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Egyptian Hieroglyphic Tattoos

It is very interesting if you have Egyptian hieroglyphic tattoos because not only do they look amazing but also you have so many different options to portray the same message. The tattoo can face any direction you want because the Egyptians would write in columns and in rows and the direction you read the hieroglyphs depends on the direction that the animal hieroglyphics faces are pointing. So if they point to the left you would read from left to right, pretty cool hey.

There where two forms of hieroglyphics the Egyptians used; pictorial and alphabetic that would generally be mixed together and they worked of a similar system to Chinese language where it is a mixture of words with sounds. I can relate to this personally because when I was trying to learn Chinese I would repeat a certain phrase to someone and they would not understand because I did not use the appropriate pitch/tone for particular words.

I guess when it comes to getting these hieroglyphics tattooed onto your body it does not really matter to other people because they would not understand what it means but for yourself this is a very different matter because you want meaning behind it. To put things in perspective you will be using one of the oldest languages known to man that to the Egyptians was reserved for the high Priests and people of nobility. If you want to translate your message to Egyptian Hieroglyphics then I recommend using a good source before you go ahead.

Traveller’s Guide to Egypt

Egypt, land of Pyramids and Pharos, lays across the Mediterranean and Red Seas, linking Africa, the Middle East, south Asia and Europe. Four times the size of the United Kingdom, it has borders with Libya, Sudan, the Gaza Strip, Israel and Jordan, and faces Saudi Arabia across the Gulf of Aqaba.

The strategically important Suez Canal is to the north, running between Suez and Port Said, while the Red Sea tourist resort of Sharm al-Skeikh is found in the south. Most of the country in between is desert and only four per cent of the land is cultivated, mainly adjacent to the thousand mile long Nile and the Nile Delta.

The Foreign Office reports that Egypt is hot and dry in the summer, mild in the winter with rainfall increasing nearer the coastlines. Temperatures increase southwards, and on average, these vary between twenty two and thirty seven degrees Centigrade in the summer and nine and nineteen degrees Centigrade in the winter. Politically stable, in that President Mubarak has been in power since 1981, Egypt is not known for its political freedom and has recently introduced more stringent anti-terrorism legislation.

Under President Mubarak the country has gained healthy economic growth which is currently around seven per cent. Even so, despite earnings from its canal, agriculture and service industries such as tourism, the country is dependent on imports and has a budget deficit. Inflation is running at close to nine per cent.

Egypt is a signatory to all the major UN human rights conventions. But the Foreign Offices says one of the key human rights concerns in Egypt is the widespread mistreatment of detainees and use of torture in police stations, especially in cases involving political detainees although ‘the government has taken some steps to address the problem’.

The Foreign Office also warns that there is a high threat from terrorism. There has recently been a strengthening of security measures, including around popular tourist destinations.

British visitors require visas. These can be obtained from an Egyptian Consulate outside Egypt or on arrival for stays of up to one month. Applications for visa extensions should be made at Egyptian Passport and Immigration Offices.

There is no limit to the amount of sterling which can be taken into Egypt (larger sums should be declared on arrival), but there is a limit of 5,000 Egyptian pounds that can be taken out of the country.

According to the Foreign Office, some of the British nationals who have purchased land in Egypt have encountered problems. In parts of Egypt and increasingly, in the area of the West Bank in Luxor, land tenure rights can be restricted by local laws.

‘If you intend to purchase a property in Egypt we strongly advise you to engage a local lawyer’, says the Foreign Office. ‘It is important that your lawyer obtains an extract from the local land registry to satisfy you that the property or land in question is formally registered. You should again seek legal advice before entering into any contract. Don’t sign anything that you do not understand’.

A list of English speaking lawyers and translators is available from the British Embassy situated in Cairo. Property buyers are also warned that the Egyptian land registry is liable to be out of date or incomplete – although the main cities and resort towns tend to have more reliable records.

Special rules apply, however, in Sharm El Sheikh which limits property rights to a maximum of ninety nine years. In other areas of Egypt it is still possible to buy freehold property. British and other EU nationals travelling to Sharm El Sheikh or Taba resorts for up to 14 days do not require a visa prior to travel. However, foreign property owners in Egyptian must have residency.

Egyptian Eye Tattoos

The “Eye of Horus” also known as the “Udjat” or “Eye of Ra” is one of the most popular Egyptian tattoos that are being shown today. It not only looks great, but also has many different meanings and symbology.

The eye of Horus is represented in 7 different hieroglyphs and means, “to make” or “one who does” and in Egyptian belief the eye was not really an instrument to see but an agent of action, protection and wrath. In fact it was such a symbol of protection that sailors would paint the eye onto their ships to have a safe travel on the seas. As a tattoo it makes sense that this symbol should provide you with protection and strength. It is actually present on the American dollar bill as a sign of strength.

This Egyptian eye was also a measurement system where the eye was actually divided into six pieces with a different measurement.

1/2 was represented by smell.

1/4 was represented by sight.

1/8 was represented by thought.

1/16 was represented by hearing.

1/32 was represented by taste.

1/64 was represented by touch.

If you wanted to get creative with your tattoo you could look further into these representations.

As you can see the Egyptian eye represents many different things but it is suitable if you want to tattoo a symbol of strength and protection, there is definitely potential for a lot of small talk if someone is to ask you why you got this particular tattoo.

Egyptian God Tattoos

If you are wearing a tattoo of an Egyptian god then it is probably best to know what it represents as well as looking awesome. I have seen many different Anubis tattoo designs, which is interesting seeing as he represents the underworld but read below for some common Egyptian gods and their meanings.

Anubis So lets start with the popular one Anubis; the Egyptians believed that he was the god of embalming and that he was the one who would weigh your heart to see whether it was light enough for you to enter the underworld (heaven). If your heart was light it meant “care free” but heavy meant “sad”, which relates to the common day saying that we have today of “carrying a heavy heart”. So it was Anubis responsibility to make sure that you would pass on to heaven and I guess it makes sense to have him as a tattoo because he is almost like a guardian angel. By putting trust in Anubis it would help your chances of eternal happiness.

Ra Ra was the god of the sun, the king of kings and he would descend into the underworld every night and then resurrect 12 hours later on the dawn. He was one of the most powerful gods and was always in conflict during the day with his enemy Apep but was always given assistance by the other gods Seth and Bastet. Ra symbolises strength and a nobility of leading the leaders; so if you were considering him as a tattoo I would recommend that you take this meaning into consideration.

Seth He was the god of the storm, desert and violence because these were all enemies of the valley of the Nile. He was actually an interesting character because he was very violent and killed Osiris, however he also helped Ra fight Apep so this would be your typical type of bad boy with a conscience. This would be a good tattoo for a fighter or someone who does not particularly play by the rules.

The Sphinx – A Greek Or Egyptian Creation?

On the plateau of Giza, facing the rising sun, the Great Sphinx statue still sits. Visiting the site it is impossible to be unmoved; the Sphinx is huge; 241 ft long, 20 ft wide, and 66.34. It is one of the oldest AND largest statues in the world, but apart from those measurements, we know very little about it. No-one knows for certain whose face the statue bares, who had it built or why. We do know that the Great Sphinx is so old that the Pharaohs (including Rameses II) regarded it as an incredibly old and sent workers to restore it, as in their time almost all of the ancient statue had disappeared beneath the sands. Beyond that there are no writings to mention it’s creation and we don’t know it’s name. Why do we even call it ‘The Sphinx’?

Greek mythology tells of a mythical beast who had the body of a lion and the head of a woman. This beast guarded the town of Thebes, but this is Greek Thebes, not the Egyptian city of the same name. According to legend this beast asked every passing traveller a riddle. “Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be?” Anyone unable to answer the riddle was immediately strangled by the monster and eaten. According to legend Oedipus escaped death with this  answer “Man-who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and then walks with a cane in old age.” The monster then leaped from the cliff where she lived, to her death.  This monster the Greeks called a sphinx, from the Greek word which means ‘to strangle’ the result is that all such monuments of a mythical beast with the body of a lion, whether Greek Status or Egyptian statues are now called ‘sphinx’. 

Anyone who has looked at an Egyptian statue of a sphinx may be puzzled – this does not seem like a statue of a monster. Could there be some sort of mistake?  There are many similar Egyptian statues showing lion bodied beasts with the heads of other animals (frequently men or rams) such as the great avenue of 900 sphinxes at Thebes in Egypt, but these sphinxes (we don’t actually know what they Ancient Egyptians called them) were not monsters.  An Egyptian sphinx statue was a guardian, the lions body represented the sun god;  And that’s not the only difference. A Greek sphinx statue shows a lions body, a serpents tale and the face of a woman. The lion is seated, her font legs vertical, but her most outstanding feature is the pair of eagles wings stretching out from her shoulders. Egyptian statues depict a prone leonine body and usually have the head of a man or other animal. Most notably they have no wings at all.

It seems strange that this one word could come to represent two such different forms of ancient statue, but the Great Sphinx itself has even greater mysteries.

In 1950  R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz noticed the marks of what he believed was water erosion inside the Sphinx Enclosure. In 1989 a further investigation by geologist, Robert Schoch, revealed  that this ‘weathering’  had been caused by rain, yet the average annual rainfall in the area since 2600 BC (when archaeologists believe the sphinx was built) was only one inch. This has lead a number of authors to state that the sphinx is in fact far older than originally thought and dates from pre-dynastic times, making this Egyptian statue over 5000 years old.  While many reputable archaeologists say this cannot be true and give other explanations for the water erosion effect, the fact that no other building on the Giza plateau shows any sign of this weathering leaves the question unanswered.

While it may lack the flamboyance of a winged Greek sphinx statue, the Great Sphinx is  magnificent. We may not know it’s age or why it was so carefully chiseled from the rock of the Giza Plateau, but we are fortunate to be able to enjoy this ancient statue and it’s mysteries, and look forward to the day when they can be fully unraveled.

Egyptian Cotton Bed Linen – How to Choose!

If you are after linens for your bed that not only feel wonderful but look great then you should consider purchasing some made from Egyptian cotton. Certainly for that luxury feel for the room in your home where you want to relax you cannot go far wrong with getting a good set of Egyptian cotton bed linen.

Today the technology used by textile mills around the world has further improved the versatility and beauty of Egyptian cotton fibres. In some cases it is quite possible to make luxury bed linen from Egyptian cotton that comes with a single ply thread count of up to 1500.

In fact this is the highest quality available for you to purchase today. The linen made with this kind of thread count isn’t just much softer but you will find lasts considerably longer than others. But as well as being softer and more durable you will find with this type of Egyptian cotton feels considerably more lustrous and silkier than other types of cotton.

But what really makes this type of bed linen stand out from the rest is that has the natural ability to breathe. So what this means is that the cotton is able to work along with your temperature. Therefore when it is warm the linen will ensure that you remain cool as you sleep. Whilst when it is cold you will feel warm and cosy when in bed. So getting a good night’s sleep each and every night won’t prove a problem.

However once you do buy such linen for your bedroom you must make sure that you take care of it properly as well. When it comes to washing such bed linen make sure that you never use harsh detergents. If you do these will actually cause the fibres in the linen to breakdown and they will lose their softness. Also when washing and you happen to live in an area with hard water to help keep the material feeling soft is to include a little fabric softener in the wash cycle.

Another thing you should do which will further help to keep your Egyptian cotton bed linen looking and feeling good to wash it at least once a week. By doing this you will help to get the most use out of them and will help that they still feel comfortable when used months after first buying them.

How to Choose Quality Luxury Egyptian Or Supima Cotton Duvets

When you start looking for a new duvet comforter cover you’ll find that there are many different fabrics available. It can be confusing, especially when you’re purchasing online and you don’t have the opportunity to feel the fabric.

If you’re looking for the best of the best luxury linens, you want to start by trying to find some quality Egyptian and/or supima cottons. They will both feel better than mixed or generic cottons. Both are known for feeling supremely soft and they get softer with each washing. They’re strong and take to color much better as well. A high quality cotton will ensure that your duvet will last for years, hold the color after washing and feel great for years.

Supima:

First, supima is an abbreviation for superior pima. Supima cotton has been called “the cashmere of cotton” for its softness, strength and beautiful strong colors. The reason that supima is so soft is due to using a longer staple length. This means that there are longer fibers (35% longer than regular cotton), resulting in fewer ends, a smoother surface and less piling. The strength of supima allows for lighter weights with the same durability. Supima can be up to 45% stronger than traditional cotton. The color of supima cottons are usually rich and long lasting. Supima can absorb color much better than regular cotton.

Read labels carefully because pima and supima are different. An item that has the official supima name are made in America from purely US grown pima cotton.

Egyptian:

Egyptian cotton is exactly what it’s name implies, cotton from Egypt. Egyptian cotton also consists of extra long staples (ELS) like supima does. About 40% of the cotton that comes out of Egypt is ELS. If an item says it’s Egyptian cotton, make sure that it’s 100% and if possible find out if it’s ELS. Any cotton coming out of Egypt can call itself “Egyptian”, so being able to feel it before buying is ideal. If buying online, try to buy an item that has a lot of reviews where people are happy with the feel. If they are, it’s probably the high quality Egyptian that you’re hoping it is.

Thread Count:

Since supima and egyptian cotton are of such high quality, you can get away with a lower thread count and still have a high quality, extra soft feeling sheet. For instance, a 600 thread count of a generic cotton won’t feel as nice as a 400 thread count in supima or egyptian.

Three Wise Men and Egypt

Introduction

The Bible mentions Egypt many times and in most instances it does not condone any connection with the Egyptians. The contrary is found in the book of Exodus. Here we find a somewhat ungrateful look at the Egyptian influence. This is sad as a mere four hundred years earlier, the Bible history seemed to have come to a sudden halt. A famine ended it history that had just begun. The people who left modern day Iraq, now found themselves at the mercy of a neighbor. That neighbor being Egypt and in hindsight and a lot of contemplation makes me think the people of the time did not see the Pharaoh as a merciless killer, but as a lifeguard that came to their rescue when they needed it most. According to the book of Exodus this would all change after around four hundred years. Right or wrong, in particular, three men stand out as having a major part of their life formed by their childhood connections to Egypt. A forth started the connection.

Abraham

He and his wife Sarah entered Egypt as adults so I do not count him as one of the three men but we begin taking notice of Egypt when he enters the country in search for food. His somewhat bizarre behavior by giving his wife to the Pharaoh and then leaving as a rich man tells me the Pharaoh was not without morals. In fact this would not be the last early Israelite to enter Egypt in search of food.

Joseph

He came as a slave, sold into slavery in Egypt by his brothers. He would later not only save his family, but the state of Israel would not be needed if it was not for him. For that matter, Egypt played a major role in the early history of the Israelites. It saved an entire nation.

Moses

As a baby he was adopted and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter we are told. Their is not much said about his childhood days in the palace, but according to the Bible this happy childhood came to an end when he killed an Egyptian. God later talks to him through a burning bush. The Israelites flee Egypt after the ten plaques. Moses parts the Red Sea, the Pharaoh’s troops are wiped out and the Israelites wander around in the desert for 40 years.

Jesus

The young boy, together with his family flee into Egypt from Herod the Great, who ordered the massacre of Jewish children. It was the forth time that the Egyptians came to the rescue of their neighbor. I somehow miss the point that they referred to them a ferocious enemy.

To summarize, Egypt as leader of the Middle East region played a valuable role in the history and forming of the state of Israel.

Abraham, Joseph, Moses and Jesus, four outstanding personalities, would all have Egypt in their blood. Strangely no Egyptian document that verifies these stories has ever been found. Of course it was not so much Egyptian history, but you still wonder why the history is so silent. The lack of evidence does not imply that these events did not happen. Below the sand of the Egyptian desert lie answers to many questions. Some might just answer questions regarding the history of these four men. With the coming of Christ, the place of Egypt seems to be completed as far as the Bible is concerned.

Ancient Egyptian Tattoos

Tattoos are considered as a form of body art and have a lot of success nowadays. You would think that only teenagers like this form of art but the age difference between one tattoo lover and another can be quite big. The tattoo industry has lots of inspiration points. One of them is the ancient Egypt. They used tattoos for many rituals and were very complex. This led to a great inspiration source for modern tattoo artists and has helped evolve this art quite a bit.

The mummy of Amunet is one of the first examples which were found. These first tattoos which were found thousands of years ago were used by the Egyptians for social and religious reasons. However, today the Egyptian religion has nothing to do with tattoos, more than that it dislikes the idea, but for other people, like tattoo artists, this has been very helpful. Many new design ideas were born thanks to ancient Egyptians. A few of the design ideas are the Egyptian gods like Osiris, Isis or Amun Ra.

There are many things that intrigue people and make them want an Egyptian tattoo even more. Egypt has lots of mysteries which is a really important factor. The pyramids is one of them. There are also many films which are based on Egyptians history or fantasy. The fascination never ends and that’s why many people are attracted by the idea of an Egyptian design.

You would probably think that getting this type of design wouldn’t be original. Well you don’t have to worry about that. There are so many designs out there that it isn’t likely you will see someone with exactly the same pattern as yours. Even better, you could come up with your own idea or you could modify one that you found. There are incredibly many designs you can come up with so you would still be original. An Egyptian tattoo can be very beautiful and also very expensive so make sure you talk with an artist before you decide exactly what you want to do.

The Name and the Cartouche Jewellery in Egyptian History

A person’s name is sacred, it is a part of the soul that never ceases to be. Names were revered by ancient Egyptians and any other known civilization. To manifest a pharaoh’s name in Egypt, a cartouche – an oblong shape containing hieroglyphs – was used.

The remnants of once great tradition is now reflected in an Egyptian jewellery item that is easily obtainable through specialist shops. However, there was a deeper meaning to the cartouche. Many believe that Egyptian naming traditions were far more complicated than initially thought. They allegedly involved astrology, numerology and even a bit of magick.

The Name Has the Power

In ancient Egypt, only a pharaoh had the right to have a cartouche. It contained his nomen (birth name) and prenomen, also know as the throne name. People in Egypt took a great care in naming new born babies. They knew that it would influence the child’s path of life. It is believed that ancient Egyptians consulted the stars to find the right name for a child, but they also considered other factors like names of the parents, the social status of the family, time and place of birth and others.

A name was a sacred thing. There are periods in ancient Egyptian timeline when it was prohibited to use cartouche jewellery and amulets because it was thought that once such an amulet is accessed by an evil-minded person, it can open the name bearer’s soul to negative influence.

What about Numerology?

Although some believe that the father of numerology was Pythagoras who lived around year 500 BCE, it appears that people of the Nile delta used the magick of the numbers long before him. Numerology in ancient Egypt was guarded by Seshat, the enumerator. She was the goddess of the scribes and keeper of the Divine Books.

Each number was a representation of a deity; it also had a certain energetic principle in association with Nature’s cycle. Odd numbers were considered male, while even numbers – female. For example, 3 was Osiris, 4 – Isis and 5 – Horus. A child was given a name according to those numbers and what they represent. As we mentioned before, other factors were considered, too.

Is There Any Power Left?

Nowadays, in black magick and spell casting there are two main attributes that are used to put a bad spell on a person – a photograph or a name.

The cartouche replicas are available from Egyptian jewellery shops across the internet. You might ask, is it safe to wear someone else’s name around your neck? Pharaohs are associated with might and power. The symbols that once represented the kings are now incorporated in jewellery. Therefore those symbols still should contain some energy.

Some people have reported that they feel the power while wearing it; while others find it to be just another beautiful thing to wear around your neck.