This softcover sketchbook features a representation of the hieroglyphic alphabet. There are 20 blank pages inside with a printed design on the front and informational section on the back. The sketchbook is unlined, and staple bound. Printed by our artisans in Cairo, Egypt and designed specifically for our store. It is about 5.5 inches wide by 8.25 inches tall. The hieroglyphic language was one of the world's first written languages, dating back to 4,000 years ago. A complex system consisting of more than 2,000 symbols, it could be read from left to right or top to bottom. Hieroglyphs represented sounds and things, or even complete ideas. A single hieroglyph could be used for all three, depending on how or where it was used in a 'sentence'. The symbols on this chart are phonetic and they stand for sounds very similar to the corresponding letter of the English language. Magic spells were carved in hieroglyphs on stone walls and ceilings of Egyptian temples and tombs.