In the Pharaoh's Shadow

by Sattin, Anthony

• ISBN13: 9780575063976
• ISBN10: 0575063971
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-03-01
• Publisher: Victor Gollancz

Summary

In a ruined temple along the Nile, Anthony Sattin came across a woman praying to the gods of ancient Egypt to bless her with a child. Later the same day, a policeman stopped his taxi to ask if he had a mobile phone - he wanted to call his mother. These encounters encapsulated the Egyptian experience; while undoubtedly forward-looking, Egyptians are obsessed with their long and well-documented past. Europeans, Turks, Mamelukes, Arabs, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Jews, Christians and Muslims have all left their mark; but older than them all are the surviving customs from Ancient Egypt, from fertility rituals and funerary rites to the cult of saints, snake-charmers and magicians.Anthony Sattin has produced a ground-breaking work - a masterly synthesis of the best sort of travel writing and fascinating historical inquiry - which brings to life a country of perennial fascination.

Table of Contents

Illustrations
Permissions
Acknowledgements
Chances	p. 1
The World and Its End	p. 22
Women and the Nile	p. 46
The Living and the Dead	p. 76
Happy Birthday Abu'l-Hajjaj	p. 99
Mr. Magic	p. 134
The Original Egyptians?	p. 167
The Tree at the End of the Book	p. 193
Glossary	p. 216
Bibliography	p. 219
Index	p. 227
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