The Bent Pyramid
Definition:
The Bent Pyramid is one of the Old Kingdom Pyramids at Giza, Egypt; built in the 4th Dynasty, 2680-2565 B.C. for the 4th dynasty pharaoh, Sneferu.
The pyramid is called "bent" because it changes angles at about 2/3 of the way to the top. To be precise, the lower 165 feet of the pyramid's shape is angled at 54 degrees, 31 minutes, at which point it abruptly flattens out to 43 degrees, 21 minutes.
Sneferu began his pyramid, but far too steeply, at an original angle of 60 degrees, and intended it to go to over 400 feet in height. John Romer speculates that while men were working inside the pyramid, ominous groans and cracks began to be heard. They stopped work on it, and built the Red Pyramid before returning to the Bent Pyramid, buttressing up its lower courses and adding the crown.
Lisht
Definition: Lisht was the capital city of Amenemhet I, in the early 12th dynasty, Middle Kingdom Egypt. Amenemhet I is credited with the revival of the pyramid building during the Middle Kingdom, and his pyramid and that of his son Sesotris I, are both found here (albeit nearly destroyed); as is the Middle Kingdom town called Itytawi.
Abu Ghurab
is a 5th dynasty (Old Kingdom, 2465-2323 BC) Egyptian pyramid and solar temple complex on the Saqqara plateau. There were probably as many as five or six tombs here, but only two survive, one built by the first 5th dynasty Pharaoh Userkaf (ruled 2465-2458 BC), and one built by the Pharaoh Niuserre (ruled 2416-2392 BC, who also built a pyramid at Abu Sir).
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is a temple built by Ramesses II (Pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of the Egyptian New Kingdom, who ruled 1279-1213 BC) in Nubia, what is now in Egypt near the border of Sudan. It was investigated by James Breasted at Chicago's Oriental Institute.
Originally carved into and out of the sandstone cliffs of the Nile River, the site was threatened in the 1960s when the Aswan Dam was proposed; and in an amazing feat of engineering technology, the temple was cut out of the rock, lifted above the floodplain, and rebuilt in an appropriate location for preservation.
Abydos
Abydos (known as Abdju to the ancient Egyptians) is an Early Dynastic city and necropolis located on the edge of the desert on the west bank of the Nile River in Egypt. It was one of the earliest pharaonic cemeteries in Egypt, beginning with the Old Kingdom rulers about 3000 BC. One early temple at Abydos was dedicated to the god Khentiamentiu (later merged with Osiris).
A fleet of 14 mud-brick boat graves was discovered at Abydos. These date to the Old Kingdom, and as such are the earliest boat-burials discovered in Upper Egypt. One grave has been completely excavated, and it included a wooden boat made of local tamarisk, lashed together and covered with white plaster and painted dark yellow. Also identified at Abydos are donkey burials, evidence of the importance of these animals to predynastic cultures.
The site also included a temple of the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Senwosret III, built about 1850 BC, and dismantled after 1500 BC. Later, the New Kingdom pharaoh Seti I also built a mortuary temple at Abydos sacred to Osiris; that is the large temple visitors can see today.
Amarna
Amarna is the modern name given to the capital city of Akhetaten (or Ahknaten), the heretic pharaoh of the 18th Egyptian dynasty, built about 1350 BC and abandoned at his death 20 years later.
First surveyed (and mapped) by Napoleon Bonaparte's 1798 expedition, Amarna was first excavated in the late 19th century, and is currently being investigated by the Egypt Exploration Society and the McDonald Institute at Cambridge. Amarna is also the name given to the period
In Egypt when Akhenaten reinvented the Egyptian religion.
Deir el-Medina
Deir el-Medina is a New Kingdom (18th-20th dynasty) residential village of the workmen who built and decorated Egyptian tombs in the Valley of the Kings. The town, first laid out under the Pharaoh Tuthmosis I (ca 1504-1492 BC), lay between the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, and was used by most of the New Kingdom pharaohs with the exception of the heretic Ahkenaten, whose tomb builders were from Amarna.
Excavations at the site have revealed about 70 houses along a winding road and a few short alleys, and a cemetery. Found within the cemetery and site was a large library of written documents, religious texts, poetry, economic transactions, work journals and recipes, in the form of papyrus, ostraca, graffiti and carved stone stele.
The written record at Deir el-Medina include such details of the work as how many workmen were assigned to a tomb, the length of the work week, and what to do if they finished a tomb before the pharaoh died--they were set to work on the tomb for the pharaoh's queens and children. They also contain personal writings, such as complaints about the scribe Qenherkhepeshef, known to have worked for Ramses II (Ramses the Great), and descriptions of what may have been the first workers' strike in history.
The pyramid texts
The pyramid texts are among the oldest religious writings in the world, consisting of spells found carved on the walls of several Egyptian tombs at Saqqara and likely dated to the Old Kingdom or First Intermediate Period (late 5th or early 6th dynasty, about 2435 BC). These are fragments of what was later to be collected as the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Ramesseum
The Ramesseum is a massive temple built by the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II during his New Kingdom reign (1279-1213 BC). He built this magnificent structure in Thebes too close to the Nile, and it has suffered serious damage in the intervening millennia since its construction.
Saqqara
The Saqqara plateau is a flat desert landform close to the modern town of Saqqara, Egypt. Located on the plateau are many mastabas, temples and tombs, two of the most famous being Djoser's Step Pyramid and Gisr el-Mudir. The Saqqara plateau was first used by pharaohs by the second Dynasty.
In 2008, a new pyramid was discovered at Saqqara, part of the complex of the family tombs of Teti the first.
Serabit el-Khadem
The archaeological site of Serabit el-Khadem is on the Sinai peninsula, on a small plateau north of the modern town of al-Tor. The site is famous for its enormous turquoise mines, exploited by the Egyptians during the Old Kingdom for use in sculpting scarabs and in powdered form as paint and faience enamel.
Serabit el-Khadem is also the site of Hathor's Temple, dated to the 12th Dynasty. Petrie excavated at the site in the first decade of the 20th century, and there he found evidence of the first earliest alphabetic inscriptions called proto-Sinaitic script, recording the names of Semitic workers and labor.
Step Pyramid
The Step Pyramid of the Old Kingdom pharaoh Djoser [ruled about 2668-2649 BC] was the very first of any of the pyramids built in Egypt, built during the Old Kingdom's 3rd Dynasty. The pyramid and its related buildings are located at Saqqara; the pyramid itself is 254 feet tall, with seven steps.
Djoser's tomb, as is the case with most other pyramids, is located deep beneath the pyramid, about 95 feet below the present day surface. Several vividly painted walls were inlaid with blue tiles. When the site was excavated in 1934 by Jean-Philippe Lauer, he found a mummified left foot, believed to be all that is left of Djoser.
The Step Pyramid is said to have been built for Djoser by that master architect and ancient Egyptian legend, Imhotep, although that may be a misinterpretation of the data. Nonetheless, Imhotep has certainly gained a long-lived reputation.
Thebes
The Egyptian Middle and New Kingdom capital of Thebes, in the modern town of Luxor Egypt, was first occupied during the Old Kingdom. It first grew to prominence in the Middle Kingdom, between 2025-1700 BC as the home city of ruling pharaohs such as Mentuhotep I.
The oldest standing building remains are pieces of the temple at Karnak, built in the Middle Kingdom; most of the remaining structures were built during the 18th Dynasty New Kingdom, during its heyday.
Avaris
Avaris was located near modern Tell el-Dab'a in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta.As the main course of the Nile migrated eastward and the delta sedimented up and moved with the river its position at the hub of Egypt's delta emporia made it a major administrative capital of the Hyksos "Phoenician kings" and other traders. From c 1783-1550 BC or from the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt through the second intermediate until its destruction by Kamose brought to a close the Seventeenth dynasty Avaris brought a little bit of Canaan home to Egypt. After being abandoned for most of the Eighteenth dynasty a royal summer residence for Ramesses II was built nearby during the Nineteenth dynasty.
The site at Tell el-Dab'a, covering an area of about 2 square kilometers, is in ruins today but excavations have shown that at one point it was a well-developed center of trade with a busy harbour catering to over 300 ships during a trading season. Artifacts excavated at a temple erected in the Hyksos period have produced goods from all over the Aegean world. The temple even has Minoan-like wall paintings that are similar to those found on Crete at the Palace of Knossos. A large mudbrick tomb has also been excavated to the west of the temple where grave-goods, such as copper swords, have been found.
Towards the end of the Seventeenth dynasty, Kamose, the last king of theSeventeenth dynasty, captured Avaris just before the Hyksos were finally expelled from Egypt, by Ahmose the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt after a water-borne siege. The Hyksos capital was razed to the ground in the aftermath of the Egyptian triumph. Avaris was abandoned after the Hyksos expulsion throughout most of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. In the Nineteenth dynasty, Ramesses built a palace nearby. Evidence has also been unearthed in Avaris that shows contact between early Mediterranean civilizations.
Badari
The Badarian culture provides the earliest direct evidence of agriculture in Upper Egypt. It flourished between 4500 to 3250 BCE, and might have already existed as far back as 5000 BCE. It was first identified in El-Badari, Asyut.
About forty settlements and six hundred graves have been located. Social stratification has been inferred from the burying of more prosperous members of the community in a different part of the cemetery. The Badarian economy was mostly based on agriculture, fishing and animal husbandry. Tools included end-scrapers, perforators, axes, bifacial sickles and concave-base arrowheads. Remains of cattle, dogs and sheep were found in the cemeteries. Wheat, barley, lentils and tubers were consumed.
The culture is known largely from cemeteries in the low desert. The deceased were placed on mats and buried in pits with their heads usually laid to the south, looking west. The pottery that was buried with them is the most characteristic element of the Badarian culture. It had been given a distinctive, decorative rippled surface.
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa (meaning 'Mound of shards' or 'Potsherds') is a historical archaeological site located in Alexandria, Egypt.
The necropolis consists of a series of Alexandrian tombs, statues and archaeological objects of the Pharaonic funeral cult with Hellenistic and early Imperial Roman influences. Due to the time period, many of the features of the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa merge both Roman, Greek and Egyptian cultural points; some statues are Egyptian in style, yet bear Roman clothes and hair style whilst other features share a similar style. A circular staircase, which was often used to transport deceased bodies down the middle of it, leads down into the tombs that were tunneled into the bedrock during the age of the Antonine emperors (2nd century AD). The facility was then used as a burial chamber from the 2nd century to the 4th century, before being rediscovered in 1900 when a donkey accidentally fell into the access shaft. To date, three sarcophagi have been found, along with other human and animal remains which were added later. It is believed that the catacombs were only intended for a single family, but it is unclear why the site was expanded in order to house numerous other individuals. The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa is, according to some lists, also one of the seven medieval wonders of the world. One of the more gruesome features of the catacombs is the so called Hall of Caracalla. According to tradition, this is a mass burial chamber for the humans and animals massacred by order of the Emperor Caracalla.
Dendera Temple complex
(Ancient Egyptian: Iunet or Tantere)(19th century English spelling in most sources, including Belzoni was Tentyra). located about 2.5 km south-east of Dendera, Egypt. It is one of the best preserved complexes in Egypt. The area was used as the sixth Nome of Upper Egypt, south of Abydos.
Kom Ombo
is an agricultural town in Egypt famous for the Temple of Kom Ombo. It was originally an Egyptian city called Nubt, meaning City of Gold (not to be confused with the city north of Naqada that was also called Nubt/Ombos). It became a Greek settlement during the Greco-Roman Period. The town's location on the Nile 50 km north of Aswan (Syene) gave it some control over trade routes from Nubia to the Nile Valley, but its main rise to prominence came with the erection of the temple in the 2nd century BC.
Memphis
The Open Air Museum at Memphis is one of the “must see” sites in Egypt! The trip from Cairo only takes 45 minutes, it is only 20Km to the south.
Founded in the 1st Dynasty (3100 B.C) by King Narmar, Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt, and the first capital city founded after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. It remained as the capital of Ancient Egypt throughout the Old Kingdom. Because of the many necropolises associated with Memphis, many Egyptologists believe that it was once an extremely large city, though no archaeological evidence proves this, at present!
The name of Memphis is derived from the Ancient Egyptian name called Min-Nefer, which the Greeks later called Memphis. Today it is the location of a local village called Mit Rahina. Excavation, of the site of Memphis, has continued for the last 200 years.
The local God of Memphis was called Ptah, who was the God of creation and workmen, and he was worshiped with his wife, the Goddess Sekhmet and their son, the God Nefer-Tom.
Nothing much remains from ancient Memphis, except some monuments from the New Kingdom and later periods. Nearby Sakkara (as well as Dashur and others) was associated with Memphis, as it was the site of one its many necropolises.
Today, in Memphis, you will see an open air Museum, which amongst other artifacts exhibits a limestone colossus of King Ramses II.
The Valley of the Queens
The Valley of the Queens, also known as Biban el-Harim is a place in Egypt where wives of Pharaohs were buried in ancient times. In ancient times, it was known as Ta-Set-Neferu, meaning –‘the place of the Children of the Pharaoh’, because along with the Queens of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties (1550–1070 BCE) many princes and princesses were also buried with various members of the nobility. The tombs of these individuals were maintained by mortuary priests who performed daily rituals and provided offerings and prayers for the deceased nobility.
The valley is located near the better known Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile across from Thebes (modern Luxor) . This barren area in the western hills was chosen due to its relative isolation and proximity to the capital. The kings of the 18th dynasty, instead of the traditional building of pyramids as burial chambers (perhaps because of their vulnerability to tomb robbers), now chose to be buried in rock-cut tombs.
This necropolis is said to hold more than seventy tombs, many of which are stylish and lavishly decorated. An example of this is the resting place carved out of the rock for Queen Nefertari (1290–1224 BCE) of the 19th Dynasty. The polychrome reliefs in her tomb are still intact.
Beni Hasan
Beni Hasan is a cemetery site located in the region known as Middle Egypt, which is the area between Asyut and Memphis.While there are some Old Kingdom burials at the site, it was primarily used during the Middle Kingdom period which spanned from 2040 to 1640 BCE.To the south of the cemetery is Speos Artemidos (also known as Istabl Antar) a rock cut temple, built by Hatshepsut, dedicated to the local goddess Pakhet.Provincial governors in the Middle Kingdom continued to be buried in decorated rock-cut tombs in their local cemeteries, carried over from the First Intermediate Period, at sites such as Beni Hasan.There is evidence of a re-organization of the system of government during the 12th Dynasty. During the First Intermediate Period and for some of the Middle Kingdom period it was common for Nomarchs (someone who oversees/controls a government specified area) to be hereditary positions; the elite did not depend on the king to legitimize their power as much as they had in the Old Kingdom. In the 12th Dynasty the power of the Nomarchs began to be curtailed, provincial governors were appointed or at least confirmed by the king.
There are 39 ancient tombs here of Middle Kingdom (ca. 21st to 19th centuries BC) nomarchs of the Oryx nome, who governed from Hebenu. Due to the quality of, and distance to the cliffs in the west, these tombs were constructed on the east bank.There is a spatial distribution in this cemetery (there are two cemeteries here: the upper range and the lower necropolis) associated with the different levels of resources available to the deceased; the most important people were buried near the top of the cliff.In the lower cemetery there are 888 shaft tombs, dating to the Middle Kingdom, that were excavated by John Garstang; for the most part these tombs shared a similar general design which included a small chamber or recess at the foot of the shaft (facing south) to receive the coffin and the funeral deposits.In the upper cemetery members of the elite class built striking tombs to represent their social and political positions as the rulers and officials of the Oryx Nome, which is the 16th Nome of Upper Egypt. At this site, the provincial high elite were buried in large and elaborately decorated tombs carved into the limestone cliffs near the provincial capital, located in the upper cemetery area. These tombs lie in a row on a north-south axis. There is a slight break in the natural rock terrace, on to which they open, that divides the thirty-nine high status tombs into two groups.The basic design of these elite tombs was an outer court and a rock-cut pillared room (sometimes referred to as the chapel) in which there was a shaft that led to the burial chamber. Some of the larger tombs have biographical inscriptions and were painted with scenes of daily life and warfare. Today, many of these scenes are in poor condition; luckily, in the 19th century copies were made of several of them.
Babylon Fortress
was an ancient fortress city or castle in the Delta of Egypt, located at Babylon in the area today known as Coptic Cairo. It was situated in the Heliopolite Nome, upon the right (eastern) bank of the Nile, near the commencement of the Pharaonic Canal (also called Ptolemy's Canal and Trajan's Canal), from the Nile to the Red Sea.
It was at the boundary between Lower and Middle Egypt, where the river craft paid tolls when ascending or descending the Nile. Diodorus ascribes the erection of the first fort to rebel Assyrian captives in the reign of Sesostris, and Ctesias (Persica) dates it to the time of Semiramis; but Josephus with greater probability, attributes its structure to some Babylonian followers of Cambyses, in 525 BC. The Romans built a new fortress with typically Roman red and white banded masonry nearer to the river.
The Fort of Babylon contains several of the Copts' oldest churches , which are built into or on its walls. These include El-Muallaqa (the Hanging Church) and the Greek Church of St. George. A number of other Coptic churches are nearby. The area is called Old, or Coptic Cairo (Masr el Atika), for this is indeed the oldest part of the city, and the remains of the fort are Cairo proper's oldest original structure. Indeed, Cairo owes its existence to this fort.[citation needed]
The fort is also known as Qasr el Shamee or the candles palace as the towers of the fort were adorned with illuminated candles at the beginning of every month, thus people could follow the movement of the sun from one tower to another. Six Coptic churches, a convent and the Coptic Museum are actually within the enclosure of the fortress.
Mosque of Amr Ibn Al As
Mosque of Amr Ibn Al-As is the first mosque built in Egypt and Africa and It was constructed by Amr Ibn Al-As in 642 AD.
Amr was the Arab general who conquest Egypt to fight against the Roman and He was hailed by the Copts as a liberator. Then he was appointed governor by the Caliph. Amr founded a new capital instead of Alexandria, and that was Al Fustat.
In he center of Al Futat was the mosque which later on was named “The Mosque of Amr” It was surrounded by the plans and houses of Al Fustat. Originally the mosque was overlooking the Nile from the Northwest side .
The mosque was called “the Crown of the Mosques” and the Antique Mosque. In fact the actual features of the mosque are very different of his first ancient aspect. Many reconstructions, and restorations took place since the time of its foundation till now to be resulted in its actual. The mosque was built in a shape of rectangular low shed of wood and palm leaves supported on columns of palm stems, stones and mud bricks while the floor was covered with gravel. That first simple mosque measures about 29 m. in length and 17 m. in width.
Since the time of the foundation of the mosque many additions and extensions took place, but the most important one was made by the governor Abudllah Ibn Taher during the reign of Caliph Al Mamoun in the 9th century . He extended the mosque adding a new area at the S.W side and that extension was the last one. Thus at that time the mosque measures 120 m. in length and 112 m. in width, and that represents the actual area of the mosque. At the end of the Fatimid period, the mosque was ruined as a result of Al Fustat Fire which took place in 1175 AD. When Al Fustat was burnt by Shawer, the Vizier of the Fatimid Caliph Al Adid, to prevent the crusaders from invading Al Fustat , and that fire continued 54 days.Therefore Saladin rebuilt it and renovated it in 1179 AD. Just before the arrival of the French Expedition to Egypt Mourad Bey one of the Mameluke leaders in the end of the 18th century demolished the mosque and rebuilt it in 1796 AD. Mourad Bey changed the Iwan and the courtyard replacing the seven rows of coumns in the quibla liwan with 6 ones and changing the bays to be perpendicular to the quibla wall instead of being parallel to it. Most probably he built the remaining minarets, one above the right entrance in the façade and the other is situated above the right end of the quibla wall. He renovated the ceiling, and covered the floor with mats and provided the mosque with candelabras. Also he made 4 foundation tablets still existing, bearing poetic verses praising and dating his achievements. One of this tablets is fixed to the quibla wall to the left of the Mihrab.
In 1906 during the reign of khedive Abbas Helmy II, the mosque was restored entirely. These works were achieved by the Arab Antiquities Preservation committee.
At the Southern corner of the quibla Riwaq there is a Mausoleum below a dome, Perhaps it belongs to Abdulla the son of Amr, some Historians cant confirm that, they believe that no honorable figure was buried in that Mausoleum.
One of the most remarkable facts about that mosque, that it was not only a place for prayer but also a very important kind of university 600 years before the foundation of Al Azhar mosque in Cairo.
It was the place where lesson circles and religious lectures were held. One of the most important Religious professors and Imams who taught in this mosque, was the Mohamed Ibn Idris Al Shafi’.Finally we should mention that in the Western addition (Ziada) there was used as a court of low and many trials were held.
Mosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulun
Ahmed Ibn Tulun ( 263-265 A.H ), born about 835 A.D, he is one of the Turkish commanders in Samarra in Iraqu. He receives his military and theologicalMosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulun training in Samarra and Tarsus .His intelligence and courage attracted the attention of the Khalif and in 868 A.D he made proxy for his step-father Bakabak’s governorship of Egypt.
He established himself as an independent ruler for the Province. An abortive attempt to remove him encouraged Ahmed to attach Syria.
Ahmed Ibn Tulun founded a new Capital called Alqatai around the hill of Gabal Yashkur , to the NE of Al Fustat,razing the Christian and the Jewish cemetery that was located in that area.
The site chosen for his mosque was an outcrop of rock called Gabal Yashkur. Is It situated in sharia Al Saliba.
1-It is the oldest intact functioning Islamic monument in Cairo. It is considered the 3rd mosque which was constructed for the whole community or the congregation joined together for the Friday noon prayer.
2- It is also rare preserved example of the art and the architecture of the classical period of Islam.
It is one of the biggest mosques in Egypt. The mosque together with the ziyada occupies an area of 6.5 acres.
Sultan Hassan Madrassa and Mosque
This is one of the extraordinarily wonderful Islamic Monuments In the Islamic World. If Ancient Egypt is proud of the Pyramids of Giza, Islamic Egypt has to be proud of the Sultan Hassan Madrassa. The founder of this gigantic monument is the Sultan Hassan, son of the great Mamluke Sultan Al-Nasser Mohamed Ibn Qalawoun. Sultan Hassan ruled twice, the first time in 1347, when he was 13 years old, only to be dethroned by the other Mamluke princes and generals. The second time was in 1356A.D, and before he had time to put an end to the power of the princes and high officials, they revolted against him, and the chief of the army with other generals attacked him. It said that he escaped from the Citadel and hid in Cairo; but he was found and imprisoned, never to be seen again! Most probably he was murdered 16 years after hishassan mosque ascension to the throne. Either way, he left 10 sons and 6 daughters.
The Sultan Hassan gave order for the construction of this Madrassa to be under the supervision of Prince Mohamed Ibn Baylik Al-Muhssani in 1361A.D, and the work continued for 4 years. The Mosque was almost complete when Sultan Hassan disappeared or was killed. It was finished by one of his functionaries whose name was Bashir Al-Gamdar. The site of the Madrassa was previously known as Souk Al-Khayl or the Horses Market. The Madrassa was built of stones, but some internal parts and details were built of bricks, faced with stones.
The Madrassa-Mosque was built according to the cruciform, an open courtyard surrounded by 4 iwans. It contains 4 Madrassas or religious schools and is 7,906 square metres big. It is very distinguishable due to its many sides. It has 4 façades, the most important being the 2 main façades.
The most remarkable façade is the northeast one. It is 145m long and 38m tall! Its shear wall has 4 pairs of windows set vertically, and at the top of the wall is a massive cornice of 5 layers of stalactites, projecting about 1.5m.
The Qaitbay Citadel In Alexandria
The Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria is considered one of the most important defensive strongholds, not only in Egypt, but also along the Mediterranean Sea coast. It formulated an important part of the fortification system of Alexandria in the 15th century A.D.
The Citadel is situated at the entrance of the eastern harbour on the eastern point of the PharosQaitbay Citadel Island. It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The lighthouse continued to function until the time of the Arab conquest, then several disasters occurred and the shape of the lighthouse was changed to some extent, but it still continued to function. Restoration began in the period of Ahmed Ibn Tulun (about 880 A.D). During the 11th century an earthquake occurred, causing damage to the octagonal part. The bottom survived, but it could only serve as a watchtower, and a small Mosque was built on the top. In the 14th century there was a very destructive earthquake and the whole building was completely destroyed.
About 1480 A.D, the Mameluke Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay fortified the place as part of his coastal defensive edifices against the Turks, who were threatening Egypt at that time. He built the castle and placed a Mosque inside it. The Citadel continued to function during most of the Mameluke period, the Ottoman period and the Modern period, but after the British bombardment of the city of Alexandria in 1883, it was kept out of the spotlight. It became neglected until the 20th century, when it was restored several times by the Egyptian Supreme Counsel of Antiquities.
The founder of the Citadel of Qaitbay is Sultan Al-Ashraf Abou Anasr Saif El-Din Qaitbay El-Jerkasy Al-Zahiry (1468-1496 A.D) who was born about 1423 A.D (826 H). He was a Mamluke who had come to Egypt as a young man, less than 20 years old. Bought by Al-Ashraf Bersbay, he remained among his attendants until Al-Ashraf Bersbay died. Then the Sultan Djaqmaq bought Qaitbay, and later gave him his freedom. Qaitbay then went on to occupy various posts. He became the Chief of the Army (Atabec Al-Askar) during the rule of the Sultan Tamar bugha. When the Sultan was dethroned, Qaitbay was appointed as a Sultan who was titled Almalek Al-Ashraf on Monday 26th Ragab, 872 H. (1468 A.D). He was one of the most important and prominent Mameluke Sultans, ruling for about 29 years. He was a brave king, who tried to initiate a new era with the Ottomans by exchanging embassies and gifts. He was fond of travel and made many prominent journeys.
(Pompey’s Pillar)
The so-called “Pompey Pillar” is the biggest memorial column in Egypt. It is a huge column of red granite, its total height is about 28 m with a diameter at the base of 2.7 m, and towards the capital at the top it tapers to 2.3 m.
On the upper part at the western side is an inscription in Greek, which reads:
“To the most just Emperor, tutelary of Alexandria Diocletian, the invincible, Postumus, the Prefect of Egypt (has erected this monument)”.
The Roman ruler of Egypt, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, erected this memorial column between 284-305A.D in honour of the Roman Emperor, as a sign of gratitude. A serious revolt in the city took place and Diocletian came himself, ordering the city to be besieged. After 8 months of resistance, the city finally surrendered. As a result of the siege, there was famine in the city; therefore the Emperor ordered that a portion of the corn, which was sent to Rome annually, be given to the people of Alexandria. He exempted them from paying taxes during these hard times. For that they erected, in his honour, this memorial column. In the middle ages the Crusaders believed, mistakenly, that the ashes, or the remains, of the great Roman general Pompey were in a pot at the top of the column. Thus today it is called “Pompey’s Pillar”.
Around the commemorative Column of Diocletian there are some monuments that can be seen. On the backside, there is the remains of a Serapium, or a temple of the God Serapis, now badly damaged. It was built during the reigns of Ptolemy II and Ptolemy III, but was damaged due to the revolts of the Jewish population in Alexandria, during the reign of the Emperor Trajan (89-118 A.D). It was rebuilt again during the reign of Hadrian (117-137 A.D). It was likely was destroyed, once more, after the appearance of Christianity. It consisted mainly of a high platform accessed by a staircase of 100 steps.
At the side of the platform there was a basin, which was used for purification. There were 2 galleries at the back of the temple, cut completely into the rock.
In the 1st gallery a black statue of basalt, dating back to the reign of Hadrian, was discovered. It represents the God Serapis, in a shape of a bull, and it is now exhibited in the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria. The 2nd gallery is known mistakenly as the Daughter Library, but it seems that it was an Anubidiun, or a burial for the mummies of Anubis, which was considered until the a reign of Ptolemy IV, a member of the Pantheon of Alexandria.
The Hanging Church
The Hanging Church is considered the oldest church in the area of Al-Fustat
It is known as Al-Muallaka (the hanging) because it was built on the ruins of two old towers that remained from an old fortress called the Fortress of Babylon. It was dedicated to The Virgin Mary and St. Dimiana.
It dates back to the end of the 3rd Century A.D and the beginning of the 4th Century A.D, but it has been reconstructed and renovated several times since. Some historians believe that it was built earlier, and it might have been a Roman Temple that was later converted to a Roman Church, and at a later date still, it became a Coptic Church. This was proved by the discovery, in 1984, of the scenes, on the western side of the right aisle of the church, which contained pagan Roman Gods, but layers of plaster had covered them.
This church has played an important role in the history of the Coptic Church because it became the seat of the Patriarchs after transferring it from Alexandria to Al-Fustat. The 66th patriarch Anba Christodolos (1039-1079 A.D) was the first Pope to chant the Holy Liturgy in the church. This was maintained in El-Mullaka Church until the 14th Century, when it was transferred to Abu Sefein church.
There are 110 icons here, the oldest of which dates back to the 8th Century, but most of them date to the 18th Century. Nakhla Al- Baraty Bey gave some of them as gifts, in 1898 A.D, when he was the overseer of the church.The Hanging Church
The French monk Vansleb, who was sent to Egypt in 1671 by King Louis XIV in order to study the state of the churches and the monasteries of Egypt, mentioned that he had seen on one of the walls of the Hanging Church, inscriptions written by the hand of the great Muslim commander Amr Ibn El-As, asking the Muslim people to treat this church with respect.
Abu Serga
The church of St. Sergio (also known as St. Sergius or Abu Serga) was built in the centre of the Ancient Roman fort of Babylon. The church is considered as one of the sites visited by the Holy Family during their escape from King Herod to the land of Egypt.
One of the most important locations in this church is the cave in which the HolyAbu Serga Family stayed during their journey into Egypt. It has a nave and 2 aisles and the ceiling is domed. At the end of the southern aisle of the Cave, is a baptistery.
On the 1st of June, each year, the church of St. Sergio commemorates the arrival of the Holy Family by having prayers inside the church of the cave.
Church of St. Barbara
The church of St. Barbara is one of the oldest and the most remarkable churches in Cairo. It is situated on the eastern part of the Babylon fort and dates back to the 5th Century, though it was rebuilt around the 11th Century. It was named after St. Barbara, who was born in the beginning of the 3rd Century in Nicomedia in Asia Minor. She converted to Christianity and refused to marry any of the aristocratic young men in Alexandria, devoting herself to serving God. Her father was a Pagan, who continually tortured her, and then he complained about her to the Roman governor Marcianus, who in turn severely tortured her, but she resisted and refused to leave Christianity. Finally she was killed, together with her companion Juliana.
The most precious item, found inside this church, is a sycamore door that dates back to the 5th Century. The church has many icons, the most remarkable dates back to about the 13th Century. The main icons depict Christ surrounded by Angels.
There are other icons on the southern aisle of the church, representing the Virgin Mary and Jesus when he was a child, Jesus entering Jerusalem and the baptism of Christ.
The Synagogue of Ben Ezra
The Synagogue of Ben Ezra was originally named El-Shamieen Church, and is situated behind the “hanging church”. The Synagogue once had an old copy of the Old Testament, and it was said that Ezra the Prophet (Al-Azir) had written it.
It is believed that the site of the Synagogue was where the box of Baby Moses was found. ”. In the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a Synagogue is described as “A prayer place for the Jews”. In old Greek it means: “Theben ezra synagogue usual place where the Jews assemble to receive religious teachings and to worship” Some of these Temples were built close to a source of water, as much as for protection from any attack, not just for ablution!
The Ben Ezra Synagogue was originally a Christian church that the Copts had to sell, to the Jews, in 882A.D in order to pay the annual taxes imposed by the Muslim rulers of the time, and therefore Abraham Ben Ezra, who came from Jerusalem during the reign of Ahmed Ibn Tulun, bought the church for the sum of 20,000 dinars.
Through the centuries, the Synagogue received extensive restorations and renovations until it reached its present state. The present building dates back to 1892; the original one had collapsed and a new one was built, echoing it.
Wadi EL Natrun
Wadi El- Natron is located 100 km to the north west of Cairo , it is a natural depression in the desert it is consisting of salt lakes and salt flats laying in the desert , this place in the bird watchers paradise together with the oasis of Fayoum.
This place was important to the ancient Egyptian since it was from which they extracted the Natrun salt. And become more important during the early era of Christianity in Egypt. Today it is the centre of many monasteries groups dating back to the fourth century AD.
