomb was filled with family treasures as well as his own. Many of the pieces were taken from the royal Temples of Tel El Amarna. For example the priceless royal throne on display in the Egyptian Museum shows King Tut being anointed by his wife with a background of the Sun God Aten, the symbol of his father Akhenaten’s heresy. Tutankhamun completely renounced his father’s teachings but carried the symbols to his grave with the artifacts left in his tomb.

Many of the glazed vases and sceptres clearly belonged to his father’s reign. Some of the funerary objects were proved to have been made for Semnekh-Ka-Ra, Akhenaten’s son-in-law and co-regent. This included one of the larger shrines, some of the mummy ornaments and the miniature canopic coffins.

This is a sign that the tomb was used in a hurry as a result of the King’s sudden death at a young age. It is clear the there was no time to finish the tomb. It is unlikely if it will ever be known exactly if the King died by accident or was murdered. It appears from forensics carried out that he likely died from a blow to the head.

If it is proven that the young Pharaoh was murdered, it raises another question as to who was guilty? Was it his tutor Eye, who probably married his wife after his death. Or was it General Haremhab (Horemheb) who wanted the throne and seized it from the blue-bloods at the beginning of the 19th Dynasty? We will likely never know.

There is considerable confusion amongst scholars as to who the first Egyptian Pharaoh was, who ruled over all of Egypt from his capital at Memphis. According to the kings list made a thousand years after his time, his name was Men, Meni or Mena. The reason for using different vowels is because in Egyptian writing vowels are not written (as at times in Arabic) and these have to be guessed. The Greek historian Mantheo of 200 BC who was known for developing meticulous historical records, called him Menes in Greek. That is the most popular way Mene is mentioned in modern literature. This pharaoh is the legendary king that came from the town of Tinis in Upper Egypt and took over Lower Egypt (the North) by force. He then became the first king over the whole country and founded a new capital for united Egypt – Memphis, just where the two states bordered on each other. According to archaeological dating this was around 3200 BC. For thousands of years, King Menes was thought to be the first king of Egypt. Ancient Egyptian records clearly identify him as the first king of the first dynasty.

However since then much else has been discovered by archeological findings that has led to some confusion. In the last decade of the 1900s the old royal tombs in Abydos were re-excavated. Two seal impressions were found from the tombs of Den and Qaa, the fifth and eighth ruler of the first dynasty. The motif was a line of kings in a successive order, and both had Narmer as the founder of the first dynasty. This record should be an authentic one since it comes from a time much before Menthos or even the Kings list. Most of all, it was prepared by the descendents of Narmer himself. Some scholars postulated that Menes and Narmer may be the same person. Was it really so? The matter requires further enquiry. The seal impressions of Den and Qaa describe the kings of the first dynasty as:

Narmer,

Aha,

Djer,

Djet,

Den

Thus it is clear that Aha was the son and successor of Narmer. King Aha, on the other hand, was the first pharaoh who built monuments of substance over the whole country, and his large tomb constructions (with buried retainers for the first time) were in dimensions that far overshadowed his predecessors including Narmer his father. He has also left a written sign interpreted as the name “Mene” written beside his ordinary name on one occasion. This at once indicates that he is the same as king Mene (or its Greek form Menes). Thus available evidence indicates that it was Aha and Menes who were one and the same person and not Narmer and Menes.

Confusion may have arisen in interpreting historic records because both Narmer (Also known popularly as the scorpion King) and Menes together united Upper and Lower Egypt. The credit of unification would go to Narmer as the father and this is indeed supported by a later archeological find the -Narmer Palette. Menes or Aha on the other hand was the first king to build substantial monuments in Egypt and may have been regarded by many as the first real Pharaoh of Egypt, thus leading to the confusion.

Narmer’s Palette found at the temple of Hierakonpolis shows that behind the king is his sandal-bearer, a high dignitary, possibly his son, who is identified by a rosette (seven petalled) the divine or royal emblem. This son is likely to be the legendary Menes who accompanied Narmer in the conquests. Both may have ruled different parts of Egypt together for a period after the conquest with the younger Menes focusing more on the building of a new Capital at Memphis. Thus it may be concluded that Narmer was the first king of united Egypt and his son Menes the first king that ruled over all of Egypt from Memphis. After the establishment of dynastic rule in Egypt, the villages of Egypt were transformed from members of a loosely organized society in which autonomous chieftains and merchants played the most significant roles, to one under the centralized control of an imperial king.

The kings list of later dynasties appears to have focused on listing the kings of Memphis and thus correctly listed Menes as the first king to rule from that capital, ignoring the father who affected the unification. The second dynasty of Egypt had different roots from the first one. When they came to power they replaced the falcon symbol of the first dynasty by the symbol of a dog. The descendents of Narmer himself would not however ignore their ancestor in developing their own list of kings and listed Narmer as the first king.