Culture of Egypt

The culture of Egypt has thousands of years of recorded history. Ancient Egypt was among the
earliest civilizations. For millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture
that influenced later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. After the Pharaonic era,
Egypt itself came under the influence of Hellenism, for a time Christianity, and later, Islamic
culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements,
including the influence of modern Western culture.

Language
The Egyptian language, which formed a separate branch among the family of Afro-Asiatic
languages, was among the first written languages, and is known from hieroglyphic inscriptions
preserved on monuments and sheets of papyrus. The Coptic language, the last stage of Egyptian,
is today the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Hieroglyphs were written on
peoples front doors, so that the news of the pharaoh would travel to everyone.

The "Koiné" dialect of the Greek language was important in Hellenistic Alexandria, and was
used in the philosophy and science of that culture, and was later studied by Arabic scholars.

Arabic came to Egypt in the 7th century, and Egyptian Arabic has become today the modern
speech of the country. Of the many varieties of Arabic, it is the most widely spoken second
dialect, due to the influence of Egyptian cinema and media throughout the Arabic-speaking
world.

In the lower Nile Valley, around Kom Ombo and Aswan, there are about 300,000 speakers of
Nubian languages, mainly Nobiin, but also Kenuzi-Dongola. The Berber languages are
represented by Siwi, spoken by about 5,000 around the Siwa Oasis. There are over a million
speakers of the Domari language (an Indo-Aryan language related to Romany), mostly living
north of Cairo, and there are about 60,000 Greek speakers in Alexandria. Approximately 77,000
speakers of Bedawi (a Beja language) live in the Eastern Desert.

Literature
The ancient Egyptian literature dates back to the Old Kingdom, in the third millennium BC.
Religious literature is best known for its hymns to and its mortuary texts. The oldest extant
Egyptian literature are the Pyramid Texts: the mythology and rituals carved around the tombs of
rulers. The later, secular literature of ancient Egypt includes the 'wisdom texts', forms of
philosophical instruction. The Instruction of Ptahhotep, for example, is a collation of moral
proverbs by an Egto the middle of the second millennium BC) seem to have been drawn from an
elite administrative class, and were celebrated and revered into the New Kingdom (to the end of
the second millennium). In time, the Pyramid Texts became Coffin Texts (perhaps after the end
of the Old Kingdom), and finally the mortuary literature produced its masterpiece, the Book of
the Dead, during the New Kingdom.

The Middle Kingdom was the golden age of Egyptian literature. Some notable texts include the
Tale of Neferty, the Instructions of Amenemhat I, the Tale of Sinuhe, the Story of the
Shipwrecked Sailor and the Story of the Eloquent Peasant. Instructions became a popular literary
genre of the New Kingdom, taking the form of advice on proper behavior. The Story of
Wenamun and the Instruction of Any are well-known examples from this period.

During the Greco-Roman period (332 BC − AD 639), Egyptian literature was translated into
other languages, and Greco-Roman literature fused with native art into a new style of writing.
From this period comes the Rosetta Stone, which became the key to unlocking the mysteries of
Egyptian writing to modern scholarship. The great city of Alexandria boasted its famous Library
of almost half a million handwritten books during the third century BC. Alexandria's centre of
learning also produced the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint.

During the first few centuries of the Christian era, Egypt was the ultimate source of a great deal
of ascetic literature in the Coptic language. Egyptian monasteries translated many Greek and
Syriac words, which are now only extant in Coptic. Under Islam, Egypt continued to be a great
source of literary endeavour, now in the Arabic language. In 970, al-Azhar University was
founded in Cairo, which to this day remains the most important centre of Sunni Islamic learning.
In the 12th century Egypt, the Jewish Talmudic scholar Maimonides produced his most
important work.

In contemporary times, Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with
modern styles of Arabic-language literature, and the forms they developed have been widely
imitated. The first modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published
in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arabic-
language writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Many Egyptian books and films are
available throughout the Middle East. Other prominent Egyptian writers include Nawal El
Saadawi, well known for her feminist works and activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes
about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is said to be the most popular literary genre
amongst Egyptians, represented most significantly by Bayram el-Tunsi, Ahmed Fouad Negm
(Fagumi), Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi.

Religion
About 90% of Egypt's population is Muslim, with a Sunni majority. About 9% of the population is Coptic
Christian; other religions and other forms of Christianity comprise the remaining one percent.
Egyptian art in antiquity
The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall painting
done in the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Early Egyptian art
is characterized by absence of linear perspective, which results in a seemingly flat space. These artists
tended to create images based on what they knew, and not as much on what they see. Objects in these
artworks generally do not decrease in size as they increase in distance and there is little shading to
indicate depth. Sometimes, distance is indicated through the use of tiered space, where more distant
objects are drawn higher above the nearby objects, but in the same scale and with no overlapping of
forms. People and objects are almost always drawn in profile. Also, you may notice the people in
Egyptian art are never facing forward. Archaeologists are not yet sure of why, but they are leaning
towards the fact that artists status was low in the hierarchy so they could never be in front of a higher
authority figure, and never be faced towards them.

Early Egyptian artists did have a system for maintaining dimensions within artwork. They used a grid
system that allowed them to create a smaller version of the artwork, and then scale up the design based
upon proportional representation in a larger grid.

Egyptian art in modern times

Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene.
Some well-known names include Mahmoud Mokhtar, Abdel Hadi Al Gazzar, Farouk Hosny,
Gazbia Sirry, Kamal Amin, Hussein El Gebaly, Sawsan Amer and many others. Many artists in
Egypt have taken on modern media such as digital art and this has been the theme of many
exhibitions in Cairo in recent times. There has also been a tendency to use the World Wide Web
as an alternative outlet for artists and there is a strong Art-focused internet community on groups
that has found origin in Egypt.

Clothing in ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian fashion refers to clothing worn in ancient Egypt from the end of the Neolithic
period (prior to 3100 BC) to the collapse of the Ptolemaic dynasty with the death of Cleopatra
VII in 30 BC. Egyptian clothing was filled with a variety of colors. Adorned with precious gems
and jewels, the fashions of the Ancient Egyptians were made for not only beauty but also
comfort. Egyptian fashion was created to keep cool while in the hot desert.
Elements of Egyptian clothing
In ancient Egypt, linen was by far the most common textile. It helped people to be comfortable in
the subtropical heat. Linen is made from the flax plant by spinning the fibers from the stem of
the plant. Spinning, weaving and sewing were very important techniques for all Egyptian
societies. Plant dyes could be applied to clothing but the clothing was usually left in its natural
color. Wool was known, but considered impure. Only the wealthy wore animal fibers that were
the object of taboos. They were used on occasion for overcoats, but were forbidden in temples
and sanctuaries.

Peasants, workers and other people of modest condition often wore nothing, but the shenti (made
of flax) was worn by all people. Slaves often worked naked.

The most common headdress was the khat or nemes, a striped cloth worn by men.

Pharaohs

Royal clothing is particularly well documented, as well as the clothing and crowns of the
Pharaohs.The pharaohs would wear leopard skins over their shoulders and added a lion’s tail to
hang from their belt.

Men

From about 2130 BC during the Old Kingdom, garments were simple. The men wore wrap
around skirts known as the Shendyt, which were belted at the waist, sometimes pleated or
gathered in the front. During this time, men's skirts were short. As the Middle Kingdom of
Egypt, 1600 B.C., came, the skirt was worn longer. Then, around 1420 BC, there was a light
tunic or blouse with sleeves, as well as a pleated petticoat.

During the Middle Kingdom it became the fashion for men and women to wear a short skirt
known as the kalasiris, under their long sheer skirt.

Women

During the Old, Middle and New Kingdom, Ancient Egyptian women often wore simple sheath
dresses. Women's clothing in ancient Egypt was more conservative then men's clothing. The
dresses were held up by one or two straps and were worn down to the ankle and sometimes
above or below the breast. The length of the dress denoted the social class of the wearer. Beading
or feathers were also used as an embellishment on the dress. Over the dress, women had a choice
of wearing shawls, capes, or robes. The shawl was a piece of cloth around 4 feet wide by 13 or
14 feet long. This was mostly worn pleated as well. Female clothes only changed slightly
through the millennia. Draped clothing (with many varieties of drapery) sometimes gave the
impression of completely different clothing. It was made of haïk, a very fine muslin.
Politics of Egypt
The politics of Egypt is based on republicanism, with a semi-presidential system of government.
Following the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, and the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, executive
power was assumed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which dissolved the parliament, and
suspended the constitution.

In 2012, presidential elections resulted in the election of Mohammed Morsi as Egypt's fifth President.

Background
Hitherto ruled by a monarchical dynasty, Egypt became a republic on 18 June 1953, in the wake
of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. The first President to take office was President Mohamed
Naguib. The fourth president was Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, the President of Egypt since
October 14, 1981, following the assassination of former President Mohammed Anwar El-
Sadat.[1]

In early 2011, following the Tunisian Revolution, Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign on 11
February 2011, ending his fifth term in office. He was replaced by the Supreme Council of the
Armed Forces headed by Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, which dissolved the
Parliament of Egypt, suspended the Constitution of Egypt, and promised free, open presidential
and parliamentary elections before the year's end and within six months. Prime Minister Ahmed
Shafik was sworn in as Prime Minister on January 29, 2011, in response to the 2011 Egyptian
revolution; he was succeeded on 5 March by Essam Sharaf, in response to continued
protests.[2][3][4][5]

On 19 March, a constitutional referendum was voted on and passed[6] reforming the laws
surrounding the power and election of the presidency, limiting the presidency to two four-year
terms, providing judicial supervision of elections, requiring the president to appoint a deputy,
calling for a commission to draft a new constitution following the parliamentary election, and
providing easier access to presidential elections by candidates (30,000 signatures from at least 15
provinces, 30 members of a chamber of the legislature, or nomination by a party holding at least
one seat in the legislature).
Presidency
Under the new regulations of the March 2011 referendum, the president is limited to two four-
year terms, with the Judiciary supervising the elections. The president is required to appoint a
deputy, and a commission will draft a new constitution following the parliamentary election.
Candidates must provide 30,000 signatures from at least 15 provinces, or 30 members of a
chamber of the legislature, or nomination by a party holding at least one seat in the legislature.

Following the convening of the newly elected People’s Assembly and Maglis al-Shura in March
2012, a committee was to draft a new constitution to replace the pre-revolutionary one, followed
by presidential elections. However, the Egyptian presidential election, 2012 occurred without a
new constitution. The military council, which took power in early 2011, promised a fair and
civilian vote. The first round of the election took place on May 23 and 24, 2012. It was followed
by a run-off on June 16 and June 17 which Mohamed Morsi won. He assumed office June 30,
2012.

Egyptian architecture
Ancient Egyptian architecture is the architecture of ancient Egypt, one of the most influential
civilizations throughout history, which developed a vast array of diverse structures and great
architectural monuments along the Nile, among the largest and most famous of which are the Great
Pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza.

Writing in Ancient Egypt

The native writing systems of Ancient Egypt used to record the Egyptian language include both the
Egyptian hieroglyphs and Hieratic from Protodynastic times, the 13th century BC cursive variants of the
hieroglyphs which became popular, then the latest Demotic script developed from Hieratic, from 3500
BC onward.

Most surviving texts in the Egyptian language are primarily written in the hieroglyphic script. However,
in antiquity, the majority of texts were written on perishable papyrus in hieratic and (later) demotic,
which are now lost. There was also a form of cursive hieroglyphic script used for religious documents on
papyrus, such as the multi-authored Books of the Dead in the Ramesside Period; this script was closer to
the stone-carved hieroglyphs, but was not as cursive as hieratic, lacking the wide use of ligatures.
Additionally, there was a variety of stone-cut hieratic known as lapidary hieratic. In the language's final
stage of development, the Coptic alphabet replaced the older writing system. The native name for
Egyptian hieroglyphic writing is sẖ3 n mdww nt̪r or "writing of the words of god." Hieroglyphs are
employed in two ways in Egyptian texts: as ideograms that represent the idea depicted by the pictures;
and more commonly as phonograms denoting their phonetic value.