Learning Family learns about Life in Ancient Egypt

Dr. Ragab's Pharonic Village, 26 Jan, 1999

We spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Pharaonic Village in Cairo, where we observed Egyptians living and working just as the ancients did. We went on a guided (in English) boat ride where we saw people working on farms, making textiles, pounding papyrus reeds into paper, spinning pottery, making reed boats and baskets, quarrying stone, carving artwork on tomb walls, fishing, raising animals and pigeons, and even paying their taxes. Then we walked through the homes of a nobleman and a peasant, as well as a temple and a replica of King Tut's tomb.

At the gift shop/museum we had our names printed in hieroglyphics onto handmade papyrus--the best deal of any souvenir in the store.

Step back in time with us and experience living in Egypt, ancient style.

cover
The Egyptians
(Footsteps in Time)
by Ruth Thomson, Cilla Eurich (Illustrator), Ruth Levy (Illustrator)

Learn More! Find books about Life in Ancient Egypt at Amazon.com

Farming on the edge of the Nile

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Plowing has always been hard work. In ancient Egypt they used water buffalo and a wooden stick as the plow.
How Would You Survive As an Ancient Egyptian?
(How Would You Survive)
by Jacqueline Morley, John James (Illustrator), David Salariya (Illustrator)
For many people, things haven't changed much in 4,000 years. This picture was taken on the road to Saqqara. Many Egyptians still farm the land using only animals and simple tools.
Wooden hoe for furrowing. Not quite the convenience of our modern "Weed-o-matic" gadgets.
Ancient Egyptians raised pigeons to use as messengers and for food. These are replicas of pigeon houses. We saw some real pigeon houses on our day trip to Saqqara.
Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt
by George Hart, George Harrt, Peter Hayman (Photographer)
Making mud bricks. Millions and millions of these have been produced over the millenia, and are still used in Egypt today.
This potter was very skilled and whipped up a tea pot, complete with spout, handle and lid in about a minute.

Housekeeping in Ancient Egypt

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In the back of the weathly Egyptian's home was the servants quarters and kitchen. Cooking in one of these in the summer in Egypt must have been miserable.

I sure love my modern conveniences!


Egyptian Cooking : A Practical Guide
by Samia Abdennour, Abdennour Samia

Susan made several items from this book for our Open House after our tour. Everything tasted just like it did in Egypt. Yum!
Susan tried her hand at baking aishbaladi ("bread of my country").
A lot of Egyptians must have spent their lives spinning flax into thread. The process was very slow. Linen cloth was used for everything, including the 20 layers of bandages used to wrap a mummy.
Handbook to Life
in Ancient Egypt
by A. Rosalie David
Harrison at a bed made of papyrus reeds in the servant's quarters. Doesn't look too inviting.

Amanda talks about living in Ancient Egypt

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People in ancient Egypt had to grow their own food and make everything they needed, or have slaves do it for them. They farmed with animals, made boats from papyrus, made cloth from flax and wool, made pottery from clay, caught fish and birds for food, but still enjoyed playing games like Senate. Their homes were made out of mud bricks. The rich people had plaster and paintings on their walls. They cooked over a fire, or in clay ovens.


Growing Up in
Ancient Egypt
 (Growing Up In)
by Rosalie David, Angus McBride (Illustrator)

What Harrison discovered at the Pharonic Village

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We bought some "Egyptian Pizza" at the Village, and it tasted very cheesy. It was more like flat, oily bread with goat cheese and olives inside.

We got some cartouches of our names printed onto papyrus in heiroglyphs. I left mine at Jon and Tan's apartment, but it should be coming soon in the mail.


Ancient Egypt
(Ms. Frizzle's Adventures)
by Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen (Illustrator)

Susan's thoughts about the Pharonic Village

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It was fun to travel back in time and see the inner workings of one of the greatest civilizations of all time. What made ancient Egypt so successful was the combined efforts of thousands of workers who kept everyone clothed, fed and housed, as well as provided the muscle power for all the stone cutting, hauling, building and carving that took place. Talk about an industrious society!

At the Pharonic Village I saw papyrus reeds for the first time, growing on the river bank, with modern workers trimming them to keep the boat path clear. As we progressed through the water portion of the tour, we saw actors playing the roles of ancient workers producing pottery, boats, baskets, linen, papyrus and fishing and farming. It felt a bit staged, but some of the workers were actually skilled craftsmen and fashioned their articles with a practiced hand.

The replica of King Tut's tomb was well done. Walking through and nobleman's home was less exciting, though overall it was a good view of ancient Egyptian society and a great place for the kids to shift from modern Cairo and get in the mood to study about life thousands of years ago.


Women in Ancient Egypt (Other Half of History)
by Fiona MacDonald

Rob's thoughts about the Pharonic Village

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At first it seemed sort of hoky, like a ride throught Disneyland's Small World boat ride, but it got better. The boat tour at the beginning seems strange, until I understood that it was really giving us a taste of what total depencency on the Nile would be like. It was a great experience to "pretend" we were in the land of the Pharaohs, living along the Nile. I especially liked the pizza. It had a bit of a pungent flavor, made from goat cheese and mediterranean olives. The bread was chewy-sticky. It was actually quite satisfying.

Questions & Answers from our visitors

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Bryce Liston asks: What does the dung beetle symbolize in ancient Egypt?
Amanda Answers: It was for protection.  It is also called a scarab.  Aunt Tanalee and I walked around a statue of a scarab fourteen times for good luck.  An ancient legend says that if a woman walks around a scarab seven times, she will find a boyfriend.  If she walks around it fourteen times while she is pregnant, she will have a safe birth.

Links

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  • Pharonic Village - We visited the Pharonic Village in Cairo.  Touristy, but a pretty good way to see what life was like for people living in the times of the Pharoahs.
  • Life in Ancient Egypt - Carnegie Museum of Natural History
    A very well organized view of artifacts from ancient Egypt from the large collection at the museum.

Resources

Check these out from your local library, or buy them here. When you buy books here, you get the same great Amazon.com price, and help keep these pages going.

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For Younger Readers

For Older Readers

Ancient Civilizations - Egypt   (Time Traveler Series) by Jane Pofahl, pub. T.S. Denison ISBN 0-513-02191-4
Activity book with projects, crosswords, and others.  Fun for train or bus time.

Life in Ancient Egypt (Coloring Book) by John Green
Detailed pictures of of people in daily life during the time of the Pharaohs. All are pretty realistic, and some have drawings of real places in Egypt. (Some of our Color Me pictures came from this book.)

Ancient Egypt (Journey into Civilization) by Robert Nicholson, Claire Watts (Contributor)
A fun activity book with facts, stories and activities for kids of any age. Great fun for family learning!

Bill and Pete go down the Nile by Tomie De Paola
Another in the fun series of Bill the crocodile and his friend Pete. This time they go to the museum to learn about Egypt, but get caught in a mystery when something turns up missing.

Egypt (Kush & Aksum) (Ancient Civilizations Series) by Frank Schaffer Publications, ISBN 0-7647-0148-7
Activities for groups.  Great for classroom or homeschool environments.

Egyptian Life (British Museum) by Miriam Stead
A high quality learning book from the experts at the British Museum. Learn about daily life for families and workers 4,000 years ago. How did they dress, what did they eat, and so on. Descriptive illustrations.

Life in Ancient Egypt
by Adolf, Erman, J. M. White (Designer), H. M. Tirard (Translator)
Densely packed with facts and seemingly well founded theories, this book is a thorough study of life in pharonic times. It was a bit too heavyweight for our casual study, but does look like a valuable resource for the serious student.

Silent Images : Women in Pharaonic Egypt
by Zahi A. Hawass