The royal palace is one of the most impressive structures in the city. With towering columns, grand hallways and expensive cloth draped over every wall and floor, the royal home leaves nothing to be desired in its luxury. The palace holds the residential quarters of the current monarch, his official spouse and their immediate family. Occasionally other relatives will be allowed to live within the royal walls at the monarch's discretion - this is most often true of young females in the family who have no male guardian available. Politicians from the Senate will often visit the king or queen at the palace but not official laws or decisions can be passed in the building - these must be declared in the Senate to be legal.

The Athenian capital's most impressive structure, barring the royal palace, and its oldest by several generations, the Naos of Athena is the grandest temple in the Athenian kingdom, paying homage to their patron goddess. In classic ancient Grecian style, the temple is a large square, comprised around its edges of towering columns. A triangular display above its front gates offers the story of the creation of Athena, from the head of the great Zeus. Inside, the building is a single open space, embodying the goddesses' belief in honesty, justice and the lack of deception or hidden secrets. Along the left and right hand walls are marble statues, the height of a man, and representative of each God of Olympus, paying tribute to them as Athena's counterparts, while the likeness of the Goddess of Wisdom herself stands twice as tall and in bronze at the far end. Ledges run the entire circumference of the temple, open to gifts and tributes to any and all Gods, while the far back wall, either side of the Athena statue, offers two such shelves - one at waist height and the other at shoulder, in order to support the additional gifts given to the Goddess' who claims possession of such a grand structure.

The oldest private residence in all of Athenia, the Antonis estate is large and expansive. In accordance with their belief in dignity and tradition, the buildings have only ever been repaired and never rebuilt. The repairs, however, have always been done with a practised and skilful hand, creating a home that is historical and fascinating in its detail, rather than one that looks renovated and out of date. The Antonis favour roaming lands out the back of their Athenian estate, beyond the borders of the city. Wide and expansive for riding the retired war horses that are the family's personal steeds.

While Marikas is the longest line of royalty in the Athenian kingdom, their home might not impress as much, other than its size and wealth it communicates. The Marikas line know well the importance of appearances and, as such, have renovated, rebuilt and redesigned their home in the capitol on several occasions. The manor house often looks brand new, with the latest fashions and designs pouring from every room. The interior decoration of the home clearly indicates that the Marikas family wish to impress upon others the power they hold now, as opposed to the history that gave it to them. The Marikas mansion is famous for its gardens. As the longest standing royal House, their home has been sitting on a large expanse of land, despite being within the capital's walls and the expensive, finely cultivated gardens only serve to impress this fact upon all who visit the flower and bloom heaven that awaits out of the back of the Marikas homestead.

Stravos are the newest to the name of royalty but their home does not offer such an impression. Through business connections, Lord Keikelius was able to purchase an old concert hall in the very centre of the Inner Circle. The property is a short carriage ride from the Dikastirio and the Royal Palati, as if to impress upon all that might visit how the recency of their royalty is of no consequence. Within the walls of the Stravos home, everything is of high end value but also holds an exotic theme, with the regal and expensive furnishings having been imported from all over the known realms. Due to their position in the centre of the city, the personal gardens of the Stravos home are limited but each flowerbed or topiary display is created to impress, despite their smaller size.

The Inner Circle is the rich central sphere of the city. In the center, is the royal palace, and around it are the homes of the wealthy and important members of Athenian society. This is likely to include, the other royal families (those who are not currently on the throne), the noble families, the families of the senators and courtiers, and anyone rich enough to own a property in the richest part of town.

The dikastírio is the Senate of Athenia. It includes the male monarch of each of the noble families (some of which have royal blood, and some of which do not) as well as the chief politicians of the realm. It is here that decisions in law, trade and war are discussed in an open forum between the senators and the royal monarchs.

The Athenian university is considered to be the best education system in the kingdom. With professors from all of the world and a large financial budget from the current king, it affords some of the greatest learning that you can receive in the ancient world. It holds the biggest library in the kingdom and offers education to any man, and any married noble woman, who can afford the tuition fees.

The central square is a public stage for events, announcements and open punishments or executions. When not in use for an important ceremony, the square functions as a place for the wealthy to congregate and gossip.

Those who don't shop at the market may deal directly with traders they prefer. The shops and trader posts that are owned by the merchants and Athenia are all located down one main street. Here, the wealthier patron can look into shop windows and purchase on demand rather than battle the crowds at the local market.

The agorá is the market. Here, people of the lower classes or the servants of the noble families will trade and purchase goods from the countryside or those imported in from the other realms. A lot of local traders set up their stalls at the agorá most days of the week, but on a sunday the market is full to bursting with sellers and buyers, making it hot and sticky work just getting through the crowds. On quieter days, singers and dancers entertain the shoppers for a coin or two.

An old temple rarely used anymore, the temple dedicated to the Titaness Themis used to be the centre of the original city of Athenia. Her role as custodian of legal order and justice helped to form the basis of morals for the Athenian people.

The arena, set into the center of an entertainment colosseum is used for many purposes. Sometimes the sandy floor will be graced by performers and artisans, sometimes by gladiators and combatants. Sometimes chariots race up and down its length. The arcus is a place for entertainment of all sorts.

The public baths are open to both genders but have separate areas for men and women. Children generally bathe with their mother's until they are old enough to be considered women in the own right, or old enough to be thought of as men and told to switch to the male bathhouse area. Servants keep the bathhouse stocked with towels and soaking oils.

Home to the headquarters of the Athenian Guard, the Barracks is a building set atop and astride the city prison. It has a separate out-building as an armoury to the Guard and the entrance to the jail below ground is kept guarded at all hours of the day, despite its entrance being directly in the centre of the Guard House's courtyard. The barracks also holds the basic living quarters for all guards who do not have a personal home in the city. Part of their wages is deducted for bed and board if they decide to live at the Headquarters.

The city jail is a stone structure with ropes and bars around every exit and window. It is managed by the City Guard and utilised when a member of the public is to stand trial. It is generally at the discretion of the guard in question whether someone is locked within for any other purpose/reason.

The homes of those who live in the Outer City range in size and smoothness of construction but nearly all of them are crafted from stone and square in shape. A few have second storeys, though most are on a single level and some of those in the poorest areas have constructed wooden extensions to bridge the gaps between each building, attempting to make the properties slightly larger to accommodate a growing population. These wooden constructs are also diverse in the quality of workmanship and are sometimes used as additional storage or rooms to the homes they are built onto the side of or are homes in their own right; two foot by four foot spaces in which the poorest souls live, away from the havoc or rain of the outside world...

Athenia's capital city of the same name stands on the precipice of an impressive cliff face, overlooking the crescent ship harbour below. Post here if your topic does not belong to any of the following locations.

The Temple of the Gods is a sacred place for pray, reflection and offerings. The clergy templeman who look after the temple live in a small residential wing, each with their own private room consisting only of a bed, a nightstand and an epitaph of their preferred deity. The rest of the temple is open to the public, its impressive columns, halls and statues designed to be stared upon with awe and fear.

Where shipmen and sailors from all of the kingdom long to stay. The Athenian harbour is one of the grandest and most secure in the Grecian kingdom. This is due to most of Athenia's trade and money coming from the commercial ships that visit the realm and the sea-hauls that are brought into the city by boat.

A temple that makes the most of its water features in honour of its specific deity, the temple of Poseidon is a cool and airy construction. Many of the lower-class Athenians worship Poseidon due to so many of their livelihoods being reliant on the sea and its produce.

The cliffside of the island of Ire is a dangerous one and almost impossible to climb. It eventually curves down and around, with one side becoming a safe harbour and the other remaining rocky and dangerous to all ships.

The northern areas beyond the border of Athenia are rough and dry. Awkward for arable farming and used more for battlefield skirmishes with the Roman provinces to the north, this area is uninhabited by Athenians besides a few distant and hermit-like settlements amongst the dry brush.

The plains west of Athenia are wet and marshy, offering defence against any attempted invasion but also good farmland for the wetter goods some of Athenia's merchants trade in; like rice and reed.

The land of Ire (as the territories of Athenia are collectively known) is a large piece of the mainland, that stretches out as three distinct fingers into the Aegean sea, creating the three main harbours of Athenia. If your thread does not belong to any particular province or to the capitol, post it here.

The location of many a fight or deadly scuffle, this discussion chamber, also known as Great Hall of Midas, is used only for meetings held by the current royal family. Designed to be a forum for thought and opinion, the chamber has gradually become a room in which mental and intellectual warfare is played out. Unlike other kingdoms, Midas has no royal palace and, instead, uses the Great Hall for all courtly/royal functions, while the current ruling family of Colchis remains living in their family home.

The very origin of the city of Midas, the capital of Colchis was begun as a temple to the Gods. Carved deep into the mountain, the Naós Cavern has separated into specific temples for several of the major Olympian Gods. While other temples are situated around Greece, the ones held within the Hall of the Gods are always considered the most divine and the closest one can get to their preferred immortal.

The mansion owned by the family was Drakos was once the manor of Kotas. Upon the Kotas family becoming the crowned monarchs of the Colchian kingdom several generations ago, a new manor was ordered to be constructed from the mountain of Midas and the Kotas family moved to their more lavish home. When the Lady Tythra of Kotas married a Drakos and produced a new line of royal heirs, part of the dowry involved was the old Kotas manor. Finely sculpted and lavishly decorated in a masculine fashion with tapestries and paintings of ancient battles and fabrics and textiles from conquered kingdoms, the home is one grand enough to befit the old heirs that once lived there and has since been kept in its glory by the iron, guiding hand of Lady Tythra.

The home of the Eliades family is the newest royal residence to be added to the upper levels. Once a large merchant's home, the building was merged with the one next to it in order to form a statement home large enough to befit the cousins of the ruling family. Since then, the home has gradually filled with practice and homey fashions, rather than the tastes of the rich and impressive. Books, comfort furnishings and items of sentimental over economic value are held in high places of esteem and on display for those who might visit...

Carved from the very Midas mountain itself, the Kotas manor is three storeys of impressive sculpture and stands unyielding, fused to the very rock of the city. It operates windows on its front face and half way down either side, before the structure becomes one with its birth material. The furthest wings back from the sky and air was the private residences and bed chambers of the royal family (on the upper levels) and the kitchens and servants quarters (on the lower). The entertaining rooms lie towards the front of the palace.

The Thanasi manor within Midas is one very much used for practicality. With a patriarch who spends most of his time in Nethisa and little of it in their second manor in the capitol, the Thanasi home has been allowed to drop in decor one way or the other depending on the room in question and its current occupant. An amalgamation of styles and stores for each member of the Thanasi brood who may stay within its walls on one occasion or another, the second Thanasi manor is not for socialising. The privacy sought by each of its members ensures that the home is not for aesthetic power-games. Any social interaction is done elsewhere and the manor is reserved for solely the family and their basic needs.

The upper levels of the city are home to those who can afford it. As the weather is monsoon-like for nearly half the year and rain water runs downhill, the upper levels are often clean, crisp and full of beautiful architecture designed to keep the wind at bay.

One of the few surfaces of Midas that is on a steady level, the plateía operates as both the central square and the city's marketplace. Official functions are always prepared and announced ahead of time, causing the market to close whenever an execution or ceremony is to be performed for the masses.

Colchians are skilled weapon makers and leather producers. The merchants are worldly-wise and are intelligent traders with foreign suppliers and shippers. There are many blacksmiths in Midas because of the wind current for steeping fires and it is common knowledge that nearly every official royal sword or armour in the nearby kingdoms was made in Colchis.

The lower levels of Midas are built sturdy and strong but almost on top of each other. A maze of homes, roads, alleys and walls, the lower city is a labyrinth when not familiar to the walker. This area is mostly home to the workers of the mines or holds slave and servant houses, owned by the noble families who own the people within.

The city of Midas is an impressive feat of man that has stood the test of time. Carved from the cliffside rock and able to withstand even the harshest of seasons that batter its face, Midas is the centre of Colchian pride and honour. Post here if your topic does not belong in any of the following locations.

Colchis's biggest export is metal and precious ore. In the mines, slaves and free men work side by side to remove the bronze, silver, gold and iron from the land. Skilled mathematicians and designers are on constant watch in the mines to ensure that no-one digs too far towards the sea or in a manner that would weaken the city above.

Rocky, dangerous and full of small caves that disappear with a rising tide, the Hydra's Teeth is a terrifying strait between the Kirakles islands. With a strong current and hidden rocks, it is an areas to be avoided by all sailors.

The palace of Vasiliádon is the crowning jewel of an already beautiful city. Taking advantage of the smooth land of the island, the palace occupies a huge square foot area, with shallow pools and columned promenades in white marble. Against the temperate and balmy blue sky, it really is a palace of dreams, and is home to the currently ruling noble family.

Instead of a huge, stuffy hall in which to negotiate, the politicians of Vasiliádon prefer to practice their debate and bluster in an open arena forum. The structure sits in the centre of a long spiral pathway. The creator argued that his design was deliberate - in order to give the men plenty of time to consider their points and remove all emotion from their arguments, before arriving at the Arcus itself.

The second manor Condos offers a hint of the beauty that the primary homestead is so famous for. The original manor of Condos in their home province of Doralis is large and almost feminine in its beauty. The second, that they occupy when in the capitol is just as so, but on a slightly small scale; designed to offer the lavish and elegant comforts of home, while also whetting the appetites of any guest that visits who may be curious as to the great beauty that awaits any traveller to Doralis.

The Dimitrou manor in Vasiliadon is kept as such more for the fact that it is required than because the family need a second home. Their original archontiko back in Meganea is home enough for all of them, barring Lord Iason who keeps his own in Chaoedia. As such, the manor is functional, immaculately clean and offers the basic, yet well crafted, essentials that any noble family would require. It's not designed to be a home that impresses or entertains, and is probably the royal home least in use within Vasiliadon.

The Leventi estate lies on the very outside edge of the Vasiliadon city walls. With acres of land out behind it, the estate offers two manors that are often in almost constant use. While other royal families live most of their lives in their own provinces and use their capitol manors as a means of habitation when business calls them to the city, Leventi operate their business from within the capitol's walls and keep their interests close at hand...

The Mikaelidas family were not always the ruling house of Taengea and, as such, retain their original House Manor, prior to the royal palace becoming their new home and being renamed the Mikaelidas Palati. This manor is now occupied by Lord Irakles. His wife Myrto lives in a separated wing of the manor whilst Irakles has instated his mistress Lady Meena under his more immediate roof. This Mikaelidas manor is under the direct management and control of the Head of the Mikaelidas House.

Home to the wealthier and more luxurious residences in Vasiliádon, the southern quarter of the inner circle of the city is home to the royal and noble families, close to the sea and in view of beautiful sunsets dipping below the horizon.

Music and the arts are incredibly important to the Taengeans and, as such, their capital holds the greatest music and arts school in the known realms. Located in the wealthier area of the capital city, the school is exclusive and only open to those who can pay a high tuition for the privilege of attending.

No one knows how to throw a party like a Taengean and in thanks for their vineyards and their sweet fruit, the Taengean's make a point to worship and celebrate the God of Wine. An annual festival is held in Vasiliádon for the express purpose of celebrating the God and the temple is decorated with vines of ivy every harvest.

One cannot live in Vasiliádon without worshipping the Goddess of Love and Beauty. The noble houses of Taengea seem, in recent generations to have a propensity for producing beautiful women and many believe this to be due to the blessing of the goddess.

Open at all times of day for slave-trades, performances and musicians, the central square of the capital is more a central hub of gossip than anything else and operates as a place for courtiers and laymen to mingle and chatter outside of official constraints.

Home to the less wealthy of the city, the residences occupy the northern area of the city, further away from the pretty sea and closer to the fields in which most of the occupants work. The houses are pretty and robust but the amenities are something to be desired and it is a long daily walk to their workplaces out in the countryside.

The public baths are divided by gender but also have private rooms for the more wealthy who are interested in further privacy. The eunuchs and slaves who man the baths are also trained in massage and skin treatments to those who pay. All proceeds go to the owner of the baths - the Leventi family.

The Order are a private military group that are loyal only to the current monarch of Taengea. They cannot be bought or ordered by any other - no matter their status of nobility - and it is against the code of the Order to take on independent military work. The Order is a guild of men who believe in a brotherhood and unity in honour and serve with their lives.

The city of Vasiliádon is considered to be the most beautiful in the Grecian kingdoms. Designed by lovers of art as well as structure, the entire city is built in concentric circles with decorative carvings along every wall. Post here if your topic does not belong in any of the following locations.

On the outskirts of the city is the circus - the arena of champions. Chariot races are famous and the horses who win them even more so - if anyone wants to gamble or fight in the greatest race of their life - they come to the Vasiliádon Circus.

Serenn, Emae, Macendia. The three Taengean isles collectively are the ruled kingdom of Taengea. Serenn is the name given to the largest landmass and includes the capitol and provinces owned by a multitude of families. Esme is a piece of land that supports several of the Dimitrou provinces and is mostly forest, and Macendia is a singular province in the Leventi name, run by its baron Georgios of Leventi and famous for its rolling hills and beautiful landscapes.

A glittering coastline or rocky and sandy beaches, the rock pools and streams in the area provide shellfish and pretty coral. The stones of the area are polished to a soft shape and shine and are often used in the decoration of Bedoan weapons and jewellery.

In a natural crescent of the coastline, where ships would dock away from the winds of bad weather, using the land formation as a safe harbour, a large town has naturally grown. Made of little more than mudhuts, tents and a few wooden shacks (mostly built form the debris of broken boats) the "city" as the patrons like to call it is a hub of black market trade without tax or legal stipulation.

The Sahara desert is expansive and frightening in its might and ability to take the lives of those who travel it. With sand dunes to the east (near Egypt), dry savannahs to the south and rocky terrain in the nroth western point, the Sahara is an expanse of "meadows of gold" everywhere in between.

There are several oases in the desert but this one is perhaps the most famous for the Bedoan people as it is the point to measure the edge of the Bedoan lands. The furthest south a Bedoan tribe will ever journey, the Amn Shar Oasis is often visited for its large pool of clear and clean water but is never ventured beyond.

These sands are not as deep nor as rolling as those in the centre of the desert. Instead, they are easily navigable and often coated in tall, dry grass that can cut like a knife if blow by the wind at the right angle. These eastern lands border the edges of the western provinces of Egypt and are where Bedoans will go to trade with the people of the East.

The Origin. The Sacred Place. The only area of cool and vibrant green life. A small rainforest situated in the southern western corner of the Sahara desert. The Bedoans have strict rules upon this place, built into their culture and ethos on how and when it should be visited.

Excessive, extravagant, several dozens of feet high for each level and at least two storeys high - a rarity in Egypt - the architectural wonder that is the royal palace is a feast for the eyes. With columns of marble and malachite, of black onys and white alabaster. With mosaics of tile and glass in every shade and walls literally painting in molten gold, there is no building in the known would that has such wealth literally carved into its walls.

Flanked by stone statues of Osiris and Ra, the Grand Temple is a square building lined on all sides by round columns of stone. At it's centre is an open and uncovered square of mass proportions, surrounding the statues of all of the main Egyptian Gods standing with their backs together in a circle. Blessings and offerings are laid at the feet of each God and priests of the temple are charged with the accepting of such gifts and the throwing away of those that have become spoiled or wilted.

A temple built to provide worship and praise to the Egyptian god of the Underworld, the Temple of Osiris have a large temple which can be entered via a stone gateway, which will first lead to the outer structure which surrounds the main grounds. Upon entry, the first thing to greet people would be the looming golden statue of Osiris hidden by the shadows, surrounded by offerings of pottery models and black ashes. Behind the temple is a small building where live sacrifices are made to honor the god.

The worshippers of Set look more cultlike then anything. Setians believe that Set is the one real god, and has aided humanity by granting them intellect. As such, the temple of Set is built in such that allowed Setians to perform initiations for new members of the Order. Entry to the temple is guarded by the Priests and Priestesses, while the innermost sanctum is only accesible to the Maga/Magus and the Ipisissimus and Ipisissima of the Order. Much of the temple and religion is still shrouded and surrounded by mysteries otherwise unknown to regular members of the public.

The richer areas of Cairo with wider streets and larger buildings, there are several that are more than a single storey tall and many have towers and columns reminiscent of arabian design, popular some hundred years ago in the first building of Cairo.

The Hei to be most recently added to the level of nobility, the Abaddi home is fresh and new, built with the financial offering given by the Pharaoh along with their title. It is a large structure, two storeys high with a spire on each corner. The upper level is only half the size of the lower, offering a broad balcony level from which one can sit and view the pyramids of Giza.

The Haikaddad are one of the longest established noble Heis and moved their home from Thebes to Cairo when it was made the new capital fifty years ago. As such, their home holds all the signs of trappings and belongings that a family of this rank and age should display but is slowly showing small signs of disrepair...

The home of the Isazari house is one of great beauty. On only a single level in the shape of an L, the two wings of the manor create an open square space in which the Isazari are meticulous about keeping greenery and flowers, even in the hottest of months, displaying their wealth and power simply through their access to enough clean water to keep the plants alive. Within the manor are tapestries on every wall and rugs on every floor showing off the craftsmanship of the women in their patroned province of Mansa.

The northern square - or "central space" - is open to only the noble classes and has a large fountain for cool, clean water available for the servants of the Hei to collect from for the households of their masters. It is also a great communal area for the Lords and Ladies of the Heis to socialise and gossip.

Most merchants in Egypt sell their wares at the Grand Souk on the weekends but operate a private or personal shop or store during the weekdays. These stores are most often visited by the common folk of the city or by the servants of the Hei Houses.

The seedier end of the district comes alive as the sun sets, and prostitutes come out to entice customers or gain patrons. The dark is chased away by the bright lights, song and laughter that would come from these establishments that come alive at night. It would only die down as the sun rose again, and many could be seen wobbling away on unsteady legs - be it from excessive drinking or a night of not sleeping.

The lower class homes of Egypt were often built of that which was most accessible and easy to come by in order to fix repairs or continue building at later dates: mud. The mudbrick the homes were built from were often built via heavy wooden poles being drilled into the ground, woven reeds forming the walls between said poles and then a mixed of thick mud and straw was applied over the reeds to make the walls solid. Homes could be built in conical shapes or in square blocks (the domed top ones normally in the poorest areas as they were easier to make but provided less standing space. Home were never more than a single storey high and often had separate rooms for adults and children, as well as a living space between the two. The preparing of food would be done inside the home and the cooking of it outside over an open flame. Egyptians were skills potters and were more likely to hold all their goods within ceramic vases than they were boxes or crates. Wood was a rarer commodity than clay. There was often little need for fabrics or luxuries used for warmth but the stitching of mosquito netting was very required and most beds - even in the lower classes - would be covered with one.

The southern square - or "central place" - is open to the common people of Cairo and used, most often, as a space to hear the latest news from cries, witness executions or punishments or stage shows and talks. It is the open communal space of the people of the city.

A building of magnificient architectural achievement for the time, Cairo's bathhouses are praised, and any who visited would be those who wish to wallow in luxury. The bathhouses are separated by gender, and then further separated by hot and cold pools. Massages are provided for the men, and the whole bathhouse is guarded by a mohtaseb, who would supervise the guests. Shoemakers and lepers are banned from the pools to prevent contamination, and the mohtaseb's would oversee a twice-daily cleaning, which included scrubbing and fumigating with coal and frankincense.

Located in the heart of the bustling district of Cairo, the open air Grand Souk is a sprawling maze that spans throughout the mudbrick buildings of Cairo's marketplace. Gold and spices are sold side by side here, and it also functions as a networking area for many merchants and businessmen alike to meet. The Grand Souk is famed for having the highest quality products, be it food items or textiles, and are made by local artisans themselves. The smells and sights all prove to be a truly spectacular experience for visitors and tourists alike.

A long and thin stretch of port along the edge of the river Nile, the Port of Cairo is famed for its thirteen stretches of dock that reach out, half way to the opposite bank, allowing boats to dock either side of the wooden walkways. The Port leads directly the Grand Souk.

For all other roleplaying in the city of Cairo that has no specific location, post your thread here. If their are enough placed in one single location, then a new board may be created.

In testament to Ra's position as God of the Sun, this columned building is painted almost entirely in gold, with only key pieces being built from obsidian rock - a startling black against the light. The gold paint reflects the sun causing the temple to shine almost permanently.

Hathor's temple is as feminine as the God herself but holds all the might and power that her position as a deity should. Large, constructed from white marble and with intricate carvings over every inch of surface, the temple is a beautiful structure from which yards and yards of dyed gossamer hang in swaths; its columns, beneath its arches and looping from its ceiling creating an effervescent and softly pretty atmosphere over the power and strength of the marble.

While the necropolis at Giza holds the bones of the old kings and the burial lands of Zanibar hold those more recent, the Valley of the Kings holds those born and dead long before the pyramids of Giza were even built. A sacred place of hushed reverie and immense awe, the Valley of the Kings is forbidden from entry aside from the very Pharaoh and his entourage.

The richest of areas in Thebes, the Mabsoot district is strangely quiet and holds many manors that are empty. When Cairo became the new head of state fifty years prior, most rich merchants and the Hei families took their business and their homes to the north. Not wanting to give up prime estates in the original capital, however, these homes in Cairo were in addition to the ones they kept in Thebes, leading to Thebes' richer areas becoming only half inhabited...

One of the longest standing Hei family, Fakhouri remain in their home in Thebes due to its extravagance. One the ruling Hei, their Thebes manor was the royal palace at one time and the Fakhouri prefer to stay within the impressive walls of alabaster stone with their sigil banners drapped down their walls and every piece of furniture and decoration designed to impress upon the world that they once ruled Egypt, rather than move to a sub-par residence in Cairo in a position beneath the current crown.

The Hei of Sheifa is a hard-working one and determined to prove itself. Newest to the noble ranks after Abaddi, Sheifa is one of the richest Hei families, having established themselves as powerful and economic merchants before they ever went into the military in order to gain political standing. Still very focused on their economic ways, the Sheifa home is an eclectic amalgamation of designs and pieces from foreign lands they have traded with.

The Hei of Moghadam has one of the largest manors in Thebes. Built on a single level, the manor is massive in scale and situated, not in the Mabsoot District, but on the river, allowing for a private tributary dock to pull directly into their home. This allows for easy river travel to and from the capital.

The central square of Thebes is large and ornate with a spiralled mosaic across its floor. A statue of the current Pharaoh (recently installed) is located at its centre and four wells are plugged into the earth at equal points around it, creating a square - each corner a water source and its centre the king of kings.

Most merchants in Egypt sell their wares at the Grand Souk on the weekends but operate a private or personal shop or store during the weekdays. These stores are most often visited by the common folk of the city or by the servants of the Hei Houses.

Not enclosed like the houses of Cairo, the public bathhouses of Thebes are out in the open. Built around natural springs, the marble steps and pools are constructed outside with a canopy of embroidered fabric - sheer enough to let in sunlight but masking enough for the modesty of its high class patrons - forming the ceiling and walls. These mixed-gender bathhouses are strictly for the upper classes, while the lower classes bathe in the Nile.

All cities have their sinners - Thebes is no exception - and the, effective, red light district of Thebes is famous for its pretty girls and fine beers - not to mention a lot of merchants looking to gamble away some coin.

The lower class homes of Egypt were often built of that which was most accessible and easy to come by in order to fix repairs or continue building at later dates: mud. The mudbrick the homes were built from were often built via heavy wooden poles being drilled into the ground, woven reeds forming the walls between said poles and then a mixed of thick mud and straw was applied over the reeds to make the walls solid. Homes could be built in conical shapes or in square blocks (the domed top ones normally in the poorest areas as they were easier to make but provided less standing space. Home were never more than a single storey high and often had separate rooms for adults and children, as well as a living space between the two. The preparing of food would be done inside the home and the cooking of it outside over an open flame. Egyptians were skills potters and were more likely to hold all their goods within ceramic vases than they were boxes or crates. Wood was a rarer commodity than clay. There was often little need for fabrics or luxuries used for warmth but the stitching of mosquito netting was very required and most beds - even in the lower classes - would be covered with one.

The Souk of Thebes is set up in a larger space than the one in Cairo. Situated on the outskirts of the city, rather than in its centre, the market is massive in its size and grows or shrinks depending on the number of traders who are there each week. Twice a year, an even larger Souk is held in the same spot as travellers from the east, south, north - and sometimes west - all come to trade at Thebes, creating a sea of merchant stands and tents as far as the eye can see.

The city of Thebes has no walls. As such, it is hard to know precisely when the territory of the settlement ends and where the lands of the provinces around it begin. The Outer Plains are the open savannah like space between the two, often used for chariot racing or horse farming by the locals.

The Nile reaches into the city of Thebes like crawling fingers through the streets as man made tributaries and overflow areas have been constructed to allow boats further into the city in order to do business with traders or offer transport to the good people of Thebes.

For all other roleplaying in the city of Thebes that has no specific location, post your thread here. If their are enough placed in one single location, then a new board may be created.

The northern areas of the Nile have the river thinner with faster flowing water that rushed down and on to the Mediterranean. The fishing is better here as the water and its wildlife are constantly being disturbed but to fish in these areas would require a net rather than a pole for the creatures swim by fast in the current. Sailing is bumpier and docking your vessel most important during the rare rain of Egypt.

The Nile to the south of the country is much wider with calmer waters. Fishing is able to be completed here with a sharp tick used like a spear by an individual wading in the waters. The banks of the Nile are often encouraged into the fields, irrigating the crops that grow there. This is also the area of the Nine favoured by animals such as hippos and rhinos - where they are able to take time at the water's edge to drink and cool themselves.

A moderately high mountain a distance away from the capital, the mountain is one that is difficult to scale, and is believed to be a sacred site where the Gods would commune their wishes to their people. Few monks would inhabit or scale the sides of Mount Sinai in their wish to seek words of wisdom from the Gods, but otherwise the summit is something only observable, but is yet to be achieved by anyone as of yet.

The Red Sea is a tropical one and offers wildlife and coral that many are able to sell for a high price if able to be caught or fished from its waters. Unlike the Nike it is a saltwater inlet and splits most of Egypt from the lands to the East.

The mines in the very east of Egypt - on the opposite side of the Red Sea are the furthest point that the kingdom reaches to in that direction but is also highly significant and important to the mason requirements of the kingdom's major cities.

Spreading out to the South are the savannahs and open lands of lower Africa, an area beyond the map of Aeipathy.

Named such for its beautiful, sparkling buildings - constructed from granite and painted purest white - Ammun is a city of travellers and traders. On the eastern border of the kingdom and with strong connections to Asia and the Middle East, Ammun is home to some of the richest merchants and families and widely recognised as the place to go when looking for a particularly exotic or hard to come by item. Landlocked as a province, there is no sea trade or fair so fish is seen as a rare delicacy in Ammun and the richer families have it imported in from Moab. However the hot weather further east means that citrus fruits grow aplenty around the city and dried, sweet treats are popularly sold on street corners along with roasted nuts. The people of Ammun are skill hagglers and know the value of anything and everything. They enjoy money and are careful to make sure the profits they gain in trade are high enough to make them pleased but not so high that they feel they are swindling others and going against the honest and modest Judean way of life.

Damascus is on the bordered edge of Assyria and the hottest of the Judean city provinces. Settled in the natural curve of a mountainous region, the western face of the city looks out across miles of flat savannah between the walls of Damascus and the borders of Israel. Such open space is known as the land of judgement - there is nowhere to hide from your sins or yourself. Many in Damascus are uncertain of foreigners - even Judeans from other cities - and are a private people who live recluse lives, interrupted only by the regular camel trains that arrive with goods on their trade journey once every two weeks. The people of Damascus, while private, are not ignorant, and they spend great portions of their lives reading and engrossed in scholarly pursuit. There is a large library and university in Damascus that many travel far to visit, with tomes in as many languages as there are tongues to speak them (so they say).

Israel is a city province on the coast of the Aegean Sea and as such is one of the coolest and most temperate of the regions in Judea, but also one of the most humid. It enjoys excessive trade and a busy economy, trading with both men of the north-western islands in Greece and with the travellers to the east. Israel is one of the largest city provinces and therefore has the largest population which encourages still further commerce and innovation. It is a city of design and progress with machines and inventions being built in the back room of many a creative man's abode. The city is also home to a large number of Greeks. While the division between the two races of man is strong and prejudices rife, there is no violence from the Greek militia's station in the province of Israel for they are not there to conquer nor have they been placed there to keep the Judean's in check. They have no authority and do not rule. They are accepted as "guests of Judea" through the money Taengea pays directly to the Israel leaders and are there solely to be easily mobilised into Egypt should war appear prevalent once more. The Greeks have no assimilated and often wear their armour or traditional clothing which makes them easy to spot on the streets of Israel.

Built on sacred land, Jerusalem offers one of the largest populations in Judea. With so many wishing to live within the city's holy boundaries, a wall has been constructed within the last forty years, defining the border of the city and province and disallowing the construction of homes outside of it. As such, the city is a place many are desperate to live, and yet unable to find a vacant home. Several areas at the very edges of the walls have turned into shantytowns as wooden properties are built in the gaps of the stone ones, offering new residences for the desperate. Jerusalem is incredibly pious and has more temples and sanctuaries than any other area of Judea. It holds festivals and rituals upon every sacred day of the calendar and has an order of the pious whom seek to help the lives of others however they can, living in poverty and offering all they have for the benefit of others. Many are seen walking the streets of Jerusalem, aiding the homeless or the hungry.

The capital of the kingdom, Judah is the largest city in all of Judea. With no boundaries or walls, the city just keeps growing and is built on one of the few raised pieces of land in the area, making the city appear conical and raised at its centre where a giant cross is affixed atop the highest central spire of the main temple. The city is large and dense in population, but it does not have the bustling feel of Israel nor the calm, monastic seclusion of Damascus or Jerusalem. Instead, it operates as a kind of middle ground, a calm and peaceful place that busies itself along in its own time. Here is where the main chamber of Council Elders congregate once a month for their leadership meetings and where many major festivals are held for the people.

Build on a small cape protruding in the Dead Sea, Moab is a city of two sections. The centre of the city is stone, built on the land and enclosed in a wall that sits on the very edge of the cape on all sides, with large open archways at regular points in its circumference. These points open onto wooden steps leading down to the rest of the city built in wood and across stilted platforms out into the Dead Sea. Beginning as docks to capitulate on the traders that moved between Judah, Israel and Ammun on the waters, the docklands spread and grew to include merchant huts for selling their own goods to the travellers. Then the homes of the merchants are constructed. Then another walkway for another dock to capitalise on still more trade. And so on it went until nearly three-quarters of the city of Moab is built upon the water - only the highest and richest born of families residing inside the stone walls of The Island.

If you're out at sea or do not have a particular kingdom that you can attribute a thread, post it here! For all foreign land-based threads, you want the Lands Afar board...

If you're roleplaying anything else, outside of the realms we currently have available, post it here. Make sure to identify the date and place of your thread at the bottom of your opening post.

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