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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 July 2000 Issue No. 489 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 July 2000 Issue No. 489
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region Focus International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The hottest month
Although I do not go out much, merely opening the window suffices to acquaint me with the weather. Many of my friends and acquaintances come to visit me and spend time recovering from their journey, no matter how short. They pant and mop their brows and drink glass after glass of cool water, complaining of the infernal heat.
Although the excessive heat and humidity are indeed unpleasant, there is nothing extraordinary about the weather. We are in the month of Ba'ouna, one of the hottest months of the year. Sometimes the weather does not correspond with the months of the Gregorian calendar that we now follow. This rarely happens, though, with our Coptic months. These are the old months that the Egyptians established by observing the succession of seasons and climactic changes over the years. They never fail.
The heritage of our ancestors is extremely important. Many of the elements present in our lives today originated with them. We are aware of only some, because our study of Ancient Egypt has not yet solved all the puzzles of its civilisation. The most important element of this heritage may be the deep religious belief that characterises the Egyptian people. Ancient Egypt raised religion to a level unparalleled by any of the other ancient civilisations. Egypt, through Akhenaten, was the first civilisation to call for monotheism. Through the Qur'an, we know that God told the Prophet Mohamed stories related to some prophets, but not all of them. I believe that Akhenaten is one of those prophets whose stories were not told.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
