Egypt Folk Culture

In contrast to the temples of the gods, the house was built from perishable materials. Air-dried clay bricks and pipes were used as the main building materials. As a result, but also because of later development, only a few residential areas have survived. The huts of the general population were extremely simple, while the residence of Amenhotep IV / Echnatons, Amarna, was a special case as a villa town. Here the house contained a reception room extending over the entire north side, a square dining room behind it, the ceiling of which protruded over the adjoining rooms and which received light and air through high-lying lattice windows, as well as another living room to the west for the cooler season of the year. This was followed by the more intimate part of the house: the master bedroom, living room and bedroom for wife and children, bathroom and toilet. Walls and ceilings were decorated with brightly colored, painted garlands. Within the property, which was surrounded by a wall, there was a garden with a pond and arbor, stables, granaries, ovens and apartments for the servants.

The furniture was of a simple form in the older days. If one was not sitting on the floor or on a woven mat, stools or chairs with short backs were used, the legs of which were preferably designed as bull’s or lion’s feet. Plates with a strong base in the middle served as a table. The beds consisted of a wooden frame with wickerwork made of plant fibers or leather straps and a cross board at the foot end. A headrest made of wood or ivory was tucked under the head. A sedan chair, in which one sat with upright torso and legs outstretched, was presumably reserved for members of the royal house. All of this furniture was carved, colored inlays, ornamental tapes and others. decorated. A change to elaborate elegance and elaborate taste occurred in the New Kingdom. Armchair,

The clothing has changed over the centuries also considerable. In the Old Kingdom a short linen apron was predominant for men, and a tight-fitting dress for women, which was held by wide straps that ran over the breasts. In the Middle Kingdom, an apron came up to under the armpits and down over the calves, which was worn over the short one. In the New Kingdom, both sexes of the upper class wore richly pleated, puffy robes made of the finest linen, the cut of which was subject to fluctuations in fashion. The wearing of sandals was only slowly gaining ground. On the hairstyle great care was taken. The wealthy women and men wore wigs, the shapes of which had become more and more elaborate since the New Kingdom. The men had their beards and hair shaved; the king, however, put on an artificial beard.

 

Women and men wore jewelry in the form of wide pearl neck collars, arm rings made of ivory or precious metal. Ear pendants have only found their way into many forms since the New Kingdom, under the influence of the Nubian region. Finger rings have existed from ancient times, since the New Kingdom also as signet rings with a rotatable scarab. The art of goldsmithing reached a high point in the Middle Kingdom in the manufacture of diadems and breast plates, the images and patterns of which were inserted into cells soldered on a gold background using semi-precious stones.

The Egyptians attached great importance to body and beauty care. A green eyeshadow made from malachite and a black made from galena were known from the earliest times. Men and women cleaned themselves with baking soda and anointed their bodies with oil. Tins and pots, artistically designed in the New Kingdom, were used for ointments, make-up and perfumes.

The food consisted mainly of bread, beer, vegetables such as onions, leeks, lentils and beans, fish, dates, figs, pumpkin and melons, and on holidays probably also of beef and mutton, fattened antelopes, poultry and game. At all times the Egyptians valued cheerful conviviality. Music and dancing were performed at guest feasts. Games of all kinds (especially board games) were popular.

Egypt Folk Culture

Port Said

According to dentistrymyth, Port Said [- za ɪ t], is an arabic Bur Said port in lower Egypt, at the northern end of the Suez Canal on a narrow spit between the Mediterranean and Mansalasee, (2018) 760 200 residents.

The city forms a 72 km 2 city governorate. University (founded in 2010), Technical University; National Museum; chemical, textile, tobacco and food industries, mechanical engineering, petroleum refining; Salt extraction, fishing; Tourism. The port (mainly cotton and rice handling; free trade zone; lighthouse from 1869) is the second largest in Egypt after Alexandria. A shipping canal connects Port Said with Damiette; Railway terminus; Airport.

The regularly laid out city was founded in 1859 in connection with the construction of the Suez Canal and developed rapidly as the seat of the Suez Canal Society (1883: 1,700, 1917: 75,000 residents). During the Suez Crisis, the city was partially destroyed by air raids.

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