Cleopatra: The Last Queen of Egypt

By Sherine F. Taman

Cleopatra was the last queen of Egypt. This book tells the story of how she pursued her dream of getting to the throne and ruling as she had always planned to rule, learning from her father's mistakes. It wasn't an easy ride, especially with all the schemes set by her evil siblings and her brother's co-regents. It's a book about inspiration, determination and success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Oct 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456784669

Sherine F. Taman

Sherine Taman Born in Alexandria, Egypt on July 14th, 1979. The daughter of an Alexandrian Poet and Lawyer. Graduated from the German School in Alexandria, joined Business School then got an MBA degree from the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, Alexandria in 2007. Lived in Alexandria, Egypt till 2007, then moved to Dubai, UAE. Married with two daughters, Maya (7) and Thalia(4). I have always been fascinated by the history of my home country, Egypt. Always dreaming about the past and how the ancient Egyptians could achieve such a charming empire with progress in almost all the fields of life. I'm even more fascinated by how female rulers were so successful and powerful. Inspired by Egyptian queens, I have decided to further inspire young girls and boys to follow their dreams and pursue their goals in life. Learning form mistakes is the most important lesson in life and it's mainly why we study history and that's why I believe that by introducing history to young readers in a fun, story-like way will increase their interest in reading, brighten their thoughts and fill their lives with exciting memories. Having lived in Alexandria, I was able to get in touch with history, and living near the sea has always inspired me. I believe I have a secret charming relationship with the mediterranean.

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© 2011 by Sherine F. Taman. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 06/08/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4567-8465-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4567-8466-9 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

To my girls Maya, Thalia and Layla

To My mum and dad

Thank you for your endless love and support and for believing in me

To Dr. Nour El Sherif

Thank you for your guidance and precious support, I feel blessed!

To Dr. Ahmed Hanno

Thank you for your help and the marvelous cover design

To my beautiful and charming home country Egypt

IT WAS A SAD night. The queen had died and young princess Cleopatra had to be told about her mother’s death. She was too young to understand the fact that she would never see her mother again. All she could think about was that she would miss her mother for the rest of her life.

Without much hesitance, the young princess ran out of the palace gates as fast as she could to avoid thinking about the days to come. There was absolutely no point in servants trying to stop her because she would not turn back. All she was aware of now was the cold and fierce wind blowing in her face and the speed of her body against the wind. By thus freezing her thoughts she sought to escape her grief.

Suddenly she felt her feet had become too heavy to carry her and her breath more difficult to take. It was then that she realized she had run far away from home, and was now standing at the great Pharos with its huge ramp checking her speed.

She took a good look all the way to the top of the lighthouse until she felt a pain at the back of her neck. She was so tiny that she could not see its peak and the bright light of the fire shining out of its top almost blinded her. In this very moment she burst into tears only shouting Aw my eyes -She cried a lot, so much that she was unaware how the cold angry Mediterranean tides were lashing out at her as if they too were angry at the loss of the queen.

Taking a second look at Pharos, she slowly wiped her tears, as if she had seen a large cloud emerging out of the lighthouse fire. She wiped her eyes again to make sure she was seeing right, but looking harder she realized it was not a cloud; it was the silhouette of the goddess Isis.

Before she could grasp what was happening, a soft but confident voice whispered: Do not weep young queen! Be like Pharos, no matter how hard the tides hit, the fire still burns strong to guide the ships to the docks. You too have a duty to fulfill and to do so you must be strong. Do not let grief overpower you.

First, Cleopatra thought this was an illusion, but she never forgot those words.

—Introduction ends—

A BRIGHT SPRING DAY WAS born as the warm orange sun shone with its golden rays into Cleo’s room as if celebrating the birth of a fresh new morning. The first sun rays shimmered right through the light cream voile curtains surrounding Cleopatra’s bed.

With only one eye open, she whispered: Finally! as if she had been waiting the whole night for this moment. She jumped out of bed shouting: Ati, bath time please, and before she could finish this line, a short dark rather plump woman hastened into the room carrying a large bucket of milk and a honey pot. The bucket was so heavy the woman could barely walk but she still hurried to the bath hall. Ati poured the warm milk and honey into a large marble pool and dipped in her elbow to test the temperature. As she made sure she had the right one, she called the young princess to commence the first step of her grooming routine, the milk and honey bath. Cleopatra was a rather sophisticated young girl who gave much attention to her beauty. She liked mixing many ingredients to test their effect on her skin, however, the milk-honey combination was her favorite for the morning bath.

Cleopatra took off her clothes and carefully dove into the