Hieroglyphics and Egyptian papyrus

The Greeks who first came across the ancient Egyptian monuments called the markings on them hieroglyphics, from the Greek words for “sacred carvings”. They thought that the symbols were used only for religious purposes, and that their secrets could be understood only by those familiar with the ancient religions. Actually, the hieroglyphics were not only carved on stone monuments but were also painted on wood and drawn with ink on papyrus , a form of paper made by the Egyptians. In more recent times, thousands of papyrus scrolls have been found preserved in the pyramids, the tombs of kings.
The Sumerians wrote on soft, damp clay, using a stylus- a piece of sharpened bone or reed for a writing instrument. When the clay hardened, the writing became permanent. The use of a stylus on the soft clay produced characters that were wedge- shaped. The name cuneiform, which is given to these symbols, means "wedge-shaped".
The oldest Sumerian tablets, dating from about 3500 B.C., contained serious of pictures of objects. The Sumerians discovered, however, that they couldn’t communicate everything they wanted through pictures. They soon came to let some of the pictures represent ideas or actions associated with them In this way, a picture of the sun could also be used for the idea of light, or heat, or a day. A picture of a foot could also mean walking or running.
Egyptian writings like Sumerian began as a serious of simple pictograms, then developed into a combination of pictograms and ideograms, and finally into phonograms or sound symbols. Unlike the Sumerians, who gradually changed their symbols into the wedge – shaped cuneiform, the Egyptians kept using their picture forms over the years.
On Tombs and walls and jewels and cliffs, Egyptians carved their hieroglyphs. Picture writing cut in stone, in amber, ivory, bronze and bone.
The complex hieroglyphics were retained for carvings on tombs and monuments, but for everyday writing the Egyptians needed something that could be done more easily and quickly. First they developed the hieratic writing, a simplified form of hieroglyphics. Much later, about 700 B.C., they began using an even simpler form called the demotic. Both of these forms were written chiefly on papyrus.

Papyrus and the scroll:

The ancient Egyptians discovered, somewhere around 3000 B.C, that they could make a kind of paper from papyrus, a reed that grew near the delta of the Nile river. Strips of papyrus were laid crosswise on a flat stone about twelve to sixteen inches square. The papyrus was then treated with gum solution and pressed, pounded, and polished until a flat sheet suitable for writing was formed. For longer writing tasks, the sheets were fastened together into a continuous band or scroll.
The Egyptians scribes wrote with a reed or brush on only one side of the papyrus, arranging their lines of hieroglyphs in columns. The papyrus scrolls had a roller - like rod at each end so that the reader could unwind one end and wind the other as he read.

A rolled up scroll could be easily carried and stored. Egyptian rulers realizing the importance of Papyrus, made its production a state monopoly, and guarded the secret of Papyrus jealously. The ancient Egyptians appeared to have used papyrus in so many ways. We know they made paper from

papyrus but they also used it to make sandals, wove it into mats, baskets and fencing, made rope and also used parts of the plant for food as well as a medicine. The reeds were bundled together to make boats and dried to make fuel for fires. There are undoubtedly other uses that the ancient Egyptians found for papyrus.

Refereces :the world of language - Egyptian-papyrus

Ramdan is joyful in Egypt

Spending Ramadan in Egypt is really a joyful adventure rewarding a trial .If you can imagine that despite thousands of people all over the world are living under the standard line of poverty, in one month that is Ramadan, no one is left starved. It is a holy month when all the poor Muslims become happy and satisfied. You will have special feeling of delightfulness on intending to spend it in Egypt that welcomes it by gorgeous celebrations, religious festivals and genuine traditions. In Ramadan tents are everywhere. They are erected by rich people and different big companies everywhere in Egypt to invite the poor to enjoy what they are anxious to eat. Ramadan is regarded as a divine sale for rewards and the wisdom of fasting of Muslims is to be near to the poor by sharing them few days of deprivation of food from dawn to sunset. Every kid must have Fanoos (lantern) and a lot of shops display different types of lanterns intriguing everyone. Many shops and restaurants are keeping colored glass lanterns in front of their places to lighten them at night. Decorations are everywhere in Egypt. Shops of herbs and supermarkets sell nuts and dried fruits (like apricot, grapes, figs, and dates) and they are specially produced for this occasion. All the Muslim families gather around the table on time of breakfasting preceded by firing of Ramadan's cannon which is placed in the citadel over the "el-Moqattam" mountain. The traffic inside the country is dormant during the time of breakfasting. After a while people resumes their activities. Mosques are full of prayers that are soliciting Allah to erase their sins. The Egyptian TV has its own celebrations by showing different attractive serials and programs. Moreover, you can feel Ramadan more in the public and religious places where people feel blessed beside these areas like Hussein square beside" El Hussein mosque" where the spiritual rituals elevates in addition to the importance of this area as a vital place having discerned activity for a category of the Egyptian community. Several shops are selling everything. Each tourist visiting Egypt is keen to visit this place to buy some special souvenirs from a site there called khan El khalili where they find different types of papyri , ornamental Arabian costumes , original types of herbs and perfumes , silvery and golden jewelry and new fashioned bracelets .

El Misaharaty is a man carrying a drum in his hand and roaming in the streets before dawn to awake people for having a snake before the time of fasting. Volunteers in every region are happy to keep this habit and they accept donations from people. The closest ten days to the end of the month people intensify their effort on benevolence and dedication of long times for worship because of the fact that in one night of the last ten days a magnificent event has happened that is the descent of the holy Korean by the angel Gabriel on the prophet Mohammad.

Reference: Ramdan is joyful in Egypt , by Jihan

Beauty secrets of queen Cleopatra

Queen Cleopatra, the queen of the kings, was the last pharaoh reigned Egypt as was classified by historians. Her tales with beauty are very famous to an extent that all the major effective cosmetics industries incorporate some ingredients of her descriptions for beauty. This is due to the charming reflection of them on the human tissues. She was very intelligent woman politically and at the same time was caring about her complexion that was glamorous in addition to her elegance .Queen Cleopatra was able to seduce any man specially Mark Antony who fell in love with her and depicted her photo on the old coins of the Rome . Simply she was an extraordinary woman of strong personality and marvelous ability for seduction. This is attributed to her genius capability of appearing as one of the very fascinating and celebrated women that were recorded by history due to their rank and immortal stories.

She used to bath in milk and honey. It was proven that these components are very effective on the living tissues of the skin. Milk contains lactic acid which is alpha – hydroxy acid, responsible for exfoliating and cleansing the skin deeply. A lot of benefits can be got from honey as well. It contains a lot of minerals and vitamins and can be used medically as an anti- inflammatory and antiseptic .Moreover, it is hydrating and moisturizing. These natural components replenish and rejuvenate the skin. Another ingredient is Aloe Vera which was one of the most important components involved in her mixtures. Hence the cosmetics containing it are endless in addition to using of it in different purposes especially medically for healing wounds and strengthening hair. Beauty recipes of the queen, appreciated by the ancient Egyptians were written on papyri that were discovered in the Egyptian tombs.

Another secret of beauty was revealed that queen Cleopatra was adding the grinded pearls to her drinks. Recently, scientific experiments assert that these pearls are able to renew the skin, diminish the wrinkles, improve the blood pressure and keep people living longer.
Reference: Beauty secrets of Queen Cleopatra, by Jinan