The Festival of the Beautiful Embrace - Hathor's journey & mystical ceremonial marriage celebrations to her husband Horus

 All temples survived on the produce of the land, and the produce of the harvest Festival at Dendera Temple proceeded the most spectacular festival that was known as the' Festival of The Beautiful Embrace' where once a year after the harvest, the Goddess Hathor’s barque was loaded with the produce of the fields in preparation for the annual visit she made to see her Husband the God Horus at his earthly home the Temple Of Edfu where they would re-enact in a mystical ceremony their marriage, and the conception of their son Ihy

At Hathor's earthly home of Dendera Temple I followed the side wall all the way around the temple where my enthusiasm increased as the relief’s were untouched, beautiful and unspoilt once more, and they portrayed the harvest festival, where  the beautiful goddess Sekhet, the goddess of the fields brings the produce of the land to the temple, she walked through the fields of wheat Papyrus and lotus, small geese fly from the ground whilst she follows a calf, her breath has the  scent of flowers and she is adorned with Lotus blossoms, and in her arms she carries Lotus geese fruits and wine.  

 In splendid celebration Hathor whose name means “The House of Horus”, was carried from her sanctuary within Dendera and greeted by all important dignitaries and priests, the locals were allowed to join this celebration,  then   gently her splendid barque that was known as ‘Great of Love’ carried her upstream where she was joined by a flotilla of barques until she arrived at Karnack Temple, where she would stay for a few days to visit the Goddess Mut, the wife of Amun Ra, more barques joined her flotilla as she left Karnack to continue her journey south, Her Husband Horus would leave his temple and head downstream to greet her and in glorious celebration he would escort his wife to his home of Edfu Temple to  begin  fourteen days of joyous celebration where their sacred marriage was enacted once more and their son Ihy was conceived. Each day throughout the waxing moon the same set of ceremonies were carefully performed. It was felt that on the evening of the fourth day Ihy, the son of Horus and Hathor, was conceived .

Over the centuries, the temple of Horus at Edfu became buried to a depth of 12 metres (39 ft) beneath drifting desert sand and layers of river silt deposited by the Nile, and just like the Temple of Dendera Local inhabitants built homes directly over the former temple grounds. the temples of Dendera and Edfu were built during the Ptolemaic period, the successors of Alexander the Great.

Only the upper reaches of the temple pylons at Edfu and Dendera were were visible. In 1860 Auguste Mariette, a French Egyptologist, began the work of freeing Edfu temple from the sands.

Hathor has 411 epithets expressing her qualities and attributes mentioned at her temple in Dendera, some of them are also written on the walls of Edfu temple, The wall relief of the pylon at Edfu describes her as: 

'Hathor, the great one, lady of Dendera, eye of Re, who residence in Edfu, lady of the sky, mistress of all the gods, the Uraeu which is upon the head of Atum, who created her place upon his head, the great cow of heaven, who born Re, the first one of the Ogadoad, Rennet, the noble one in Egypt, the Uraeus to all gods, lady of charm, sweetness of love, all men and women behind her, lady of protection in the bark of millions, who protects the bow in the bark of god, beautiful of hands, who carry the sistrum to appease who hide his name, great of magic, lady of upper Egypt house, who says spells with her name, brighten of eye-brows, sweetness of love'

On the day of the full moon the festivities ended and Hathor bid Horus farewell and began her return journey to her own temple once more, where on her return announced the long awaited flooding of the River Nile

Hathor was a sky goddess, known as “Lady of Stars” and “Sovereign of Stars” and together with the goddess Isis was linked to Sirius in the heavens, once Sirius rose the Nile would flood, astronomer-priests noted that Sirius rose with the Sun just prior to the annual flooding of the Nile which was known as the “Tears of Isis”  which hopefully flooded large areas, feeding the land with the rich nutrients that made the valley fertile. Over the centuries, the seasonal floods have been the lifeblood of the Egyptian civilization, and their failure could bring pestilence & famine due to crop failure.

I would like to thank my friend Mohamed A Fahmy, who is a very spiritual tour guide, for his knowledge on the titles of the Goddess Hathor and the image of Hathors Barque. You can contact Mohamed on Facebook

Poem of Isis & Osiris by Esama Chiba

Walking in the shadow of fate

Dragging her KA, 

tormented Her BA, 

Shedding tears of RA

Isis began a long journey

Searching for her husband

Osiris the beloved King of Egypt

Whose jealous brother

Dark Seth Lord of the Evil

Put him in a golden coffin

Threw him in the River

Roaming along the Nile

She found him in Byblos

Hidden between the trees

With grief and sadness

She opened the casket

In sorrow embraced him

Put the coffin in a boat

Heading back to bury him

Evil Seth wouldn't let her

Ripped his body apart

With no mercy in his heart

Spread it all over Egypt

The blessed Earth of Geb

Isis and her sister Nephthys

Started a second journey

Many years in despair

Collecting all the parts

With the help of Anubis

Osiris became the first

Mummy in the history

Isis used magic power

To breathe life into him

Osiris became the king

Of the land of the dead

The Egyptians believed

The last battle is still

To come with triumph

When Horus the avenger

The son of Isis and Osiris

After long battles and wars

Will finally slay evil Seth

Then Osiris would rise

Return from the dead

With his faithful followers

Live forever on earth

Under the good god

Osiris, Isis his queen

And their son Horus

Hossam Dirar - Egyptian Artist - The Nefertiti Collection

 Queen Nefertiti was the Great Royal wife of Akhenaten, a revolutionary pharaoh, that tried to change thousands of years of Ancient Egyptian belief of worshiping many Gods, he insisted that his people should only worship one God, the Aten. During his reign he closed all the temples of the various Gods, and moved his capital into the desert. During his reign a new beautiful art style was created called Armarna Art. Akhenaten was a man of peace, and obviously adored his wife Nefertiti and their children, he offered Nefertari the honor of being represented with him in full size in relief's, not the usual pharaonic half size, Akhenaten's changes almost brought Egypt to the brink of disaster, and through all his revolutionary changes Nefertiti stood firmly by his side

Hossam has created a stunning series of paintings of the amazingly graceful and beautiful Nefertiti whose name actually means 'the beautiful one has come'

Hossam is not just celebrating Nefertiti's beauty, he has given her the status of a Goddess as a woman, by painting her with the wings of the Goddess Isis

Hossam paints Nefertiti in various poses and colors, one of my favorite paintings is where she wears a vibrant red dress, emphasizing Nefertiti's power and confidence. She wears a large golden Ankh necklace, this is the Ancient Egyptian Symbol for Regeneration and Eternal life, it offers a doorway to eternity. The Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died, if their name was spoken it would offer them eternal life. Hossam's amazing art has brought Nefertiti from the past, thousands of years into the future,  to empower modern women

Hossam expresses the elegant and mysterious beauty of Queen Nefertiti, he expresses his feelings that ' Nefertiti would empower women to take a stand for their beliefs, and that she would encourage women to move out of the shadows'.

Another of my favorite paintings is Nefertiti wearing a white dress, and holding a bouquet of flowers, this painting has given Nefertiti an untouchable purity showing her as a bride.

Hossam finds some of his inspiration from another of my favorite symbolist painters, an Austrian named Gustav Klimt, whose art was exceptional, he was a revolutionary modern artist during the period in time that he lived 1862-1918, he mixed images of women so skillfully painted that they had a photographic quality, and their clothes he used patterns and symbolism. Klimt was also interested in ancient Egypt, and used many of their symbols in his paintings of women.

Contact Hossam Dirar on Facebook : Hossam Dirar

info@hossamdirar.com

http:/www.hossamdirar.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfI5Gg4KDic&feature=youtu.be

Alaa Awad - Egyptian Painter and Muralist Inspired by Ancient Egyptian symbolic art

Alaa Awad said 'To understand who we are, we must first know where we come from'

The Egyptian Revolution inspired some of the world's most expressive graffiti to be created on the walls of Tahir Square in Cairo, this is where Alaa Awads art exploded publicly. Alaa was one of the most vibrant symbolic artists that encouraged a down trodden nation to rise up again.

His art is inspired by Ancient Egyptian tomb and Temple reliefs. All ancient Egyptian art was symbolic, Alaa creates his murals with stylized figures of men and women marching strong and bold again like representations of the ancient pharaohs. His wish is to celebrate mankind and install todays Egyptians with a renewed sense of pride, peace, and justice.

'The Victory' mosaic was designed by Alaa, and was created with a a team under the supervision of Prof. Mohammed Oraby. The team consisted of of students and instructors from South Valley University Faculty of Arts, Department of Mural painting. This mosaic mural was inspired by the battle scenes from the walls of Medinet Habu, the mortuary temple of Ramses 111. The mosaic took over one year to complete and can be found at South Valley University Campus in Quena, Egypt, where Dr. Alaa Awad is a professor

Alaa is proud of his Egyptian culture and by watching the celebrations of the Sufi just before Ramadan, he has immersed himself into their traditional martial arts, to express his work, expressing the celebrations with crowds of men riding horses with stick fighting and dancing

Alaa embraces the essence of the strong women, the Pharaonic Queens, and Ancient Egyptian Goddesses, his art inspires the modern Egyptian women to be great once more, and assert their talents, and their role in society, his work promotes their rights.

'Painting contributes to society by introducing beauty and art into peoples lives. Art mirrors society's civilization, because art and civilization go hand in hand. We have a great civilization that could really help us avoid disasters and make great art' - Alaa Awaad

Contact Alaa Awad :  info@alaa-awad.com

website : http://alaa-awad.com

Facebook : Alaa Awad

Caravan Exhibition Egyptian Contemporary Artists - Dr. Reda Abdel Rahman & Marwa Adel

I could not imagine Egypt without seeing Donkeys, they are everywhere, and used in all aspects of Egyptian life. In the fields, in the streets, for tourism. I have seen sugar cane fields full of all different colored donkeys, where six year old children ride the donkeys sat on top of the sugar cane leaves, it was an amazing sight, and I have seen the harsh life of the donkey that stumbles under  the weight of a mountain of bricks for  the building trade, I have seen donkeys beaten for no fault of their own, which really distressed me. In many aspects of Egyptian life the Donkey is a beast of burden, and if he is lucky he will have a good master, many donkeys are not so lucky. In both the Christian and Moslem religion the donkey is held as a symbol of peace and compassion, the donkey carried our Lord Jesus Christ with Mary and Joseph, as they fled into Egypt

In 2013  the Egyptian Contemporary Artist Dr. Reda Abdel Rahman sculpted the form of the donkey, which was then shipped to Malta to be  reproduced in fiberglass forms for artists to paint for the Caravan Festival in Cairo.

An American Reverend named Chandler suggested the exhibition as an the objective of building bridges of understanding, respect, and friendship between East and West, and between Muslims and Christians and so he commissioned Egyptian artist Reda Abd El Rahman to create 90 life-sized and quarter-sized fiberglass donkeys and invited 45 Egyptian and foreign artists to transform them into their own personal visions

Egyptian artist Reda Abd El Rahman, used his art to attack those he holds responsible for the deaths of protestors during Egypt’s revolution, his donkey is created wearing shiny black shoes on its hooves and with the head of a bearded man wearing wire rimmed glasses—he is Muslim, indicted by the prayer callous on his forehead, I am a Christian, but loved and respected  my Muslim Husband, because he was a man who prayed and had a faith and he was also a man of peace who everyone turned to to dispel arguments., I remember one day rubbing cream on a dark patch on his forehead, and he asked me what I was doing, so I told him you have a dark patch on your forehead I'm trying to blend it in for you, Lorraine, he said, 'that is my prayer spot and it is from here that my soul will leave my body when I die,' imagine my embarrassment ! Returning to Reda's donkey he was drawn to express his art by saying he was drawn to show the connection between the Donkey and the Egyptian citizens who are crushed and poor. The face is not one person but representative 'of an unhealthy troika: financial authority and the religious fascism and military mafia. I hold them responsible for all the Egyptians who died during the revolution.' Abd El Rahman's donkey also evokes a post-revolution version of the tale of the Emperor's new clothes, as the creature wears a businessman’s suit jacket, while the rear quarters wear camouflage pants and army boots.

I love the art work of Marwa Adel who explores in most of her art the human body, identity, cultural and social taboos, through photographic art.  In the Middle Eastern Society the physical body is a word surrounded by restrictions, Marwa  feels that our bodies are the medium that links us to this world, and reflects our souls.

In creating her donkey Marwa was influenced by peace, she  said she remembers the hours she spent drawing her favorite subjects as a child, so she decided to decorate her donkey with angels, birds, horoscope symbols, and flowers. 'Those drawings took me away from reality' she says. 'I wanted to represent what makes me feel peace'

the renaissance donkey

 

 

Nefertari the Beloved Great Queen of Ramses the Great

Rameses the Great adored his Great Royal Wife Nefertari Mery-en-Mut, whose name means ‘most beautiful, beloved of the goddess Mut’, Ramses wrote this  poem for her on the wall of the stunning tomb that he had created for her at Ta set Neferu, 'the Place of Beauty' :

My love is unique, no-one can rival her,

for she is the most beautiful woman alive,

Just by passing, she has stolen my heart,

she who fills the colonnades and halls

with her perfume from the Land of |Punt,

Her perfect breast is covered in the finest linen,

Gold is nothing compared to her arms,

Her skin is as fair and soft as milk,

Her hair is the colour of the dark eclipse

Beautiful of face

My love for her is unique, no-one can rival her,

She is the most beautiful woman in the world

Beloved of Mut, Nefertari.

 Ramses father gave him his own Harem, it was no shame to be a member of a harem, the ladies were made up of the daughters of noble families, and princesses from foreign lands, and it was here that Ramses met Nefertari, whom he married when he was sixteen.

Ramses came to rule in the harvest of 1279, and he ruled for 66 years, he was the third pharaoh of the 19th dynasty during the New Kingdom period, and he is regarded as the greatest, most celebrated and the most powerful pharaoh of that period, his titles were : The Justice of Ra is powerful chosen of Ra, Re has fashioned him beloved of Amun, the Srong bull, beloved of right and truth. Protector of Egypt who curbs foreign lands, rich in great years great in victory.

Ramses had 8 other wives, but Nefertari was his beloved and favourite wife, and she bore him six children. Amun-her-khepeshef who became the Crown prince and commander of the troops, prince Pareherwenemef, prince Meryattum, Prince Meryre, and Princess Meritamen and Henettawy

During the 5th year of his reign Ramses went into war at the  Battle of Kaddesh, many temples show his victories in battle. Whilst Ramses was away Nefertari his Great Royal Wife ruled Egypt. During the time that Ramses was away a small group of Hittites entered Egypt, and arrived at the Rammessium Temple to kidnap Nefertari, fortunately her own guards prevented the abduction. A few years after the war was over Nefertari used her intellegence and skills as a diplomat to maintain peace between the Hittities and Egypt. Nefertari wrote many letters to the Hittitie Queen and they exchanged regular gifts, Nefertari also encouraged Ramses to marry a Hittite Princess to cement the goodwill between the countries.

The Hittites and Ramses made a peace treaty, and a copy of it is on the walls at the United Nations Building it records : Ramses Great King of Egypt is in good peace and brotherhood with  Hattusili Great King.....

During the year 1244 Ramses began the construction of the Temples of Abu Simbel in Nubia, the temples were carved into the mountainside, and twice a year, on the days of Ramses Coronation and Birth, October 22 and February 22 the sunlight shines at dawn in a direct line into the inner sanctuary of Ramses temple and lights up the figures of Ramses sat with the Gods, Many people visit Abu Simbel on these two days as a big celebration is held here

The Temples of Abu Simbel are situated at the furthest point of Egyptian supremacy, and it is here that Ramses shows his ultimate respect and love for Nefertari, because at the side of his mighty temple, he created another smaller temple that he dedicated to Nefertari and the Goddess Hathor. On the exterior of the temple he placed images of himself and images of Nefertari at the same height as himself, so in effect he was declaring to the world that he considered Nefertari as his Equal, no other Egyptian King has ever paid his wife this compliment

In the 24th year of Ramses Rule Nefertari went with Ramses to see the Temple at Abu Simbel, but she died shortly after this visit and so she was buried in the wonderful tomb that Ramses had created for her in the southern desert area of Taa Set Neferu 'the Place of Beauty' a gorge where Kings buried their dearest wives and children.

The tomb was rediscovered by an Italian Egyptologist named Ernest Schiaparelli in 1904, when he entered the tomb only a few fragments of Nefertari's possessions remained.

Ramses wrote on Nefertari's tomb walls :

The Princess Rich in grace

Lady of Affection

Sweet with love

Mistress of the two lands

Songstress of the beautiful countenance

Greatest in the Harem of the lord of the Palace

All you have said will be done for you

Everything beautiful according to your wish

When you enter a tomb, you are entering into the realm of the Egyptian God Osiris, who is the God of the Underworld. During the 12 hours of the night Nefertari had a perilous journey to undertake, she had to cross over a new gate each hour that was guarded by demons & monsters, she had to fight off the Apophis snake that sawm in the waters of chaos, and then she had to stand before the God Osiris with many other Gods where her heart would be placed on a set of scales against the feather of Maat the Goddess of justice and truth to see if she had lead a just and honest life, and deserved to live for eternity, if thee scales didn't balance her heart would have been devoured by an Ammit, a fearsome creature with the head of a crocodile and the body of a hippopotamus, both very dangerous creatures in Ancient Egypt, and she would simply cease to exist.

As Nefertari is about to step into the world of the dead, the Goddess Isis holds her hand to guide her, and she places an ankh at Nefertari's nostrils, the ankh is the hieroglyph of breath life and spirit, it is a potent symbol representing the union of male and female and earth and heaven  It offers the gift of immortality, Nefertari does not expire or exhale, but inhales the breath of life.

The Djed Column is shown on the pillars and walls in Nefertari's tomb, the Djed is symbolic of the backbone of the God Osiris, it is a representation of stability, and when used in tombs it helped the soul to stand up again and walk into the afterlife. This Djed holds the keys of life and two was sceptres, which are symbolic of Royal Power

The ceilings in Nefertari's tomb are amazing and a vivid dark blue for the night sky and covered in stars, these represent astral sentinels who never sink below the horizon and were a representation with the souls of gods and beings who had survived  the perilous passage through death to the beyond.

Th tragedy of Nefertari's tomb was that it had been robbed and only a few items of no real value were found inside the tomb, but the worst sacrilege was what happened to Nefertari herself. Only a pair of legs broken into pieces from the knees down remained of her mummy and were found in her tomb.

The Ancient Egyptians created temples and tombs and wrote spells and the history of the person, as they believed that if a persons name was spoken, that person would live again, so it is my wish that if you enter Nefertari's tomb, please say a silent prayer for her, and utter her name once more.

The Power struggles Between Ramses X1 and the High Priest of Amun - Amenhotep

 When I saw this photograph I was intrigued and decided that I had to find out more about it, because it is such an unusual image of the King Ramses X1 in the company of the High Priest of Amun named Amenhotep. The scene is at Karnak Temple on the 8th Pylon facing the sacred lake. Amenhotep was the High Priest of Amun towards the end of the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt, serving under Ramesses IX, Ramesses X and Ramesses XI

 In all temple and tomb reliefs the king is always shown in large relief compared to his subjects or enemies, this symbolically portrays his strength, power and influence, so to see a priest represented as tall as the King indicates  the unusual deterioration of the Kings authority and the rise in power of the Priests of Amun. The Relief shows Amenhotep celebrating as he is being dressed by symbolically smaller men, and Ramses X1 is awarding him with gold and necklaces. Amenhotep wasn't always in favour with the king, as he was ousted from office by the king with the aid of Nubian soldiers under command of Pinehesy, Viceroy of Nubia, for overstepping his authority.  This action is often referred to as 'the war against the High Priest' or 'the suppression of the High Priest Amenhotep'.

Ramses XI  was the tenth and final king of the 20th dynasty of Egypt. He ruled Egypt for approximately 29-33  years, during his reign the state of Egypt declined, with civil conflicts chaos and insecurity. Tomb robbery was prevalent all over Waset  (Thebes) as Egypt's fortunes declined and her Asiatic empire was lost. At Medinet Habu the Mortuary Temple of Ramses 111 they held a Kebnet (court) where court cases were held for the tomb robberies.

Ramesses XI died in obscurity his tomb (KV4) that had been prepared for him in the Valley of the Kings was left unfinished as Ramesses XI instead arranged to have himself buried away from Waset, after his death the workers village of Dier El Medina was abandoned as there was no further need for it's services in Waset

From the 21st dynasty the High priests of Amun held such power and influence that they were effectively the rulers of Upper Egypt from 1080 to c. 943 BC. They owned two-thirds of all the temple lands in Egypt and 90 percent of her ships plus many other resources, consequently, the Amun priests were as powerful as a Pharaoh

I would like to thank Mohamed M Fawey & Shahhat Wannan excellent Egyptologists & Tour Guides in Luxor for their advice and help for my research into this BLOG