Egypt's romantic allure does not end with the age of the pharaohs. This lavishly illustrated book offers a look inside the opulent estates of the pashas, khedives, and great ladies of 19th-century Egypt, and the princes and kings of the early 20th century. Here in all its cosmopolitan splendor is the world of unparalleled prosperity that attracted adventurers the world over, from the Belle Époque through the Roaring Twenties.--From publisher description.

In a fascinating study of ancient Roman architecture, classics scholar Alexander McKay examines simple houses, mansions, estates and palatial buildings, interior furnishings, and gardens--revealing that Roman civilization was astonishingly similar to our own. He also discusses the conditions of life in the Roman provinces. 153 illustrations.

Authoritative and up-to-date, this key single-volume work is a thematic exploration of ancient Egyptian civilization and culture as it was expressed down the centuries.Including topics rarely covered elsewhere as well as new perspectives, this work comprises thirty-two original chapters written by international experts. Each chapter gives an overvi

During the nineteenth century, cultural heritage became a dominant feature of the political ideology of the European states and of their colonies. It became a new form of legitimization for the rising nation-state, cementing its inextricable link with that nation's politics and practices. The set of concepts and practices defining cultural heritage were exported to, and imposed over, the colonized populations in North Africa and the Near East. The legacy of the colonial period has proven very significant in the domain of cultural heritage which has become a crucial cultural arena in many Arab states. As in the majorities of post-colonial states, in the Arab world, the inherited paradigm of cultural heritage has been subject to various forms of adaption and re-elaboration that have made it a lively and complex space of negotiations between various actors. Thus, in The Politics of Cultural Heritage in the Middle East, Irene Maffi and Rami Daher draw together expert scholars to unravel these complex processes that are involved in the definition, production and consumption of heritage and its material culture in the Middle East, and the dynamics of the key actors involved. The variety of the cases analysed that cover the region from Morocco to Lebanon, as well as the multiplicity of the actors concerned such as the state (post-colonial or colonial), international organizations, municipal councils, local communities, families and even exceptional personalities, highlights and explores the complex processes where very local and specific dynamics intertwine with transnational economic, political and cultural fluxes. In its examination of the workings of cultural heritage in the Middle East, this book is an important resource for students and scholars of Middle East Studies, Cultural History, History of Art and Architecture, and for stakeholders involved in the field of cultural heritage.

Studies in Hellenistic Architecture is a detailed analysis of the development of the major building-types of the Hellenistic age - the mid-fourth century B.C. to the time of the Roman conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean. In this meticulous work, Frederick E. Winter reveals how the architects of the period went beyond anything achieved by their Classical Greek predecessors, and how these impressive skills prepared the way for many of Rome's later architectural achievements. Geographically, the monuments included in this volume extend from Spain to Afghanistan and from Provence to North Africa. Winter discusses the architectural achievements of the various regional styles of the Eastern Mediterranean, and takes a detailed look at Hellenistic developments west of the Adriatic. While the interrelationship of these regional developments is often unclear, especially in cases where there are no explicit criteria for dating, Winter makes excellent use of the advance in scholarship over the past fifty to sixty years, offering the first real attempt at a synthesis of this vast subject. Studies in Hellenistic Architecture is an invaluable resource, containing a wealth of illustrations of the various types of Hellenistic building and the most comprehensive scholarship to date on the topic.

This masterful history of the monumental architecture of Alexandria, as well as of the rest of Egypt, encompasses an entire millennium—from the city’s founding by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. to the years just after the Islamic conquest of A.D. 642. Long considered lost beyond recall, the architecture of ancient Alexandria has until now remained mysterious. But here Judith McKenzie shows that it is indeed possible to reconstruct the city and many of its buildings by means of meticulous exploration of archaeological remains, written sources, and an array of other fragmentary evidence. The book approaches its subject at the macro- and the micro-level: from city-planning, building types, and designs to architectural style. It addresses the interaction between the imported Greek and native Egyptian traditions; the relations between the architecture of Alexandria and the other cities and towns of Egypt as well as the wider Mediterranean world; and Alexandria’s previously unrecognized role as a major source of architectural innovation and artistic influence. Lavishly illustrated with new plans of the city in the Ptolemaic, Roman, and Byzantine periods; reconstruction drawings; and photographs, the book brings to life the ancient city and uncovers the true extent of its architectural legacy in the Mediterranean world.

Presenting a large body of evidence for the first time, this book offers a comprehensive treatment of Nubian architecture, sculpture, and minor arts in the period between 300 BC-AD 250. It focuses primarily on the Nubian response to the traditional pharaonic, Hellenistic/Roman, Hellenizing, and “hybrid” elements of Ptolemaic and Roman Egyptian culture. The author begins with a history of Nubian art and a critical survey of the literature on Ptolemaic and Roman Egyptian art. Special chapters are then devoted to the discussion of the Egyptian-Greek interaction in the arts of Ptolemaic Egypt, the place of Egyptian Hellenistic and Hellenizing art within the oikumene, the pluralistic visual world of Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, as well as on the specific genre of terracotta sculpture. Utilizing examples from Meroe City and Musawwarat es Sufra, the author argues that cultural transfer from Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt to Nubia resulted in an inward-focused adaptation. Therefore, the resulting Nubian art from this period expresses only those aspects of Egyptian and Greek art that are compatible with indigenous Nubian goals.

"The Palace and Park: Its Natural History, and Its Portrait Gallery, Together with a Description of the Pompeian Court" by Richard Owen, Edward Forbes, George Scharf, Robert Gordon Latham, and Samuel Phillips The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. This book explains the palace's history and design so readers learn about the interior and exterior of this structure. The book was a useful manual for people who wished to visit the palace, but also for those who would never get the opportunity to do so.