As the largest open-air museum in the world for more than 4,000 years, the land of the pharaohs has long been a central shrine for knowledge seekers, treasure hunters and is the keeper of some of the world’s biggest mysteries that continue to fascinate fans and researchers to this day.
Tourism in a general cultural context and its various civilizational aspects seems to have been created especially for Egypt. On the banks of the Nile, the ancient Egyptian civilization was born and flourished. And born with it was the fundamental human quest for knowledge, in various fields including: religion, science, society, as well as the practical business of everyday life. As spiritual as he was, the ancient Egyptian cared for his welfare in life as much as he cared for his afterlife.
The knowledge and the foundations of engineering, architecture and sculpture were improved greatly throughout Egypt’s long history as true reflections to his emotions and inner beliefs. Art for the ancient Egyptian was his best tool to express his feelings and vision of the cosmos and how he related to it. No doubt it also mirrored his hopes and fears of the great unknown.
An unquestionable educational destination, cultural tours were introduced to Egypt as early as 5th century B.C. Sightseeing treks to the great monuments and the documenting of the ancient Egyptian life along the Nile was what initially drew early travelers to Egypt. Herodotus, the early Greek historian and traveler who visited Egypt about 450 B.C wrote a lot about Egypt, describing to his fellow Greeks the life and the practices of the Egyptians, as well as the ancient wonders of pharaoh’s land. Herodotus opened the door to the endless flood and countless waves of visitors and tourists from all countries to Egypt who wanted to see for themselves the glory of the ancients.
Founded by Alexander the Great in the 3rd century B.C., Alexandria also became a vital destination for all the cultured and educated people from eastern Mediterranean countries, especially the Greek islands. In ancient times, the city was known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (one of the Seven Wonders of the World) and the Library of Alexandria (the largest library in the ancient world). The Greek founders of the city realized the cultural importance and deep understanding to ancient Egyptian writings and teachings and used them to help build their new city, and they modeled its laws on ancient Egyptian laws. So, the years of Alexandria and its great library were the unmistaken bridge that linked the written legacy of ancient Egypt to Greek, and then into the modern world.
Egypt’s western desert also attracted its share of early travelers. In those days, the temple of Amon in the remote Siwa oasis was famous as the center of oracles and power. This oracle is said to have confirmed Alexander the Great as both a divine personage and the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt. This was quite a shocking–even unthinkable–event, and Alexander’s brief and magical visit raised a lot of questions regarding his true motivations and the mysterious blessings he was after.
Later, after Alexander, Egypt and Alexandria became like a giant magnet to visitors and students eager to expand their cultural horizons, as well as to experience spiritual and the earthly pleasures it offered. All the great Greek philosophers (Aristotle. Socrates, Plato) had special relationships with Egypt, and were confirmed visitors. They profited from the accumulated translated materials they brought back from Egypt.
During the Roman period, travelers continued to flock to Alexandria from different parts of the empire, many of them contributing invaluable history books-such as-Josephus, Zenon and many others. The works of the great historians about Egypt inspired many to explore land of the pharaohs. Even some of the Roman emperors visited Egypt, which as a wealthy Roman colony was considered the most important farm in the Roman Empire. Emperors Octavius, Hadrian, Trajan, Caligula, Caracalla, Septimius Severus came as tourists and seekers of answers to the mysteries of life. They were the most powerful men of their time, and stood before the great pyramids mesmerized and amazed with the greatness of these monuments.
Later on, during the Christian era, all of the ancient Egyptian temples were closed, or converted into churches and monasteries. Still, with the flame of ancient Egypt burning and shining through, the Christian roman emperors arranged for Egyptian obelisks to be shipped from Egypt to Rome, to decorate the big arenas and open squares and fountains in front of central cathedrals. One look to the map of ancient Rome we can easily locate the Egyptian obelisks in the largest squares in the city. The Vatican City main square still holds the obelisk of Thothmes III, which was taken from the temple of Karnak in the 4th century A.D by order of Constantine the great. So, even through the great shift of beliefs, a fascination with Egyptian art overwhelms the heart of Rome.
As the onetime refuge of Mary, Jesus and Joseph, Egypt held a special place in the hearts of early Christians. The fathers of the church came down to the Nile country as religious pilgrims, tracking the footsteps of Christ in the land of the pharaohs. The Egyptian people in the villages had welcomed the holy family and offered shelter during the escaping years. This made Egypt an extremely popular destination in the first few centuries of Christianity, when fathers and monks visited Egypt to build churches and monasteries. Ancient monasteries of Egypt that still stand as living witnesses to this early period include St. Paul and St. Anthony–the oldest known monasteries in the whole world, dating back to the 3rd century A.D.
Also visible still, on the beautifully decorated walls of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, is a large collection of written graffiti indicating that many ancient Egyptian monuments were used as isolated and tranquil places of Christian worship and meditation thousands of years after being built.
With the rise of the Arab sun in Egypt in the 7th century A.D came the sudden and rabid spread of the new faith, Islam, in the Nile Valley, Travelers and early explorers from Arabia came to Egypt to discover the wonders of the lost pharaohs and they wrote many travel books describing Egypt, it's people and it's hidden legacy too.
Many of the Arab traveler's notes and books about Egypt still survive to tell us how the early Arab invaders viewed with astonishment the ancient Egyptian antiquities.
In the Middle Ages, their accurate observations of many of the famous sites in Egypt, like the pyramids of Giza and the tombs of Saqqara, and the area of Luxor with its splendid tombs and temples in the 10th-11th-12th-century A.D (El-Masoudi; El-Bogdadi; Ibn-Elfequih; Ibn-Gebier) helped to spread Egypt’s fame as a place of wonder.
Egypt took its fair share of Arab visitors and caravan tours during the Arab-Islamic state period, fed and supported by the growing trade movements between all Islamic states and Egypt. Little by little, rich Egypt became the heart of the Arabic-Islamic trade that attracted many foreigners to stop by Egypt and see its ancient sites and walk in the ruins of lost pharaohs.
Trade and travel increased significantly during the golden age of the Mamluk period, from 1250-1517 A.D, and continued to grow even when Egypt fell into the hands of the Ottomans and became an important component of the Ottoman Empire, during the 16th,17th,18th centuries. And also being part of this European Empire made Egypt a favored destination for many European traders and explorers. It was during this period when the Nile Valley started to see to the first Portuguese, Spanish, French, and English tourists. It also marked the sudden flourishing of the Mummy trading from Egypt to Europe. Egyptian mummies were highly prized in the European markets, and at that time mummies–sold as pharmaceuticals in powdered form–were believed to have medicinal properties. Egypt became a standard tourist destination for adventurers and explorers, like James Cook, from Europe.
A fever for all things Egyptian reached its zenith in 1799 when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt, bringing his famous historic and scientific expedition to decode the mysteries of the ancient land. Egyptomania spread faster, stronger and more infectious than ever before. One hundred sixty scientists came to Egypt with Napoleon to study and explore the lost civilization of the pharaohs surveying all the monuments and digging many of the long buried sites previously unseen by modern people. They copied many of the wall scenes and waxed others, especially from the Valley of the Kings. They recorded all observations and documents in the famous work The Description of Egypt the most important book ever written about Egypt in the modern era.
(for more on this: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/description.htm)
The discovery of the Rosetta stone and the subsequent decipherment of its symbols and signs by Champolion, the French scientist, brought a lot of light to ancient Egypt, and fueled the interest to the highest level. The scientific French campaign to Egypt opened the road to treasure hunters and antiquities fanatics who launched raid after raid to plunder the ancient sites of Egypt and snatch whatever their hands could touch. During the first half of the 19th century they carried away their riches to their ships docked in the Mediterranean. Barons and lords highly coveted authentic Egyptian artifacts from the Nile Valley, and this fever urged many of the wealthy lords and businessmen in Europe to finance special expeditions to Egypt. They excavated the ruins of the ancient cemeteries and sites that used to be temples, and soon Egyptian artifacts had reserved a very special seat for itself in the antiques markets in Europe This was the years of Henry Salt and Mr. Drovetti, two very famous men, were the biggest dealers in the antiques market and they nearly monopolized whatever come out of Egypt for more than 30 years.
The Turkish king of Egypt, Mohamed Ali, at that time issued special concessions of digging in Egypt only for European diplomats and allowed them to take freely everything they found. For more than 50 years all-important archeological sites in Egypt were aggressively looted and desecrated. On the other hand, these sites were more than gracious, revealing secrets and artifacts that were hidden for more than 4000 years.
Thankfully, in the second half of the 19th century the situation on ground improved. With the foundation of the Antiquities Service Department, which became later Egypt Antiquities Department, a new era had begun. This period witnessed several attempts to carefully and scientifically survey the ruins and sites. Storing the finds became an essential matter for research and translation purposes, as well as for future display. This era was known for its famous discovery made by Mariette Pasha, a hero of those days. He uncovered the royal jewelry collection of a 12 dynasty queen, in the area of Illysht, under pyramid of King Senwesert , from1850 B.C.
This priceless collection of Egyptian jewelry visited France in 1860th and was greatly desired by the French Queen Eugenie. When she asked King Ishmael to keep the collection for herself, the powerful French manager Mariette strongly rejected the whole idea and fought for returning the collection to Egypt where it is displayed now in the Egyptian Museum.
The treasure hunters were disappearing by this time, and more respectable tourists seeking adventure began arriving. It’s the era of Egypt’s first organized tours and the early rise of Nile cruise–the Dahabia, or steamer. A few years later, in late 19th century, Egypt was advertised in Europe as a classical winter destination.
The phenomenon of tours of Egypt continued to grow with better understanding of the ancient Egyptian language and the spread of translated papyrus and ancient texts. The written legacy of ancient Egypt was perceived by the western world with shock and amazement, as the cultural and religious lessons were overwhelming to many western scholars. The depth of thoughts in these ancient texts helped to reshape and remodel the western mind concerning the origin of all beliefs. This led many western scholars to conclude that ancient Egypt was the spiritual mother of the western European civilization. Towards the end of the 19th century many trips to Egypt were recorded and well documented to confirm that particular notion and also the very urgent need to preserve a legacy that not only belongs to Egypt, but to all mankind.
The famous journey of Egyptologist Mrs. Emilia Edwards (1000 Miles Up the Nile) and her great efforts and contributions to establish, in 1895, a great foundation credited with helping to preserve the Egyptian heritage. The EES (Egypt Exploration Society) is still active today.
With the sunrise of the 20th century and an increase in archaeological discoveries along the Nile, a surge of Egyptomania overwhelmed Europe and deep and genuine interest in all things Egyptian. This era was finally crowned with the world famous find in the Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter in 1922 of the intact tomb of the boy king Tut. The tremendous riches of the Tut Ankh Amon discovery fueled the madness of Egyptomania, making it a universal fashion that has had an immense and unmistaken impact on world arts.
Art Deco, the dominant architectural style in Europe and North America at that time, started to borrow some Egyptian imagery blended into it's style and many other decorative Egyptian elements were introduced to European and North American buildings in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The famous Egyptian cornice and the mask of Tut Ankh Amon, as well as the winged disc of Ra guarded with two cobras, all became familiar motifs in major cities buildings.
From St Petersburg to Paris, and London all the way to New York–it was a total artistic Egyptian invasion of the modern world. Once again the ancient Egyptian civilization had risen and been reborn like a giant phoenix that dwarfed everything surrounding it, and from those days until now Egyptomania has never come to a stop. On the contrary it is still growing, constantly feeding on new discoveries in very famous sites like Valley of the Kings, and also in fresh areas like the western desert oasis Baharia and the Valley of the Golden Mummies. And because the Egyptian desert sand continues to keep many of its secrets, there are many mysteries to still be discovered.
Burning with an endless enthusiasm to learn and study the multifaceted history of the nation that built the greatest civilization ever, modern Egyptians (like me) are charged to take good care of what our ancestors gifted to us.
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