Treasures From An Ancient Civilization
Nubia - the name itself has a mystical, romantic ring to it.
Nubia - a land of mythology and legend - the land that today is located in southern Egypt and northern Sudan, where the people still refer to themselves as Nubian.
It's a beautiful, but hard land, with one of the harshest climates on earth: high temperatures throughout the year - infrequent rainfall. But it's also a land of strikingly attractive people - people who come from Africa's earliest black culture. In fact, many archaeologists today say that Nubia may have been the "cradle of African civilization."
In ancient times, Nubia was a land of great natural wealth: gold mines, ebony, ivory and incense. Today it is a very different story. As you travel "up the Nile" (which takes you into southern Egypt) the banks of the river become more narrow, making the already harsh environment even more difficult to sustain any farming. And with the building of the dams at Aswan, many Egyptian Nubians were forced to leave land they had inhabited for centuries to make room for Lake Nasser. There is a lot of hardship and poverty in this area of the world.
As we traveled up the Nile, we had the good fortune of being ferried to different Egyptian temples, on small boats piloted by Nubian men. With great pride, they displayed the charming handcrafted necklaces, created by their wives, sisters and daughters. Each and every man pulled out dazzling arrays of beads, decorative metals, carved camel bone and wood elements, all strung together in distinctive designs.
It was quite a remarkable sight. But the history of the people informs us that the women are simply carrying on their proud traditions. Over the years teams of archaeologists have found Nubian antiquities that illustrate a very sophisticated and original culture. (In 1997 one of the greatest exhibitions of Nubian art was shown in museums throughout Europe, included were ancient Nubian jewelry pieces.)
We are pleased to offer you refreshingly unique, beaded Egyptian necklaces - modern day offerings from artisans with a heritage of rich culture, art and jewelry making.
Nubia - a land of mythology and legend - the land that today is located in southern Egypt and northern Sudan, where the people still refer to themselves as Nubian.
It's a beautiful, but hard land, with one of the harshest climates on earth: high temperatures throughout the year - infrequent rainfall. But it's also a land of strikingly attractive people - people who come from Africa's earliest black culture. In fact, many archaeologists today say that Nubia may have been the "cradle of African civilization."
In ancient times, Nubia was a land of great natural wealth: gold mines, ebony, ivory and incense. Today it is a very different story. As you travel "up the Nile" (which takes you into southern Egypt) the banks of the river become more narrow, making the already harsh environment even more difficult to sustain any farming. And with the building of the dams at Aswan, many Egyptian Nubians were forced to leave land they had inhabited for centuries to make room for Lake Nasser. There is a lot of hardship and poverty in this area of the world.
As we traveled up the Nile, we had the good fortune of being ferried to different Egyptian temples, on small boats piloted by Nubian men. With great pride, they displayed the charming handcrafted necklaces, created by their wives, sisters and daughters. Each and every man pulled out dazzling arrays of beads, decorative metals, carved camel bone and wood elements, all strung together in distinctive designs.
It was quite a remarkable sight. But the history of the people informs us that the women are simply carrying on their proud traditions. Over the years teams of archaeologists have found Nubian antiquities that illustrate a very sophisticated and original culture. (In 1997 one of the greatest exhibitions of Nubian art was shown in museums throughout Europe, included were ancient Nubian jewelry pieces.)
We are pleased to offer you refreshingly unique, beaded Egyptian necklaces - modern day offerings from artisans with a heritage of rich culture, art and jewelry making.
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