This is a statue of Akhnaten. He is well known as the only Ancient Egyptian Pharoah to believe in only one God. He shook the social and religious structure so much that after his death, the priests tried to eliminate memory of him. He is also believed to be the father of King Tut.

This is a photo of the corniche in Alexandria. Though Egypt is an Arab country, it does retain some French influences in naming things. The corniche is just the road that runs along the waterway. In this case, it is running along the Mediterranean Sea.

This is a view of the Roman Theater in Alexandria. It was discovered under a hill in the middle of the city. More amazingly is that under the theater, they discovered an old Greek road and the remains of businesses. After its uses as a theater, it was also used as a Coptic Church. Great testiment to the non-Pharonic history of Egypt.

Here is a view behind the theater. Here they found the remains of Greco-Roman apartment buildings, glass factories, bath houses, a university, and the mosaic floor of a villa.

Here we can look straight down the Greek street that lies beneath the Roman Theater. It heads straight to a larger street lined with large columns. On the other side of the road is the Roman University and bathhouse.

Its a pit!!! I am not sure what it was used for. But, it is a Roman pit. He, he, he, he, he.

This is a tablet that was found at Tel- Armana. This was the capital city that Akhnaten built. This tablet shows the rebel Pharoah with his wife and the stylistic sun that was used during his reign.

I just had fun with my photo software with this pic. I took the picture of the pyramids and manipulate it in reverse coloring. He he he he he.

These are the canopic jars from King Tuts tomb. Canopic jars were used to store the 4 important organs after mummification. Each one is looked over by a specific Egyptian god.

This a stunningly beautiful statue of a married couple. In ancient Egyptian beliefs, the soul could only exist as long as the name and image of the person remained in tact. So, people with money had statues and images of them painted and/or carved into their tombs.

There were many small models of daily life found in the tomb of King Tut. This is a model of the Solar Boat that the pharoahs soul would ride on during his journey in the underworld.

Ancient Egyptian artists had to follow specific rules about how to depict people. This in no way means they were not skilled. Here you can see the detail of carving and paint that went into just an eye on a sculpture.

Egyptian geese are beautiful animals. Because of that, this is one of the most commonly copied pieces of art.

The lotus blossom is a highly symbolic image in ancient Egypt. Today, however, the lotus only exists in the pood that is at the front of the Egyptian Museum. It is extint in the wild waters of the Egyptian Nile.

This is a statue of Ramese II as a small boy. It is sheer brilliance. Here, you see the boy with the sun disc over his head and holding a reed like plant. Well, the sun disc is called Ra and repressents the solar diety, the boy called Mis is below the sun disc and is gramatically the son of the sun disc, the plant is used as the hieroglyph Sw that translates to mean king. So, the statue literally means “the son of the Sun God Ra is the king” and also happens to be pronounced as Ra-Mis-Sw, or … Ramses!!!!! This is the phonetic, heiroglyphic, sybological representation of his name, title and place in the religion!!!

Of course, everyone that goes to the Egyptian Museum wants to see the King Tut room. Well, there is more than just the famous golden mask to look at. Almost everything in that room is beautiful gold jewelry or burial pieces. Ironically, gold was easy for the pharoahs to get. It was silver or other white metals that would have cost more for them.

This is the face that everyone who travels to Egypt wants to see. If you are going to Egypt, make sure that you bring money for books and post cards, because you are not allowed to take pictures in the museum or most enclosed sites anymore.

Need I say more?

This is the sarcophogus of King Tut. The famous outter encasement for the boy king.

This is a nice carved relief of an angel. This is hidden away in the Coptic Museum. If you have a few extra minutes to visit the museum, do. It is not big, but there is some really cool stuff there.

One thing that you will notice when you visit the Middle East is that people put a lot of money and craftsmanship into building beautiful houses of God. It does not matter if it is a Synagogue, Church, Mosque or ancient temple. Everything is decorated. There are of course smaller and plainer versions for everyday use, but you typically dont travel to see those.

Who could not appreciate the detail and work taken on this?

The Hanging Church and the Church of St. George are across the street from one another. They are two of the oldest and most well known churches in Cairo. They are both built on top of the ruins of an old Roman Fortress that was on the site. The Hanging Church gets its name from the fact that there are parts of the floor where you can look down into the Roman Tower that the church is built on top of.

The Middle East has a long history of making art work out of bone and mother of pearl inlaid in wood. The patterns and color choices make for some of the most striking decorations.

The older Coptic (Egyptian Orthodox Christian) art work is just incredible. It has a very strong similarity to Byzantine art. I would suggest that if you are looking for something unique to take home for family members, look at the Coptic styled paintings on papyrus. My grandmother LOVED her papyrus with “The Last Supper” painted on it.

This is one of the oldest and most famous Coptic (Egyptian Orthodox Christian) Churches in Cairo. Inside, you can see a stunningly beautiful presentation of Coptic artwork as you travel around the room to the different “Stations of the Cross”. Also take the time to wander around the corridors of Coptic Cairo while your are here. Check out the pic of the Hanging Church.

If you have a chance to visit Egypt during the Islamic Month of Ramadan, you will get a totally different experience. The red decorated pannels are the walls of a “Ramadan Tent” where the mosque (or other charity) serves dinner everynight after sunset for those who are in need of a meal. The umbrella like columns are to provide shade to those praying outside on Fridays, and they collapse into simple columns all other times.

Everything is just so decorative.

Yes, I appreciate architecture. I love the beauty of the small everyday parts, like doors.

I think this speaks for itself.

This is a view of the top of a mosque in Cairo. I stood straight in the middle and took the picture straight up. So, the lines that divide the image are actually the chains of the chandelier.

Personally, I am stunned by the gorgeous detail put into this jar. It is made of Egyptian Alabaster and would have stored make-up, oils or other small personal effects for King Tut.

Osiris is the Egyptian god of the dead. This is a nice view of him on papyrus.

Egypt is far more than just ancient ruins. Today, the city of Giza (a suburb of Cairo) is litterally feet in front of the Sphinx. Here you can see the back of the Sphinxes head and the city sprawling before it.

This is the inside of the Great Pyramid of Kufu. It is so worth spending the money to go inside this place. Just becareful, it is not for those who are clostrophobic!!!

The Pyramid of Kafre is the center pyramid of the 3. It is the only one that still has some of the outer casing stones at the top of the pyramid. When first built, the pyramids were cased with smooth fresh cut limestone blocks. If you have never seen fresh cut limestone, it is brilliant white!!!! The pyramids were vibrant white with a gold covered stone at the very top. Just imagine!

This is the sarcophagus in the Pyramid of Kafre. This is the outer stone covering for where the body would habe been buried. However, the pyramids were broken into and robbed during ancient times. So, nothing was found in the Giza pyramids.

This is a friend of mine in front of the Great Pyramid of Kufu at Giza. When you look at the pics and hear the stories of how big the pyramid is, you kind of get disappointed when you stand there in front of it. The angles are so precise that it seems smaller when you stand next to it. But, dont be fooled. It is just an optical illusion. It is huge!!! All you have to do is step back and get a pic of those people next to it. Then you see the size comparison.

The image that captures what everyone thinks of when you say Egypt. This is the Sphinx and Pyramid of Kafre at the Giza Plateau.

This is a view of a small sphinx that was lining a road between Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple. Today, that road is mostly buried beneath the city. But, a few sections have been uncovered. This was infront of Luxor Temple which is open at night with the white flood lamps on. I prefer the temple at night.