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The Regional Context of Upper-Egyptian Sufism

Nathan Hofer

in The Popularisation of Sufism in Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt, 1173-1325

The first Sufis in Upper Egypt appear in the historical record at the end of the Fatimid period.1 By the early Mamluk era the region’s towns and villages boasted some of the most famous and enduring ... More

The first Sufis in Upper Egypt appear in the historical record at the end of the Fatimid period.1 By the early Mamluk era the region’s towns and villages boasted some of the most famous and enduring personalities of medieval Egyptian Sufism. But despite their prominence in medieval Arabic sources, these Sufis have received almost no attention in studies of Sufism or in Mamluk studies more broadly. There is no monograph in a European language on Upper-Egyptian Sufism. Apart from a few studies in Arabic there are only a handful of articles on the subject.2 This state of affairs is regrettable, although perhaps not surprising given that these Sufis left very little in the way of literature or enduring social formations. The most important source for Sufism in Upper Egypt during this period is Ibn Nūª al-Qū‚ī’s (d.708/1308) al-Waªīd fī sulūk ahl al-tawªīd (‘The Unique Guide Concerning the Comportment of the People of Unity’). This text is a large compendium of diverse biographical and doctrinal material, the publication of which is a major desideratum for the study of medieval Sufism.3 And as far as I know the existence of Sufi-related manuscripts at the shrines and mosques of Upper Egypt has not been explored. Thus, other than Denis Gril’s preliminary studies, without which my work here would have been impossible, the subject of Upper-Egyptian Sufism is mostly terra incognita.Less

Luxor and the West Bank—the Thebes of Old

Deborah Manley

in Women Travelers in Egypt: From the Eighteenth to the Twenty-first Century

Many travelers in the days of sail stopped only briefly at Luxor when going south, spending a much longer time there and on the west bank while sailing north—carried along by the flow of the river ... More

Many travelers in the days of sail stopped only briefly at Luxor when going south, spending a much longer time there and on the west bank while sailing north—carried along by the flow of the river toward the end of their time in Egypt.Less

Nubia and Beyond and Turning North

Deborah Manley

in Women Travelers in Egypt: From the Eighteenth to the Twenty-first Century

Many women travelers also pushed on towards Nubia, past Aswan, the High Dam, Luxor, the island of Philae, Abu Simbel, Lake Nasser, and through villages of Nubia, getting exposed to the local rural ... More

Many women travelers also pushed on towards Nubia, past Aswan, the High Dam, Luxor, the island of Philae, Abu Simbel, Lake Nasser, and through villages of Nubia, getting exposed to the local rural life, the ways of Nubian women, the banks of the river and the floods. Some women travelers like Rosemary Mahoney even rowed alone on the Nile.Less

Ancient Remains as Life's Stage: Differing Perspectives on Life in the Theban Necropolis

Kees van der Spek

in The Modern Neighbors of Tutankhamun: History, Life, and Work in the Villages of the Theban West Bank

This chapter explains the situation in al-Qurna during mid-November 1997, at the start of the anthropological fieldwork: the scenario of local and global forces behind what has become known as the ... More

This chapter explains the situation in al-Qurna during mid-November 1997, at the start of the anthropological fieldwork: the scenario of local and global forces behind what has become known as the “Luxor Massacre,” the sudden collapse of the tourism industry during what otherwise would have been the year's busiest season, and the physical and emotional trauma that resulted for local villagers. The particular conditions of the Egyptian winters of 1997–98 provided sets of circumstances that allowed ethnographic observation of not only social and economic activity in this archaeological landscape, but also of the strategies people employ to make ends meet during such episodes of adversity. The history and plurality of social and economic practices that were found to operate in the Theban foothills became a leitmotif of resilience that connected and gave meaning to much of the ethnographic material, in the process countering long-held assumptions about life and human activity in the Theban Necropolis.Less

Early European Travelers and the Emergence of the Theban Communities in the Consciousness of the West

Kees van der Spek

in The Modern Neighbors of Tutankhamun: History, Life, and Work in the Villages of the Theban West Bank

Much of what characterizes the people of al-Qurna today is not only inherent in the physical aspects of the surrounding landscape, but also the historical process of archaeological recognition and ... More

Much of what characterizes the people of al-Qurna today is not only inherent in the physical aspects of the surrounding landscape, but also the historical process of archaeological recognition and interpretation that has resulted in the culturally constructed characterization of the Theban foothills. This perspective immediately directs the attention to the historically situated development of western academic involvement with the Theban west bank, necessitating a global perspective in explanation of the particular cultural constructions that resulted from the contact with foreign interests. This chapter argues that the communities of the Luxor west bank represent a case in which the emergence of the originally western academic practice of Egyptology acted as one of those external formational processes, and that it is in this light that the al-Qurna material, at least in part, must be presented and understood.Less

Conclusions and a Challenge

Kees van der Spek

in The Modern Neighbors of Tutankhamun: History, Life, and Work in the Villages of the Theban West Bank

The historic and ethnographic material uncovered during this study reveals the Theban west bank as a rich and fascinating field site. Overshadowed and obscured by the practice and marginalizing ... More

The historic and ethnographic material uncovered during this study reveals the Theban west bank as a rich and fascinating field site. Overshadowed and obscured by the practice and marginalizing dominance of a differently focused academic discipline and the wholesale global preoccupation with ancient Egypt that its practice and analyses continue to inspire, this study has attempted to return to Qurnawi, the degree of historic and contemporary visibility that their place in this archaeological landscape warrants, and the level of academic interest that its social and ethnographic specificity merits on its own terms. Greater insight into the social history and contemporary cultural expression of the former inhabitants of the Theban “City of the Dead” further exposes the color of the rich social fabric that this community of the living has brought and continues to bring to the Luxor west bank.Less

Racing against Time

Jill Kamil

in Labib Habachi: The Life and Legacy of an Egyptologist

Labib Habachi long harbored a wish to keep his personal library of over three thousand books as a unit after his death in order to provide a service to young students of Egyptology. He visualized a ... More

Labib Habachi long harbored a wish to keep his personal library of over three thousand books as a unit after his death in order to provide a service to young students of Egyptology. He visualized a special building constructed on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor. Habachi put himself under enormous pressure in the last two years of his life. He was anxious to complete his articles on Rizkallah Makramallah and Zaki Saad for the Coptic Lexicon. Habachi's cycle of despondency was broken when he received invitations by the Austrian and German governments to receive decorations. No one expected him to travel to Europe, but with the foolhardiness of a man of action, he insisted on going. The Labib Habachi Archives in the library are in active use by scholars around the world. Habachi's awards are mounted near the bay window where he worked at a large desk.Less

Introduction to the Site

Kent Weeks and Nigel Hetherington

in The Valley of the Kings: A Site Management Handbook

Thebes is one of the largest, richest, and best-known archaeological sites in the world. It includes the two huge temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor, as well as thousands of tombs, scores of ... More

Thebes is one of the largest, richest, and best-known archaeological sites in the world. It includes the two huge temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor, as well as thousands of tombs, scores of smaller temples, and numerous other buildings. This chapter briefly reviews the history of the area, discusses the sometimes debated boundaries of the protected area, and describes the general construction and decoration of the tombs.Less

An Egyptian Obelisk in France

Susan Sorek

in The Emperors' Needles: Egyptian Obelisks and Rome

This chapter describes an obelisk that was removed from Egypt and re-situated in France in the nineteenth century. The obelisk is now sited in the Place de la Concorde in Paris, one of a pair whose ... More

This chapter describes an obelisk that was removed from Egypt and re-situated in France in the nineteenth century. The obelisk is now sited in the Place de la Concorde in Paris, one of a pair whose companion remains in Luxor. Made of red granite, it is 22.5 metres (74 ft) high and weighs 227 tonnes. Its actual removal did not take place until 1814 when the French monarchy had been restored.Less

To the South

in How Many Miles to Babylon?: Travels and Adventures to Egypt and Beyond, From 1300 to 1640

On August 7, 1589, an anonymous Venetian departed from Cairo, accompanied by a crew of Nubian boatmen, to fulfill his desire to explore the southern provinces of Egypt and see its many magnificent ... More

On August 7, 1589, an anonymous Venetian departed from Cairo, accompanied by a crew of Nubian boatmen, to fulfill his desire to explore the southern provinces of Egypt and see its many magnificent buildings, churches, statues, obelisks, colossi, and columns. Neither a pilgrim nor a missionary, this Venetian could speak Arabic and had resided in Cairo for some time. Ignoring the warning of friends about the dangers that lay ahead, he embarked on a journey to get a first-hand experience of the rumoured splendours of Luxor and Karnak as well as the quarries where the obelisks were extracted. The Venetian lived to tell the tale and wrote of his odyssey in a travel account, belittling the sufferings and hardships he encountered. It is not clear how many anonymous European travellers, whether pilgrims or merchants, died on their way to Egypt, but those who survived, including the anonymous Venetian, faced up to whatever dangers lurked out there. Their sojourn was immortalised in travel literature.Less

America—The Last Imagined Empire?

Zeinab Abul-Magd

in Imagined Empires: A History of Revolt in Egypt

On the eve of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the US administration was acting as another empire, a sole global hegemon, in the south and north of Egypt. American imperialism aimed to take place ... More

On the eve of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the US administration was acting as another empire, a sole global hegemon, in the south and north of Egypt. American imperialism aimed to take place through the neoliberal dictum or by pressuring satellite regimes to transform their economies from remaining socialisms to free markets. The United States assumed its market model to be like a holy scripture: applicable to all times and places. The empire’s market failed in Egypt, and this failure created social disparities directly responsible for the outbreak of the 2011 revolution that Qina province joined. Qina was simmering with strikes of peasants and workers and operations of bandits against the repressive security apparatus.Less

Caught Up in “Eternal Repetitions”: Napoleon in Egypt and Rome

Julia Hell

in The Conquest of Ruins: The Third Reich and the Fall of Rome

Chapter ten begins the exploration of the French case of neo-Roman mimesis and its particular deployment of ruin scenes. The author argues that French imperial mimesis consists of three acts, ... More

Chapter ten begins the exploration of the French case of neo-Roman mimesis and its particular deployment of ruin scenes. The author argues that French imperial mimesis consists of three acts, bookended by the Napoleonic conquest of Egypt in 1798 as the first act of French imitation staged among Egypt’s Roman ruins, and the occupation of Rome in 1806, with its designs for the restructuring of the ancient metropole, as the third act. The chapter ends with Joseph Fourier’s introduction to the Description de l’Égypte as a Napoleonic manifesto in the vein of Augustus’s Res Gestae. Fourier rewrites the conquest’s failure as anticipating the success of France’s future ventures. In the process, Fourier rediscovers empire’s time as the time before the end.Less

Occultism in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

Christopher Partridge

in High Culture: Drugs, Mysticism, and the Pursuit of Transcendence in the Modern World

This chapter explores the use of drugs in the occult milieu of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The focus is fin de siècle occultism. While it examines the significance of drug use ... More

This chapter explores the use of drugs in the occult milieu of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The focus is fin de siècle occultism. While it examines the significance of drug use in the life and work of key figures such as W. B. Yeats, Helena Blavatsky, and Aleister Crowley, it also looks at little-known but important occultists such as Paschal Beverly Randolph and Louis-Alphonse Cahagnet, as well as organizations such as the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor and the Order of the Golden Dawn. There is also some analysis of temperance discourses within Theosophy and particularly Spiritualism. Finally, there is an overview of drug use in post-Crowleyan Thelemic thought later in the twentieth century.Less

Spiritualism

Julie Chajes

in Recycled Lives: A History of Reincarnation in Blavatsky's Theosophy

Through reference to books and Spiritualist periodicals, chapter 4 situates Blavatsky’s early theory of metempsychosis in relation to anti-reincarnationist currents in Anglo-American Spiritualism. It ... More

Through reference to books and Spiritualist periodicals, chapter 4 situates Blavatsky’s early theory of metempsychosis in relation to anti-reincarnationist currents in Anglo-American Spiritualism. It also explores Blavatsky’s debt to and tension with the French Spiritism of Allan Kardec (1804–1869), arguing that her rebirth theories must be understood in light of her simultaneous reception and rejection of certain specific elements present in Anglo-American Spiritualism as well as French Spiritism. It considers the similarities and differences between Blavatsky’s ideas on rebirth and those of Kardec, the American medium Cora Scott Tappan (1840–1923), the British medium Emma Hardinge Britten (1823–1899), the American magician Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825–1875), and the occult society the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor.Less