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  • Al-Hakim be Aamr Ellah Mosque

    Mosque of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah

    Al-Hakim Amr Allah Mosque, located on Al-Moez Street in Old Cairo, is a prominent Fatimid landmark and the fourth oldest surviving mosque in Egypt. Built in 380 AH during Al-Aziz Billah's reign, it was completed by his son in 403 AH (1012-1013 AD), making it the second largest mosque in Cairo after Ahmed Ibn Tulun Mosque. The mosque's name was attributed to him. The mosque, measuring 12005 meters in length and 113 meters in width, has two minarets at its sea front, surrounded by pyramid-shaped bases. The upper cubes are slightly backwards, and an octagonal minaret protrudes from each of the upper cubes.

  • Visit Queen Nefertari’s Tomb

    Tomb of Queen Nefertari

    There were also the great queens of the New Kingdom (1550-1090 BC) Nefertiti, the wife of Akhenaten (1371-1355 BC), and Nefertari, one of the celebrated eight wives of Ramses II (c. 1279-c. 1213 BC). While Nefertiti is more popular for the exquisite portrait bust of her that is located in Berlin, Nefertari is famous mostly for her large burial site situated in the Valley of the Queens.

  • tomb of Tutankhamun | Tutankhamun tomb discovery | king tut tomb pictures

    Tomb of Tutankhamun

    The Valley of the Kings, located on the Nile River's west bank near Thebes, served as a cemetery for pharaohs during the New Kingdom of Ancient Egyptians from 1539 to 1075 BC. The 20,000 square meter rocky valley houses 27 royal tombs from the 18th, 19th, and 20th Egyptian dynasties, which have been discovered to this day. Pharaoh Tutankhamun, also known as King Tut, was the last Eighteenth Dynasty Pharaoh from 1334 to 1325 B.C. He is famous for his intact tomb and treasures, unmarked grave, and premature death due to broken bones. His minister married his widow after his death.

  • the Virgin Mary’s tree.

    The Tree of Virgin Mary in Matareya

    The Coptic Orthodox Church commemorates the Feast of the Entry of the Holy Family into Egypt, a minor liturgical feast. It commemorates St. Joseph the Carpenter's obedience to an angel's command to take the child and his mother to Egypt, marking the entry of the Holy Family into the land of Egypt. The prayers begin on the eve of the liturgical day. The Maryam Tree Mazar, a significant tourist attraction in Egypt, is home to the Holy Family and has undergone significant development and renovations to maintain its historical significance.

  • Biography of Ahmad ibn Tulun

    Biography of Ahmad ibn Tulun

    Ahmad ibn Tulun's Turkish roots trace back to his father, who was a slave of Noah ibn Asad, the governor of Bukhara. Asad freed him, and Caliph Al-Ma'mun admired him. He was enrolled in the caliphate court and eventually became the head of the caliph's guard. Ahmad bin Tulun, born on September 20, 835 AD, in Baghdad, the capital of the caliphate, was well-cared for by his father, who taught him military arts, jurisprudence, hadith, and hadith, and encouraged him to learn from scholars and read the Qur'an.

  • Al Qusayr, Egypt | Al Quseir history

    Historical Background | Quseir Town

    The city of Al-Qusair is located on the western shore of the Red Sea in Egypt, 140 km south of Hurghada, and one of the most important villages of the city is Hamrawin village, with an area of 7,636 km², while its population is 50,023 people. Al-Qusayr, named after a fort that protected the nation during ancient Pharaonic, Roman, and other empires, was a hub for gold procurement by Pharaohs. Built by Sultan Selim I during the Ottoman period, the fortress remains intact.

Bastet ( God of ancient Egypt )

Details about Bastet ( God of ancient Egypt )

  • 05 16, 2023

Bastet ( God of ancient Egypt )

Cats were known in ancient Egypt as "Mau", and had an important position in ancient Egyptian society. One of the Egyptian deities that took the form of a cat was Istet, one of the goddesses of the ancient Egyptians, who was embodied in the form of a gentle cat. She was merged with the goddess Sekhmet in the New Kingdom, where Sekhmet was represented in the form of a predatory lioness. The cat symbolizes the goddess Bastet, the daughter of the sun god Ra, who was depicted in drawings as a woman with the head of a cat. Since "Bastet" was closely related to women, she is therefore revered as the goddess of kindness and tenderness.

The ancient Egyptians raised The ancient Egyptians cared for cats in the households and mummified the animals in death the same way they did to the deceased. It was a punishable offense for anyone apart from the priest to kill a cat near a temple.

The oldest Bastet amulets are found in burials from the end of the Old Kingdom. The amulet was worn by women during their lifetime, primarily to place them under the goddess's care and perhaps to give them fertility. Several Egyptologists have suggested that the depiction of the cat may have sexual connotations, given that cats often appear in scenes with women. The animal was even considered a symbol of fertility, as cats were often depicted surrounded by their young, indicating this trait.

According to Herodotus, both men and women from Egypt enjoyed rides on boats which traveled along the Nile to the town of Bubastis. While some women would perform music with the sistrum musical instrument, their male counterparts would be playing the flute and others would be singing and dancing and beating the drums all through the journey. In the beginning of the celebration at Bubastis, there would be extremely extravagant offerings made. The period of this festivity was when the maximum amount of alcohol along with wine was taken as compared to any other time in the year. In addition, he states that ‘the grandeur of the temple devoted to Bastet could be found in the center of the city and was visible from all directions.

The ancient Egyptians were interested in mummifying animals, birds and reptiles that they considered to be the embodiment of some of the ancient Egyptian gods, in order to present them as offerings, including mummified cats that were offered to the goddess "Bastet". In the city of Bubastis, mummified cats were found buried underground, presented by pilgrims from all over Egypt to the goddess "Bastet". A number of amulets were also found there, in addition to bronze statues of the same goddess. In the late dynastic era and the Greek and Roman eras, loyal pilgrims offered thousands of bronze votive statues and tens of millions of mummified cats to appease the goddess in order to answer their prayers.

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Bastet was an ancient Egyptian goddess associated with home, fertility, protection, and the sun. She was often depicted as a lioness or a domestic cat. In Egyptian mythology, she was considered a protective deity and defender against evil spirits.

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