Angela Lilleystone's "A Taste of Egypt"

Complete site index and text links

[picture of Shphinx]

An introduction to the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt - NEW

This is an extensive site about ancient Egypt. Don't be fooled by deceptively short looking table of contents. Just click on 'dynasties' and you'll see what I mean! Profusely illustrated, this is the labor of love by André Dollinger. The site is searchable, too, and is rounded out by a useful glossary and Egypt related links..

Egypt Adventure 1999

Kevin from Canada toured Egypt for two weeks and shares his journal and plenty of great photographs on the Web. This is a great site for those who are thinking of joining a tourist tour: the site will give you a pretty good idea of what to generally expect. Everyone else can indulge in the pictures! They are big - take time for the visit.

Hieroglyphic font for Windows/Macintosh

The P22 type foundry, devoted to fonts inspired by history, art and science, publishes this affordable font set of hieroglyphs. The font can be used in most word processors and page layout programs. Included in the package are phonetic and decorative symbols along with a feature that allows for creating cartouches.

NOVA: Pyramids - The Inside Story

Wonderful resource about excavations at Giza, home to the pyramids and the Sphinx. Includes several interviews with Mark Lehner (Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago) and Zahi Hawass (Director General of the Giza Pyramids). Great photographs, too!

Curious how the pyramids made it onto the American dollar bill? John MacArthur has the answer for you in Time Travel for a Dollar - The Pyramid and I.

Theban Mapping Project - the KV5 Homepage
Thebes is home to the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens and the workmen's village at Deir el-Medineh. On the proposed site for a parking lot, archeologists in recent years discovered yet another tomb, now dubbed KV5, that turned out to be the burial place of the sons of Ramesses II. It is the largest tomb to have been found to date. The site, while documenting progress on the project and giving a peek into archeology, is not academic. Excavation has commenced this fall.

The Ministry of Tourism, Egypt
Bring some time with you when visiting this site! Very rich information resource! As one would expect, the travel information is extensive and searchable. You will also find a BBS for real time chatting, a contest and a coloring book for kids along with an extensive list to Egypt related sites. The antiquities section is extensive also. There is much more then I could possibly list here - the site contains more then 3500 pages. Highly recommended!

The perhaps most famous Middle Eastern woman of the 20th century, certainly the most famous entertainer, is the singer Um Kulthum (1904-1975). Web pages about her seem to come and go - I hope this one stays - it is nice! If you have never heard Egyptian music before, but are, say, into 'world music', you are in for a real treat! Very powerful.
Many years in the making, the Egyptian government opened a museum devoted to her in December 2001.

The personal diary of Howard Carter, Part 1, Part 2
I often get asked where my interest in Egypt originates. Archeology was my father's hobby. He traveled extensively in Greece and Turkey, visiting archeological digs. When I was twelve years old I found this book in my father's book case. This is a 1951 edition published by Brockhaus, Leibzig, an abridged version of the three volume original by the same publisher. The book is still with me, I carried it across three continents and the same hold true for my love of anything Egyptian.
The book was based on Carter's private diaries. Carter opened Tut's tomb on November 26, 1922 (part 1 of the diary). He was stunned to discover, illuminated only by the light of a flickering candle, that the tomb was filled with treasures and gold. On the right you can see one of the book's illustrations: it shows the guardian statues in the front of the still sealed door to the burial chamber. Part 1 of the online diary has another of the original pictures, showing one of the antechambers.

Die Fahrt zum Nil 1892 (text in German, other links in English)

The University of Erlangen, Germany, mounted this photo exhibition. A group of six people documented their travel down the Nile. Among other things it shows the temple of Philae in Aswan before its flooding by the rising Nile waters. Dedicated to the goddess Isis, the temple used to be submerged in four feet (about 1.30 m) of water for most of the year before being moved to higher grounds in an herculean effort to save it. Click on the various locations on the map to see the images.

Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection Berlin (in German)

Photo Copyright © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Photo published with permission.

The Egyptian Museum in Berlin Charlottenburg, Germany, is home to an extensive Amarna collection. Among those treasures is the bust of Nefertiti as well is this famous head of Queen Teje, Nefertiti's mother-in-law. Made from wood and dated around 1360 B.C. the head measures less then 4 inches in height - a very delicate and beautiful piece!

Splendors of Ancient Egypt
This is an excellent site by The St. Petersburg Times that caters to a variety of interests offering:
An exhibition of Egyptian artifacts by the German Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum currently traveling the U.S.
Articles and photographs from TIME's travel editor Robert N. Jenkins.
Riddle of the Sphinx - an Egypt quiz.
Study Guide.

A Feteer at Khan el Khalili - Essay by Angela Lilleystone.
Photograph © TIMES, Robert N. Jenkins.

On my way from Bombay, India to Berlin, Germany in 1981, my connecting flight to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates was delayed in Cairo, capital of Egypt. I sneaked out of the international terminal to see the city. The essay is a light hearted redention of Walker Percy's idea how hard it is to have an 'original experience' and explains why I avoided seeing the Sphinx.
The Khan el Khalili is the oldest and one of the biggest bazaars of the Middle East. It began as a caravanserai in 1382. A related article was recently published by CNN. The article talks about the antiquities black market at the Khan and the ongoing plight of Egypt losing its archeological treasures.

Nefertiti (Egyptian Museum, Berlin)
Photograph © Julie Rodriquez.
A stunningly beautiful woman by today's standards, Nefertiti was the wife of pharaoh Akhenaten (1365-1349 BC). Akhenaten broke with pharaonic traditions and Egyptian religion by introducing sun worship and establishing a new city, Amarna, which was mostly destroyed only shortly after Akhenaten's reign. Akhenaten was the father of Tut-Ankh-Amun. A fascinating part of the history of the New Kingdom period of Egypt.

Comprehensive News on Soccer on US TV
One of the things Egyptians and Germans have in common is their love for soccer! For those of you who miss soccer dearly check out this site! It is the most comprehensive and up-to-date listing of soccer game broadcasts on US TV I have found so far. It spells the end of having to comb through your TV guide!

Images from Egypt
The African Studies Department at the University of Pennsylvania offers this collection of about 50 numbered GIF images from Egypt. The majority of them show Islamic Cairo (the old part of the city) and famous archeological sites. Three thumbnail pages at the top of the directory listing help you find your way around. While the photographs are not of the highest quality the large offering and good organization of the collection ensures you will find something of interest here.

Pilgrimage to Abydos
World Art Treasures in Switzerland uses a series of slides from the late Jacques-Edouard Berger to retrace the steps and emotions as pilgrims might have experienced them about 3000 years ago in this virtual spiritual pilgrimage through the temple of Abydos. Built by Seti I (1312 - 1298 B.C.), son of Ramesses I, the temple was a votive temple, honoring the God Osiris. A clickable map of this large temple serves as a guide through the dark temple halls, past huge pillars and numerous wall reliefs back into the sunlight and finally to the tomb of Osiris. Very well done!

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago Photographic Archive
Documenting the Institute's activities from 1892 to the present this site features some rare photographs. Among other accomplishments the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in 1931 excavated the 15 feet high statue of King Tutankhamun.

Egyptology in America

Mendes Cohen (picture courtesy of the Maryland Historical Society) was one of the first Americans to make the journey up the Nile flying the Stars and Stripes in 1832.

Many of today's museum collections are based on items travelers like Cohen returned to their homelands. Three years after Cohen's trip the Egyptian Government founded the Service des Antiques de l'Egypte to bring to a halt the flood of artifacts leaving the country. Out of this effort grew eventually the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. Egyptian archeology was introduced to the American educational system in 1895.

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alilley [at] cs.umb.edu