Culture of Egypt
This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2023) |
This article is part of a series on |
Life in Egypt |
---|
Culture |
Society |
|
Politics |
|
Economy |
Egypt portal |
The culture of Egypt has thousands of years of
Languages
The
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.[citation needed]
In the upper Nile Valley, southern Egypt, around Kom Ombo and south of Aswan, there are about 300,000 speakers of Nubian languages; mainly Noubi, but also Kenuzi-Dongola. In Siwa Oasis, there is also the Siwi language that is spoken by about 20,000 speakers. Other minorities include roughly two thousand Greek speakers in Alexandria and Cairo as well as roughly 5,000 Armenian speakers.[citation needed]
Literature
Many Egyptians believed that when it came to a death of their Pharaoh, they would have to bury the Pharaoh deep inside the Pyramid. The ancient Egyptian literature dates back to the
The
During the
During the first few centuries of the Christian era, Egypt was a source of a great deal of ascetic literature in the
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
Religion
About 85-95% percent of Egypt's population is
Visual art
Egyptian art in antiquity
The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in
Painting achieved its greats height in Dynasty XVIII during the reigns of Tuthmose IV and Amenhotep III. The Fragmentary panel of the Lady Thepu, on the right, dates from the time of the latter king.[4]
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 have found origin in Egypt.
Architecture
There have been many architectural styles used in Egyptian buildings over the centuries, including
Ancient Egyptian architecture is best known for its monumental
Following the
Science
Egypt's cultural contributions have included great works of science, art, and mathematics, dating from antiquity to modern times.
Technology
Imhotep
Considered to be the first engineer, architect and physician in history known by name,
Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt
The silk road led straight through ancient Alexandria. Also, the
One of the reasons so little is known about the Library is that it was lost centuries after its creation. All that is left of many of the volumes are tantalizing titles that hint at all the history lost due to the building's destruction. Few events in ancient history are as controversial as the destruction of the Library, as the historical record is both contradictory and incomplete. Its destruction has been attributed by some authors to, among others,
A new library was inaugurated in 2003 near the site of the old library.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, designed by Sostratus of Cnidus and built during the reign of Ptolemy I Soter served as the city's landmark, and later, lighthouse.
Mathematics and technology
Alexandria, being the center of the Hellenistic world, produced a number of great mathematicians, astronomers, and scientists such as Ctesibius, Pappus, and Diophantus. It also attracted scholars from all over the Mediterranean such as Eratosthenes of Cyrene.
Ptolemy
Ptolemy was the author of two important scientific treatises. One is the astronomical treatise that is now known as the Almagest (in Greek Η μεγάλη Σύνταξις, "The Great Treatise"). In this work, one of the most influential books of antiquity, Ptolemy compiled the astronomical knowledge of the ancient Greek and Babylonian world. Ptolemy's other main work is his Geography. This too is a compilation, of what was known about the world's geography in the Roman Empire in his time.
In his .
Ptolemy also wrote influential work Harmonics on music theory. After criticizing the approaches of his predecessors, Ptolemy argued for basing musical intervals on mathematical ratios (in contrast to the followers of Aristoxenus) backed up by empirical observation (in contrast to the over-theoretical approach of the Pythagoreans). He presented his own divisions of the tetrachord and the octave, which he derived with the help of a monochord. Ptolemy's astronomical interests appeared in a discussion of the music of the spheres.
Tributes to Ptolemy include Ptolemaeus crater on the Moon and Ptolemaeus crater on Mars.
Medieval Egypt
Abu Kamil Shuja ibn Aslam
Ibn Yunus
Modern Egypt
Ahmed Zewail
Zewail's key work has been as the pioneer of
In 1999, Zewail became the third Egyptian to receive the Nobel Prize, following Anwar Sadat (1978 in Peace) and Naguib Mahfouz (1988 in Literature). In 1999, he received Egypt's highest state honor, the Grand Collar of the Nile.
Egyptology
In modern times, archaeology and the study of Egypt's ancient heritage as the field of Egyptology has become a major scientific pursuit in the country itself. The field began during the Middle Ages, and has been led by Europeans and Westerners in modern times. The study of Egyptology, however, has in recent decades been taken up by Egyptian archæologists such as Zahi Hawass and the Supreme Council of Antiquities he leads.
The discovery of the Rosetta Stone, a tablet written in ancient Greek, Egyptian Demotic script, and Egyptian hieroglyphs, has partially been credited for the recent stir in the study of Ancient Egypt. Greek, a well-known language, gave linguists the ability to decipher the mysterious Egyptian hieroglyphic language. The ability to decipher hieroglyphics facilitated the translation of hundreds of the texts and inscriptions that were previously indecipherable, giving insight into Egyptian culture that would have otherwise been lost to the ages. The stone was discovered on July 15, 1799, in the port town of Rosetta, Egypt, and has been held in the British Museum since 1802.
Sport
Other popular sports in Egypt are
]The
Since the early 1990s, the Egyptian national handball team has won regional and continental tournaments as well as reaching fourth place internationally in 2001. The Junior national handball team won the world title in 1993 and it hosted the tournament in 2010.[citation needed]
In the 1930s and 1940s, Egypt was a powerhouse in weightlifting, boxing, and wrestling with several Olympic and world championship medals.[citation needed]
Roller hockey is also a popular sport in Egypt. The Egyptian national roller hockey team has taken part in many world competitions, but didn't win any as of now.[citation needed]
Local sports clubs receive financial support from the local governments, and many sporting clubs are financially and administratively supported by the government.[citation needed]
Media
Cinema
Egyptian cinema has flourished since the 1930s.[10] As a result, the Egyptian capital has been dubbed the "Hollywood of the Middle East", where the world-renowned Cairo International Film Festival is held every year. The festival has been rated by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations as being among the 11 top-class film festivals worldwide.[11]
The Egyptian film industry is the largest & most developed within Arabic-speaking cinema.[10]
Music
Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous Egyptian and Western influences.
As early as
Contemporary
From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, particularly among the large youth population of Egypt. Egyptian folk music is also popular, played during weddings and other festivities. In the last quarter of the 20th century, Egyptian music was a way to communicate social and class issues. The most popular Egyptian pop singers are Amr Diab, Tamer Hosny, Mohamed Mounir, Angham and Ali El Haggar. Electronic music composers, Halim El-Dabh, is an Egyptian.[12]
Belly dance, or Raqs Sharqi (literally: oriental dancing) may have originated in Egypt.[13]
The Arabic musical discipline known as "maqam," or chanting has both secular and religious uses. Maqams are almost always sung by men in the region, where women who perform music or sing publicly are often viewed as promiscuous. The members of Alhour, Egypt's first all-female Muslim recitation choir, are challenging deep-rooted taboos about women singing in public or reciting from the Quran in the socially conservative country. Alhour choir was launched in 2017.[14]
Clothing
The hijab became more unpopular with educated women, including devout Muslims, in the early 20th century as the British authorities discouraged it and as women sought to gain modern positions of power. The hijab became more popular in the 1970s, with women choosing to adopt it due to the surge of pan-Arabism (especially its islamically rooted side) and Wahabbism as a result of the returning Egyptian migrants from Gulf Arab countries who got influenced by their beliefs & cultural set during their stay there.[15]
In 2012, Misr International Films was producing a television series based on the novel Zaat by Sonallah Ibrahim. Filming of scenes set at Ain Shams University was scheduled to occur that year. However, Muslim Brotherhood student members and some teachers at the school protested, stating that the 1970s era clothing worn by the actresses was indecent and would not allow filming unless the clothing was changed. Gaby Khoury, the head of the film company, stated that the engineering department head, Sherif Hammad, "insisted that the filming should stop and that we would be reimbursed ... explaining that he was not able to guarantee the protection of the materials or the artists."[16]
Cuisine
Egyptian cuisine consists of local culinary traditions such as
See also
- Arab culture
- Bibliotheca Alexandrina
- Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage
- Egyptian television
- List of museums in Egypt
- North Sinai Archaeological Sites Zone
- Shaware3na
Notes
- ^ "Egyptian Identity". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
- ^ ʻAbd al-Ḥamīd Yūsuf 2003, p. vii.
- ^ Numbers vary widely. The 1996 census, the last for which public info on religion exists has 5.6% of the population as Christian (down from 8.3% in 1927). However the census may be undercounting Christians. The government Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey (2008) of around 16,500 women aged 15 to 49 showed about 5% of the respondents were Christian. According to Al-Ahram newspaper, one of the main government owned national newspapers in Egypt, estimated the percentage between 10% - 15% (2017). QScience Connect in 2013 using 2008 data estimated that 5.1% of Egyptians between the ages of 15 and 59 were Copts. The Pew Foundation estimates 5.1% for Christians in 2010. The CIA Fact Book estimates 10% (2012) while the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs states in 1997, "Estimates of the size of Egypt's Christian population vary from the low government figures of 6 to 7 million to the 12 million reported by some Christian leaders. The actual numbers may be in the 9 to 9.5 million range, out of an Egyptian population of more than 60 million" which yields an estimate of about 10-20% then. Several sources give 10-20%. The British Foreign Office gives a figure of 9%. The Christian Post in 2004 quotes the U.S. Copt Association as reporting 15% of the population as native Christian.
- ^ Bothmer, Bernard (1974). Brief Guide to the Department of Egyptian and Classical Art. Brooklyn, NH: Brooklyn Museum. p. 48.
- ^ Behrens-Abouseif 1989, pp. 58–62.
- ^ Martin Bernal (1992). "Animadversions on the Origins of Western Science", Isis 83 (4), p. 596-607 [602, 606]
- ^ "1950 World Championship for Men". FIBA. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ "Egypt – 1952 Olympic Games; Tournament for Men". FIBA. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ "Egypt confirmed as hosts for men's and women's FIBA U18 African Championships 2020". FIBA. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- ^ a b Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) - Cinema In Egypt Archived 2008-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Film Festivals. "Find out more about the Cairo International Film Festival". ukhotmovies.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ Writer, ByStaff. "The Father of Electronic Music: A Brief History of Egyptian Composer Halim El Dabh". SceneArabia. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
- ^ "Birth of Modern Raqs Sharqi, Baladi and Ghawazee (Late 1800s to 1930s) and Belly Dance (5.2)". World Dance Heritage. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
- ^ "Egypt's First All-Women Islamic Choir Defies Gender Taboos". Global Citizen. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
- ^ O'Donnell, Erin (September–October 2011). "The Veil's Revival". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
- ^ "Islamists halt filming of Egyptian TV series." Daily News Egypt. Thursday, February 9, 2012. NewsBank Record Number: 17587021. "[...]and teachers were against it, because of the clothing worn by the actresses," he said. The series, adapted from the novel "Zaat" by Egyptian author Sonallah Ibrahim, takes[...]"
References
- ʻAbd al-Ḥamīd Yūsuf, Ahmad (2003). From Pharaoh's lips: ancient Egyptian language in the Arabic of today. Minneapolis, Minn.: American University in Cairo Press. ISBN 9789774247088.
- Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (1989). Islamic Architecture in Cairo: An Introduction (PDF). Leiden, the Netherlands: E.J. Brill. ISBN 9789004096264.
Further reading
- Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). Culture and Customs of Egypt. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313317402.