July 4, 2017: Timna Park, Israel: Hathor Chapel and Surrounds
Copyright Casondra Sobieralski. Permissions requests welcome.
I went to Timna as an alternative to going to Egypt this year since it is an exceptionally dangerous time to go to Egypt if you look like you might be a journalist (because of film and audio equipment).
Timna is a place in the Negev where the Egyptian mined copper under 5 pharaohs, starting with Seti I, about 3200 years ago. It is known as "the Pittsburgh of the Ancient Middle East," the park staff told me.
There is a Hathor chapel at this site because Hathor, in her guise as Goddess of the Mountain, was the patron diety of miners. They sought her protection when mining.
Hathor was also the goddess of sensuality, sexuality, motherhood, music, and beer. Sistrums and menat necklaces were rhythm instruments sacred to her priestesses and musicians. So I took a sistrum, handcrafted in Luxor, out there to the desert to record the acoustics of this oblong metal rattle in aspects of the landscape that featured different types of rock formations and copper mines.
Click on any image for a larger view.
Click on any image for a larger view.
No comments:
Post a Comment