Egypt and Bees, the old and the new

Beekeeping in Egypt goes back a long way and is recorded as one of the first civilizations to cultivate bees for human use.

As a civilization the ancient Egyptians have venerated the humble honeybee, attaching both religious, spiritual and actual value to them. The bee was even the symbol of the King of Lower Egypt and there have been various hieroglyphs showing honey and beekeepers.

How beekeeping practice is different between the UK and other parts of the world?

As a mostly desert country you may be wondering how Egypt is able to utilise honeybees. Well, the answer as you can imagine is the river Nile. During the annual flooding, the Nile provided the banks to either side to become fertile grounds necessary for agriculture and life to flourish.

Honeybee hives were made in pipes usually made from clay or mud, and rather than be placed on land were instead moved on to rafts that floated on the Nile - this would allow the bees to pollinate the nearby flowers and crops when they were in season. Once the flowers and crops died off, the bees were then simply moved down the Nile and released again on the next blossoming nectar source. This allowed the bees to move up and down the whole length of Egypt. A practice that continues even to this day.

Egyptian honey

Perhaps the most well-known Egyptian honey comes from the Black Seed in Egypt and has been described as ranging in taste from lightly sweetness to bitter with a nutty smoky afternote.

The other main sources of honey in Egypt are citrus during March and April, Egyptian clover during April to June, and cotton during July and August.