January 6th, 3100 B.C.

Claire Bryant

We walked in the big city and saw amazing Egyptian architecture. It probably took Egyptians a really long time to build it, especially since we don’t have magical equipment that got it done in 2 minutes instead of 2 decades. Anyways, we learned that they were called pyramids, and that’s where they kept the bodies of past pharaohs.

The Egyptian architects built the pyramids out of limestone concrete. They were so sturdy I’m sure they would last 4,000 years! They are completely man-made, and the smooth, angled sides of the pyramid symbolized the rays of the sun and were designed to help the pharos ascend into heaven. Also the pyramids were huge! Some were as big as 181 feet. We later found out that we were walking around the the Great Pyramids of Giza!!

January 6th, 3100 B.C.

Lauren Vasquez Entry

Today I got to experience the Egyptians create art. They have so many different ways to create art. Some examples of their art is glass-working, metallurgy in both bronze and gold, and furniture were other advancement for Egyptians. The Egyptians also can make coins, sculptures, jewelry, and vessels. They also believed that great appearance was valued. They would scent themselves with perfume and incense, and create cosmetics for both men and women. They also showed me their newest practice, which was shaving. They also created wigs and hair brushes. They made so many different inventions. Their way of art is extremely unique, I have never heard of some of these cosmetics and incense before. I made a drawing of some of their cosmetics. I was with the Egyptians while they we’re making gold chains. They have an extensive range of techniques on how they make the jewelry. Their jewelry takes the form of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, diadems, pendants, pins and brooches. They have a technique called filigree, where gold is pulled into wire and twisted into different designs. They way the Egyptians do their art is so faciniating.

January 4, 3100 B.C.

Claire Bryant Entry

It’s was so cool and interesting today!! We got to talk to famous Queen Nefertiti!! She said some really interesting things about what happened after people died. She believed that death is just a pause in life before they continue the afterlife. It’s temporary. There is an afterlife, and depending on if the souls are rich or poor, they get a better experience in this afterlife. The rich can afford to have there body preserved so that they can use it in the afterlife in the process of mummification. The poor would be buried in the desert.

Queen Nefertiti showed us this really interesting mask made of gold, and we were told that it was put on the dead, and they believe it gives the soul of that mummy strength! We thought that was very interesting! And to see if it was okay for certain souls to pass, they thought of their gods weighing the soul’s heart. If it was heavy, it was evil and could not pass and go to the afterlife. If it was light, it could pass and go to the afterlife, but it had to go through a long journey in order to get there.

Even though the souls left their bodies, the body still was cared for, and nourished. The Egyptians actually gave them food and water!

When pharaohs died, Queen Nefertiti believed they lived in the stars. Also, when we were visiting the tombs, we saw that they each had different pictures and symbols. They each had deep meaning on how the person lived their life, what their place was.

It was a great day and we sure learned a lot about what Egyptians think about death!! Very Fascinating!!

January 3, 3100 B.C

Ayah Saleh Entry

Wow! Today was an exhilarating day, I learned about the jobs of the Egyptian, and I met up with a very important person, the Egyptian scribe! The first thing I did was when I went to go meet up with my friend Akari, who works in agriculture and I noticed something about the Egyptians…. they all lived in very modest homes made out of dried mud and straw bricks. I thought that the Egyptians would have very showy homes, considering the fortune they have! When I asked Akari about this he told me that Egyptians care more about their personal appearance, than their homes. Then, Akari took me to where he grew his crops. Once again, I noticed something about the Egyptians’ homes. Most of the houses were near the Nile River! After pondering about this for a while, I realized that most of the crops were also near the river. The people must make their living on these crops, and the land must be fertile near the river.  That’s probably why most of the houses were near the river! Akari then told me that much of the Egyptian culture is based on agriculture, but there’s other jobs as well such as shipbuilding, medicine, math, and astronomy. Akari told me that Egyptians mostly planted lotus, and the papyrus plant. Akari then took me boating on the Nile because I wanted to go meet the sesh (scribe). The boat ride was one of the most amazing rides of my life because as we went along I saw the Sahara Desert, and various temples. Boy, what amazing sights those were! When we reached the temple, I said my goodbyes to Akari and went to go search for the sesh. Since most Egyptians can’t read or write, the seshs are considered a very special class of people because they can make papyrus, read, and write. Ah! Finally, I meet up with the infamous scribe Hesy-Ra. I greeted him and asked him if I could be able to watch him work. He agreed and we went of to the room where he worked. While he was working I was able to strike up a conversation with him, and he told me many fun facts about Egyptian. I found out that Egyptians play this sport called bowling, although I’ve never heard of that sport before.They also value their appearance so highly they invented something called toothpaste and toothbrush, to clean their teeth? They also have come up with things called shaving, wigs, hairbrushes, toothpicks, breath mints, as well as a water clock, and a strange calendar. Where do they come with these things? Hesy-Ra also mentioned Egyptians passion for music and dance. He also talked about fears, such as their fear of leaving the borders of Egypt for they might die. Finally Hesy-Ra finished his amazing looking papyrus, and gave it to me. I will forever treasure this papyrus to remember the time that I traveled to Egypt.

January 5th, 3100 B.C.

Lauren Vasquez Entry

My adventure to Egypt has been successful so far.  The Egyptians Religion is so fascinating! They taught me that there was nothing but chaotic swirls of waters out of which rose a small hill known as Ben-Ben. On top of this hill was a god named Atum who spoke creation into being by drawing on the power of Heka. Heka was the god of magic.  I was also taught that human beings were an important aspect of the creation of the gods and that each human soul was as eternal as that of deities they reverted. They also believed that death wasn’t the end of life but a rejoining of the individual soul with the eternal realm from where it was from. I experienced the Egyptians created mummies. They said they created mummies to preserve the human body without which the soul couldn’t achieve immortality. Here is a drawing of which the Egyptians do their art on. Also, I got to meet a famous pharaoh. His name was Menes. Menes was the first king who thought to have unified Upper and Lower Egypt though conquest, and founded both the First Dynasty and the great city of Memphis. His name is known from sources such as Manetho’s Chronology, The Turin King List, and the Palermo Stone. My adventure to Egypt was a success.