Our Egyptian Adventure: 7-20 April 2004

Our friend, Ahmed Zaki, from Seattle days, picked us up at Cairo airport to begin our Egyptian adventure. Before we headed south to visit temples and tombs of the ancient pharaohs, he escorted us to visit parts of Old Cairo and to see the famous Pyramids and Sphinx in nearby Giza.

Giza is just across the Nile River, west of Cairo city proper. There three Pyramids, two over 400 feet high; the other about 200 feet, stand proud and tall in the desert. These are old and huge! The first one was started in 2467 B.C. by Pharoah Khufu, and is large enough to put Rome’s St Peter’s Basilica inside. Between 20-30,000 workers took 23 years to build this phenomenal triangular shape. There is a lot of myth and magic about the positioning and design of these, as well as schools of thought as to exactly how they were constructed. The second Pyramid, built by the son, Khafre, looks taller, but just built on higher ground to make a statement. Inside these pyramids were the burial chamber, plus all kinds of passageways and sometimes false doors. In 1837, the third Pyramid was opened and the pharaoh’s sarcophagus found, which was alas, lost at sea on its trip to England. Standing guard over the three Pyramids was the quiet and serious Sphinx, with its lion’s body and human head—a symbolic image of the pharoahs.

This true Wonder of the World was very crowded on Easter Friday. Policemen on foot, as well as on camels, kept a close eye on things. Buses, minivans and cars were joined by horse carts (in which we arrived), jockeying for space with people on foot, all exploring the scene. Occasionally sand would swirl up and around to make mini dust storms and add more interest.

It was here at Giza that I met my first Egyptian camel. The policeman riding him insisted I touch him and have my photo taken. I asked the camel’s name—Antonio. A week later while checking out the Saqqara Pyramids about thirty miles further south, I met another camel close up and personal. His name, the same. It seems all camels in Egypt are named after Marc Anthony, Cleopatra’s famous lover.

We flew to Aswan the next day to find the Nile Legend, our river boat home for a three day trip to Luxor. The boat stopped briefly the first night at Kom Ombo, the dual temple of Sobek (local crocodile god) and Horus (falcon-sky god). Many carved reliefs of both gods on huge columns, plus an ancient calendar depicting times of harvest and flood, and thee mummified crocs on display, were all effectively highlighted by night lights.

The boat had logistical problems at the Locks before Luxor, so our English speaking group managed to leave on a tour bus for Karnak and Luxor, joining an existing police convoy. Convoys are set up to move between Luxor and Aswan and Abu Simbel only at certain times of the day. Each has at least one police vehicle with a half dozen people in it at the head of line and same at the end. Other than the bus arranged by the boat, we had three experiences with convoys—our return ride to Aswan from Luxor, and our overland trip to Abu Simbel from Aswan and back. All of this is due to the aftermath of a 1997 massacre of tourists at the Temple of Hatshepsut near Luxor. Egypt cannot survive without tourism and the police have an important part to play.

Karnak Temple, seen first by day and later with sound and light show, took you back in time to the Middle Kingdom (2000 B.C.—after the Giza pharoahs). A sphinx-lined path leads you into the Great Court, and from there, the Great Hypostyle Hall to marvel at the statues and obelisks. It is truly an overwhelming monument to the Gods and Pharaohs. The night light show finishes with everyone seated by a lake facing west across the Nile to Thebes and the Valley of the Kings where many tombs are located.

Luxor Temple, originally started by Amenhotep III (1387 B.C.) and added to by others including Alexander the Great and the Romans, presented more splendor. Sphinxes line the mile walkway between Karnak and Luxor Temples. Inside Luxor Temple are many huge marble statues of Ramesses II. The guide explained that if Ramesses has his left foot in front of his right one, he is making his journey to the next life. There is a 13th century mosque and a later era chapel inside the Temple courtyard of 81 columns. Tall and fat columns we saw everywhere made the Greek and Roman columns we had seen to date look petite.

The Temple of Hathor at Dendara gave a new meaning to the word, “deface,” as many statues had damaged faces. Subsequent pharaohs and Christians are blamed for the defacing. But, looking up we could see spectacular undamaged ceilings with bright colors still today. After a climb to the roof for a view, we descended carefully down a dark circular staircase into a birthing chamber, featuring the story of Isis and Osiris on the wall.

We had started to identify some of the numerous Gods by listening to our guides. For instance, the God of Mummification is depicted with a dog’s head. Hathor, the Goddess of Life, is always pictured with some characteristics of a cow—body, ears, horns. Horus, the falcon/Sky God, is at times just symbolized by a large bird’s eye. Other symbols included the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, papyrus and lotus tops to the columns, and the art style featuring movement by having lower body facing sideways and upper body facing forward. With that in mind it seemed odd to see only one breast. The guide said it meant, “profile.”

Outside Luxor we visited seven tombs at the Valley of the Kings, three at the Valley of the Queens, and Queen Hatshepsut’s place up against the mountain side. These tombs were begun by each pharaoh when he took the throne and sealed after his death. Only he was buried there. Many have been robbed of their treasures over the years. Each tomb had long entrance halls, some with side chambers, and the inner sanctuary with the sarcophagus as the center of attention. The walls contained many beautiful carved and stunning colorful painted scenes.

In the Valley of the Artisans and Valley of the Nobles, the art focus tended to be on scenes of everyday life. We saw men hunting using boomerangs to capture flying birds, others fishing from small boats, people growing grain, harvesting it, cultivating grapes, making music and dance, as well as the mummification and funeral processions.

Everything just stood out with vivid bright colors. Of great interest as well was the tomb guide in his flowing robe and turbaned head lighting the tomb by using a mirror to reflect sunlight into the cave recesses.

Back in Aswan we took a small boat out on the lake to visit Philae Temple. It had been rescued from a watery death through the UNESCO project to save many Nubian monuments after damning the Nile. Today tourists go out and spend at least an hour wandering around this place where Isis was actively worshipped for almost 1,000 years.

The excellent Nubian Museum in Aswan had an extensive exhibit of tools, jewelry and pottery from prehistory and many statues, with a colossal statue of Ramesses II as a central focus. Local village life scenes, using very real looking people in native dress, gave you the feeling of being right there. It seemed as if the people would step toward you and speak at any time. There were houses with Nubian decorations on the outside, a stuffed patient-looking donkey ready to push a grinding wheel, children studying with a teacher, and women inside a hut grooming hair, as samples of daily activity.

The wind picked up that afternoon—a great time to take a felucca-a small Nile sailing vessel- ride. We bargained for an hour’s ride, then piled into the boat to watch Mohamed Abdou and his partner tack us back and forth using the wind and current to the best advantage while avoiding other feluccas, also only powered by sail and skill. Very interesting.

On our last day at Aswan, we took the 3 hour drive through the desert down towards Sudan to visit Abu Simbel, originally discovered in 1813, almost covered by sand. Later Nassar lake, formed by the High Dam, covered the Great Temple of Ramesses II and Small Temple of Hathor and Nefertari by almost 200 feet of water. It took four years to rescue them and reassemble them on an artificial hill above the original location.

At Ramesses Temple entrance are four 60 foot seated statues of Ramesses. Smaller statues (no higher than his knees show the Queen Mother, Nefertari, and the royal children). Inside are more colossal statues and many warrior scenes along the walls. The guide pointed out that one scene showed a man whose left arm had been cut off. It seems according to the story that he had stayed behind to protect the women while the men went to war. He impregnated many and is depicted with a large obvious erection as well as a missing arm, punishment meted out. But was the wrong appendage severed? The Small Temple of Hathor and Nefertari stands 300 feet away from the larger one, and features six thirty foot tall statues of Ramesses and Nefertari, equal in size. Normally the Queen was depicted in size only to the Pharaoh’s knees. Nefertari was unique. Many scenes inside the temple showed offerings to Hathor by Ramesses and Nefertari.

Back in Cairo, the Egyptian Museum visit climaxed our ten day stay in Egypt. There our guide highlighted items found in KingTut’s tomb, which took most of the second floor. We also saw more images of Queen Hatshepsut, the most gorgeous sphinx I have even seen, the rosetta stone, and more.

To stand in such historical settings and let your mind imagine what it could have been like is awesome. The stories presented, chipped into or painted onto walls, in temples or tombs, offers insight into life as far back as 3100 B.C. when Menes, unified Upper and Lower Egypt for the first time.

Standing in the Egypt of today, I had several lasting impressions. First, traffic intrigued me. Drivers practiced the “blow and go” technique while driving fast, zipping in and out of what seemed like un-doable spaces, making four lanes out of three, all the while avoiding strings of pedestrians who dared cross the highway one lane at a time, holding up momentarily to gauge their next step, but not deterred in their mission. It seemed like a strange ballet. Oh, donkeys pulling carts with people, vegetables or even propane bottles, plodded along amongst everything else, seeming non-plussed by their position in the whole scene. There weren’t too many women drivers. I asked our taxi driver about them. He lifted both hands off the steering wheel and covered his eyes to demonstrate how scared they appeared. In doing that, they in turn scared him.

My expectation of dark eyes and dark hair was shattered. Hair did not vary, but boy the eyes sure did. They ranged from very dark black to a fascinating smoke blue. Men with blue eyes looked especially intriguing. Many men wore long flowing white caftans and head gear as well. Women dressed in head scarves, wrapped so tightly around their faces they showed no hair at all. It made their faces really stand out. Most wore long skirts. Arabic language written is a mystery; spoken is too loud, and non-verbally, threatening. When they get upset, the volume intensifies. That goes for both men and women as witnessed in the airport on our way out of Cairo.

Baksheesh, what we call tips, is a way of life in the Egyptian culture. Everyone wants a tip, including little children who follow you down the street, chanting, “Hello, Baksheesk,” A typical baksheesh was only about one Egyptian pound, fifteen American cents. It was hard to keep small change in your pocket for all these expectations.

Ahmed’s invitation to visit him in his country finally came to pass, 28 years later.