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2- Me and the world: An online publication about life in ancient and modern Egypt.

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The tomb of Tutankhamen, the Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, was discovered by Howard Carter in 1923. The tomb in the Valley of the Kings was nearly intact when it was found and the discovery sparked worldwide press attention. Thus, Tutankhamen is now one of the most popular and widely recognized of Pharaohs. King Tut ruled 1333 BC – 1324 BC. He began his reign at the age of nine.

Video 1. The tomb of Tutankhamen

References

1. Tutankhamen tomb discovered [Full text]

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Due to the canals, in the area, Medinet El-Fayoum has been called the Venice of Egypt. The city of close to half a million people was first known as Crocodilopolis, and later Arsinoe, and has a substantial Coptic presence. It is the capital of the province and lies at the center of the depression, and also the transportation network of the area. All of the canals, roads, and train rails in the Fayoum converge at Medinet El-Fayoum, including the famous Joseph’s Canal, though to have been built by the biblical Joseph.

The city’s dominate attractions are the water wheels built by the Greek settlers, the canals, and the Obelisk which stands at the city’s northern entrance and was erected in honor of Senwosret I (12th Dynasty). This monument was originally found in two pieces during the 18th century and was recently reconstructed and erected in the City. It is thought to be the only Obelisk in Egypt with a rounded top, and has a cleft where a golden statue of Ra was originally placed.

The canal is the main avenue for most commerce in the city. The covered market place and the adjacent street of gold smiths found across the 4th bridge to the west of the central tourist office, are worth a visit

Video 1. Fayoum city, Egypt

The Fayoum is a wonderful area of Egypt with a rich and interesting history. It is an area where Egyptians often vacation and which is constantly growing more popular among Europeans. This 692 sq. mile depression was a lush paradise during prehistoric times. Its water level was eighty-five meters higher than today (currently 45 meters below sea level) and the Nile regularly flooded through the low mountains separating it from the Fayoum. At 215 square km, the current lake Qaroun remains Egypt’s largest salt water lake. The prehistoric people who lived here were, at first, nomadic hunters and gatherers, but later began harvesting plants near the lake. This developed into what is said to be the earliest agricultural area in the world, where fences were erected and guarded warehouses built. It has remained an agriculture center, well known for its fruits, vegetables and chickens. Name the ancient Pharaonic attracted the symbol and emblem of the Egyptian, who is casting his head in the form of a crocodile, there is in the far north of the city remains of the Temple of the most ancient temples had a sacred symbol Sojos or foundry, and dating to the Twelfth Dynasty.

The renewed by King Ramses II and then subsequently renewed the Nineteenth Dynasty, and there was a holy lake next to the temple, where he keeps a crocodile as a symbol of the god Sojos. It is located on the west bank of the Nile north of Cairo, and dates back to 4400 BC has continued to 1000 years, and remains of pottery found that researchers did not find at the center of civilization on the effects of the dead, and often they had been buried in a remote location.

But agriculture is not the Fayoums only claim for being first. The Greek mummy  portraits found in the Fayoum are said to be the world’s first true life portraits,  and examples can be found in area museums. In addition, a paved road,  which has been noted as a landmarkof engineering by engineering societies along  side the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty, is said to be possibly the first paved road  in the world and dates to over 4,500 years. And finally, the world’s first dam was  probably built here in order to control the Nile floods into the area.

The peacefulness of the area is a relief from the hustle and bustle of Cairo, from which it is a brief trip. Bird life still abounds around Lake Qaroun, bordered by semi-nomadic Bedouin settlements and fishing villages. Here, on the edge of the desert, you can sail, windsurf, swim and fish. Other places of outstanding natural beauty near Fayoum are the hot springs at Ain al-Siliyin, where you can bath and the waterfalls at Wadi al-Rayan, 40km towards Bahariyya, also suitable for swimming and picnics.

Fayoum is not a true oasis since it depends on Nile water instead of underground  springs or wells. The ancient Bahr Yussef canal runs through the center of the city and irrigates the land. Only two hours from Cairo by road, Fayoum is renowned for  its year-round warm climate, numerous water wheels (introduced by the Ptolemies  in the 3rd century) and lush agricultural land. Cotton, clover, tomatoes, medicinal plants and fruit are all grown here. The local Souk (market) in Fayoum City sells  copperware, spices and gold jewelry and there is a special pottery market
once a week.

• Introducing Medinat Al-Fayoum:

The largest town on the Al-Fayoum oasis was a favorite holiday spot for 13th-dynasty pharaohs, who built a series of pleasure palaces in the area. Centuries later, the Greeks, who believed the crocodiles in Lake Qarun were sacred, called the area Crocodilopolis, and built a temple in honor of Sobek, the crocodile-headed god. During Ptolemaic and Roman times, pilgrims came from across the ancient world to feed the sacred beasts.

The Fayoum, sometimes referred to as the Fayoum Oasis, even though it is not a true Oasis, is situated not too far south of Cairo. It takes its name from the Coptic word, Phiom or Payomj, meaning lake or sea. During very ancient times,  it was actually a sea, and today is well known for the finds of great, ancient whales.

During prehistory, more people lived in the Fayoum than in the Nile Valley. The  land here was lush, and there was an abundance of water. Between 7200 and  6000 BC, a time known as the Qarunian period, Southwest Asians, whom we call  Epi-Paleolithic Qarunians, migrated to the area and settled it, making hunting  and fishing their main occupations. At the time, plants and animals were just  beginning to be domesticated. All of this took place around a much larger
lake than is there now.

Later, during Neolithic times (5500 to 4000 BC), two distinct groups of people existed around the lake shores. These were the early Neolithic Fayumian and Late Neolithic Moerian. It was during this period that the first agricultural communities sprang forth. These people dined on gazelle, hartebeests or catfish, cooked in rough faced bowls or cooking pots, and served their friends and family on red polished rectangular earthenware dishes.

However, around 4000 BC, the climate of the Fayoum began to dry up, and over a period of many years, the people left their drought stricken homes and migrated closer to the Nile. By about 3500 BC, some were living east of the Nile in what is now Maadi-Digla, a modern suburb south of Cairo. From their ancient sites, we know that they had grain silos, made pottery and used sickles. Once the Nile Valley became dominant, the Fayoum was all but abandoned, because life along the river was much easier. The Fayoum became hunting and fishing paradise, as well as a place to be mined for its salts, limestone. The Fayoum Oasis has come in and out of favor with tourists to Egypt over the years. Only a few years ago.

• The Origin of the name Al – Fayoum:

- Al-Fayoum was first called in old ages “Mire Wire” which means the great sea because the water used to cover all the low areas in the city. Then it was called “Shidet” which means the Lake. While in the Greek and the roman ages it was called “Ber Sobak” which means the house of God Sobak because the area was inhabited by the crocodiles and these crocodiles were adored and had the name Sobak. Then the name was changed to be “Arsiuny” after the king’s sister name, and it was mentioned in the ancient Egyptian writings by the name “Bi Yam” which means the Lake finally it was changed to be Fayoum and when the Arabs entered Egypt they added the Arabic definite article to be called Al – Fayoum.

• Tourism in Al – Fayoum:

- There are many types of tourism in Al – Fayoum such as the environmental, safari, cultural and joyful tourism. The most important attraction factors for tourism in Al – Fayoum are: The moderate warm weather. Its location is near to Cairo. Full of the historical and cultural places from the old ages. There you can find Pharos, Roman, Coptic and Islamic monuments. There are many cultural places to visit in addition to the arts and Folklores. Also you can see the beauty of nature.

• Karoun Lake:
  

  - The Lake is located in the North Western part of the governorate, it is considered the oldest natural lake in the world and it is characterized by the important geological components. It contains rare different plants and inhabited by many birds some of which are emigrants and some are residents. Also there where some ancient mammals that aged 10 million years were discovered in the protectorate, in addition to the oldest monkey in world and some petrified trees. There you can find pharos, roman, Coptic monuments such as the churches area, El-Sagha temple and Karoun palace temple.

• Rayan Valley:
  

  - It is located in the south western part of the governorate; it consists of upper and lower lakes and waterfalls area connecting the two lakes. Also there is the Rayan water springs south the lower lake; these springs are surrounded by the Rayan Mountain. Near by the lower lake you can find El – Madoura mountain area. The Rayan Valley is characterized by its complete desert environment including the sandy hills, different plants and animals and also some ancient aquatic organisms. It has 15 different kinds from wild animals and different kinds of eagles.

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Although Mars has grabbed the headlines as a potential site of extraterrestrial life, Venus may have been the original source of life in our solar system, suggests a new book by a University of Colorado astronomer.

Four billion years ago the sun was 40 percent cooler than today. During that time, Earth and Mars probably were frozen. Venus, however, is closer to the sun, and may have had warm liquid oceans and a mild climate at the time, notes CU-Boulder Assistant Professor David Grinspoon of the astrophysical and planetary sciences department.

Video 1. Life on Venus

"There is some reason to believe Venus may have been the best haven for life in the early solar system," he said. With 900 degree Fahrenheit surface temperatures and an atmosphere permeated by carbon dioxide, chlorine and sulfuric acid clouds today, Venus seems inhospitable to "our kind of life," he said. "But we really don’t know much about life — its requirements, it’s differences and how to recognize it."

It is even possbile that life on Earth may have evolved from life forms provided by Venus, Grinspoon said: "Pieces of planets were blasting off of each other all the time early in the evolution of the solar system, and microbes from Venus could easily have wound up on Earth."

While the standard scientific view is that life requires water and carbon-based molecules, it cannot really be said if that is the only chemical system that can make life, said Grinspoon, who has been studying the surface, atmosphere and clouds of Venus for 10 years through NASA-sponsored programs.

Indeed, Venus may have a better environment for nurturing life than Mars, he said. Like Earth, Venus has a chemically lively surface and atmosphere that could provide organisms with energy and nutrients.

"In my view, what makes Earth special is its atmospheric cycles that renew themselves like a garden tilling itself," he said. "It could well be that kind of an environment on Venus is just as important for life as carbon."

Figure 1. The surface of Venus seen by the soviet spacecraft Venerra (Click to enlarge figure)

Because the surface and atmosphere of Venus are constantly renewing themselves through volcanic activity, there is more potential for interesting chemical and even biochemical processes on Venus than on Mars, he said.

"It’s possible that Venus could have tiny microbes in its cloud particles, or that some form of Venusian life could have developed by using ultraviolet light much like Earth’s plants use sunlight to make food. There could even be a non-carbon-based equivalent to lichens atop Venus’ five-mile-high volcanoes, perhaps feeding on sulfur gases," he said.

The interactions of Earth’s oceans, clouds, surface and biosphere has led some scientists to propose "the Gaia theory", that Earth itself is a living system. "By constantly exhaling sulfur gases that react with the clouds and surface minerals, Venus could be considered in that Gaia realm," notes Grinspoon.

Although NASA’s 1989 Magellan probe opened a new window on the planet using sophisticated radar mapping, there is still much to learn about Venus, said Grinspoon. One key is to keep an open mind about chemical and perhaps biological processes that may be occurring there and on other planets.

"Venus is the closest thing Earth has to a twin," he said. "Studying Venus is how we learned about the problem with our ozone layer, and it’s a way for us to become wiser in taking care of our own planet."

Venus is very hot, almost 800 degrees (Fahrenheit) at the surface. Venus also has a very heavy atmosphere. With a heavy atmosphere, there is a lot of pressure (about 91-94 times sea level pressure on Earth). A sophisticated life form such as a human-being would need a heavy shell for protection, just as humans going to great pressures under the sea need a submarine. Venus also has corrosive clouds of sulfuric acid.

We know, however, that there are life forms on earth which can survive in very harsh environments. Bacteria and very simple plant life can survive in unexpected places.

Because of the very high temperature, pressure, and corrosive atmosphere the environment of Venus seems unfriendly toward life as we know it on earth. More exploration of Venus is needed to determine if life was once present there.

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Video 1. Red sea diving

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Video 1. The Kids ABC’s At The Zoo

A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred.

The term zoological garden refers to zoology, the study of animals, a term deriving from the Greek ζᾣον (zōon – "animal") and λóγος (lógos – "study"). The abbreviation "zoo" was first used of the London Zoological Gardens, which opened for scientific study in 1828 and to the public in 1847. The number of major animal collections open to the public around the world now exceeds 1,000, around 80 percent of them in cities.

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Town in northern Egypt with 96,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate), in the Nile Delta, close to the Mediterranean coast, on the eastern bank of the outlet of the Damietta branch of the Nile. It is the capital of the Damietta, or Dumyat, governorate with 1.1 million inhabitants (2005 estimate) and an area of 589 km².Today, the port of Damietta is about 13 km in from the Mediterranean Sea. Originally, Damietta was right on the sea, but due to its exposure to foreign navy, the port and town was relocated 6 km inland in the 13th century. Silting of the Nile has added the extra kilometres.While of minimal importance for centuries, Damietta has in modern times again become an important port. Still it is only 3rd of the Egyptian ports on the Mediterranean Sea, with Alexandria and Port Said ahead. One reason for this are the limitations of the port which cannot be accessed by deep water vessels, cargo must be transported on river barges.The industries of Damietta produce furniture, clothing, leatherwork and flour. Fishing is also an important activity.

Figure 1. Damietta map (Click to enlarge)

The port of Damietta dates to Roman tiemes. the configuration of the port at the mouth of the Damietta branch of the Nile has changed sigificantly over the centuries partly due to the increasing fan of the DELTA and partly due to progression/regressions of the Mediterranean Sea over the past 2000 years.

Video 1. End of Nile at Damietta

• Damietta Port

The new Damietta port is a multipurpose one which started recently to operate since July 1987, through which it has handled several million tons mostly grain, flour and other bulk goods, also general cargo The annual port capacity is 5.6 Million tons.

The new port is one of the most significant steps EGYPT has undertaken to improve foreign trade facilities. After a study of flow of trade-traffic undertaken through the Mediterranean in the late Seventies, Egyptian experts and US consultants agreed that a new port should be built between the two existing Mediterranean harbours of Alexandria and Port-Said.

Another requirement was proximity to the Nile River, in order to ensure access to inland navigation

Damietta port is situated on the Mediterranean coast, about 23 miles west of Port-Said with a road distance of 70 km, and 10 km from the Nile’s Eastern branch near the seaside resort Ras El-Bar.

• Industry

Damietta produces about two thirds of the Egyptian production of furniture the total yearly production reachs 375,000 chamber, classified as sleeping rooms, receptions, salons and living rooms.

All that moreover producing the modern kitchens and chairs. Damietta’s production has the distinction in goodness and high taste which keep pace with the modernist international designs.

There is about 100,000 artison works in this industry moreover 100,000 worker in the commercial and industrial activities that supports it the daily production valuated by 200,000 pounds.

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The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse", is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae (the other is the Pygmy Hippopotamus.) The hippopotamus is the second largest land animal (after the elephant) and the heaviest extant artiodactyl, despite being considerably shorter than the giraffe.

The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting rivers and lakes where territorial bulls preside over a stretch of river and groups of 5 to 30 females and young. During the day they remain cool by staying in the water or mud; reproduction and childbirth both occur in water. They emerge at dusk to graze on grass. While hippopotamuses rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos are not territorial on land.

Video 1. The Hippopotamus (The Egyptian zoo in Cairo,Giza)

Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, porpoises, etc.) from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. The common ancestor of whales and hippos split from other even-toed ungulates around 60 million years ago. The earliest known hippopotamus fossils, belonging to the genus Kenyapotamus in Africa, date to around 16 million years ago.

The hippopotamus is recognizable by its barrel-shaped torso, enormous mouth and teeth, nearly-hairless body, stubby legs and tremendous size. It is the third-largest land mammal by weight (between 1½ and 3 tonnes), behind the white rhinoceros (1½ to 3½ tonnes) and both species of elephant (3 to 9 tonnes). Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun a human. Hippos have been clocked at 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances. The hippopotamus is one of the most aggressive creatures in the world and is often regarded as the most ferocious animal in Africa. There are an estimated 125,000 to 150,000 hippos throughout Sub-Saharan Africa; Zambia (40,000) and Tanzania (20,000–30,000) possess the largest populations. They are still threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory