The pioneering Egyptian architect and teacher Ramses Wissa Wassef (1911–74) is best known for his founding in 1951 of the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre in Harraniya, a small village near the Giza Pyramids in Greater Cairo. The center, internationally acclaimed for its tapestries and sculptures, began partly as an art school for young villagers, reflecting W ... Show More
Yesterday
Elizabeth Anne Davis, "Artifactual: Forensic and Documentary Knowing" (Duke UP, 2023)
In Artifactual: Forensic and Documentary Knowing (Duke University Press, 2023), Elizabeth Anne Davis explores how Cypriot researchers, scientists, activists, and artists process and reckon with civil and state violence that led to the enduring division of the island, using forens ... Show More
1h 6m
Aug 24
Robin Whelan, "Serving the Christian State in Late Antiquity" (Cambridge UP, 2026)
How did the state become Christian in late antiquity? Many scholars have traced the Christianization of the Roman world in the centuries following the conversion of the emperor Constantine in 312 CE. Robin Whelan, however, turns his attention away from the usual suspects in such ... Show More
1h 14m
Aug 20
Emily Sibley, "The Poetics of Incivility: Satire and Subversion in Modern Arab Culture" (Cornell UP, 2026)
The Poetics of Incivility: Satire and Subversion in Modern Arab Culture (Cornell UP, 2026) explores impolite modes of expression—satire, crude humor, and rudeness—as a critical lens for both aesthetic innovation and sociopolitical critique. In the Arab world—from Cairo's Tahrir ... Show More
38m 54s
May 2025
210: Ramesses II The Eyes of Ra, The House of Life
Ramesses goes back to school. Luxor Temple is a magnificent monument, in a city full of them. The sanctuary you visit today is, in large part, the work of Ramesses' early reign. New pylons, colossal statues, obelisks, and dedicatory texts provide the testament to the young pharao ... Show More
29m 39s
Jan 2013
05: Sneferu, One Who Makes Beautiful Things
The wondrous monuments of King Sneferu. Around 2650 BCE, Egypt's Fouth Dynasty began. King Sneferu kick-started a golden age of pyramid building. Over thirty-plus years, the King's architects and labourers designed three magnificent monuments, eventually culminating in the first ... Show More
1h 3m
May 2025
How They Built the Pyramids
In 2013, a group of French and Egyptian archaeologists discovered of cache of papyri as old as the Great Pyramid of Giza. Some of the texts were written by people who had worked on the pyramids: a tally of their daily labour ferrying stones, for instance, between quarry and build ... Show More
48m 14s
Nov 2017
8: Architecture and the Islamic World Today with Mariam Kamara and Yasaman Esmaili
Architects from Niger and Iran, Mariam Kamara and Yasaman Esmaili, discuss their award-winning work, the challenges of practicing globally, and the difficulties and rewards of learning to translate across languages and cultures via architecture. Topics include: feminism and archi ... Show More
48m 50s
Jan 2013
04: The Step Pyramid, Djoser, and Imhotep
As Egypt's "Third Dynasty" began, a new monument took shape. King Netjerykhet Djoser and his architect, Imhotep, created something unusual. The Step Pyramid rose on the western horizon, ushering in a new era of monument building... Time Period: circa 2700 – 2650 BCE Kings: Netjer ... Show More
41m 50s
Feb 2023
Mohamed Ibrahim: Egypt Before Written History
Egyptologist, Hieroglyphics Expert, Tour Guide and Director, Mohamed Ibrahim is inspired by a passionate desire to share his wisdom. He offers a wide spectrum of knowledge regarding the history, arts, literature, and culture of the ancient Egyptians. Mohamed was born in Memphis, ... Show More
1h 33m