Category: Society Articles

Zahi Hawass in Cape Town & Johannesburg »

As the guest of The Egyptian Society of South Africa marking the society’s 10th anniversary
The Society hosted Dr. Zahi Hawass,  Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities in South Africa on a short lecture tour – visiting Johannesburg where he gave a lecture on Monday 14th August 2006 at the Great Hall of  the [...]

Ink on my fingers »

(Anonymous)
Gazing in awe at the monumental geometry of the Giza   pyramids, one cannot avoid pondering the fundamental questions. By whom, when, how and why were these enormous stone structures built? We know that the traditional or mainstream response from the hallowed halls of academia is that pharaohs of the fourth Dynasty built the pyramids of [...]

‘Egypt is the gift of the Nile’, wrote Greek historian Herodotus »

The Nile’s gift is a layer of fertile soil, replenished annually at the time of the inundation. The Blue Nile conveys the rich silt from the huge catchment area of Ethiopia; an enormous amphitheatre defined by 4,000 metre high mountain peaks. The turbid water churns through canyons and gorges, collecting tributes from the Rihad and [...]

Egypt in London – Summer 2003 »

by Anthony Holmes
On 21 June 2003, the Egypt Exploration Society held a Study Day at the School of Oriental and African Studies, situated close to the British Museum, entitled The Lord of the Two Lands: Aspects of Egyptian Kingship. Members were invited to attend four intriguing topics: The Man in the God, Symbols of Egyptian [...]

Thoughts on a woodcarving of a minor official & his wife… »

…proto-dynastic Memphis – Exhibit in Hall 17, Louvre
by Steve Coe
These two tranquil figures moved me greatly, when I first saw them in the Louvre, over 30 years ago. They looked vulnerable, but yet somehow strong in their togetherness. With a sense of wonder, it suddenly struck me that they had already been immensely old when [...]

Egyptian Museum Centenary »

Hidden treasures exhibition & improvements
by Keith Grenville
The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, Cairo is being prepared for a grand celebration of its centenary. Since the museum was inaugurated on 15th November 1902, millions of people from kings, queens and emperors to commoners have walked the galleries of this treasure house viewing the world’s most famous [...]

Alexandria in Cape Town »

MARKING THE REVIVAL OF THE BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA
A review by Eucalyptus
In the words of H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, wife of the President of Egypt and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Bibliotheca Alexandrina: “The goal of this enormous project is to honour the past, to celebrate the present and to invent the Future . . [...]

“Derby Day” in the desert – 1923 »

BOAT- LOADS OF TOURISTS GO DOWN THE NILE
MR. CARTER AS “SHOWMAN”
LUXOR, Tuesday, January 25, 1923
To-day greater crowds than have ever before assembled at the treasure tomb of King Tutankhamen thronged there to witness the last removal of the antiquities from the outer chamber before the opening of the inner chamber, where it is hoped to [...]

Egyptian Museum – New Director »

OVERDUE IMPROVEMENTS EXPECTED
The energetic and ambitious new director-general of the Egyptian Museum, Mamdouh El-Damati, is planning to resuscitate many former museum projects which have been left on ice for the last three years. He also hopes to implement innovations of his own.
One of the first decisions taken by the new director-general after he assumed office [...]

Tutankhamun in the news, What the press said in 1923 »

LUXOR, Feb. 11.
After an interlude of overcast sky, with a very high wind, almost a gale,making the river like a choppy sea, greatly disturbing the sand, and veiling the landscape, we have once more most glorious sunshine and a perfect blue sky.
Yesterday there was little activity of real interest at the tomb. Lord Carnarvon, accompanied [...]