Vestments of the Coptic clergy

During mass and other religious occasions celebrated by Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, all eyes are often drawn to the vestments of the clergy. While these are often visually beautiful, they are also in essence symbols of the sacred duties of those who wear them towards the Church. “The clergy and their assistants in religious rituals are obligated to wear special vestments for prayer,” said Christina Monir, PhD holder in Coptic art and antiquities. 

During prayer, the clergy don long, loose white garments designed to recall the appearance of the seraphim and cherubim described in the Bible with their six wings, two covering their heads, two covering their bodies, and two covering their feet and symbolising modesty during prayer. Hence, the Coptic clergy wear a long white garment known as a tonia along with a head covering.

There are also differences between the vestments used in the Coptic Church and those used in other denominations, said Milad Nabil, a doctoral researcher in Coptic history. “All the vestments trace their roots to the attire described as being worn by priests in the Old Testament, which were characterised by ornate and prayer-specific garments. But within the Coptic Church, vestments with specific details and elaborate decorations also distinguish the various ranks of the clergy,” 

“The attire worn by assistants to priests in the liturgical service, known as shamamsa or deacons, differs from that worn by priests and bishops, as do the vestments worn by the Pope of the Coptic Church. Wearing these different types of vestments is considered a religious duty observed by those who attain clergy rank.” Attaining the rank of clergy is a sacred responsibility granted to lay Christians deemed qualified by a priest to assist in religious rituals. The priest nominates those he has selected, and they are then ordained by a bishop to one of the ranks of deacons. They then serve the Church by chanting hymns, reciting liturgical readings, and performing other duties.

There is no specific age requirement to join the rank of diaconate. “I remember I was only 15 years old when I was ordained in the first rank among the five degrees of the diaconate. Since then, it has become my duty to memorise and chant hymns on religious occasions. I also wear the tonia, a white open-sided garment worn over my clothes when reciting hymns.” 

“The tonia is the most sought-after garment among the clergy, and it is worn by all ranks with additional pieces used to indicate hierarchy. It has ornate edges adorned with coloured thread on the sleeves, collar, and back, along with a prominent embroidered cross on the front and back. It has openings on the sides, allowing it to be worn over regular clothes during Mass and prayers,” said Keroloss El-Antony, owner of the El-Antony Vestments Shop in Cairo.

Deacons stand in a designated place in the church during services, and neither they nor the priests wear shoes inside the sanctuary during prayers, putting on telig, a kind of thick socks, instead. 

They can distinguish rank by wearing a white tonia with a coloured sash. “I only wore the Tonia as a chanter, but when I was ordained a reader, the second rank of deacon, my attire slightly changed, and I started wearing a sash called a patrashil over the Tonia, with one side in red adorned with gold and the other in dark blue or black.” 

During celebrations, the liturgy, and prayers throughout the year, Coptic deacons wear the patrashil sash with the red side facing out. However, during funerals and on Good Friday and during Holy Week dedicated to commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, they wear it with the dark side facing out.  Not only does the colour of the patrashil change, but so does that of the flags inside the church and the altar curtain. Throughout the year, they are crimson, symbolising the sacrifice of Jesus Christ with his body and blood on the cross. But in Holy Week, they change to either white or black, like the attire of the priests and the deacons, El-Antony explained.

“The way the patrashil is worn varies depends on the deacon’s rank. ‘Readers’ and ‘assistant deacons’ who hold the second and third ranks, respectively, wear it by wrapping it around their waists from the front and crossing it behind their backs, imitating the image of carrying a cross. They then bring it back over their shoulders to both sides and tuck it in at the waist, creating a belt-like appearance with two vertical lines of the sash.” 

“The remaining ends hang down in front of their feet. The way the patrashil is tied in the shape of a cross symbolises the deacons’ readiness to serve and assist Jesus Christ in carrying the cross.”

“In a way that is designed to emulating the angels, the fourth and fifth ranks of the deacons, called deacons and archdeacons, tie the patrashil over one shoulder and under the other, leaving it to dropdown like angel wings. They also wear a round head covering that is golden and white during prayer and black outside the church.” 

“The first ranks of deacons are allowed to wear black garments outside the church, but they are not permitted to grow beards like priests.”

PRIESTS’ ATTIRE: Remembering the day he was chosen as a priest at the Virgin Church in Mokattam, Father Basileos Gerges said that “Bishop Raphael presented me, after nomination by the church I was serving in as deacon, to [then head of the Coptic Church] pope Shenouda III for ordination as a priest.

“After I became a priest, I had to give up wearing regular clothes outside the church and wear the black garments of the clergy for the rest of my life. These can be adorned with crosses and patterns on the pockets and sleeves or kept plain,” Gerges said.

Priests wear distinctive garments when compared to deacons. “A priest wears a black head covering, and during the liturgy, he replaces it with a white head cover adorned with gold patterns, called the taylasan” 

“This is high at the top and extends down the back, with a piece of fabric reaching the feet. On religious occasions, the priest adds a sadra over his tonia, with an opening for the neck extending down to the feet in the front of him, while being shorter to the shoulders from the back. On the front of the sadra, there are embroidered images of the 12 disciples. In addition to the sadra, a priest may wear a sleeveless bornos with crosses and ornamental designs on it during rituals.”

It is only on certain occasions that the priest wears his full celebratory garments, Father Gerges explained. “While I wear the black head covering and clergy garments outside the church, I dress in white and gold for the prayers and liturgy. When I was ordained as a priest, I obtained a tonia and taylasan to pray in as an assistant priest. I then added the bornos and sadra when I became a main priest,” he said.

“I wore this complete set of garments on various occasions, including on my ordination day, as well as during vespers, the evening prayer on the same day, and during the liturgy the following day. Now, I wear the tonia and taylasan regularly, reserving the bornos and sadra for special events.” 

The rank of bishop is only bestowed upon those who pursue a monastic life within the Coptic Church. Monks wear the black garments of the clergy throughout their lives, along with a black hood called a qalansuwa that is embroidered with six crosses on each side representing the disciples and a large cross in the centre symbolising Jesus Christ. “When performing prayers, the monks wear a white tonia and qalansuwa over their black garments” 

“One of the monks may be chosen as a bishop, being responsible for several churches. In this case, he wears the black clergy garments adorned with crosses and a black head covering. During prayer and religious rituals, a bishop wears a white tonia and a bornos over his black garments and replaces the black head covering with a white one in the same style embroidered with golden thread. The bishop also wears a sadra similar to that of a priest.”

Bishops’ hats, which the pope also wears on non-formal occasions, are among the most challenging head coverings to make in the Coptic Church. According to Jihan Ayad, who makes special head coverings for bishops, priests, and deacons, making a bishop’s hat takes approximately 24 hours and is divided into multiple stages. 

“The process begins with creating a mould, followed by cutting strips of satin fabric and using them to construct the hat. The difficulty lies in building the outer structure of the hat by adding one satin strip after another,” Ayad said. “Despite the similarities in priests’ and bishops’ attire, there are distinct differences and subtle details that indicate the rank of each,” Monir explained. “Bishops and the pope wear bornos that differ in design from those of priests and are more decorated. Bishops also wear a wide linen or silk belt over their chests and fastened at the front. This indicates the need for vigilance and the bishops’ role as the shepherds of the Church.”

“Bishops may also wear a balien, a piece of fabric worn over the usual head covering and fastened cross-shaped over the chest and back. Today, the wearing of this has declined, like the narrow sleeves that priests used to wear over the wide tonia sleeves to facilitate their movements, but some are working on reviving both traditions.” she said.

The pope’s staff, also known as a shepherd’s staff, is topped with two metal serpents symbolising the serpent that Moses is described as mounting on a staff to save those who looked upon it in the Old Testament of the Bible. According to Monir, the staff is one of the most significant parts of the Pope’s attire.

Pope Tawadros II

“The pope’s attire is not significantly different from that of the bishops. He wears the same head covering on most occasions, for example, except during celebrations when the pope’s crown is higher than those of the bishops,” she added.

Despite the similarity in clothing, the pope stands out from the bishops owing to his crown adorned with pearls and crystals and intricately embroidered with golden thread, El-Antony said. “This crown takes at least 15 days to make by two workers. One makes the base, while the other embellishes it with embroidery and final additions. The crown is adorned with the images of saints and topped with an upright cross.”

The pope only wears the ceremonial crown during official celebrations and holidays. When reading the Bible during Mass, the pope also removes the crown and substitutes a white qalansuwa. 

Coptic Wedding In Montreal

“Among the ecclesiastical garments in the Coptic Museum in Cairo, there is a ceremonial crown given as a gift by the emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia to pope Kyrillos V, who donated it to the museum,” said Hayam Rushdi, head of the Coptic Museum’s Scientific Department.“In the 12th room of the museum, which contains ecclesiastical vestments, there are pieces dating back to the 19th century, including sadras, tonia, sleeves, and an altar curtain. Some of the pieces are adorned with images of the Virgin Mary carrying the baby Jesus, as well as saints, angels, and various crosses,” Rushdi said.

“Other pieces have images of Christ’s disciples written in Arabic on them and the Islamic date written out alongside the Coptic date,” she concluded.

This article was published by Al-Ahram newspaper on August, 30-2023.

TARO

“Dinner is ready!” As mom calls us for dinner, I begin to notice a delicious aroma that I had almost forgotten. I look to see what it is — the annual mouthwatering green soup with white cubes in the middle.

Whether it is eaten with bread, rice, or simply on its own, cooked taro is an essential dish in every Coptic Christian household on the Feast of the Epiphany. Although some children dislike it, others anticipate this feast to enjoy its taste. The celebration will not be complete on the Feast of the Epiphany without having cooked taro.

TARO SOUP - KOLCAS

Epiphany (Eid Al Ghitas) is annually celebrated on 19 January, 12 days after Christmas on January 7. In the Christian faith, the feast commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, baptism is the process of immersing a child into holy water, representing a new life for newborns.

Symbolic for this holy sacrament, taro also needs to be submerged in water to be thoroughly cleansed and cooked, since raw taro is poisonous. A deep-rooted Coptic tradition, Copts cook taro in celebration of this feast because it symbolizes the purity that Christians believe they receive upon baptism.

Taro also has a dark and muddy skin which has to be peeled off to reveal the white flesh that is later cooked and eaten. In the same way, Christians are freed from the sinful human nature that they believe they are born with only after baptism.

Moreover, taro roots are generally buried underground before being pulled out to be cooked for food. This is another symbolism of baptism marking death, burial, and resurrection in Jesus Christ. Copts cook taro in celebration of this feast because it symbolizes the purity that Christians believe they receive upon baptism.

Taro also known as Jewish Artichoke

Inspired by the Biblical verse, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)

Aside from its Coptic references, taro has multiple health benefits. As it is rich in nutrients, taro contributes to improving digestion, controls high blood pressure, and helps maintain a healthy immune system.

Since the Feast of the Epiphany was just around the corner, below is the most common recipe to cook taro in a Coptic home.

Article by MARINA MAKARY 

HISTORY OF TARO

Taro is one of the most ancient cultivated crops. Taro is found widely in tropical and subtropical regions of South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Papua New Guinea, and northern Australia and in Maldives. Taro is highly polymorphic, making taxonomy and distinction between wild and cultivated types difficult. It is believed that they were domesticated independently multiple times, with authors giving possible locations as New Guinea, Mainland Southeast Asia, and northeastern India, based largely on the assumed native range of the wild plants. However, more recent studies have pointed out that wild taro may have a much larger native distribution than previously believed, and wild breeding types may also likely be indigenous to other parts of Island Southeast Asia.

Archaeological traces of taro exploitation have been recovered from numerous sites, though whether these were cultivated or wild types cannot be ascertained. They include the Niah Caves of Borneo around 10,000 years ago, Ille Cave of Palawan, dated to at least 11,000 year ago; Kuk Swamp of New Guinea, dated to between 8250 BC and 7960 BC; and Kilu Cave in the Solomon Islands dated to around 28,000 to 20,000 years ago. In the case of Kuk Swamp, there is evidence of formalized agriculture emerging by about 10,000 years ago, with evidence of cultivated plots, though which plant was cultivated remains unknown.

Taro were carried into the Pacific Islands by Austronesian peoples from around 1300 BC, where they became a staple crop of Polynesians, along with other types of "taros", like Alocasia macrorrhizos, Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, and Cyrtosperma merkusii. They are the most important and the most preferred among the four, because they were less likely to contain the irritating raphides present in the other plants.Taro is also identified as one of the staples of Micronesia, from archaeological evidence dating back to the pre-colonial Latte Period (c. 900 - 1521 AD), indicating that it was also carried by Micronesians when they colonized the islands. Taro pollen and starch residue have also been identified in Lapita sites, dated to between 1100 BC and 550 BC. Taro was later spread to Madagascar as early as the 1st century AD.

WHAT MAKES A PERFECT EGYPTIAN SHORBET KOLKAS OR TARO SOUP?

A decadent Taro soup calls for:

a. Good Quality Broth

Alternatively, you can either use homemade or low-sodium store-bought vegetable or beef stock.  

b. Fresh Greens Cooked to Perfection

To cook the greens, first blend the Swiss chard with 1 cup of broth, run the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, add the green liquid to the rest of the broth and let it simmer.  Add the Taro cubes to the simmering soup.

Now, cook the solids. In a frying pan, add the butter over low heat, once it sizzles, add the crushed garlic and the green solids and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed coriander to the green solids, butter, and garlic and cook until it’s fragrant. Add this garlic-greens’ solids and coriander to the Taro soup, adjust the seasoning. When the diced Taro becomes soft and fork tender turn off the heat.

What is Taklia?

Taklia is an old Egyptian cooking technique where crushed garlic and ground coriander are cooked in sizzling ghee, butter or oil, until the mixture becomes fragrant and then it is added to a simmering soup of stew. In addition to Taro Soup, this technique is used to amp up the flavour of the iconic soup Molokhia. 

Kolkas (Taro-Greens) Soup 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium taro, diced (Frozen ready packs) 2 packs for 6 servings.

2 springs chard and/or spinach/Coriander (Included in the frozen pack)

1 spring cilantro

1 cup and 1 1/2 cups vegetable or bone broth.

2 tablespoons butter or ghee

4 garlic cloves, crushed

Salt and pepper

1 lemon, juiced

Peel the Taro: Don’t wash the Taro root, it gets too slimy to handle. With gloved hands and a sharp knife, peel the taro horizontally, then slice it in 1 inch thickness, dice the slices and then soak them in the fridge overnight or no less than 5 hours to get rid of its sliminess. 

Taro Leaves

Cook the Taro: Heat the broth in a heavy bottom pan, when it starts simmering, add the diced Taro. Let the Taro boil while you prepare the greens and make the Taklia.

Prepare the greens: Remove the stems, and keep the leaves of the chard and fresh cilantro. In a blender, blend the greens’ leaves with 1 cup of stock. Run it through a fine mesh sieve, add the green liquid to the remaining broth and keep the solids to cook them with the crushed garlic and ground coriander.

Prepare the Taklia:  Heat the butter in a frying pan over low heat, add the crushed garlic and the greens’ solids, cook until the solids gets slightly darker, add the crushed coriander and stir for one minute, or until the mixture is fragrant. Turn the heat and immediately add the Taklia to the simmering soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the soup.  

Serve: This soup is best served hot, along with vermicelli rice and lemon wedges.

NOTES:

Don’t wash the Taro before cubing it as the water makes the skin too slimy to grab and peel away. To sharpen the taste of the soup, it is possible to add a cube of beef or vegetable bouillon.  You can create an easy vegan version of this soup by using vegetable oil instead of butter and vegetable broth instead of beef bone broth.

Molokheya.

Molokheya is the name of a plant found in the ancient Mediterranean languages such as Arabic and Greek. Cognates of the word include Ancient Greek μαλάχη (malákhē) or μολόχη (molókhē), Modern Greek μολόχα (molókha), modern Arabic: ملوخية (mulukhiyah) and Modern Hebrew: מלוחיה (malukhia).

A story about the name is claimed to be invented for a King (Malik) meal  - Molokia or (Kingly) named by a cook that made the meal for a king how like it so much that it was called Molukia. (unlikely true but sounds good)

 

Mulukhiyah are the leaves of Corchorus olitorius, commonly known in English as denje'c'jute, nalta jute, tossa jute, jute mallow or Jew's Mallow. It is used as a vegetable and is popular in Middle East, East African, West African and North African countries and is called “Saluyot” in the Philippines. Mulukhiyah is rather bitter, and when boiled, the resulting liquid is a thick, highly mucilaginous broth; it is often described as "slimy", rather like cooked okra. Mulukhiyah is generally eaten cooked, not raw, and is most frequently turned into a kind of soup or stew, typically bearing the same name as the vegetable in the local language. Traditionally mulukhiyah is cooked with chicken or at least chicken stock for flavor and is served with white rice, accompanied by lemon or lime.

 

Origins and history

 

While most scholars are of the opinion that mulukhiyah's origins lie in Ancient Egypt, there is evidence that India is the source of the related species Corchorus capsularis, which is also used for food as well as fiber.

 

Mulukhiyah was a known dish in the Medieval Arab world. The recipe on how to prepare it is mentioned in the 14th century Arabic book Kanz al-Fawa'id fi Tanwi' al-Mawa'id. According to the Egyptian historian al-Maqrizi (d. 1442), mulukhiyah was the favorite dish of caliph Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (r. 661–680) the founder of the Umayyad Caliphate. On the 7th of Muharram in the year 395 AH (1005 AD) the Fatimid ruler of Egypt Al-Hakim bi Amr Allah (r. 996–1021) issued a decree, which prohibited his subjects from eating the mulukhiyah, which was thought to be an aphrodisiac and producing somnolence. However, his successor caliph al-Zahir (r. 1021–1035) permitted the eating of mulukhiya again. The Druze, who hold Al-Hakim in high regard and give him quasi-divine authority, continue to respect the ban, and do not eat Mulukhiyah of any kind to this day.

 

Culinary varieties.

 

Egyptian cuisine

 

Molokhiya was consumed in ancient Egyptian cuisine, where the name "molokhiya" is thought to have originated.

 

Many Egyptians consider molokhiya to be the national dish of Egypt, along with ful medames and kushari.

 

The Egyptian style of preparing molokhiya is distinctive, and is particularly different from the Levantine variant. The molokhiya leaves are picked off the stem, with tall stemmed branches. They are washed then placed on a large sheet (cloth material) to be left to completely dry for later use.

 

After drying, the leaves are chopped fine, often with a mezzaluna. The chopped leaves are then boiled in broth; if meat or seafood is being used, it is added at this point, and may be bone-in or boneless. Coriander and garlic are fried separately in ghee or oil to make the "ta'leyya" (تقلية, literally "a frying" or "fried thing"), and then added to the soup at the end while the ta'leyya is still sizzling.

The soup is served with white rice and/or with a side of Egyptian flatbread (ʿeish baladi). The dish is often accompanied with an assortment of pickled vegetables, known as mekhallel or torshi in Egypt. Tomato sauce, vinegar, and other condiments may also be present. Chopped onions in vinegar is a must.

 

In the Egyptian cuisine, the molokhia dish generally includes some sort of meat usually chicken or rabbit, but lamb is preferred when available, particularly in Cairo. Cooks in Alexandria often opt for shrimp in the soup, while Port Said is famous for using fish.

It is worth mentioning that no two families eat Mulukhia the same way, soup first or rice first, crumbled toasted bead or soft bread, tomato sauce first or vinegar/lemon first or both ? but always when all the family is present.

  

Levantine style Mulukhiya

 

The standard molokhia dish in the Levant is prepared by cooking meat of some sort in a separate pot by boiling. Later onions and garlic are cooked to a simmer and then water and chicken stock cubes are added to form a broth. After boiling, the cooked chicken or meat with the broth coriander and molokhia leaves are added and further cooked another 15 minutes. Also, in northern Lebanon, a dish called mloukhiye b zeit is made using fresh leaves and shoots of the Nalta jute plant, cooked in olive oil, onions, garlic, tomatoes and chili peppers; it is a popular summer side dish, especially in Miniyeh-Danniyeh and Akkar districts.

 

Bedouins have an old tradition of cooking a different version of the dish. A whole chicken is cut open, the intestines removed, and the innards stuffed with herbs, spices and raw rice then sewn shut with thick thread. The chicken is then boiled to create the broth for the molokhia soup which, after preparation, is served as five separate components: The molokhia soup, Arabic flat pita bread, the chicken (stuffed with flavored rice), additional plain rice, and a small bowl with a mixture of lemon juice and sliced chilli. The soup is mixed with rice and lemon juice according to taste, while the chicken is eaten on a separate plate.

 

Tunisian mloukhiya stew with meat.

 

In Tunisia, the dish is generally prepared quite differently from the Egyptian method. The leaves, already separated from the stems, are dried then ground to produce a very fine powder and stored in jars or other tightly closed containers. In Tunisian cooking, mulukhya, or mloukhiya, takes 5 to 7 hours to prepare, which is often done to halfway in the evening and completed in the morning.

The powder is prepared with olive oil and some tomato paste into a sauce, not soup, and big chunks of beef are often added halfway through cooking. The dark green sauce simmers on low heat and is left to thicken to the consistency of tomato sauce. The sauce is served in small deep plates with a piece of beef and eaten with preferably white hearty French or Italian bread. In certain regions where beef is not common, lamb is used but cooks for a much shorter time.

 

Kenyan cuisine

 

In Kenya, the dish is known as murere (Luhya), murenda, apoth (Luo), and several other native language names. It is a very popular vegetable dish among communities in the Western region (Vihiga, Kakamega, Busia, Trans Nzoia and Bungoma Counties) and in Nyanza region (Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, Kisii, Migori and Nyamira Counties). Both regions are in the area around Lake Victoria. The jute leaves are separated from the stems, washed, and then boiled in lightly salted water with ligadi (a raw form of bicarbonate of soda), or munyu (traditional plant-based salt). The leaves are boiled with other leafy vegetables such as likuvi Vigna unguiculata (cowpea) leaves or mito (Chipilín) to reduce their sliminess and help soften the other vegetable leaves. In some cases, after boiling for about thirty minutes, the vegetables are stewed with tomatoes and onions in oil. (There are several general ways to prepare the mutere and more ways in which it is served). Spices such as curry, pepper, masala, or coriander are optional. Mutere is served with ugali (a staple stuff, cooked cereal meal) and can be accompanied with meat or chicken.

West African cuisines

 

The leaf is a common food in many tropical West African countries. It is believed that the "drip tips" on the leaves serve to shed excess water from the leaf from the heavy rains in the tropics. In Sierra Leone it is called kren-kre (krain krain or crain crain), and is eaten in a palm oil sauce served with rice or cassava fufu (a traditional food made from cassava), or else is steamed and mixed into rice just before eating a non-palm oil sauce. Among the Yorubas in south-west Nigeria, it is called ewedu and served with cooked yam flour (amala). In Liberia it is called palaver sauce, and is served with rice or fufu. In The Gambia it is referred to as kereng-kereng and is typically used to make supakanja (a dish mostly served on Saturdays and made with okra, red palm oil, fish and meat).

 

In Ghana, it is known as Ademe ewe or Ayoyo leaves and used to make accompanying soups for Banku (a corn cassavas dough dish) or cooked rice).

 

Cypriot cuisine

 

In Cyprus the dish is known as molohiya. It is popular among the Cypriots. The jute leaves are cultivated and grown in the spring, whereupon they are harvested and the leaves are separated from the stem and dried whole. They are cooked in a tomato-based broth with onions and garlic. Lamb on the bone or chicken with bone may also be added. For optimal results, lemon and potato are also used to help keep the consistency from becoming too mucilaginous or slimy. It is served with a broth consistency with sourdough bread.

 

Haitian cuisine

 

In Haiti, the leafy green dish is commonly known as lalo and is traditionally cooked with or without meat. When considering meat, Haitians utilize beef or pork shoulder. Seafood such as blue crabs, shrimp or snow crab legs are also options. It is traditionally served with white rice.

 

Nutrition

 

The leaves are rich in folate, beta-carotene, iron, calcium, vitamin C and more than 32 vitamins, minerals like Magnesium and trace elements. The plant has a potent antioxidant activity with a significant α-tocopherol equivalent vitamin E.

The Magnesium content is known to trigger the release of hormones that relax the body and calm nerves.

There is an article about Molokhia in my blog (February 2015) that relates to a poem written in 2014 by Mario Vicchi (Rome), alias Marius d'Alexandrie. Have a look...

Molokhia Poem

 

Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)

Reign: 1350 - 1334 BC

(18) Dynasty of Egypt & Religious Revolution

Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten, meaning "the Servant of Aten" (a sun God) early in his reign. Whereas his father, Amenhotep III, had sought to reduce the increasing power of the priesthood, Akhenaton practically dismantled it. Akhenaten started his reign as most Egyptian kings. But fairly early in his reign he introduced a monotheistic worship of Aten, the Sun God. At first he attempted to place temples for next to temples for other gods. Eventually he closed all the other temples and took their revenues.

Akhenaten

 In the process of this religious revolution, Akhenaten placed himself as the intermediary between Aten and the people. This helped eliminate the need for the priesthood. As the only one with access to the god, Akhenaten established himself as a god-king and became the first king to be called Pharaoh.

New Capital at el-Amarna

In a move to further distance he created a new capital at Akhenaton now known as el-Amarna. This sacred city had never been occupied prior to Akhenaten's moving his capital nor did it outlast Akhenaton's reign. After Akhenaten's death the backlash forced his son, Tutankhamen to reverse the move to monotheism and return to the worship of many gods. During his reign it appears likely that only the nobles embraced the Aten cult but even much of that may have been just to stay in favor with the king. Even without their temples the common people apparently maintained their old worship practices.

 Changes in Art

This period of change during Akhenaten's reign has become known as "The Amarna Revolution" or "The Amarna Interlude". Besides the changes involving the king's position and title, the religious movements and the capital there was a new artistic style used as well. Bek, Akhenaten's "Chief Sculptor and Master" proclaims in a stele that the king told the artists to create "what they saw". This led to the development of a more realistic style in the official art that in many cases continued on after Akhenaten's time.

Akhenaton's Physiognomy

When the first portraits of Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti was uncovered they were thought to represent two women because of Akhenaton's body style. Akhenaton's sculptures usually show him with an elongated neck, protruding belly and a lower body form more closely related to the way women were depicted. For a while it was thought that Akhenaton was actually a woman. Today there is a theory that Akhenaten may have developed a condition known as Frolich's Syndrome late in life. This tumor of the pituitary gland can result in body deformations very similar to Akhenaton's depiction.

10 FACTS ON ANCIENT EGYPT’S MONOTHEIST PHARAOH

#1 HIS FATHER IS KNOWN AS AMENHOTEP THE MAGNIFICENT.

Born Amenhotep, Akhenaten was the son of Amenhotep III and Tiye. Amenhotep III, also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt and had a long and prosperous reign. Tiye was Amenhotep III’s Great Royal Wife, the title given to the principal wife of the pharaoh. Their eldest son Crown Prince Thutmose died before Amenhotep III thus making Akhenaten next in line for the throne.

#2 HE RULED OVER ANCIENT EGYPT FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS.

Akhenaten ruled as Amenhotep IV for the first few years of his reign. Amenhotep IV was crowned in Thebes. The date of his succession to the throne is not known with certainty and varies between 1370 BC and 1358 BC. His reign lasted for seventeen years till his death in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. Amenhotep IV was pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt.

#3 AMENHOTEP IV WAS THE HUSBAND OF THE FAMOUS NEFERTITI.

Amenhotep IV married Nefertiti at the beginning of his reign. From inscriptions it can be deduced that Nefertiti and Akhenaten had at least six daughters. Though Nefertiti was not his only wife, Akhenaten is shown openly displaying love for Nefertiti and their daughter in depictions. Most probably, the couple had a genuine romantic relationship. Nefertiti became an icon of feminine beauty after the rediscovery of her bust in 1912.

#4 AMENHOTEP IV INSTITUTED THE FIRST MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION IN HISTORY.

When Amenhotep IV came to the throne, many gods were worshipped in Egypt with Amun being the King of Gods. Initially he allowed worship of Egypt’s traditional deities but soon he took steps to establish sun god Aten as the supreme god of Egypt. By year 9 of his reign Akhenaten declared that Aten was not merely the supreme god, but the only god. This was a radical step and the first instance of monotheism in all history.

 #5 HE TOOK THE NAME AKHENATEN IN YEAR FIVE OF HIS REIGN.

In year 5 of his reign that Amenhotep IV disbanded priesthoods of all the other gods, rejected the primary god Amun as superstition and replaced the traditional image of falcon as the symbol of deity with the sun disk. To show his loyalty to Aten, he changed his name from Amenhotep, which meant ‘Amun is content’, to Akhenaten, meaning ‘Living Spirit of Aten’.

#6 AKHENATEN ORDERED THE ERADICATION OF ALL OF EGYPT’S TRADITIONAL GODS.

In year 9 of his reign, Akhenaten ordered the eradication of all of Egypt’s traditional gods. He ordered the defacing of Amun’s temples throughout Egypt and imposed a ban on images except the ones which referred to Aten. By these measures he tried to instil in people that Aten was the one true god. He also declared that he was the only intermediary between Aten and the people of Egypt thus eliminating the priests.

#7 HE IS THE FOUNDER OF THE CITY OF AMARNA.

In year 5 of his reign Akhenaten ordered the construction of his new capital which was named Akhetaten or ‘Horizon of Aten’. Akhenaten was dedicated to his new religion of worship to the Aten. The temples built there were roofless so that rays of the sun would fall on the worshipers. The site today is known as Amarna. It is one of the most important historical sites in Egypt and exploration of the city continues to this day.

#8 ART WAS REVOLUTIONIZED DURING THE REIGN OF AKHENATEN.

Akhenaten presided over one of the wealthiest period of ancient Egypt. Numerous structures were constructed during his reign, the most famous being the Temple of Amenhotep IV. Art was revolutionized during his reign with more realistic artistic portrayals. It was radical for its time as it focused on ordinary activities and domestic scenes. Also royal women became more prominent in portrayals of the period.

#9 AKHENATEN AND ATENISM WERE ERASED FROM RECORDS AFTER HIS DEATH.

After the death of Akhenaten, his monotheistic religion was discarded and traditional religious practices were gradually restored. He was referred to as the ‘heretic king’ and all traces to him and Atenism were erased. His name doesn’t appear in any of the king lists compiled by later Pharaohs and it was only after the discovery of the site of Amarna in the nineteenth century that the world came to know about Akhenaten

#10 AKHENATEN WAS THE FATHER OF KING TUT.

Tutankhamun

One of Akhenaten’s sons was Tutankhamun. Tutankhamun went on to become pharaoh and took the name Tutankhamun. He became famous when his nearly intact tomb was discovered in 1922 and is now popularly known as King Tut. Previously it was not certain that King Tut was the son of Akhenaten but DNA tests in 2010 established this fact. It is also now known that King Tut’s mother was a biological sister of Akhenaten and one of his wives.

AN INTERESTING THEORY

Since Akhenaten was the first monotheist, there is a theory that after his death his followers were forced to leave Egypt and were led by an Atenist priest who was the biblical Moses. That Akhenaten’s monotheism religion later went on to become Judaism cannot be definitely established. However there are several points that support this theory including the fact that three principal Judaic terms for God have a connection to Aten.

Information and Pictures from Internet

Cairo the city

Cairo’s official name is al-Qāhirah, which means literally: “Place or Camp of Mars“, in reference to the fact that the planet was rising at the time of the city’s foundation as well as, “the Vanquisher“; “the Conqueror“; “the Victorious” or, “the Strong” (al-Qahira) in reference to the much awaited Caliph Al-Mu’izz li-Din Allah who arrived from the old Fatimid capital of Mahdia in 973 AD to the city.

 Cairo / القاهرة‎, is the capital and largest city of Egypt. The Cairo metropolitan area, with a population of 21.3 million,is the largest metropolitan area in the Arab world, the second largest in Africa, and the sixth largest in the world.

The area around present-day Cairo, especially Memphis, which was the old capital of Pharaonic Egypt, had long been a focal point of Ancient Egypt due to its strategic location just upstream from the Nile Delta. However, the origins of the modern city are generally traced back to a series of settlements in the first millennium. Around the turn of the 4th century, as Memphis was continuing to decline in importance, the Romans established a fortress town along the east bank of the Nile. This fortress, known as Babylon, was the nucleus of the Roman and then the Byzantine city and is the oldest structure in the city today.

It is also situated at the nucleus of the Coptic Orthodox community, which separated from the Roman and Byzantine churches in the late 4th century. Many of Cairo's oldest Coptic churches, including the Hanging Church,  are located along the fortress walls in a section of the city known as Coptic Cairo. 

                                                          

Coptic Hanging Church

Ruins of Babylon Fortress 

Following the Muslim conquest in AD 640, the conqueror Amr Ibn El-As settled to the north of the Babylon in an area that became known as El-Fustat.

Originally a tented camp (Fustat signifies "Tents") Fustat became a permanent settlement and the first capital of Islamic Egypt.

 In 750, following the overthrow of the Umayyad caliphate by the Abbasids, the new rulers created their own settlement to the northeast of Fustat which became their capital. This was known as al-Askar (the city of sections, or cantonments) as it was laid out like a military camp.

 A rebellion in 869 by Ahmad Ebn Tulum led to the abandonment of Al Askar and the building of another settlement, which became the seat of government.

This was El-Qatta'i ("the Quarters"), to the north of Fustat and closer to the river. El Qatta'i was centered around a palace and ceremonial mosque, now known as the Mosque of Ibn Tulum.

 

In 905, the Abbasids re-asserted control of the country and their governor returned to Fustat, razing al-Qatta'i to the ground.

In 969, the Fatimid empire ruled over Egypt with an army of Kutamas, and under the rule of Jawhar Al Saqili, a new fortified city northeast of Fustat was established. It took four years to build the city, initially known as El-Manṣūriyyah, which was to serve as the new capital of the caliphate. During that time, the construction of the El-Azhar Mosque was commissioned by order of the Caliph, which developed into the third-oldest university in the world.

    Al-Azhar University & Mosque

Cairo would eventually become a centre of learning, with the library of Cairo containing hundreds of thousands of books. When Caliph El-Mu'izz li Din Allah arrived from the old Fatimid capital of Mahdia in Tunisia in 973, he gave the city its present name, Qāhirat al-Mu'izz ("The Vanquisher of El-Mu'izz").

For nearly 200 years after Cairo was established, the administrative centre of Egypt remained in Fustat. However, in 1168 the Fatimid vizier Shawar set fire to Fustat to prevent its capture by Amalric, the Crusader king of Jerusalem. Egypt's capital was permanently moved to Cairo, which was eventually expanded to include the ruins of Fustat and the previous capitals of al-Askar and al-Qatta'i. As al Qahira expanded these earlier settlements were encompassed, and have since become part of the city of Cairo as it expanded and spread; they are now collectively known as "Old Cairo".

While the Fustat fire successfully protected the city of Cairo, a continuing power struggle between Shawar, King Amalric I of Jerusalem, and the Zengid general Shirkuh led to the downfall of the Fatimid establishment.

In 1169, Saladin was appointed as the new vizier of Egypt by the Fatimids and two years later he seized power from the family of the last Fatimid caliph, al-'Āḍid. As the first Sultan of Egypt, Saladin established the Ayyubid dynasty, based in Cairo, and aligned Egypt with the Abbasids, who were based in Baghdad. During his reign, Saladin constructed the Cairo Citadel, which served as the seat of the Egyptian government until the mid-19th century.

A multi-domed mosque dominates the walled Citadel, with ruined tombs and a lone minaret in front.

The Cairo Citadel, seen above in the late 19th century, was commissioned by Saladin between 1176 and 1183.

The Cairo Citadel today.

In 1250, slave soldiers, known as the Mamluks, seized control of Egypt and like many of their predecessors established Cairo as the capital of their new dynasty. Continuing a practice started by the Ayyubids, much of the land occupied by former Fatimid palaces was sold and replaced by newer buildings. Construction projects initiated by the Mamluks pushed the city outward while also bringing new infrastructure to the centre of the city. Meanwhile, Cairo flourished as a centre of Islamic scholarship and a crossroads on the spice trade route among the civilizations in Afro-Eurasia. By 1340, Cairo had a population of close to half a million, making it the largest city west of China.

When the traveler Ibn Battuta first came to Cairo in 1326, he described it as the principal district of Egypt. When he passed through the area again on his return journey in 1348 the Black Death was ravaging most major cities. He cited reports of thousands of deaths per day in Cairo.

 

                                             Muhammad Ali's seizure of power

Although Cairo avoided Europe's stagnation during the Late Middle Ages, it could not escape the Black Death, which struck the city more than fifty times between 1348 and 1517. During its initial, and most deadly waves, approximately 200,000 people were killed by the plague, and, by the 15th century, Cairo's population had been reduced to between 150,000 and 300,000.

The city's status was further diminished after Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route around the Cape of Good Hope between 1497 and 1499, thereby allowing spice traders to avoid Cairo. Cairo's political influence diminished significantly after the Ottomans supplanted Mamluk power over Egypt in 1517. Ruling from Constantinople, Sultan Selim I relegated Egypt to a province, with Cairo as its capital. For this reason, the history of Cairo during Ottoman times is often described as inconsequential, especially in comparison to other time periods.

However, during the 16th and 17th centuries, Cairo remained an important economic and cultural centre. Although no longer on the spice route, the city facilitated the transportation of Yemeni coffee and Indian textiles, primarily to Anatolia, North Africa, and the Balkans. Cairo merchants were instrumental in bringing goods to the barren Hejaz, especially during the annual hajj to Mecca. It was during this same period that El-Azhar University reached the predominance among Islamic schools that it continues to hold today; pilgrims on their way to hajj often attested to the superiority of the institution, which had become associated with Egypt's body of Islamic scholars.

By the 16th century, Cairo also had high-rise apartment buildings where the two lower floors were for commercial and storage purposes and the multiple stories above them were rented out to tenants.

 

Under the Ottomans, Cairo expanded south and west from its nucleus around the Citadel. The city was the second-largest in the empire, behind Constantinople, and, although migration was not the primary source of Cairo's growth, twenty percent of its population at the end of the 18th century consisted of religious minorities and foreigners from around the Mediterranean. Still, when Napoleon arrived in Cairo in 1798, the city's population was less than 300,000, forty percent lower than it was at the height of Mameluke influence in the mid-14th century.

Bab Zouela

The French occupation was short-lived as British and Ottoman forces, including a sizeable Albanian contingent, recaptured the country in 1801.

A British and Ottoman force culminating with the French surrender on 22 June 1801 besieged Cairo itself. The British vacated Egypt two years later, leaving the Ottomans, the Albanians, and the weakened Mamluk jostling for control of the country. Continued civil war allowed an Albanian named Muhammad Ali Pasha to ascend to the role of commander and appointed himself the ottoman “Wali” governor of Egypt and eventually, with the approval of the religious establishment, he became viceroy of Egypt in 1805.

Mohamed Ali is regarded as the father and founder of modern Egypt due to the extensive reforms to the economic, military, and cultural aspects of Egypt. He used his leadership skills, political intelligence, and cunning to bring peace, prosperity, law, and order to Egypt that was transformed into a true superpower and great influences all over the world at the time.

Al Moezz Street

He used his support of the general public and the religious establishment to work on taking more control and charger of the country and to eliminate the Mamluks who controlled Egypt for more than 600 years. On the First of March in 1181, the Mamluks gathered in the Cairo citadel and Muhammad Ali’s troops began killing all the sixty-four Mamluks, including twenty-four commanders, he then dispatched his troops through Egypt to destroy any remaining traces of the Mamluk forces. He had a dream of creating his own dynasty and his own kingdom away from the decaying Ottoman Empire, that’s why he transformed Egypt into a regional power and declared himself the rightful successor. His dynasty ruled Egypt from its date of foundation in 1805 until 1952 AD following the Egyptian Revolution.

He developed a strategy based on agriculture as he planted crops for the sole purpose of exportation like rice, sugarcane, and especially cotton. All the income from agricultural production and export was used to develop public work and national projects like irrigation, canals, dams, and barrages. He also disbanded his foreign army and created a fleet and an army of pure Egyptians who was commanded by the Turks and trained by French commanders in the art of warfare. He also started an educational revolution as he constructed Western-style schools and universities to produce doctors, engineers, veterinarians, and other specialists. He sent educational expeditions to Europeans who were trained in modern techniques to complete his bureaucrats.

Bulak before draining              

Muhammad Ali and his successors figured out how to drain the swamp, using technology that was introduced by the French and improved on by them. They drained the Nile Delta, turning it into farmland, and drained the land west of the medieval city of Cairo. Building a new city along the Nile that would serve as a business center, with factories and warehouses and ports so that the new Egypt would be able to manufacture its own products. He named the city Bulaq. A French name given to the then the lake “Beau Lac”

He launched an industrial age in Egypt as he built factories to produce sugar, glass, and textile that competed with the European product, and build ships, weapons for the new army, and navy. There was also a dark side to his master plan as he added excessive taxation to pay for all his expensive projects which led him to lose a great deal of his public support. His over control on agriculture expanded his monopolization of world trade, which led to a bad relationship with Britain, which saw Egypt as a threat to their economical influence. .

                    Ismailia / Tahrir square

Mohammed Ali's successor, Ismail drained the area to the south of Bulaq. The new land was turned into a European style city with wide boulevards and public squares and parks and gardens. They also figured out how to fix the borders of the Nile by reinforcing the riverbed, and they built floodgates to keep the city from flooding every year. They built two vast squares in the new city: Midan Sulayman Pasha, or Sulayman Pasha Square, which was the center the new residential area, and Midan Ismailia, or "Ismail's Square" that was the center of the new business area. Just south of Midan Ismailia and the Nile, the Egyptians built a great army barracks called the Qasr el-Nil (Palace of the Nile). Some of the administrative offices of these barracks are now the main buildings of the American University in Cairo.

Ismail Pasha Palace / now Marriott Zamalek

In the late 1800s more squares were added throughout the city to reflect the new "European-ness" of the city. And in the early 1900s, Cairo jumped the river to two small islands in the Nile. Two upper class neighborhoods were built - Manial on Roda, and Zamalek on Gezira - so that the wealthy of Cairo could escape the crowded city. Also in the early 1900s, Europeans built the first satellite city around Cairo - called Heliopolis.

Also built for the wealthy citizens of Cairo, Heliopolis was built in the desert to the northeast of the city, and connected to Cairo by tram. A spa was built at the springs of Helwan to the south of the city, also connected by tram to the city center.

 

The village of Helwan, once an elegant spa of “Sulfuric  Waters” nearly twenty miles distant from the city center at the southern end of Cairo, has now become a center of heavy industry in Egypt.

Helouan Sulfuric Source

Pictures and articles collected from Internet