Egyptomania Begins in the 19th Century - Tourists flock to Egypt

Tourism to Egypt  began slowly after the 1830's after Napoleon Bonaparte's failed expedition to Egypt, It was the work of the Savants he brought with him that first brought Egypt to the attention of the World they created 'The Description de l'Égypte' which was a series of publications, detailing the history of Egypt both ancient and modern, the first volume appeared in 1809 and continued until the final volume appeared in 1829.

Whilst in Egypt Napoleon's soldiers found the Rosetta stone, and after many years of study,  Champollion deciphered the stone using a tracing that the French had made of the stone before they had released it to the British army.  Champollion deciphered the Rosetta stone in 1822, and brought the ancient Gods words to life again.

Giovanni Belzoni also helped to inspire people in Europe on his travels with his installation of the Tomb of Seti 1, that he had discovered in the Valley of the Kings, and the head of Ramses 11 that he had removed from the Ramessium in 1816.

Egyptomania had begun !

From the 1860's the early photographers  helped so much to encourage people to visit Egypt, their photos expressed the ordinary life of Egyptians, and the amazing history of it's antiquities, and the early tourists loved to buy these memories and postcards of Egypt. Here we can see early tourists at the side of the Sphinx and the great Pyramid of Khufu which is the largest pyramid built in Egypt. As you can see the paws of the sphinx are buried under the sand. These two icons, of Ancient Egypt have always featured in the Western imagination.

Tourists used to climb the pyramids in the 19th Century, if you decided to do it now you would be arrested.

Pyramid of Khufu and the Sphinx

One of the most famous American tourists to climb the Great pyramid of Khufu (also known as the pyramid of Cheops) was the author Mark Twain, who firstly described the Giza plateau :

At a distance of a few miles the pyramids rising above the palms, looked very clean-cut, very grand and imposing, and very soft an filmy, as well. They swarm in a rich haze that took from them all suggestions of unfeeling stone, and made them seem only the airy nothings of a dream - structures which might blossom into tiers of vague arches, or ornate colonnades, may be, and change and change again, into all graceful forms of architecture, while we looked, and then melt deliciously away and change again, into all graceful forms of architecture,'

Mark Twain admitted his failure to adequately describe the sheer massiveness of the Great Pyramid, but he went on to describe how he got to the top of it:

'we were besieged by a rabble of muscular Egyptians and Arabs who wanted the contract of dragging us to the top—all tourists are.'

'the Sheiks said they were the only responsible parties; that all contracts must be made with them, all moneys paid over to them, and none exacted from us by any but themselves alone. Of course they contracted that the varlets who dragged us up should not mention bucksheesh once.'
'we contracted with them (the shieks) paid them, were delivered into the hands of the draggers, dragged up the Pyramids, and harried and be-deviled for bucksheesh from the foundation clear to the summit.'

'Each step being full as high as a dinner-table; there being very, very many of the steps; an Arab having hold of each of our arms and springing upward from step to step and snatching us with them, forcing us to lift our feet as high as our breasts every time, and do it rapidly and keep it up till we were ready to faint, who shall say it is not lively, exhilarating, lacerating, muscle-straining, bone-wrenching and perfectly excruciating and exhausting pastime, climbing the Pyramids?'

'I could conjure up no comparison that would convey to my mind a satisfactory comprehension of the magnitude of a pile of monstrous stones that covered thirteen acres of ground and stretched upward four hundred and eighty tiresome feet, and so I gave it up and walked down to the Sphinx.'
When Mark Twain confronted the Sphinx he gave the following description of it's face:

'The great face was so sad, so earnest, so longing, so patient. There was a dignity not of earth in its mien, and in its countenance a benignity such as never anything human wore. It was stone, but it seemed sentient. If ever image of stone thought, it was thinking. It was looking toward the verge of the landscape, yet looking at nothing—nothing but distance and vacancy. It was looking over and beyond everything of the present, and far into the past…it was thinking of the wars of departed ages; of the empires it had seen created and destroyed; of the nations whose birth it had witnessed, whose progress it had watched, whose annihilation it had noted; of the joy and sorrow, the life and death, the grandeur and decay, of five thousand slow revolving years.'

After five months of travel in Europe and the Middle East, Mark Twain wrote a book describing all his Travels, it is titled 'Innocents Abroad' it was published in 1869


Karnack Temple - the earthly home of the God Amun

In 1862 Queen Victoria sent her 20 year old son, the Prince of Wales, Albert Edward (affectionately known as Bertie), on a four month tour of the Middle East. He is seen here with his entourage in the Hypostyle Hall of Amun Ra in Karnack Temple, the Gods earthly home.

The Hypostyle hall was considered as the mound of creation by the ancient Egyptians, and the awesome columns in this hall represent the plants that came into being on the mound of creation. Standing in this incredible hall you are overpowered by 134 of these gigantic columns, 122 are in the open papyrus bud style, and another 12 in the central isle are closed. The Hypostyle hall, is the reception area of the gods, its awesome lotus columns represent the plants that came into being on the mound of creation. The lotus columns are a symbolism of Horus who was born on the waters of creation, the lotus plant represents the first sunrise on the day of creation. Each evening the lotus submerges beneath the waters, and at dawn it rises symbolically to worship the sun again, it encompasses all the forces of nature and lives in all the four elements, its roots are bound to the earth and its stem rises through water, it flourishes in the air and blooms in the sunlight The Hypostyle Hall was originally created by Seti 1, and after his death, his son Ramses the Great completed the Hall.

Behind Prince Albert's group is the part of a fallen obelisk, which I assume it is one of the obelisks created by Hatshepsut, and can now be found near the Sacred Lake. Originally Hatshepsut created two Obelisks which would have stood together one each side of her Red Chapel that would have been intended as a barque shrine for the God Amun Ra. An obelisk was intended to create an energy field and power from the  Sun God Amun Ra to the temple, they originally had a covering at the top that was covered in electrum, which was a mix of gold and silver, and would capture the rays of the sun god Amun Ra bringing energy, protection and new life to the temple, so obelisks were originally created in pairs, Ramses 11 originally had an obelisk each side of the entrance into Luxor Temple, but one was dismantled and given to France in recognition of Champollion deciphering the Hieroglyphics. Once the suns rays hit the obelisk the pharaohs name would be invoked as the words would come to life.

The Obelisk of Hatshepsut that still stands in Karnack Temple expresses her devotion to the God Amun whose earthly home was Karnack Temple :

I have created this work with a heart full of love for Amon
Initiated into his secrets of origin
Instructed through his beneficial powers
I have not forgotten what he has ordained
My majesty recognizes his Divinity
I have acted on his orders
It is he who has guided me
I have never slept because I was pre-occupied with his temple
I have never turned away from what he has commanded
My heart moved intuitively with The Father
I have entered ultimately into the plans of his heart
I have never turned my back to the Master of Totality
But rather I have turned my face towards him


These tourists have got to be British !

They are all sat having lunch in the amazing Hypostyle  Hall in Karnack Temple.


Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple  is one of the most unique temples in Egypt, as it is not the earthly home of a god, nor is it a pharaohs mortuary temple. It was created to celebrate the 'Opet Festival' that was celebrated every year for 11 days just before the annual Nile flood, the celebrations were to give new life to Egypt and to renew the Kings vitality and power to rule.

In these celebrations, the king would leave the home of Amun Ra, at Karnack Temple and escort the  sacred barques of the God Amun, his wife Mut, and their son Khonsu to the celebrations held in Luxor Temple's inner sanctuaries and the Festival hall of Amenhotep 111. Luxor Temple as we see it today, was mainly built by two pharaohs, Ramses 11 'The Great' of the 19th Dynasty - the New Kingdom period, and Amenhotep 111 of the 18th dynasty who was also known as 'The Magnificent', who was also known as 'Amenotep the Magnificent', he was the son of Tuthmosis 111 'The Egyptian Napoleon' who brought wealth and prosperity to Egypt with all his victories.

Amenhotep 111 died in the 39th year of his reign, and his son Amenoteph 1V succeed to the throne, after five years of rule he changed his name to Akhenaten,  who believed in one god, the Aten, and turned his back on the many Gods of Ancient Egypt. His rule brought Egypt to the brink of disaster.

In ancient times Luxor temple was known as 'Ipet Resyt' which means 'the Southern Sanctuary', and the 'Sun court, or festival hall was where all the dancing, feasting, and celebrations took place. The court is very large and surrounded on three sides by beautiful papyrus bud and open lotus columns.

In the photograph we can see four  Victorian tourists sat on camels inside the Festival hall, as you will notice the floor level of sand has reached half way up the surrounding columns.

In 1883 Gaston Maspero was given permission to excavate the sand from inside the temple, and so they evicted all the Egyptians who had created their homes inside the temple. One such resident was Lady Duff Gordon, who had rejected her Victorian life in favor of a life with the Egyptians,  she made her home into a little hospital, so that the Egyptians could come to her for help. Mostly she just gave them a miracle cure of a cup of English tea !
Looking at the photograph you can see the minaret of the mosque of Abu Hagag in the background, the mosque was built about 800 years ago and had also been built inside the temple. Once the sand was dug away it left the doors to the mosque at ceiling height, so the Muslims had to create a new entrance at the back of the mosque.

Thomas Cook brings Victorian Travelers to Egypt

It was Thomas Cook who first brought British travelers to sail up the River Nile on an 'organized' tour to Egypt, it had been his dream to visit Egypt and the Holy Land so in 1869 he organized the first cruise up the River Nile. His luxury tour of the middle East lasted for three months and was obviously aimed at wealthy Victorian tourists, they made the journey up the Nile in two steamers that he had hired from the King of Egypt. The tour was successful, and within 10 years he had established a small fleet of Nile steamers which would transport the wealthy tourists up the Nile.

Ernest Wallis Budge was an English Egyptologist who worked for the British Museum  He made many trips to Egypt for the British Museum to buy antiquities, and he went on to publish many books on Egyptology and his Oriental studies.

In 1895 Thomas Cook provided the first holiday guide book that he gave to all his guests on his tours. The book was written by E.A.Wallis Budge and was titled 'Notes for Travelers in Egypt.' The book was written in simple terms, offering information about the Temples and Tombs they would see on their journey up the Nile.

Philae Island - The Earthly Home of the Goddess Isis

The island of Philae and the temple of the Goddess Isis drew many tourists to it's shores in the 19th century, the approach by water was beautiful  when seen from the level of a small boat, the island, with its palms, its colonnades, its pylons, and the kiosk seems to rise out of the water like a mirage. In the 19th century when early tourists visited the Island of Philae, it was originally located near the First Cataract of the Nile in Upper Egypt.

Once the first Aswan dam was built in 1902 Philae was drowned in water, half way up the temple pylons. In the 20th century 1970's the temple was dismantelled piece by piece and moved to a small island called Agiliki to protect it from the floods.

In ancient times both the Greeks and the Romans who had invaded Egypt had embraced the worship of the Goddess Isis, Pilgrims had come from far away to pay respects to the goddess Isis and her husband Osiris, who it is said was buried on a small island called Bigeah, near to Philae Island.

Osiris had been murdered by his jealous brother Set, who then carved up his body, and distributed the parts all over Egypt, thus denying him an eternal life. Isis searched for the parts of Osiris with the help of the God Thoth, for many years,  and eventually they had all the body parts. Isis then used her magic powers to bring Osiris back to life again, but when it was done the God Amun Ra said he was not allowed to walk the earth again, and so he made him the God of the underworld.

 With the Christian faith building up, the ancient Egyptian religion was banned. Philae temple has many Coptic crosses cut into it's walls and columns, as it was turned into a church for the worship of Christianity.

In this photograph you can see  Edwardian ladies from 1905 standing on the embankment looking towards the kiosk of Tragan, it is also known as 'The Pharaoh's Bed' it was built during the Roman era of Egypt. It is a beautiful structure of 14 massive columns with carved floral capitals, that sits on the side of the Island, in Ancient Egypt it was the embarkation area of boats coming to the Island of Philae. It simple in its design. Inside are reliefs showing Trajan as a pharaoh making offerings to Osiris, Isis and Horus.The King in ancient Egypt was the living representation of the God Horus.

Amelia Edwards was an English novelist, journalist, explorer, artist, and Egyptologist and during her journey up the Nile' she wrote many entries in her diaries, and they were published as 'A Thousand Miles up the Nile'. It was during her visit to Egypt in the winter of 1873 that she realized she would dedicate the rest of her life to protecting Egypt's ancient sites.

On leaving  the Island of Philae and the temple of Isis she wrote :
'Sailing gently southward – the river opening wide before us, Philae dwindling in the rear – we feel that we are now fairly over the border ; and that if Egypt was strange and far from home, Nubia is stranger and farther still. The Nile here flows deep and broad. The rocky heights that hem it in so close on either side are still black on the one hand, golden on the other.' 

Abu Simbel - The Temples of Ramses 11 - The southern most point of Ancient Egyptian Supremacy

There are two temples cut into the massive rock of the mountainside and are known as the temples of Abu Simbel. One to express Ramses 11 dominance over Nubia, and a smaller temple created for the love of his great wife Nefertari.

The temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the New Kingdom the 19th dynasty of Ramses 11, and inside his temple it celebrates his  victories at the battle of Kaddesh. When Amelia visited Abu Simbel the colossi of Ramses were half covered in sand, and it was in it's original place, but when the Aswan Dam was built in the 1970's it would have been drowned in water, so they moved it from its original place, it is now on the western bank of Lake Nasser. Inside Ramses temple it celebrates his  victories at the battle of Kaddesh.

When Amelia visited Abu Simbel the colossi of Ramses were half covered in sand.

On Amelia Edwards arrival at the temples of Abu Simbel she wrote in her book :
'It was wonderful to wake every morning close under the steep bank, and without lifting one's head from the pillow, to see that row of giant faces so close to the sky.'

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