Ottoman Maps of the Empire’s Arab Provinces, 1850s to the First World War

In recent years the central Ottoman archive in Istanbul has been gradually releasing and computerizing thousands of maps stored in its collections. Our study introduces 137 maps already available to researchers that focus either directly or indirectly as part of broader presentations of imperial domains on the Ottoman Empire’s Arab provinces. These maps, which all date to between the middle of the nineteenth century and the First World War, differ widely in character, content and function. The maps are briefly described according to their content and set in their historical context.     

古埃及护身符的制作原理、分类与文化蕴涵

护身符是古埃及宗教文化的重要艺术形式,也是古埃及人留下的文化遗产。护身符的制作遵循交感巫术原理。按照该原理可以把护身符分为3种形式:以"相似律"原理制作的护身符、以"感染率"原理制作的护身符、"相似律"与"感染律"兼有的护身符。护身符具有丰富的文化蕴涵,是古埃及人造就强势人格的法宝,也是古埃及人冥世观的集中反映,其中积淀着埃及文明的因子。护身符的运用,一方面为埃及珠宝工艺的发展带来契机,另一方面促进了埃及文明的传播。     

Bayt al‐razzaz: The challenge of adaptive use for a vacant mamluk palace in Cairo

Abstract

In 1995, the author prepared an Existing Conditions Report and a Conservation Action Plan for the Bayt al‐Razzaz palace for the Egyptian Antiquities Project of the American Research Center in Egypt, Inc. (ARCE). This effort was a Subgrant Project under ARCE's USAID‐funded Restoration and Preservation of Egyptian Antiquities Project grant. Bayt al‐Razzaz, a vacant fifteenth‐century palace in the heart of mediaeval Cairo presents an exciting opportunity for adaptive reuse to benefit an economically poor but socially and culturally stable urban neighbourhood. Realising such an opportunity will require innovative, cooperative vision and leadership on the part of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, the local community and also continued international participation.     

A golden calf in sacred space?: The future of St Katherine's monastery,Mount Sinai (Egypt)

Abstract

The spectacular fortified monastery of St Katherine, continuously inhabited since the 4th century and with a library second only in historical significance to that of the Vatican, forms the epicentre of a sacred landscape surrounding Mount Sinai, in the southern Sinai desert (Egypt). This site, with religious significance for Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, is currently threatened by very rapid growth in visitation Jrom Egypt's new tourist resorts on the Red Sea coast, less than three hours drive away. Currently, 97,000 visitors per year arrive at St Katherine, 80% of whom are day‐trip visitors and many of whom stay less than half an hour. This represents a 300% increase in the last decade, projected to increase by a further 500% by 2017. Tourism pressure is having a serious effect on the sustainability of monastic life, despite efforts to limit visiting hours and access. This fieldwork‐based case study summarises the current impact of tourism in the Mount Sinai area suggesting that although high visitation levels have imperilled its spirit of place they have also, conversely, provided some measure of protection for both site and landscape in the current political climate.