Egyptians... they go in style!

 

Egyptians have always stood out for their unique burial practices. The mummies created in the times of pharaohs date all the way back to around 3000 B.C. Not all of them have passed the test of time but the ones that have are iconic symbols in pop-culture even today. Along with highly ritualized preservation they Egyptians buried their mummies in elaborate monuments with a lot of treasure and personal goods (sometimes even including food). No one did burials as big or bad-ass in the Ancient World as the Egyptians. 

http://www.decodingtheheavens.com/blog/post/2011/01/20/Is-pharaoh-DNA-for-real.aspx

Taking about mummies in class today got me thinking... I may not be an expert on mummies but I do know quite a lot (fact and fiction) about them. However, I have never once thought about the burial rituals of modern Egyptians. This current practice is unfortunately completely overshadowed by the practice of the ancients.

It turns out the Egyptians still have style. 

A high majority of Egyptians are Islamic. Usually, Muslims are suppose to have unmarked graves, however, the Egyptians have stayed true to their roots and embedded a little Egyptian flare into an Islamic practice. Every Egyptian family own their own mausoleum. These mausoleums can usually be seen surrounding Egyptian cities. In Cairo, however, mausoleums can be found all over the city; at one time these mausoleums were located on the outskirts of Cairo but as an expanding urban city it has absorbed these tombs.     

The mausoleums are intricate and the architectural elements are very specific and filled with religious meaning. A 10 cm mound of dirt in the building covers a specific set of tiles. If these tiles are removed they revile a set of stairs that lead to an underground crypt. In this crypt there are two doors which lead to two separate chambers. This is due to the fact that men and women are buried separately. The men go into the first door and women into the second. This is not meant to represent status of men over women but respect and modesty the men (even as dead bodies) should not pass the women.   

http://ourwritedowns.wordpress.com/tag/modern-egyptian-burial-methods/