From The Valley of the Kings to Philae:

Ancient and Modern Pilgrimages

Eugene Cruz-Uribe

Based upon his field work at a number of sites around Egypt including the Valley of the Kings, Kharga Oasis, and the Isis Temple at Philae Island (Aswan), Dr Cruz-Uribe will discuss the role of pilgrimage in ancient Egypt especially during Roman and Byzantine times.  His talk will show some of the sites where pilgrimages took place in ancient times as well as some of the practices which the ancient pilgrims performed.  Using both newly discovered and some well known Coptic and Demotic texts, he will compare the pilgrimage practices of the traditional Egyptian and Nubian populations with the practices of the contemporary Christians.  Some of the issues to be covered will be pilgrimage routes in ancient Egypt, why the Egyptians went on pilgrimages, how the Christians began to emulate “pagan” pilgrimage practices, and the conflicts that arose between the groups over control of the pilgrimage destination points.

Eugene Cruz-Uribe received his PhD in Egyptology from the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.  The author of numerous books and articles on all periods of Egyptian history and culture with an emphasis on the history and religion of the Late Period in Egypt, he is currently a Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at Northern Arizona University and editor of  the Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, the principal journal for Egyptology research in the US.