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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Ancient Egyptian woman. Source: Denis / Adobe Stock.

What Hieroglyphics Say About the Women of Ancient Egypt (Video)

In the midst of Karnak's grandeur and prosperity, there's a revelation that challenges conventional wisdom. Images etched on tomb walls unveil a remarkable narrative of female influence in ancient...
Paying tribute in ancient Egypt. Source: Esignd ® / Adobe Stock.

How Ancient Cultures Paid Tributes to their Gods (Video)

Ancient civilizations, in their devotion to the divine, created enduring tributes that stand as evidence of their unwavering faith. Among these, the intricate carvings adorning the walls of Angkor...
Head of Tutankhamun. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art / Public Domain.

Face of the Boy King: The Deeply Human Story Behind Tutankhamun's Head (Video)

This exquisite limestone sculpture, currently an exhibit at the New York Met, captures the youthful innocence of Tutankhamun , the boy king, at the tender age of six. Crafted with meticulous detail,...
Relief in the Karnak Temple showing Thutmose III slaying Canaanite captives from the Battle of Megiddo, 15th Century BC. (Olaf Tausch/CC BY 3.0)

Thutmose III, the Famed Warrior King of Ancient Egypt

The power that marked the rise of Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom period rested solely on the shoulders of capable pharaohs. Such a vast realm could never thrive if it weren’t for leaders that were bold...
Egyptian Obelisks Unplugged: The Lost Chord Divine

Egyptian Obelisks Unplugged: The Lost Chord Divine

The magic of ancient Egypt, with its megalithic monuments and the mysteries they symbolize, still mesmerizes millions of people 2,500 years after its decline as an ancient cradle of civilization...
The columns of the Hypostyle Hall at the Karnak temple complex in Egypt. Source: whatafoto / Adobe Stock

The Awe-Inspiring Karnak Temple Complex and Vatican of Ancient Egypt

Karnak in Egypt is the largest known religious complex on Earth located on the east side of the River Nile at the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes. Referred to as the Vatican of ancient Egypt, many...
Ivanka Trump and family enjoying the features of the Giza Plateau . Source: Ivanka Trump/Facebook)

Ivanka Trump’s Family Is Making Egypt Great Again

U.S.- Egyptian cultural ties are strengthened as Ivanka Trump’s family explores the crumbling pyramids, temples and tombs of the Nile River. This week brought news of “hundreds” of mummies dated from...
The upper third of the original Karnak obelisk, one of several obelisks dedicated to Queen Hatshepsut of 14th-century BC Egypt, which was recently re-erected in Luxor near the Karnak Temple where it was toppled by an ancient earthquake or intentionally destroyed. Source: The National News

Karnak Obelisk Built for Legendary Queen Hatshepsut Re-erected in Egypt

Next to a sacred lake near the Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt, archaeologists and engineers have re-erected a fully restored Karnak obelisk that was originally constructed and raised in 1457 BC, in...
The Colossi of Memnon on the Theban West Bank. Antonio Beato. Brooklyn Museum. (Public Domain); An 18th century apothecary vessel with the inscription MUMIA. Deutsches Apothekenmuseum Heidelberg (Public Domain); Amy, Flinders Petrie's sister-in-law, buying antiquities at Abydos, circa 1899. © The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UCL, London. (Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin / CC BY-SA 4.0); One of the dahabeahs of Thomas Cook & Son, (Egypt) Ltd. Brooklyn Museum Libraries. Wilbour Library of Egyptology. (Ju

A History Of Egyptian Antiquities: Assessing Pivotal Highs And Lows Down The Centuries

Following the culmination of the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882, the British used their experiences in colonizing the Indian subcontinent to tackle the geo-political scenario in Egypt, opening the...
Fireworks at the Opet festival at Luxor’s Sphinx Avenue opening. Source: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities – Egypt

Opet Festival Extravaganza Marks Reopening of Avenue of Sphinxes

Egypt hosted the re-enactment of the ancient Egyptian Opet festival last night. The grand ceremony was held to mark the reopening of the 1.7-mile-long (2.7 km) road which links the Temples of Karnak...
The Unfinished Obelisk at Aswan (Image: © David H Childress)

The Enigma Of The Unfinished Obelisk At Aswan

The standard definition of an obelisk is a monolithic stone monument whose four sides, which generally carry inscriptions, gently taper into a pyramidion at the top. These massive, pointed shafts of...
Four ancient Egyptian sphinxes pictured at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor.     Source: Anton / Adobe stock

Four Ancient Egyptian Sphinxes Sacrificed In Political Chess Match

Four ancient Egyptian sphinxes are controversially being reallocated to a busy roundabout in Cairo and Egyptologists are warning they will be exposed to air pollution, which will cause irreversible...
Entrance to the Luxor Temple at sunset showing the obelisk and statues of pharaohs

Luxor Temple: The Sacred Sanctuary With An Eternal Legacy

Luxor Temple is one of the most famous temple complexes in Egypt. This temple complex is situated on the east bank of the Nile River, in Luxor, the main city of Upper Egypt’s fourth nome. Luxor...
Fragment of the Alley of the Sphinxes in the Karnak Temple, Luxor, Egypt. The image of a sphinx with the head of a ram was a common depiction of the god Amun and this connected him with fertility.                   Source: Anton / Adobe stock

Amun, The Creator God Whose Supremacy Surpassed Egypt

The world of the ancient Egyptians was diverse and enigmatic, filled with untold wonders and beliefs that were closely interwoven with the nature around them. Of particular interest is the vast...
Sacrificed Bulls of Ramses II Excavated in Abydos Temple

Sacrificed Bulls of Ramses II Excavated in Abydos Temple

Ramses II, or the Great (c. 1303– 1213 BC), was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and is often regarded as the greatest and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom. During recent...
Several packages wrapped in linen canvas (top left and bottom right) were found inside the chest. One package contained a wooden box (bottom left and top right), which is evidence that Thutmose II’s lost tomb is nearby.        Source: Andrzej Niwiński / Warsaw University’s Institute of Archaeology

Treasure Chest Found in Egypt Reveals Clues to Thutmose II’s Lost Tomb

Archaeologists working at one of the most famous Egyptian archaeological sites have made an amazing discovery. They have come across a stone chest and a wooden box with unusual contents. Experts...
The south facing entrance of Khonsu Temple, located in the Karnak Temple Complex on Luxor's East Bank. Source: ARCE / Fair Use.

Restored Ancient Tombs in Khonsu Temple Opening in Luxor

Four ancient Egyptian chapels and two temple tombs are to be opened up to visitors in the Khonsu Temple at Karnak , in Luxor . Sometime between 1189 BC and 1077 BC in the Dra Abul-Naga necropolis at...
Architecture Karnak Temple Luxor Travel Egypt (CC0)

Questing the Most Impressive Ancient Religious Temples in the World

What is the largest temple ever built on earth and do these man-made structures reveal secrets relating to the cosmos? To begin the quest for the largest religious temple, one needs to establish what...
The Ramesseum witnessed high drama during the workers' protest against the third king to bear the name, Ramesses. Pictured here are headless Osiride statues of Ramesses II.

Striking at the Heart of the Pharaoh: Social Injustice and Deception in the Place of Truth – Part I

A couple of years before he celebrated his jubilee, Ramesses III was beset by internal problems. A great king who had combated vicious enemies from all corners and was deified by his subjects for his...
An Egyptian sphinx with a human head

Surprise Discovery of 4,000-Year-Old Egyptian Sphinx with Human Head and Lion Body

Local authorities in Egypt have announced the discovery of an ancient sphinx statue between two of the best known ancient temples in the country – Karnak and Luxor. The discovery was made by chance,...
Head of Marcus Aurelius found at Aswan/Site of the newly discovered shrine at Luxor,

The Head of an Emperor, the Shrine of a God: Two Contrasting Finds at the Egyptian Sites of Luxor and Aswan

Recent discoveries at two of the major ancient sites in Egypt emphasize the diversity of culture and power that existed in the region over time. In Aswan, the head of a marble statue of the Roman...
Thousands of talatat blocks from Akhenaten's dismantled Aten temples lie in the precincts of Karnak complex; design by Anand Balaji

Akhenaten, the Savior of Karnak: Breaking Ties with “tainted” Amun - Part II

(Read Part I) Trouble brewed on the horizon when Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten in Regnal Year 5 in honor of his “father” the Aten, and abandoned Thebes (Waset) to occupy a desolate...
Enormous columns in the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak Temple complex, modern-day Luxor; design by Anand Balaji

Akhenaten, the Savior of Karnak: Sun God Vs the Hidden One - Part I

The fifth year of Pharaoh Akhenaten’s reign was to prove a watershed moment in ancient Egyptian history. In a bid to break free from the shackles of the influential Amun-Ra priesthood, the ruler...
Bust of Akhenaten

The Silence of Akhenaten: Was the Pharaoh Mute, Blind or Cultic?

The enigma of Pharaoh Akhenaten has captured the imagination of the world ever since Napoleon’s savants brought him to light. Today, every scholar holds steadfast to his or her theory about the...

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