In Christianity, praying beads and praying ropes are used by pious people to keep counting their prayers. By the third century AD, these beads were mentioned in Egypt through the writings of the first Deserts Fathers. Thus, they were used in Egypt even before using the Dominican Rosary in Europe in the thirteenth century AD. The invention of praying ropes was attributed to St. Anthony who tied a leather rope every time he started praying "Kyrie Elesion". In Coptic art, praying beads and praying ropes are represented either in the right hand or the left hand of prominent monastic characters. They were accompanied with the cross, the staff, and with the adoration gesture made by one or both hands. Icons from the churches of Old Cairo, monasteries of Wadi El-Natrun, and the monasteries of the Red Sea and Upper Egypt reveal the shape of praying beads and praying ropes. These hand objects are still used in modern monastic life forming a tangible element of the Coptic heritage of Egypt. In Christianity, "praying beads" or "praying ropes" are used by religious people and are accompanied with certain bodily, vocal and mental actions during their prayers. In other words, the lips, fingers, and definitely the minds of the Christian worshippers are involved during using their praying beads. 4 Thus, many religionists enhance using such beads which enable its bearer to keep track of a repetitive prayer leading to a clear mind and a relaxing phycological state. 5
Weapons, particularly the spear, lance, sword, and the protective shield appeared on a great scale in Coptic paintings as early as the fourth century onwards. These scenes are usually found on the walls of churches and monasteries, in which the military saint appears, riding his horse, carrying a spear in his hand, stabbing one of the enemies. Moreover, archangels were frequently depicted with spears and swords in their hands. Weapons were also depicted in Biblical scenes inspired from the Old Testament particularly scenes of the Massacre of the Innocents, the conflict of David with Saul and Goliath and the sacrifices of Abraham and Jephthah. Rare hunting scenes show bows and arrows as weaponry tools. However, prior research had shed light on these scenes without analyzing the iconography of every weapon in detail. Recent studies did not examine the parallels and contrasts between the depicted weapons nor the concept of every weapon. From this point on, the significance of this study is undeniable in that it approaches the concept and iconography of weapons in Coptic paintings according to the context and artistic iconography. The present paper aims to study and analyze the artistic features of weapons illustrated in Coptic paintings. Furthermore, the paper aims to study the context of the depicted weapons to approach the concept of every weapon in detail. The study also analyzes the accompanying body postures of the weapon's carrier and his opponent and their symbolism. To approach the earlier aims, a descriptive approach was followed in giving a comprehensive account concerning the origin, concept as well as the iconography of every weapon in detail. Furthermore, the researchers used the comparative analytical approach to trace the similarities and differences between the weapons and to trace the development in every weapon in Coptic art till the thirteenth century AD.
This research aims to provide a better understanding of the effectiveness of existing virtual tours (VT) to induce a favorable attitude toward Alexandria"s heritage sites, through the study of the VT of the three Roman sites in Alexandria, and assessing the user"s sense of presence, experience and their effect on the attitude change towards the visited archeological sites and towards the Grӕco-Roman archeology in general. To collect the required data a self-administered online survey was used. The sampling frame included under-graduate students in the Faculty of Hotels and Tourism, Alexandria University. Three identical questionnaires were designed, investigating the research variables.Participants were asked to answer the questionnaire after performing a VT to the designated site provided to them by a link of the website. A quantitative approach was used to examine the validation of the study hypotheses; SPSS V. 24 was used for data processing. The study results supported the study hypotheses, showing that both presence and experience of the VT had an obvious effect on attitude of the visitors towards the visited heritage sites. Despite the increasing importance of the VT of heritage sites, there are few recent studies which investigate the role of these VT on attitude change of the visitors. None of these studies assessed the factors that affect their attitude particularly in the Grӕco-Roman sites of Alexandria. Thus, this study gives an insight on the effect of both presence and experience of VT on attitude of the visitors.
The Eagle Owl is characterized with its stubby body, big eyes, and the erected feathers at the top of the ears identifying the existence of two "ears" for this owl. There are two types of this owl; the Eagle Owl (Bubo babo) which is mainly found in North Africa, Middle East, Asia, and Europe in the winter season. The second type is the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) and breeds in the north of Equatorial Africa, Middle East, Asia and Europe. Nowadays, the Eagle Owl is found in Egypt in the Delta, particularly El-Fayoum, Kharga oasis, and the Red Sea Coast. As for the Long-eared Owl, it appears in modern Egypt as a winter immigrant in the Nile Delta; Houlihan 1988, 110. 7 The specie is characterized with its large head, dark back wing as well as crown. As for the rest of the body, it is white in color. The heart-shaped face is also notable in the Barn Owl. This type of owls breeds in Europe in winter season, Africa, Middle East and Asia. In Egypt, Barn Owls are found in the oases of Dakhla and Kharga, in the Nile Delta, mainly in Fayoum and along the west coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The territories of the Seuz Canal are also places where Barn Owls are found;
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