[Agu Bu Oji]

[align=center]THE GLOBAL AFRICAN COMMUNITY

T R A V E L N O T E S

IN EGYPT WITH YOSEF A.A. BEN-JOCHANNAN:
ICON OF AFRICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY
(COMPOSED IN AUGUST 1997)

By RUNOKO RASHIDI[/align]
[align=left]
"This is but a mere feeble effort in saying: Without
you, African/Black mother, there would have been no
us--African/Black fathers, sons and daughters. Do we
need to say any more African/Black mothers, our own
true goddesses! Let us praise you to the highest,
telling the world about your righteousness. Let us
tell the entire universe about your sacredness
African/Black woman.

--Yosef A.A. ben-Jochannan

Every African should try to visit Egypt at least once
during their lifetime. It is a pilgrimage to our
sacred motherland--the cradle of civilization--and one
is never the same afterwards. Although there are now
numerous study tours to Egypt, undoubtedly the most
celebrated are those of Dr. Yosef A.A. ben-Jochannan.
Dr. Ben's tours include the massive rock-hewn temples
of King Ramses II and Queen Nefertari at Abu Simbel,
the temple of goddess Isis at Philae Island, the royal
tombs of the Valley of the Kings and the west bank
mortuary temples of Makare Hatshepsut, Ramses II and
Ramses III at Luxor, the east bank worship temples of
Luxor and Karnak, the temple of goddess Hathor at
Dendera, the Sphinx and the massive pyramids on the
Giza Plateau, the Step pyramid designed by the
multi-genius Imhotep at Sakkara, and the Egyptian
Museum at Cairo.

Regarding these sites, the reader should know that
Usemare Ramses II (popularly known as "Ramses the
Great") ruled Egypt more than six decades and emerged
as one of history's most colossal builders. Nefertari,
his chief queen, helped Ramses govern and was revered
throughout ancient Egypt. Isis was one of Egypt's
greatest deities, and along with her husband Osiris
and son Horus, formed one of antiquities' great
triads. The Valley of the Kings entombed the bodies
of some of pharaonic Egypt's most significant rulers.
Makare Hatshepsut was a great female monarch who
governed effectively for twenty years. Ramses III
fought off two foreign invasions of Egypt and sat on
the throne for thirty-one years. Karnak temple is the
world's largest religious sanctuary. Hathor was the
Egyptian goddess of love, beauty and sensuality. The
enormous pyramids on the Giza plateau have been called
"miracles in stone," while the Step Pyramid at Sakkara
has the distinction of being the world's first large
stone monument. The Cairo Museum is crammed full of
the representations, physical remains, personal
possessions and writings of the pharaohs, queens,
officials and ordinary people the ancient Nile Valley.

Dr. Ben's tours, like the man himself, stand out quite
singularly. Born December 31, 1918 in Gondar,
Ethiopia, Dr. Yosef Alfredo Antonio ben-Jochannan
("Dr. Ben," as he is affectionately known) has devoted
the better part of his life to the illumination of the
indigenous origins of African civilizations. By
profession, he is a trained lawyer, engineer,
historian and Egyptologist. Ben-Jochannan went to
Egypt for the first time in 1939, and moved to Harlem,
New York in 1945. Dr. Ben knew Malcolm X personally,
and was a student and colleague of George G.M. James.
He was exceptionally close to the late Dr. John Henrik
Clarke. Since 1957, he has coordinated regular study
tours and pilgrimages to the Nile Valley, directly
exposing thousands of African people to the still
visible splendors of ancient Egypt. Formerly adjunct
professor at Cornell University's Africana Studies
Department, Dr. ben-Jochannan has also been a
professor-at-large at Al Azar University in Cairo.

While now advanced in years, Dr. Ben continues to
wield tremendous influence on African studies. He is
indeed one of the most unrelenting twentieth century
advocates of the African origins of Nile Valley
civilizations and the African origins of Western
religions. By his own account, he has prepared
seventy-five manuscripts for publication, and was
working on another during his 1997 tour. He is the
author of more than twenty books, including African
Origins of the Major Western Religions in 1970,
Africa: Mother of Western Civilization in 1971, Black
Man of the Nile and His Family in 1972, A Chronology
of the Bible: A Challenge to the Standard Version in
1973, The African Called Rameses ("The Great") II, and
the African Origin of Western Civilization in 1990.
Several of his works have gone through a number of
reprints and different editions, and although
controversial, all of them are well-documented. As
pointed out by Dr. Leonard Jeffries:

"Ben-Jochannan's extensive publications contain
voluminous reference materials and sources to
stimulate students and scholars to pursue more
systematic and scientific research. He also includes
very revealing photos, illustrations and charts that
help the ordinary layman grasp the significance of the
work."

Dr. ben-Jochannan remains uncompromising in his views,
a lively public speaker and a prolific writer, and has
probably done more to popularize African history than
any living scholar. Dr. Ben has brought history to
life for the masses of African people. This is
perhaps his greatest legacy and gift.[/align]
[align=left]Copyright © 1998 Runoko Rashidi. All rights reserved[/align]

[AmeriJamCan]

Do modern Egyptians acknowledge their Black heritage? I don't think so. Interesting article though.

[Agu Bu Oji]

Do modern Egyptians acknowledge their Black heritage?

The Arabs love to claim they're the real macoy, when it boils down to it they'll up and say they have black blood.