1.
Memphis, Egypt
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Memphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Mit Rahina,20 km south of Giza, according to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an important city throughout ancient Mediterranean history and it occupied a strategic position at the mouth of the Nile delta, and was home to feverish activity. Its principal port, Peru-nefer, harboured a high density of workshops, factories, during its golden age, Memphis thrived as a regional centre for commerce, trade, and religion. Memphis was believed to be under the protection of the god Ptah and its great temple, Hut-ka-Ptah, was one of the most prominent structures in the city. The name of temple, rendered in Greek as Aί γυ πτoς by the historian Manetho, is believed to be the etymological origin of the modern English name Egypt. The history of Memphis is closely linked to that of the country itself and its eventual downfall is believed to be due to the loss of its economic significance in late antiquity, following the rise of coastal Alexandria. Its religious significance also diminished after the abandonment of the ancient religion following the Edict of Thessalonica, the ruins of the former capital today offer fragmented evidence of its past. They have been preserved, along with the complex at Giza. The site is open to the public as an open-air museum, Memphis has had several names during its history of almost four millennia. Its Ancient Egyptian name was Inbu-Hedj, because of its size, the city also came to be known by various other names that were actually the names of neighbourhoods or districts that enjoyed considerable prominence at one time or another. For example, according to a text of the First Intermediate Period, it was known as Djed-Sut, the city was also at one point referred to as Ankh-Tawy, stressing the strategic position of the city between Upper and Lower Egypt. This name appears to date from the Middle Kingdom, and is found in ancient Egyptian texts. At the beginning of the New Kingdom, the city known as Men-nefer. The name Memphis is the Greek adaptation of this name, which was originally the name of the pyramid of Pepi I, in the Bible, Memphis is called Moph or Noph. The city of Memphis is 20 km south of Cairo, on the west bank of the Nile. The modern cities and towns of Mit Rahina, Dahshur, Abusir, Abu Gorab, the city was also the place that marked the boundary between Upper and Lower Egypt. The island of the city is today uninhabited, the closest settlement is the town of Mit Rahina
2.
Louvre-Lens
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The Louvre-Lens is an art museum located in Lens, Pas-de-Calais, Northern France, approximately 200 kilometers north of Paris. It displays objects from the collections of the Musée du Louvre that are lent to the gallery on a medium- or long-term basis, the Louvre-Lens annex is part of an effort to provide access to French cultural institutions for people who live outside of Paris. Though the museum maintains close links with the Louvre, it is primarily funded by the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. Only the Nord pas de Calais applied for the museum and proposed six cities, Lille, Lens, Valenciennes, Calais, Béthune, in 2004, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, then French Prime Minister, announced Lens as the recipient city. The last mine in Lens closed in 1986, which caused the unemployment rate to well above the French national average. France abandoned us when the coal stopped, and we became a ghost town, other critics pointed out that the museum makes no attempt to address Lens turbulent history or its current economic difficulties. The construction company Eiffage was chosen to construct the Lens-based Louvre branch, the Louvre-Lens Museum, SANAA + Imrey Culberts first building in France, was awarded the Prix darchitecture de lEquerre dArgent for 2013. The French government hopes that the location near the border of France will be a draw for English, Belgian. In addition, the Louvre-Lens is near several World War memorials, including the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Vimy, the museum is built on a 20-hectare mining site that closed in the 1960s. The area is elevated due to filling in of the mine. Altogether, the museum is 360 m long and contains 28,000 m2 of exhibition space, the design of a central building flanked by two wings mimics the Paris Louvre. The square, central building is the reception area. It contains several curved glass rooms that contain a cafeteria, bookstore, to the east of the entry hall is the 3,000 m2 Galerie du Temps which houses approximately 200 items from the Paris Louvre collection. The items in the large, open hall are arranged chronologically, from 3,500 BC to mid-19th century, beyond the Galerie du Temps is the Pavillon de Verre which exhibits works from neighboring museums. The building to the west of the hall is a gallery for temporary exhibits and, beyond that. The Exhibitions Temporaires is dedicated to exhibits which last 3 months, the first exhibition, titled Renaissance, included Leonardo da Vincis recently-restored The Virgin and Child with St. Anne. The second exhibit was dedicated to Rubens and included 170 of his works, the following weekend, the museum welcomed its first visitors, three weeks after the opening, the museum welcomed its 100, 000th visitor. On May 2013, during Long Night of Museums 2013,500,000 visitors viewed the masterpieces displayed in the Louvre-Lens Museum, while 700,000 visitors were anticipated for the first year, the years final tally was approximately 900,000
3.
British Museum
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The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician, the museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Although today principally a museum of art objects and antiquities. Its foundations lie in the will of the Irish-born British physician, on 7 June 1753, King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum. They were joined in 1757 by the Old Royal Library, now the Royal manuscripts, together these four foundation collections included many of the most treasured books now in the British Library including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the sole surviving copy of Beowulf. The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public, sloanes collection, while including a vast miscellany of objects, tended to reflect his scientific interests. The addition of the Cotton and Harley manuscripts introduced a literary, the body of trustees decided on a converted 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, as a location for the museum, which it bought from the Montagu family for £20,000. The Trustees rejected Buckingham House, on the now occupied by Buckingham Palace, on the grounds of cost. With the acquisition of Montagu House the first exhibition galleries and reading room for scholars opened on 15 January 1759. During the few years after its foundation the British Museum received several gifts, including the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts. A list of donations to the Museum, dated 31 January 1784, in the early 19th century the foundations for the extensive collection of sculpture began to be laid and Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts dominated the antiquities displays. Gifts and purchases from Henry Salt, British consul general in Egypt, beginning with the Colossal bust of Ramesses II in 1818, many Greek sculptures followed, notably the first purpose-built exhibition space, the Charles Towneley collection, much of it Roman Sculpture, in 1805. In 1816 these masterpieces of art, were acquired by The British Museum by Act of Parliament. The collections were supplemented by the Bassae frieze from Phigaleia, Greece in 1815, the Ancient Near Eastern collection also had its beginnings in 1825 with the purchase of Assyrian and Babylonian antiquities from the widow of Claudius James Rich. The neoclassical architect, Sir Robert Smirke, was asked to draw up plans for an extension to the Museum. For the reception of the Royal Library, and a Picture Gallery over it, and put forward plans for todays quadrangular building, much of which can be seen today. The dilapidated Old Montagu House was demolished and work on the Kings Library Gallery began in 1823, the extension, the East Wing, was completed by 1831. The Museum became a site as Sir Robert Smirkes grand neo-classical building gradually arose
4.
Funeral
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A funeral is a ceremony connected with the burial, cremation, etc. of the body of a dead person, or the burial with the attendant observances. Customs vary widely both between cultures and between groups and denominations within cultures. Common secular motivations for funerals include mourning the deceased, celebrating their life, additionally, funerals often have religious aspects which are intended to help the soul of the deceased reach the afterlife, resurrection or reincarnation. The funeral usually includes a ritual through which the corpse of the deceased is given up, depending on culture and religion, these can involve either the destruction of the body or its preservation. Differing beliefs about cleanliness and the relationship between body and soul are reflected in funerary practices, when a funerary ceremony is performed but the body of the deceased is not available, it is usually called a memorial service. The word funeral comes from the Latin funus, which had a variety of meanings, including the corpse, Funerary art is art produced in connection with burials, including many kinds of tombs, and objects specially made for burial with a corpse. Funeral rites are as old as human culture itself, pre-dating modern Homo sapiens, substantial cross-cultural and historical research document funeral customs as a highly predictable, stable force in communities. Funeral customs tend to be characterized by five anchors, significant symbols, gathered community, ritual action, cultural heritage, and transition of the dead body. The Baháí funeral service also contains the only prayer thats permitted to be read as a group - congregational prayer, the Baháí decedent often controls some aspects of the Baháí funeral service, since leaving a will and testament is a requirement for Baháís. Since there is no Baháí clergy, services are conducted under the guise, or with the assistance of. A Buddhist funeral marks the transition from one life to the next for the deceased and it also reminds the living of their own mortality. Christian burials typically occur on consecrated ground, burial, rather than a destructive process such as cremation, was the traditional practice amongst Christians, because of the belief in the resurrection of the body. Cremations later came into use, although some denominations forbid them. Congregations of varied denominations perform different ceremonies, but most involve offering prayers, scripture reading from the Bible, a sermon, homily, or eulogy, and music. One issue of concern as the 21st century began was with the use of music at Christian funerals. Antyesti, literally last rites or last sacrifice, refers to the rituals associated with a funeral in Hinduism. It is sometimes referred to as Antima Samskaram, Antya-kriya, Anvarohanyya, a dead adult Hindu is cremated, while a dead child is typically buried. The rite of passage is said to be performed in harmony with the premise that the microcosm of all living beings is a reflection of a macrocosm of the universe
5.
Ancient Egyptian religion
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Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians interaction with many deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, rituals such as prayers and offerings were efforts to provide for the gods and gain their favor. Formal religious practice centered on the pharaoh, the king of Egypt and he acted as the intermediary between his people and the gods and was obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain order in the universe. The state dedicated enormous resources to Egyptian rituals and to the construction of the temples, individuals could interact with the gods for their own purposes, appealing for their help through prayer or compelling them to act through magic. These practices were distinct from, but closely linked with, the formal rituals, the popular religious tradition grew more prominent in the course of Egyptian history as the status of the Pharaoh declined. Another important aspect was the belief in the afterlife and funerary practices, the Egyptians made great efforts to ensure the survival of their souls after death, providing tombs, grave goods, and offerings to preserve the bodies and spirits of the deceased. The religion had its roots in Egypts prehistory and lasted for more than 3,000 years, the details of religious belief changed over time as the importance of particular gods rose and declined, and their intricate relationships shifted. At various times, certain gods became preeminent over the others, including the sun god Ra, the creator god Amun, for a brief period, in the theology promulgated by the Pharaoh Akhenaten, a single god, the Aten, replaced the traditional pantheon. Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology left behind many writings and monuments, along with significant influences on ancient, the beliefs and rituals now referred to as ancient Egyptian religion were integral within every aspect of Egyptian culture. Their language possessed no single term corresponding to the modern European concept of religion, the characteristics of the gods who populated the divine realm were inextricably linked to the Egyptians understanding of the properties of the world in which they lived. The Egyptians believed that the phenomena of nature were divine forces in and these deified forces included the elements, animal characteristics, or abstract forces. The Egyptians believed in a pantheon of gods, which were involved in all aspects of nature and their religious practices were efforts to sustain and placate these phenomena and turn them to human advantage. This polytheistic system was complex, as some deities were believed to exist in many different manifestations. Conversely, many forces, such as the sun, were associated with multiple deities. The diverse pantheon ranged from gods with vital roles in the universe to minor deities or demons with very limited or localized functions. It could include gods adopted from foreign cultures, and sometimes humans, deceased Pharaohs were believed to be divine, and occasionally, distinguished commoners such as Imhotep also became deified. The depictions of the gods in art were not meant as representations of how the gods might appear if they were visible. Instead, these depictions gave recognizable forms to the deities by using symbolic imagery to indicate each gods role in nature
6.
Persea
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Persea is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, P. americana, widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large and they are medium-size trees, 15–30 m tall at maturity. The leaves are simple, lanceolate to lanceolate, varying with species from 5–30 cm long and 2–12 cm broad. The flowers are in panicles, with six small greenish-yellow perianth segments 3–6 mm long, nine stamens. Indica, endemic to the Macaronesian islands, in the North West coast of Africa area, including Madeira and the Canary Islands, a number of these species are found in forests that face threats of destruction or deforestation, for example, P. meyeniana in Central Chile. The family Lauraceae was part of the flora of Gondwana. From South America they spread over most of the continent, when the North American and South American tectonic plates joined in the late Neogene, volcanic mountain building created island chains which later formed the Mesoamerican landbridge. Pliocene elevation created new habitats for speciation, the genus, however, died out in Africa, except for P. indica, which is, today, a threatened species that survives in the fog-shrouded mountains of the Canary Islands. Fossil evidence indicates that the genus originated in West Africa during the Paleocene, and spread to Asia, to South America, in particular, the resplendent quetzals favorite fruits are berries of wild relatives of the avocado. Their differing maturing times in the cloudforest determine the movements of the quetzals to differing elevation levels in the forests. Since the young are fed exclusively berries in the first 2 weeks after hatching, usually only the total percentage of water, sugar, nitrogen, crude fats and carbohydrates are reported by ornithologists. Persea species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including giant leopard moth, Coleophora octagonella. The genus Persea is treated in three subgenera, another closely related genus, Beilschmiedia, is also sometimes included in Persea. About 70 species, including Persea alpigena Persea brevipetiolata van der Werff from Mexico Persea borbonia Spreng, – Redbay Persea caerulea Mez Persea cinerascens Persea donnell-smithii Mez Persea indica Spreng. – Viñátigo Persea lingue Nees – Lingue Persea longipes Meisn, Persea meyeniana Nees Persea palustris Sarg. – Swampbay Persea skutchii Subgenus Machilus — Asia, about 80 species, including Persea edulis Persea ichangensis Persea japonica Kosterm. Persea kobu Persea macrantha Persea nanmu Oliv, laurus azorica Franco Philip Miller derived Persea from the Greek name Περσέα. It was applied by Theophrastus and Hippocrates to an uncertain Egyptian tree, mutisiopersea Kostermans, a new genus in Lauraceae
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