28 CultureShock! Egypt
view of the great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak or the Great
Pyramid of Khufu. No matter how hard you try to snap a
photo that shows what you see, that feeling of being small
and inconsequential eludes the camera’s eye. Underlying
the sheer majesty of Egypt’s megalithic monuments is the
inevitable acknowledgement of the powerful political and
social mechanisms that must surely have been in place
to organise such gargantuan projects. You cannot view
monuments like the Pyramids, the Valley of the Kings,
or the Temple of Karnak without humility and without
recognising Egypt’s contribution to the development of all
human society.
That being said, I do not intend to write a description
of monuments nor an in-depth diatribe on Egypt’s history.
Instead, I will highlight only the main eras recognised in
Egyptian history. If you are interested in a comprehensive
treatment of Egyptian history or prehistory, start with the
works listed at the end of this book and work your way
forward through the myriad of tomes on the subject.Predynastic and Dynastic History
People were living throughout the Nile valley for several
thousand years before Egypt as we know it became a unified