Nortina’s Egyptian Travel Diaries (#AtoZChallenge): “W” is for Wigs

Why did the Ancient Egyptians wear wigs?

Were you ever curious?

To be honest, I don’t think this question ever crossed my mind until our tour guide explained to us the requirements for entering the inner sanctuary of the temples (also called the holy of holies).

Only the priests and the pharaohs were allowed in the inner sanctuary, and in order to enter, they first had to purify themselves. This involved the pouring of oil over their heads—similar to the anointing of the Jewish priests—and their being completely clean-shaven. That means no body hair and no hair on their face or head—for the kings and the queens.

They came to the gods just as they had come into the world: bald as a newborn baby!

And so came the headdresses, the wigs, the false beards. Quite innovative if you ask me!

—Nortina

“A” is for Arrival
“B” is for Buyer’s Remorse
“C” is for Cruisin’ the River Nile
“D” is for Delays, Delays, Delays
“E” is for Empty Tombs
“F” is for Fragrance
“G” is for Great Pyramid of Giza
“H” is for Hatshepsut
“I” is for Island Temple of Philae
“J” is for Just Engaged!
“K” is for Kom Ombo
“L” is for Luxor
“M” is for Museums and Mummies
“N” is for Nefertari
“O” is for Osiris, Set, and Horus: Gods of Egypt
“P” is for Pizza Hut Fail
“Q” is for Queen Cleopadrat
“R” is for Ramesses
“S” is for Seti I
“T” is for Traffic
“U” is for Unfinished Tombs
“V” is for Valley of the Kings/Queens

This April for the A to Z Challenge, I’m sharing my experience of traveling to Egypt last month. These posts likely won’t be in chronological order, depending on what memory each letter strikes up, but if you’d like to follow me on this journey, subscribe below.