The Egypt story....... (The quest)

The ancient Egyptian civilization has been always fascinating, and since the time of the early Greek travelers to Egypt, people have been wondering about the secret of the mystical civilization. People always wonder why and how the ancient Egyptians managed to build all those massive buildings, and why what is left is only what was built for the afterlife. It's very important to understand what the ancient Egyptians thought about life and death in order to be able to answer all the questions.

Egypt, which is located in the very northeast part of Africa, is considered part of the Sahara desert, and the Nile has been always the main source of water. It taught them how to form villages and towns, and how to learn to live together. The Nile was the first lesson of stability, teaching them agriculture; they needed to live by the river and use its water and silt to farm their land. It becomes very fertile because every year during the summer, the Nile rushes in a great inundation, covering the banks with lots of water for irrigation and it gives life to the soil and the people.

The symbol of life in ancient Egypt was the form of a key, called the "ankh", which is known as the key of life or the key of the Nile. We notice two things here; first that the river Nile and life have the same meanings, and second, it has the form of a key. The ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile god Hapi used that key to open the gates of the Nile in central Africa to let the Nile flood, creating life in its path.

By :

Hisham El Meniawy
Guest lecturer & Egyptologist
www.hegyptology.com