A Cup of History Magazine
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A Cup Of History Where History has a different Taste Volume 11 A CUP OF HISTORY Contents A Note from the Publisher ........................................................................................................... 3 A person in history “Naguib the confined president” ................................................................... 4 People from the world “Sumai no sechie… From Japan to the world” .......................................... 5 History in a photo........................................................................................................................ 6 Weapon of the day “Super Weapons – The Monster”.................................................................. 7 A Battle from the pages of history “Ain Jalut the rise from ashes” ............................................... 8 En Route “The hidden pearl of the Western Sahara” ................................................................. 10 Games for your mind ................................................................................................................ 14 17 .......................................................................................................................................... مقدمة 18 ............................................................................................................................. الشوارع حوادٌت 19 .................................................................................................................................. فً بر مصر 22 ................................................................................................................................ حكاٌات شعبٌة A Cup of History Staff ................................................................................................................ 24 Do you want to regularly receive our monthly magazine? ......................................................... 24 Do you want to follow our regular updates? .............................................................................. 24 Comments & Feedback ............................................................................................................. 24 2 Volume 11 A CUP OF HISTORY A Note from the Publisher Hello everybody, And Welcome to a Cup of History, this magazine is an effort to bring you history in a different “Taste”, history is regarded by most of us a very boring topic even though we tend to talk a lot about it without even noticing it. Do you remember the countless times you asked your father, mother or grandparents to tell you how they met and fell in love? You were in search of the story, but indeed you were in search of history. If you find yourself asking the questions like “How much did it cost to get a car back in your days?”, or how was the king like. Then you are definitely looking for history. Here at a Cup of History we will be going to give you a different flavor to history in a different and interesting view that will maybe get your curiosity going and at the same time become fun for you to read and go through. In a Cup of history we will be trying to give you an insight on different parts of the world where you will be not be just bound or find information on local Egyptian history but also international history. We live in a world so it’s always good to know where they come from! Enjoy your Read! Tarek Refaat 3 Volume 11 A CUP OF HISTORY A person in history “Naguib the confined president” The first President of Egypt, serving from the declaration of the Republic on June 18, 1953 to November 14, 1954. Along with Gamal Abdel Nasser, he was the primary leader of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which ended the rule of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in Egypt and Sudan. He was born on Khartoum, Sudan in 20 February 1901, Sudan was united with Egypt at that time, where he spent his early life, he wanted to be an officer in the army the same as his father, Nevertheless, Naguib's father did not want his sons to follow in his footsteps, believing from his own experience as an officer in the Egyptian army that the army at that time was little more than a group of auxiliaries waiting for British orders. He believed that Naguib could serve Egypt better in civilian life, and he even had Ibrahim Urabi, son of the 1882 revolutionary Ahmed Urabi, spoke to Naguib and cautioned him that by joining the military he would become only "a supervisor in the service of the British."As a result, Naguib first studied to become a translator, and later in life he earned a law degree, an MA in political science and another MA in civil law. He never completed his doctorate because he joined the army after the death of his father; Nevertheless, he found the time to polish his language skills, learning English, French, Italian and German. Naguib also began to study the Hebrew language and after the Revolution he ordered that Hebrew be taught at military college and at Cairo and Alexandria universities, realizing that the Egyptian army had been handicapped during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War by the fact that very few soldiers could interpret Israeli communications. Any illusions Naguib might have had about the nature of Farouk's rule evaporated on 4 February 1942 after a standoff at Abdin Palace in Cairo between the British and the king. In protest at Farouk's concessions to the British, allowing them to choose the prime minister, Naguib sent in his resignation, saying that "since the army was not called upon to defend Your Majesty, I am ashamed to wear this uniform and ask your permission to resign.". On this occasion, Farouk turned down Naguib's resignation, however, Naguib continued to climb the military ladder, serving in Palestine during the Palestine War in 1948. While on active service in Palestine, Naguib would dedicate 30 minutes every morning to reading the Qur'an, a habit he picked up in childhood, to strengthen his resolve in times of adversity. In 1954, Naguib was isolated by Gamal A.El Nasser in a villa owned by Zienab Al-Wakil, wife of Mustafa Al-Nahhas Pasha, ex-Prime Minister of Egypt. Naguib was released from his isolation in 1972 by President Sadat. He died in 1984 and he had a military funeral that was attended by President Mubarak. In the same year, his memoirs were published under the name I was a President of Egypt. By: Hany Nada 4 Volume 11 A CUP OF HISTORY People from the world “Sumai no sechie… From Japan to the world” Historians agree that the origins of sumo date back 2000 years; however, it never really flourished as a spectator sport until the early 1600's. Like any other social group in Japan, there are strict rules and traditions that are observed throughout the sport. The beginner watching his first sumo broadcast on television soon realizes that very little time is actually spent grappling. Rather, the rikishi “Wrestlers” spend most of their time performing pre-bout ceremonies steeped in Shinto tradition. Shinto is the native religion of Japan and is more a set of rituals and ceremonies than a system of beliefs or a definite code of ethics. The word “Sumo” itself means "way of the gods." It was originally performed to entertain the gods (kami) during festivals (matsuri). Sumo as part of Shinto ritual dates as far back as the Tumulus period (250-552), but it wasn't until the 17th century that it began adopting the intense purification rituals that we see in sumo today, As a religion of customs and not laws, Shinto developed as a religion to please the gods in order to ensure a good harvest and divine protection, but soon made headway into the sport of sumo as a way to entertain those same gods, purify the sport itself and protect the rikishi from harm. Most of the Shinto that we see in sumo occurs symbolically. To begin with, the sand that covers the clay of the dohyo is itself a symbol of purity in the Shinto religion. And the canopy above the ring (yakata) is made in the style of the roof of a Shinto shrine. The four tassels on each corner of the canopy represent the four seasons, the white one as autumn, black as winter, green as spring and red as summer. The purple bunting around the roof symbolizes the drifting of the clouds and the rotation of the seasons. The referee (gyoji) resembles a Shinto priest in his traditional robe. And kelp, cuttlefish, and chestnuts are placed in the ring along with prayers for safety. Once the actual bouts begin, the two rikishi spend several minutes before their match lifting their legs high in the air and stomping them down, a practice said to scare away any demons. They also throw several handfuls of salt into the ring, which is said to purify the ring. Many rikishi will also sprinkle salt around their bodies as a means of protecting them from injury. Presently, sumo consists of six major tournaments, The tournament months and sites are as follows: January-Tokyo, March-Osaka, May-Tokyo, July-Nagoya, September-Tokyo, and November-Fukuoka. Up through the early 20th century, there were only two basho a year; however, as sumo's popularity grew, the number of major tournaments increased to four basho a year and then in 1958, the current six-basho-a-year format was established. Also, up until 1949 a basho only lasted for 10 days. Currently, since the start of the new Millennium, a basho runs for 15 successive days. 5 Volume 11 A CUP OF HISTORY History in a photo Figure 2: God Of Sumo Nomi no Sukune Figure 1: Sumo Wreslter with a Foreigner 1861 Figure 4: Sumo wrestler, throws salt to purify the ring Figure 3: The Opening Ceremony of the Sumo Basho 6 Volume 11 A CUP OF HISTORY Weapon