My earliest exposure to Egyptian wonders when quite the small, was through our family's set of Arther Mee's "The Childrens Encyclopedia" and of course, Agatha Christie which I devoured young.
suppose that for these reasons my early view of this fascinating country was just a tad Angliophiled and quite romantically slanted. This to a point where I still find my mind brushing aside the idea of the modern country with it's dynamic political and economical stresses, to those of a distant, imagined past.
Son numero due visited the country in 2000, and returned with a couple of stylish "vistor" papyrus and many wonderful stories and photographs of the country. A nephew also visited, more recently. His stories were a tad more dynamic as he experienced a couple of slightly more alarming events whilst there than Simon had experienced, or that I heard about, anyway.
Cyperus papyrus is an aquatic flowering plant belonging to the sedge family Cypereracea. It is found throughout Africa. It has many names, including Nile Grass and paper reed. It is called "aaru" by Eygptians.
The plant has a long history as a source of papyrus, one of the first "papers" to be produced and used by Egyptians for recording on with ink, about 3000 years BC, but it's use spread throughout western Asia over the next 2,000 years. The plant, however, was much more important to the Egyptians than this single commodity. It amazes me how much of this fragile documentation has survived intact and legible, and the colours so vibrant...
In Ancient Egypt, the papyrus plant was used for various of purposes such as baskets, sandals, blankets, medicine, incense, and boats. The woody root was used to make bowls and utensils, and was burned for fuel. Egyptians made efficient use of all parts of the plant, including food. Fishermen sometimes use small sections of the stem as floats for their nets, papyrus was important, a "gift of the Nile", which is still preserved and perpetuated in the Egyptian culture.
In the early 1970's, the Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl built two boats from papyrus, Ra and Ra II, in an attempt to demonstrate that ancient African or Mediterranean people could have reached America. He succeeded in sailing Ra II from Morocco to Barbados. It is a useful and durable plant.
Another cold front with gale force winds is forecast for today although it is warm and sunny at the moment...in the garden, the last of the hollyhocks is looking a tad battered this morning, and several unsecured plant pots have made an unscheduled stop outside our kitchen door. I hope the boys have put things safely away now, they have become a bit careless about such things as it has been calm for so long.
Photo number 10, submitted by Melissa Bone, is a beauty of part of the Wellington Park mountain range to the West of Kunyani or Mt Wellington which forms the backdrop to Hobart. Sleeping Beauty, who's combined profile image is composed of Mt Trestle and Collins Bonnet, is seen most clearly and dramatically from the Huon Valley.
Also added the updated Spotify link, just because...
Enough! We are getting dangerously close to other stories here...so, see you later, alligator!
See, I AM learning brevity, perhaps...
Di