Monday, September 7, 2009

The Pharonic Village

This morning Debbie and I toured the "Pharonic Village". Because it was the period of Ramadan, and we were there on a week day, the living history village was practically empty. We were pretty happy about that, since we were able to get through all the areas fairly quickly. It was as if we were given a private tour!

We toured the village of ancient Egypt on a pontoon-like boat, as we passed by people dressed in pharonic clothing that gave us an idea on what a typical day in a pharonic village would be like.

Along the way we saw a fisherman catching a school of fish with a large net.
Villagers going about their daily activities.

Perfume makers drawing scents and oils from exotic flowers such as lotus, thistle and poppy.
Papyrus craftsmen hammering out reed-like papyrus plants to make scroll-like paper.
Statue artists carving out figures out of limestone and other materials.
A woman pulling threads from locally grown flax plants to later be woven into linen.
Villagers taking care of their livestock such as sheep and cows.

An alabaster craftsman grinding soft alabaster rock for vases, statues, and other household items.

A mason measuring the next layer of brick.

An artillery craftsman making a sundry of ancient weapons.

A potter spinning clay on a pottery wheel for bowls, pitchers, and other crockery.
A villager fermenting grapes for Pharaoh's wine.

A handmaiden outside a wealthy nobleman's home.
A scribe standing outside the simulated model of the Karnak Temple.
Debbie and I got off the boat at this point to walk on the premises, and enter the pharonic museum.






Then, it was time to "walk like an Egyptian" out of the village and onto our next destination stop. LoL.