Morsi Vs. Egypt

Newly and democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt has put his country into chaos again, just months after the spring uprising that unseated President Mubarak, reported the Washington Post and most major newspapers today. Morsi made decrees which he claims are intended of defend the revolution that led to Morsi’s election this June, including disbanding the constitutional courts.  Some people think that Morsi’s decree are an action designed to reinstate a dictatorship.  Morsi defending his actions by claiming that he was  “against judges and prosecutors for doing too little to address the corruption and abuses of Mubarak years.”

            The Obama administration is criticizing these actions. “State Department officials said the United States was seeking an explanation for the new move, which removed all judicial checks over Morsi ‘s actions."

            As a result to Morsi’s actions, the country has turned once again into complete chaos. Egyptians are taking to the streets in protest, setting buildings on fire and throwing rocks. Some people claim to fear for their lives and have resigned their jobs. They do not want to be associated with Morsi.

            Morsi claims his actions are to protect the work of a committee appointed to draft a new constitution. Morsi stated that he would remove his over abundance of power once the constitution is written and a legislature is elected.

Entertainment in Ancient Egypt

Egyptians found many ways to entertain themselves after work. Researchers have obtained numerous artifacts and other forms of evidence to support their physical and leisure activities. Men typically participated in physical sports such as fishing, swimming, wrestling, boxing, and long distance running. These physical sports often were used to elevate a man’s physical prowess in the community. Board games were also popular. These board games were often times made out of wood, stone, clay, or drawings scratched on the ground.

One of the most common games was Senet, which was played on a board of thirty squares divided into three rows of ten squares. The overall objective of the game was to move your piece around the board in an S-shaped pattern until you reached the far end. This game required strategy and chance. It is importance to note that Senet had religious significance, as this game portrayed one’s journey through the underworld.

Fashion in Ancient Egypt

The most popular material used to make clothes in Ancient Egypt was white linen. Considering Egypt’s warm climate this light weight material was ideal. Egyptian men typically wore short skirts; while women wore robes or fitted dresses. In terms of dresses the majority had some sort of strap to cover a women’s chest. Egyptian children hardly ever wore clothing until they reached puberty. Another material used to make clothing was wool. However, due to their religious beliefs about animals, wool, a material which came directly from an animal, was not allowed to be worn in temples or any other place of worship.

 

In addition, it is important to note that clothing styles varied based on a person class and occupation. For example, Viziers and other members of the upper-class wore full-length robes, jewelry, and leather sandals. Whereas members of the middle class such as farmers wore only loincloths. Poor people wore very little clothing, because they could not afford it.

Ancient Egyptian Religion

Religion had a prominent role in early Egyptian societies. The communities each created their own gods to pray to until Egypt started to unify.  When Egypt unified, citizens loyalty went to pharaohs.  Pharaohs were the top priests in the country and under them were priests that stood in for him/her at local temples.  Deep inside the temples held gods, which ordinary people could never get too.  The gods and priests guarded the societies against chaos and created pleasant lives in the "next world."  Some of the familiar gods are: 

Anubis

Thoth

Horus

Osiris

Drink Preparation in Ancient Egypt

The two main beverages of Ancient Egypt were wine and beer. In order to make wine, grapes were harvested off the vine and placed into a winepress. Five to seven men would then enter the winepress and walk over the grapes until liquid drained into vats. After the majority of juice was collected, the grapes were placed into a cloth sack, and then twirled around sticks. This additional step ensured that any leftover juice was not wasted. Once all the juice was collected, it was stored in clay jars and sealed.  

In order to make beer, wheat, barley, or millet was crudely ground. One quarter of the grain was soaked in water and left in the sun to ferment; while the rest of the grain was worked into loaves of bread and baked so that the enzymes were not destroyed. The baked loaves of bread were then crumbled up and mixed with the soaked grain that had fermented. Water was then added and the entire mixture was allowed to further ferment. After the mixture fermented, it was filtered by a cloth to remove any lumpy texture found in the beer. Once the beer was filtered it was stored in large clay jars for later use. 

Egyptian Soccer in Jeopardy

The Egyptian Premier League soccer season is in jeopardy. Soccer (football) has been suspended in Egypt since February 1,when more than 70 fans died in fighting that broke out between rival groups. Thousands of fans have gathered to protest the delay of the season as well as the delay of the criminal trials involved in the deaths. This shows how sports and soccer in particular can be at the forefront of political action.

Graffiti in the Streets of Egypt

Egyptians are trying to make a political statement through their street artwork. The artwork is a reflection of the past 2 years in Egypt. Transitions from being angry and expressing protests under Mubarak's rule to optimism after the revolution was successful. But now street artists are not happy with the new government under Morsi. Angry graffiti is showing up again only to be painted over once again. A group of artists created a book called Walk Talk that helps document the art that was created through the revolution in Egypt but that is being destroyed.