by Paul Sussman
Sahebee My friend (from Saheb, friend).
Saidi A native of Upper (or southern) Egypt. Saidis tend to be darker skinned than those from Lower (northern) Egypt.
Sais Word often placed before names in Egyptian Arabic as a form of polite address.
Sanusi A Muslim religious order founded in the nineteenth century and centred mainly in Libya.
Sarcophagus Literally, ‘flesh eater’. A large stone receptacle in which a corpse or coffin is placed.
Scarab A dung beetle. Considered sacred in ancient Egypt.
Selima Sand Sheet A vast area of mainly flat sand covering some 60,000 sq. km in southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
Senwosret I Twelfth Dynasty (Middle Kingdom) pharaoh. Ruled c. 1971-1926 BC.
Seshat Ancient Egyptian goddess of writing, arithmetic, architecture and astronomy.
Set God of storms, chaos, darkness and the desert. Depicted with a human body and the head of some indeterminate animal.
Seti I Nineteenth Dynasty (New Kingdom) pharaoh, father of Ramesses II. Ruled c. 1306-1290 BC.
Shaal A large scarf, similar to a shawl.
Shedeh A form of wine made from red grapes. Highly prized in ancient Egypt.
Shepen The opium poppy. Used medicinally by the ancient Egyptians to induce drowsiness.
Shia One of the two main denominations of Islam (the other being Sunni Islam). While Shias and Sunnis share the same basic precepts of faith, there are certain key differences. Primarily the Shia believe that on the death of the Prophet Muhammad leadership of the Muslim community should have passed to his cousin/son-in-law Ali, rather than his friend and adviser Abu Bakr. For the Shia, spiritual authority resides solely with the immediate family of the Prophet Muhammad, and with imams appointed directly by God. The name is a shortening of the Arabic shia’atu ali – the followers, or party of Ali. Only about 10-15 per cent of Muslims are Shia, although they are a majority in Iran and Iraq.
Shisha A water pipe. Found in cafés and private homes throughout Egypt and the Middle East.
Shukran awi Thank you very much.
SMIEEE Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
Sobek Ancient Egyptian deity depicted with the body of a man and the head of a crocodile. As well as being the god of the Nile, Sobek was regarded as the protector of the pharaoh and the gods Ra and Set.
Solo Climbing alone, without companions.
Stark, Freya Female traveller, explorer and writer, famous for her ground-breaking journeys through the Middle East and Arabia. She was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1972. Lived 1893-1993.
Stele Upright block of stone or wood carrying images and inscriptions.
Sunni The larger of the two main denominations of Islam, accounting for about 85 per cent of Muslims worldwide. Sunnis regard Abu Bakr, the First Caliph, as the legitimate successor of the Prophet Muhammad, and believe that any worthy man can lead the faithful, irrespective of lineage or background.
Supreme Council of Antiquities Part of Egypt’s Ministry of Culture. Responsible for all archaeology, monuments and conservation within Egypt.
Taamiya A form of Egyptian falafel.
Talatat Standardized blocks of decorated stone used in the temple-building programme of the pharaoh Akhenaten (c. 1353-1335 BC). Later pharaohs tore down Akhenaten’s temples and re-used the constituent blocks in their own monuments. Almost 40,000 talatat have been recovered from inside the pylons and beneath the floors of the temple complex at Karnak.
Tamam Good.
Tasian A Neolithic farming culture, named after Deir Tasa, the site in Upper Egypt where it was first identified. Flourished around 4500 BC.
Tebu A tribe of Saharan nomads found in Libya and Chad.
Tehran Embassy siege On 4 November 1979, 300 militant Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran, rounding up 66 American hostages. A small number were subsequently released, but 52 remained in captivity for 444 days. They were eventually freed on 21 January 1981.
Third Dynasty The last of the three dynasties of the Early Dynastic period. Lasted c. 2649-2575 BC.
Tin Hinan A mythical queen of the Tuareg tribe.
Tjaty Vizier. The highest official in ancient Egypt.
Torly An Egyptian casserole of meat – usually lamb or beef – and vegetables.
Touria Hoe. Used extensively in Egyptian agriculture and archaeology.
Tuareg A nomadic tribe descended from the Berbers of North Africa. They inhabit the desert regions of Mali, Niger and southern Algeria and are distinguished by their blue robes.
Tura A large prison just outside Cairo.
Turin King List A hieratic papyrus, thought to date from the reign of Ramesses II (1290-1224 BC), containing a list of all the rulers of ancient Egypt up to the New Kingdom. Although badly damaged and incomplete it is a crucial tool for the chronology of Egyptian kings. It was discovered in 1822 by the Italian traveller Bernardino Drovetti and is displayed in the Egyptian Museum in Turin.
Tutankhamun Eighteenth Dynasty (New Kingdom) boy-king who ruled c. 1333-1323 BC. His almost intact tomb, found in 1922 by English archaeologist Howard Carter, is the greatest discovery in the history of Egyptian archaeology.
UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.
USAID United States Agency for International Development. US government organization that offers financial and infrastructure assistance to the world’s poorer countries.
Wadi Arabic word for a valley and/or a dried-up river bed.
Wadjet An Egyptian protective symbol representing the eye of the hawk-god Horus.
Wall Rat Slang term for a rock climber.
Washington Column A 350-metre prow-shaped granite rock tower in Yosemite National Park. Extremely popular with climbers.
Wilkinson, Sir John Gardner English traveller, writer and Egyptologist, often referred to as the ‘Father of British Egyptology’. Lived 1797-1875.
Wingate, Major-General Orde British adventurer and soldier. Launched a foot-expedition in 1933 to search for Zerzura. Lived 1903-1944.
Yosemite National Park A spectacular, 3,081 sq. km national wilderness park in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California. Contains many of the world’s great rock climbs.
Zabbaleen A community of mainly Coptic Christians who collect and recycle Cairo’s garbage. Their way of life is currently under threat after city authorities brought in European contractors to take over Cairo’s waste disposal.
Zamalek District of Cairo occupying the northern part of Gezira Island. Also the name of one of the city’s two great football clubs. Known as the White Knights, Zamalek enjoy a fierce and sometimes violent rivalry with Cairo’s other main team, El-Ahly.
Zawty Modern Asyut. In ancient times it was the capital of the 13th nome (administrative district) of Upper Egypt.
Also by Paul Sussman
THE LOST ARMY OF CAMBYSES
THE LAST SECRET OF THE TEMPLE
and published by Bantam Books
