Egypt, July 30th- August 3rd, 2009
I have humbly procrastinated from writing this e-mail because my experiences in Egypt are ineffable. To attempt to put them into words will never do justice. The sites my eyes saw and the emotions my heart felt changed my life in a way I haven’t yet fully comprehended. I will however tell you what I saw and where I went, hoping that when I return home some of the pictures are able to reinstate the beauty I attempt to write. As well as to encourage each one of you to see for yourself the majestic history and beauty of both ancient and modern Egypt.
The MV Explored pulled into the port of Alexandria early morning on July 30th, I woke up early to prepare for my first Semester at Sea overnight trip. We disembarked the ship and immediately headed to the buses. I walked with my friend onto bus #10, and couldn’t have ever imagined how thankful I would be for choosing that bus. The bus pulled away from Alexandria and set off the 2-½ hour ride to Cairo. Our tour guide was named Mohamed, who is an extremely well educated, outgoing and fun individual who made our trip what it was, amazing! Mohamed gave us our group name of Isis- the goddess of love. We arrived in Cairo and I was frustrated because Mohamed chose to pick on me the entire time and every time I accidentally fell asleep while he was talking he woke me up by calling my name over the microphone. Once the bus pulled into Cairo and the pyramids were in site the cameras started flashing. We stopped at Hotel Meridian Pyramids, built in a direct view of the pyramids. After lunch we headed to tour, we pulled into the sandy desert horizon of the pyramids and stepped into the beaming sunrays (107 degrees). It was an instant swarm of locals aggressively selling their products, I have to say that it ruined the moment a bit, but I learned the more you fight against Egypt the more you hate it, you have to accept it for what it is and you will love it. We walked around the Great Pyramid, and the Second Pyramid, took tourist pictures.
I had to admit it is easy to get caught up in the whole tourist mess, to just take pictures without taking in what you are actually standing in front of. It wasn’t until I walked away from the group and squinted into the sun to stare up into the magnificent the structures built 3,000 years prior. It is an easy way to feel very small very fast. We loaded the bus again, and headed toward the Third and smallest pyramid. This is where we were able to ride camels through the sands of the Sahara with the Pyramids in the background. Following the visit to the Pyramids came the famous structure of the Sphinx.
The Sphinx is a coined term given by a Greek who visited the area, which means “bound”. The Sphinx has a body of a lion signifying power and strength and the head of a human signifying wisdom. The Sphinx lays towards the East, protecting the 3 tombs in the horizon behind. The Egyptians built such magnificent structures and honored the dead thoroughly because they believed the body was going to be used in the afterlife (hence the mummification process). The body is left with the heart (every other organ taken out immediately after death) and left for 70 days to mummify. The tombs are protected by statues and (originally) adorned with gold and precious jewels. The pyramids started being built the moment the king was crowned, built by 100,000 slaves, each stone weighing over a ton. The stone, which the Sphinx was carved, was from a stone that was tested for the pyramids but was not credible to be durable enough to withstand time. The Sphinx has withstood time, standing to stare into the horizon to watch civilizations rise and fall, great men (such as Napoleon) visit, Kings rest in the coolness of its shade, and now watched as I, like so many other tourists, come to snap a photo of admiration.
We finally got a break from the heat of the day as we headed to our hotel. An incredible five star hotel named “Conrad”. It was truly a beautiful hotel, which I hope to return to! We had dinner and headed to a “Light and Sound” show at the Pyramids. Underneath the night stars, beams of light were cased on the pyramids to tell the story of ancient Egypt and the incredible phenomenon and mathematical logic that presents itself in the pyramids. After the show, we headed back to the hotel to get 3 hours of sleep before out 3:30 wake up call to head to Luxor.
It was painful to wake up before the sun, but with sheer excitement we boarded the bus and headed to the airport. An hour flight later we were in Luxor, home of the Valley of the Kings, Temple of Hatshespsut, and the Karnak and Luxor Temple.
We arrived at 8am, immediately got on another bus and headed to Valley of the Kings. The lavish graves of the Valley of the Kings were switched to underground tombs so they would not be able to be targeted for robbers. There were no cameras or video cameras allowed. The sun’s heat was 115 degrees strong at 10am. We walked through the valley where in 1922 an English explorer named Howard Carter after 8 years of looking, discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen. This was the only untouched tomb ever discovered, when he entered the tomb he came upon the mummy and touched the flowers on the case and they instantly fell to dust. They had not been touched in 3,500 years. I visited tombs 3 tombs (not Tutankhamen’s because it was extra money and all the treasures were in the museum), and was amazed at how they were carved into the mountain and painted with beautiful colors. The heat welcomed an ungodly amount of sweat and dared the desire to complain. Others in the group wined, and I angrily opposed by reminding others how lucky we were to be standing on the ground that we were. I couldn’t believe or imagine how these tombs were designed and created, and still awaited discovery for 3,500 years. Like I said earlier, words can’t describe how truly incredible these sites really are.
From the Valley of the Kings, we took a short bus ride to the Temple of Queen Hatshespsut.
She was an ancient Egyptian Queen who ruled from 1473-1758 BC. Ancient Egyptian royalty passed through the female line, and sisters were required to marry brothers to keep royalty within the family. Women had the capability to become incredibly powerful. Queen Hatshepsut was a significant and very powerful ruler. She would not give the thrown up after her husband died and attempted to fit in by wearing a kilt, crown and false beard. Her temple is carved into a mountain with towering cliffs protecting the temple. We walked up the stairway to the temple, took pictures and headed back down to continuing our day of touring adventures. Following the Temple of Queen Hatshespsut we stopped for a quick view of the Colossi of Memnon, a statue of the pharaoh who ruled during the exodus from Egypt, let by Moses. A much-needed break from touring for hours was given with a nice lunch at hotel Nile Palace (our new hotel). The group loaded the busses after the break and headed to visit the Temple of Karnak and Luxor. To be completely honest, I had no idea what these were before I visited them. I would victoriously fail at properly describing these sites. With my insufficient words I will tell you that standing in the Karnak Temple, between the 132 perfectly and symmetrically created columns after walking through the valley of the Sphinx makes one feel extraordinarily little. The ruins stood strong after 4,000 years, with the original paint vibrantly illuminating the columns. Hieroglyphics carved into each column and wall, the detail is impeccable. Our tour guide explained each hieroglyphic, we were then able to walk around and attempt to interpret the ancient language written on the walls. I saw the name of the king repeated on each column, paintings of death, coronation of the King, walking into the eternal life, gods and goddesses, the images flash in my mind as I try to write it and it invites a respectful recognition of the mystery I can’t attempt to understand in this culture. For lack of a better word, it was magnificent. After the Temple of Karnak, we went to the Temple of Luxor. This is the only site where there are three religious united in places to worship. There is the temple, used in ancient Egypt for the polytheistic practices which then turned into a Catholic sanctuary as well as a currently used Muslim mosque. The call to prayer was called on the loudspeakers of the mosque as we stood on the grounds of the temple. Each of these temples was built by the Nile, which is known to be a metaphor for the crossing into the afterlife. If you cross the to the West side of the Nile, you are crossing into the eternal land. An interesting fact about the statues created in ancient Egypt of Kings, was if they are standing with both legs together, they were still alive when the statue was made. If the left foot is taking a step forward, it means they have died and they are taking a step into eternity, crossing the Nile.
Our long day of touring finally ended and we headed back to the hotel for dinner. Some of the members of our group including myself visited a papyrus factory. Papyrus was the very first form of paper; I witnessed a demonstration of how the ancient Egyptians made paper out of the papyrus plant. There were incredible portraits painted on this paper, which I purchased, they are beautiful! Exhausted and in desperate need of a shower, we headed back to the hotel for the overnight stay.
The first day of August began with a 6:30am wake up call. Breakfast followed by departure to the airport for a 9:15am flight to Aswan. Once we arrived in Aswan, we went to visit the Nile dam. Egypt prospered in the ancient days due to the dependence on the Nile’s waters, which flooded each year. This flood was beneficial to growing crops and bringing water to quench the thirst of the desert sands. The flood became a problem in modern days after the development of aqueducts to bring irrigation. Leading to the building of a dam, which has created the largest man-made body of water in the world (the size of Switzerland!). We visited the dam, is a strict military area, for a few minutes to take pictures and see the incredible invention.
Following the visit to the dam, we took a boat to an island where the Philae Temple. Which was relocated to in order to avoid the yearly Nile flooding. It took 8 years to relocate the temple, 2/3’s of it was under water for two years. Still, it was in incredible condition, paint still intact. This was a different temple, not one for worship or a tomb, but was a medical temple. People form all over came to receive medical help; this was easily distinguished because there were thousands of scratches in the sides of the temple. Mohammed our tour guide explained the treatment for their medical problems came form scratching out the temple wall, mixing the sand from the temple with water and drinking it. From the Temple, we went to check into our hotel, an absolutely amazing place, built on an Island in the middle of the Nile. The only way to get to the hotel and leave was by boat. The hotel had two pools and breathtaking views of the Nile and the Sahara desert. We ate lunch and explored the hotel for a bit before taking a Felucca ride on the Nile. The Felucca is an ancient sailboat, manned by Nubians- or darker skinned Egyptians. The Felucca ride provided peaceful views of the Nile and the surrounding villages, we sang and danced with the Nubian’s, so much fun! Following the Felucca ride, we toured the city by horse-drawn carriage. This is seemingly romantic, however the entire time my friend Paul and I were horrified at the beating of the skin and bones horse. I would not have participated in encouraging these actions if I would have had the choice. Before beginning the carriage ride, one of the local men had a seizure right in front of us! The carriage ride provided an unforgettable view of the city of Aswan, we walked by very impoverished communities, shop owners, men playing games and women peeing through the eye slips of burquas.
The carriage dropped us at the bazaar, local shopping and constant bargaining. What an experience! After a few hours at the bazaar, we headed back to the hotel rested for the next day.
August 2nd, 7am wake-up call, immediately followed by a bus ride to the airport to board a plane to Abu Simbel. A 45-minute plane ride later, we went to visit Abu Simbel Temple. The image of this temple (four statues carved into a mountain) is extraordinarily famous; I naively didn’t know where they were before this visit. We spent two hours walking around the Abu Simbel Temple. My time there changed my life in ways to which I cannot yet identify. The aspects of this temple were sensational, there are too many to list, but I will describe the most astonishing one. This temple was built for Ramsey’s II while he was still alive, it was completed after his death but the architect designed the structure of this temple to such an intricate depth that scientists and architects today still cannot figure out how he did it. The temple is carved into a mountain, but the mathematical calculations were so precise that on February 22nd and October 22nd, (the birthday and coronation of the king) the sun shines in on the 3 of 4 statues in the temple. The face which the sun does not light, is only inches away from the others but was intentionally designed not to receive light because it is a statue of the god of darkness, which shall remain in the dark. The 3 statues originally remained lit by the suns light for 46 minutes. The temple had to be raised (long story!) to avoid flooding, and now on February 21st, and October 21st, the faces light up for 28 minutes. Thousands of tourists gather to watch the projected images on the mountainside. The planning and execution of this phenomenon is unfathomable to me, I remain baffled at this glorious temple. Abu Simbel was my favorite temple of Egypt. After the visit to the temple, we boarded the plane and headed back to Aswan.
We ate dinner and a few of us headed to a local Nubian village. The visit was easily my favorite memory in Egypt. We took a small boat to the other side of the Nile shore and walked through dusty pathways and impoverished houses. The village is 100% Muslim, and the government provides one school and mosque for each village. The Nubian people are known for their generosity and hospitality. We were greeted by the locals opened their hands to ask for money. There was an enormous difference in the children I was with last summer in Malawi to these children. I’m not sure if it was because they were of different religious beliefs or a different part of Africa, but not one child ran to us to play, they only asked for money. We visited a specific woman who welcomed us into her house. It is communal type living; each member of the family lives in a house, which is dominantly outside. We sat in their living room, which was in the open part of the rectangle of their house. She made us tea and showed us her house. An interesting Nubian tradition is for each family to raise crocodiles! As we toured her house, we looked at the bathroom and in the bathtub was a baby crocodile! It was absolutely crazy, and scary! We spent time at her house, drinking tea, buying necklaces, and getting henna tattoos (a local tradition) we watched the sun set over the broken roofs and heard the call to prayer.
We returned back to the hotel for the last night, ate dinner and a few of us played cards and talked all night long! There are memories, adventures and laughter that will resonate in my mind of Egypt that will never be replaced. Since we never slept, we ate breakfast and rode the boat the last time from the hotel to the city of Aswan, I hope to return one day. We flew into Cairo and visited the Archeological Museum, which housed all of the treasures of King Tutankhamen’s tomb, and countless other impeccable artifacts, including the very first painting, wood carvings over 4,300 years old and so much more! Ironically, the museum was in terrible condition, it was hot and disorganized with hand-written descriptions of each artifact. There is a new museum being built near the pyramids, which will open in 2011! After the museum we ate lunch and spent the last 3 hours in Egypt on a bus back to Alexandria. It was extremely hard for me to say good-bye to Egypt; our tour guide became a big part of each one of our days and generously spread his knowledge to invite us to explore ancient Egyptian history. With tired eyes, I fell asleep back aboard the MV Explorer and dreamt of the mysteries of Egypt, which I will forever love.
Thank you for taking the time to read this if you has gotten to the end! I know the details probably don’t mean that much, but I hope that in writing for myself you all get something out of it. Thank you for everything! I anxiously wait to show you the pictures from this ineffable experience!
All my love,
Laura
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