A long long time ago, some three or four thousand years before our epoch, around the same time every year, the rise in the water on earth was herald by a sign in the heavens. The brightest of all the fixed stars appears at dawn in the east just before sunrise about the time of the summer solstice, indicating the beginning of the sacred Egyptian year. The brilliant star of Sirius or as the Egyptians called it Sothis, marked the time of the inundation of the Nile. Sothis was deemed by the Egyptians as the star of Isis, the goddess of life and love. They called it so because it was believed that as Isis came to mourn her departed husband, Osiris, to wake him up from the dead; her tears caused the rise in the levels of the Nile water.

The flooding of the Nile was the most important event in the lives of the Egyptians. It was a matter of their very existence and welfare. For a year with little or no flood meant famine in the Kingdom, but too large a flood would mean a disaster for it would over flow into the villages destroying them. A flood had to be just right to determine a good season. The Egyptian flood cycle starts during the second week of August and is divided into 3 stages. The time of the Nile flood, Akhet (the inundation) was the first season of the year. The sowing time Peret marked the time when crops grew in the fields and was considered the Egyptian Autumn from October to mid-February. The last and third season, the time of harvest Shemu, ran from mid-February until the end of May and was the spring season of the Egyptian calendar. This cycle was so predictable that the ancient Egyptians based their calendar on it.

As the Nile flow from the south to the north, the flood brought the silt-laden waters into Egypt, and as the water receded later the silt would stay behind, fertilizing the land. The flood was seen as the yearly coming of the god Hapi, bringing fertility to the land. He was worshipped even above Ra as he brought the fertile inundation; he was a very important deity to any one living in the Nile valley. He was depicted as a blue or green bearded man with female breasts, indicating his powers of nourishment. At the time of the inundation the Egyptians would throw offerings, amulets and other sacrifices into the Nile at certain places, sacred to Hapi.

Today’s celebration takes on a different meaning and form. Yes it is still celebrated at the same time of the year but there is no longer flooding of the Nile, which stopped when the Aswan High Dam was built to regulate the flow of water year round. Now this time of the year is called “Wafaa el-neel Festival” or literally “Fidelity of the Nile”. It was said that the Pharaohs sacrificed a beautiful virgin girl to the river in return for a good harvest. The ancient legend has survived into an ongoing tradition where a wooden doll dressed as a bride is thrown into the Nile instead.

The modern-day celebration is now more contemporary with art competitions for children, poetry reading, concerts and scientific discussions. This year there festival will include flower parades and a Pharaonic procession portraying the ancient legend of the Nile Festival. The events included aqua sports like rowing, water skiing, windsurfing and swimming. The celebrations well accommodate floating hotels, restaurants and other places over looking the Nile. This year’s concept is to promote the awareness to protect this vital source of life and a main attraction to Egypt’s ecotourism.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
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Egypt Tours

Copyright © EgyptHasItAll.com

Built during the 3rd and 4th century the Hanging Church translated in Arabic to El-Mu’allaqa or “the Suspended” has also been known as Sitt Mariam and St Mary, and during the 14th and 15th centuries travelers called it the “Staircase Church” because of the twenty-nine steps that led to the entrance.

One of Cairo’s most beautiful churches, its impressive location is due to the fact that it was built on top of the southern tower gate of the old Babylon fortress with its nave suspended over the road beneath. The land surface has risen by some 6 metres since the Roman period so that the Roman tower is mostly buried below ground; this has reduced the visual impact of the church’s elevated position. The entrance to the Hanging Church is via a beautifully decorated gate on Shar’a Mari Girgis Street in Coptic Cairo (Old Cairo). Coptic Cairo is the oldest part of modern-day Cairo, a tightly walled enclave, with narrow alley-ways that lead to Churches dating back to the origins of Christianity in Egypt.

The Hanging Church is a World Heritage Site, and is still used to this day for Coptic Mass on Friday and Sunday. In Egypt this church has played an important role in the Coptic Church History, as it had been the seat of the patriarchs after it was transferred from Alexandria to Al- Fustat (Old Cairo). The 66th patriarch Pope Ana Christodolos (1039- 1079) chanted the liturgy in the church. The Church holds several important festivals and celebrations like the enthronement of the patriarchs.

Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the church contains an eleventh-century pulpit, a thirteenth-century ebony and ivory screen and also has been a place where antiquities have been preserved especially in the Coptic Museum, with some 110 medieval icons and murals, the oldest among them belonging to the 8th century. But the oldest artifact unearthed is a lintel showing Christ’s entry into Jerusalem that dates from the 5th or 6th century. The church was badly damaged in the 1992 earthquake, which affected many of Cairo’s medieval buildings, but has since been renovated.

The Hanging Church in Egypt was possibly the first built in Basilican style with three aisles, a narthex and tripartite sanctuary. Later another chapel known as the “little church” was constructed over the eastern tower of the Babylon Fortress’ south gateway and now is the oldest part of the remaining church. In the 19th century a fourth aisle was added. The church is 23.5 meters long, 18.5 meters wide and 9.5 meters high.

Although the original church was founded during the third and fourth century; the current building may date from as early as the seventh century, but it was rebuilt in 977AD and heavily restored in the nineteenth century. However, the earliest mention of the church was a statement in the biography of the patriarch Joseph I (831-849 AD), when the governor of Egypt visited the establishment.

The entrance to the church leads into an open courtyard, flanked by mosaics, from which the 29 steps take you up to the church. At the top of the stairs are three wooden doors decorated with geometric patterns, framed with decorative carvings in the stone wall. The inside is impressive and is truly a work of art, lending the atmosphere an air saturated with medieval history, even the ancient timber wood of the magnificent ceiling is reminiscent of Noah’s Ark.

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
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Egypt Tours

Copyright © EgyptHasItAll.com

The Tanoura Dance Troupe performed this week as they do every week, at the picturesque Al-Ghouri Mousoleum near Khan el Kalili bazaar. They perform twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m. and the admission is free! So it’s hard to be disappointed since the experience is bewitchingly amazing.

The practice of Tanoura or Sufi whirling is a type of meditation that originated among Sufis over 700 years ago. The word “Tanoura” may refer to the dance, dancer, or the large skirt used in the performance.

Sufism is the spiritual tradition known to many Westerners through the mystical poetry of Rumi and Hafiz. Sufism is a mystical tradition dating back two millennia. It is generally understood to be the mystical dimension of Islam, and the practitioner of this tradition is known as Sufi or “Dervish.” The word is Persian in origin and literally means “the sill of the door”, but it is used by the Arabic and Turkish language to describe the Sufi, who is the one who is at the door to enlightenment.

Sufi Masters have developed a variety of practices to induce mystical states of consciousness. Jalaluddin Rumi, a thirteenth-century Persian Sufi and founder of the Mevlana Order, developed the ritual dance which consisted mostly of turning in place or spinning around a central point or pillar.

Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi says, “All loves are a bridge to Divine love. Yet, those who have not had a taste of it do not know!”

The Egyptian Sufi dancing is different to the Mevlana Dervishes in Turkey. It is more colourful and with more people involved in the performance. The concept is built around the idea that the universe stems from the same point of rotation. Starting and ending at the same point, represented by the senior dancer, “Lafife” and symbolizes the Sun, while the junior dancers “Hanatia” are the constellation revolving around him. The whirling motion itself reflects the importance of circles in Sufi philosophy and cosmology, within which revolution is the fundamental state of all beings. The aim during this ritual is to desert “the nafs” or ego (or personal desires) and listening to their master and Sufi music, thinking about God and whirling on a spiritual journey to reach the “Kemal” (the perfect).

“For a dervish, there must be a purpose, a cause for existence, and inside the cause, a True Human Being.” Jelaluddin Rumi

The musical instruments used include rebaba (folk fiddle), ney (flute), mizmar (shawm), frame drums, sagat (cymbals), and tabla (doumbek drum). In the Sufi tradition the ney holds great significance as air has to be breathed in and out rather than blown into it, and that the wind passing through the flute is not just the breath of the player but the breath of God. So once the breath enters the journeyer (the dancer), he seeks union with God through the whirling movements. There is also the chanting of “thikr”, which is the repletion of “la illaha illa’llah” (there is no god but God). However, some Dervish may only repeat “Allah” because they believe man can die at any moment, and they want only the name of God on their lips and in their hearts.

The changes in music, body language, and facial expressions are intended to communicate. The tannoura contained a cohesive message, communicated sequentially over the course of the show. The dancers whirl continuously sometimes for up to 45 minutes straight, varying their pace to match the music, then stop and be completely fine. As they turn, they manipulate long skirts in a colorful display and executing skilled moves, such as throwing the skirts in the air, spinning the skirts at different levels and angles, even spinning the skirt over head and while lying down. When the dancer tilts at an angle where the right hand is raised up and the left almost touches the ground, it signifies a union of the heaven and earth.

It is a rare occurrence of religious ceremony transcending into performing art. But it is obviously more entertainment than religious ceremony. It is also claimed that the trance-like state that the Dervish goes into extends to the observing audience, so don’t feel surprised if you find yourself transfixed watching these well trained performers on their spiritual journey!

About the Author:
Gawhara Hanem
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Egypt Tours