Egyptian Culture

1. Egyptian Culture The Digital Story By: Christine Fikry, Breanna Knighton, & Chelsea Tanner

2. A Journey into Egyptian Culture Egypt has much more to offer than the mummies portrayed on television. The Egyptian culture is filled with unique customs, history, religion, art, and literature. Their culture has had a major impact on civilizations seen throughout history. So let’s take a look into the world of the Egyptians! This way we can gain an understanding of a culture unlike any other in the world, and we can come to recognize how their culture effects the world of today.

3. Objectives • We will look at the geography to better understand the environment. • We will take note of their society to understand their surroundings and their civilization. • The art and literature within Egyptian culture will be examined. • We will also look at the religions and beliefs of the people • An interview will be used to gain a more in depth look on the culture as a whole.

4. Geography Our story begins in heat of Northern Africa. Between the Mediterranean Sea and the Read Sea lies the country of Egypt. Egypt is the 30th largest country in the world, but most of its land is dry desert. While the scorching heat might deem this place unbearable, it is the winding river of the Nile that has brought people to this country for thousands of years. The continuous flow of the Nile River provides the land with fertile soil making it a prosperous place for the Egyptian people.

5. Geography Due to life in Egypt relying on the Nile River, flooding or drought was a crisis for the people and other countries who traded with Egypt. So, the Egyptian people produced an advanced dam and irrigation system. The dams can help raise water levels and make navigating the river easier. The Aswan dam was built in 1902 for irrigation purposes and to protect the people and crops from flooding. The Egyptians were smart enough to not let the unpredictability of the river run them away from their home.

6. Geography The Egyptian desert is known for its harsh humidity during the day and its chilly nights with temperatures dropping to 59 degrees. This is because of the different altitudes and the breeze coming from the Nile River. On top of this, Egyptian deserts offer frequent sand storms called “Khamaseen.” Needless to say, the deserts of Egypt offers a beautiful view of soft sand stretching for miles, but these captivating places have quiet secrets that many outsiders would not expect.

7. The People The Egyptians live in a society that has both differences and similarities to our American culture. When it comes to the people, there are about 76 million people living in the country. The majority of the population are Egyptian, Bedouins, and Berbers. There are little to no other ethnicities. While their population might not be as diverse, they do have the same societal values as other nations.

8. The People Family is very important in the culture of Egyptian people because it has a social aspect. In Egypt, an individual’s social class is determined by the family history and their social class. It is not solely focused on wealth. For the Egyptian people, family is more than blood. Family is what determines their social status within the society.

9. The People The people of Egypt believe in class and following a more traditional form of etiquette. If I was part of the Egyptian culture and decided to throw a party, I would expect all of my guests to bring a quality sweet or pastry to the gathering. Never is a guests allowed to give a gift with the left hand. The Egyptian culture requires that all gifts be giving with the right hand. Also, it is required that I do not open the gift in front of my quests. When greeting my quests, it is important to remember that gender is important. I am a women; therefore, I must extend my hand first when greeting a man or he may give a slight bow of the head. For close friends, a kiss on the cheek is appropriate.

10. The People When dining with those of the Egyptian culture, it is important to let the host/hostess take the lead. Let’s continue the scenario of my party! As the hostess, it is my job to tell my guests where to sit. Once the meal has began, I am continuously looking for empty plates so that I can give my guests another serving. If anyone asks for seconds, I am honored and ecstatic because my guests are enjoying the food. Etiquette is important because the approval of others helps one’s social status.

11. Art The art of Ancient Egyptians has been studied for many years. The Art of the Egyptians was highly developed for their times. This possibly comes from art being such a major part of their religion and other rituals.

12. Art The art of the ancient Egyptians also stands out because of the distinct characteristics of the people they portray. Lets imagine that I were a painter during that time! I would mostly paint portraits of pharaohs, gods, and goddesses. An important aspect of Egyptian painting is that these figures are painted showing a profile of the body. I would also be required to use bright colors for the paintings, and in some cases I was required to use minerals for coloring because paint was not enough to capture the color that was needed.

13. Art While the painting and pottery sculpting was a great form of art that the Egyptians clearly excelled in, it was the architecture that captured the attention of the world. Much of the work that we see standing today were built over 5,000 years ago. The Egyptians created some of the most beautiful statues and tombs to ever exist. They also built one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Pyramid of Giza. Clearly the Egyptian culture embraces art. It is not an understatement to say that they are some of the greatest artists to ever live.

14. Literature Egyptian literature is the oldest recorded literature known to historians. Writers would write on sheets of papyrus for scrolls and on the walls of temples, tombs, and pyramids. Much of the written work at first were stories of the gods, but just as their culture continued to develop, so did their stories. Writers began to write of love and the accomplishments of kings. They also experimented with styles and began to write poetry. Essentially, Egypt was the first to record written stories. We can thank the Egyptian writers of that time for opening the door for new writers like Barbara Kingsolver and Stephen King!

15. Religion • While Ancient Egyptian religions may be a thing of the past now, they remain an important part of the country today. Without the landmarks of Ancient Egyptian culture, there would be no landmark sights encouraging tourists to flock to this country as they do today. • Take, for example, the Pyramids of Giza, or the Sphynx. These legendary icons were built centuries ago among many other tombs and temples as a way to pay tribute to Kings and Gods. • Even such things as the infamous idea of mummies in Egypt would not be as iconic as they are today had they not been intricately adorned and preserved and heavily emphasized upon by the rituals practiced by Ancient Egyptian religions on their deceased Royalty, who were considered Gods.

16. Religion • Nowadays, the country no longer recognizes these polytheistic beliefs, but have branched off into several recognized monotheistic religions • While the fair majority of the country, about 90% practice the religion of Islam, the remaining 10% practice different forms of Christianity. Most of the Christians in Egypt are Coptic Orthodox Christians, but there are also numerous Catholic and Protestant denomination practiced in Egypt.

17. Religion • At a whopping 90%, Islam is clearly the dominant religion of the country, and has bled over into many aspects of daily life in Egypt. • From its laws, government, social norms, and societal idiosyncrasies, Islam has affected every part of the Egyptian lifestyle. • The Egyptian constitution even mandates that any new legislation at least implicitly follow Sharia, or Islamic law.

18. Religion • In the 1980’s a religious militant group actually rose up with persecution as their main agenda. This only officially lasted until 2000, but the persecution still goes on unofficially and is just overlooked by the government. • These Islamic militant groups called themselves al-Gama’a al Islamiya or the Islamic Jihad and were active mostly throughout Upper Egypt, then in 1992 began a campaign of armed violence centered also in Cairo targeted mostly at Copts, government officials, and tourists.

19. Religion • As previously outlined, the largest religious minority are the Coptic Orthodox Christians, often referred to as Copts. • Copts actually represent Ancient Egyptian ancestors who embraced Christianity centuries ago. This is why among the Christians in Egypt, 95% are Coptic Orthodox. • The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Oriental Orthodox Church, was established in the first century C.E. by Saint Mark. • The Coptic Church is headed by Pope Tawadrous II, who was very recently ordained, following the passing of Pope Shenouda III. • The church currently has approximately 10-15 million Christian followers worldwide

20. Religion • Religious freedom in Egypt is a very constrained thing because of the way that the Constitution is framed. It provides for freedom of belief and religious rites but then restricts these rites in their actual practice. • Islam and its Shariaa law is the primary framework from which Egyptian legislation was adapted. Therefore, any religious practice that conflict with Shariaa are restricted. • One example of this would be the construction of a church versus a mosque. Until recently, Christians had to obtain Presidential approval before making even minor repairs to their churches, while Muslims can build entire mosques as they please with no need for approval.

21. Religion • While most human rights organizations try to fight the discrimination against the Copts by the Egyptian government, the government denies that such inequality exists. Nevertheless, persecution by the Islamic militant groups goes on, and the government turns a blind eye. • While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, Human Rights Watch states, “ Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents.”

22. Religion • Needless to say, the religious tension between the two groups has done a lot to shape the culture in Egypt today. • Because Islam is so dominant throughout the country, whether you practice this religion or not, you must respect their customs and ways, or risk putting yourself in severe danger. • Living under such scrutiny has become too much to bear for most non-Muslim families, which is way the fair majority have left the country overtime.