Tag: Egypt

The Ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt

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The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the original 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. Standing more than 350’ tall, the Lighthouse of Alexandria and was clearly observable to passing ships sailing up to 50 kilometers away. Originally built in 280 B.C., after guiding ships into the port and city of Alexandria for 15 centuries, the Lighthouse of Alexandria collapsed in 1323 due to a series of earthquakes which leveled the structure and caused it to tumble into the Mediterranean Sea. The Citadel of Qaitbay (pronounced “kate-bay”), a 500 year old fortress, now sits at the site of the once standing lighthouse with many of the stones within this structure, pieces of the original Lighthouse of Alexandria, installed after being dredged up from the ocean floor. Although the Lighthouse of Alexandria was originally designed to safely bring ships into the port of Alexandria, the Citadel of Qaitbay acted in opposition as a repellent centuries later, designed to keep enemies (e.g. Ottoman Turks) out of Egypt. No ship was permitted the privilege of docking in the Alexandria harbor without forfeiting all books on board for a short period of time until they could be translated and/or copied outright by scribes

The Unfortunate Events Which Lead to the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Burial Site

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In 1890, Lord Howard Carter took the reigns of the Highclere estate but was rapidly running short of funds. Carter married the daughter of the wealthy banking merchant Alfred de Rothschild. de Rothschild’s daughter Almina came with an $800,000 dowry and Rothschild himself agreed to pay the castles debts of $200,000. Carter loved the invention of the automobile and favored driving as fast as he could. Carter had an accident in Germany and barely fully recovered. Carters physicians suggested he stay in a warm, dry climate which is what prompted him to visit Egypt. Carter eventually ended up bankrolling the discovery of Egypt’s most famous ancient tomb, the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Carter died 4 months after the discovery due to septicemia after being bitten by a mosquito whilst sitting upon the fringe of the Nile River. Media reports sensationalized this story as a curse due to the fact that as Carter laid dying in Egypt, his dog Susie howled and died at the exact same instant all the way back in England on the Highclere estate

Napoléon Bonaparte’s Erroneous Assumption of Civilization and His Campaign Into Egypt

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Prior to the development of the methods and tools used for scientific analysis, many Europeans regarded Egypt as the birthplace of civilization. This meant that Napoléon Bonaparte was free to invade Egypt because the French people viewed his campaign as a way of leading themselves back to the source of their roots. Bonaparte did not only bring soldiers, he also brought scholars who were tasked to observe and record the knowledge gained while in Egypt. This acquisition of knowledge made information about Egypt available to the public through books filled with illustrations and writing about Egyptian culture, its people, and its landmarks. Elements of Egyptian culture started to work their way into European culture and even reach out west as far as the new colonies of the United States of America, with examples like the pyramid on the back of U.S. currency and the obelisk shaped Washington Monument in Washington D.C., United States of America. Bonaparte’s campaign was the most significant European foray into the Islamic world since the Crusades

Ancient Egyptian Influence Upon Europe

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Prior to the development of the methods and tools used for scientific analysis, many Europeans regarded Egypt as the birthplace of civilization. This meant that Napoléon Bonaparte was free to invade Egypt because the French people viewed his campaigns as a way of leading themselves back to the source of their roots. Bonaparte did not only bring soldiers, he also brought scholars who would observe and record the knowledge gained while in Egypt. This acquisition of knowledge made information about Egypt available to the public through books filled with illustrations and writing about Egyptian culture, its people, and its landmarks. Elements of ancient Egypt started to work their way into European culture and even reach out west as far as the new colonies of the United States of America, with examples like the pyramid on the back of U.S. currency and the obelisk Washington Monument in Washington D.C.. Bonaparte’s campaign was the most significant European foray into the Islamic world since the Crusades

Ancient Glass Manufacturing

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India has been making glass for over 3000 years. Pliny the Elder who was an Ancient Roman historian, states that the first glass was created near Syria around 5000 B.C. While this may be true, the earliest archaeological evidence of human made glass dates back to around 3500 B.C. in Eastern Mesopotamia and Egypt

Camels Not Being Indigenous in the Middle East

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Camels originally inhabited North America, not the Middle East. Radiometric dating has allowed archeologists to approximate the arrival of the camel to the Middle East which was confirmed to be 930 B.C., which was long after their first appearance in literature like the Bible. Scientists now think the Bible was written up to 500 years after the authors who originally wrote it claimed it to be. Camels were brought to the Middle East as the Egyptians recognized a bustling copper trade and needed a way to import and export copper quickly and cost effectively