Pyramids and more

Friday, October 1

Sadly this is our last day of the tour, but Abdu promised us a good one, and he was right. We were the first bus to arrive at Memphis as the site opened, so that we were able to have a good look at the fallen statue of Ramses II. He has been covered, where he was found. with a viewing structure, to protect him from the elements and the ravages of the tourist hoards.

Although Memphis was one of the capitals of Ancient Egypt, to the casual tourist there is not much evidence of the early civilization - just a few statues, including a lovely alabaster sphinx, some abandonded sarcophogi and the line up of merchants stalls. For the record this was the only place I encountered a dirty washroom. The journey here through the outskirts of Cairo was suddenly very rural with fields and farmland and donkey carts. The road ran beside a canal that was thick with garbage, floating debris and people going about their daily commute.

From Memphis we headed directly to the necropolis of Saqqara where the famous stepped pyramid is located. This pyramid is purported to be the very first pyramid. Accredited to Imhotep and built for the Pharoah Djoser this was an era of breakthrough in architecture and building techniques.

There is much more to this area than the pyramid, but time, on a tour like this, takes its toll and we really only have time for a cursory look and a quick history lesson from Abdu. The enclosure limestone wall, with 40 columns and many false doorways, provides an impressive entrance to the complex. Peter would be able to express better the structural achievements of these times. I would love to have more time to appreciate and explore this area, rich with mastabas, chapels and temples.

Back on the bus and on to Giza. I don't think it matters how many pictures you have seen of the Great Pyramid. Up close, when you come face to face with it for the first time, all of the grand words make sense. It is immense in size and dazzling in its creation. We are suitably at a loss for words, and gaze at the huge blocks that climb upwards to the peak. You can go inside, but we have tickets to the second pyramid so we clamber up a few tiers of rocks, as far as we are allowed just to say we've been there.

The plateau is vast, so we take the bus to the next level which is busy with camels, horses, carts and merchants' stalls. No end of options are offered by the industrious locals for the pleasure of tourists! The line up of tour buses is comical.

We have two goals, to go inside the pyramid of Khafre and to see the reconstructed solar barque. There are no cameras inside the pyramids. But there is nothing really to record except memories. The entry to the second pyramid is steep and very low. You have to double up like a pretzel and creep your way down the narrow passage. There is a brief respite where you can straighten up and then, back down in a crouch again. Enroute you can peer into a mysterious unfinished chamber and see evidence of another passageway. The large granite sarcophagus is the only thing to see in the high vaulted burial chamber - except for the graffiti left by Belzoni in 1818 when he discovered the entrance. We stand for a moment out of respect but the original inhabitant is long gone.

In 1954 there was an incredible discovery in a pit beside the Pyramid of Khufu (great pyramid.) It was a dismantled boat, intended for the use of the pharoah as he made his journey through the underworld. It took 14 years of painstaking reconstruction to re-assemble the boat, in the way it was intended, using hemp to hold it together. A special museum has been built beside the pyramid, near to where it was discovered. The boat demonstrates the incredible craftsmanship, ingenuity and skill of the Ancient Egyptians. I am a great admirer.

And the final item on our agenda is a visit and quick salute to the mighty Sphinx. We are all very hot, tired and dusty. The wind has been blowing desert sand into our eyes and mouths. Even the tourists learn to adopt the traditional head scarf to advantage. And so back to the hotel and fond farewells to our travelling companions. It has been a great journey, an excellent adventure with good companions and a terrific guide.

Cairo street scenes

Thursday, September 3o
Today we said goodbye to the ship and its crew and took the flight from Luxor back to Cairo. Although its not a long flight, the day seemed tedious with waiting, transfers and travelling. The domestic arrivals area in Cairo airport is a mess with renovations. We would all have appreciated an earlier flight so that we could have had more time to explore the crazy city of Cairo. It is a bit intimidating and needs a bit of guidance before setting out aimlessly. We had the same excellent bus driver in Cairo that we'd had before, so we negotiated the traffic safely back to the deluxe comfort of the Marriot Hotel.

One of the things I would have loved to do was visit Old Cairo which is the ancient Coptic area. But there was no time for that. Instead Peter and I joined forces with new friends Kathy and Bennett and took a taxi to the 600 year old souk Khan el Khalili. This is one of the oldest markets in the world. Our experience here was a great adventure, and definitely a highlight of trip.

When we alighted from the taxi, we were almost immediately greeted by a local who wanted only to practice his English - or so he said. Mohammed was a persuasive talker and an affable guide who said he was studying to be a lawyer and worked at the local mosque. We all knew that this was likely just a story for the gullible tourists, but we decided to go along with him. He quickly led us into the heart of the market, helping us to avoid being run over by the fast moving pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Tray loads of bread the size of a door, floated by held aloft by guys riding bikes and cars occasionally threaded there way along passageways, just wide enough for them to squeeze by. We moved deeper and deeper into the interior, along ever smaller laneways. Mohammed walked at a brisk pace and didn't leave much time for idle browsing. After a while we noticed that we were the only tourists afoot. The merchants watched us curiously as we trotted by. I didn't take out my camera, much as I wanted a record of our journey. It just didn't seem right. We stopped at a spice shop but moved on once we said that we couldn't take spices back home. We declined to visit a papyrus shop and a visit to the top of a minaret in the mosque and eventually after more twists and turns, now through darkened lane ways, arrived at Mohammed's grandfather and nephews' shop, where they made inlaid boxes. The four us joined forces as to choose and bargain. Our negotiations were fairly firm and there was a lengthy period of haggling. I am not sure if the price was any deal or not, but we moved on from there with three lovely boxes between us.

More twists and turns, passing all kinds of colourful and exotic wares; sensory overload of colour, sound and smells. It was about an hour and half before we emerged and found ourselves across the street from the more touristed part of the market. Mohammed gave us directions to the restaurant where we wanted to go, and after extracting a good tip, he look his leave. It was well worth the small change to have the unexpected tour of a part of the bazaar where we would probably not have ventured on our own. On this side of the market, it was busier, with more familiar souvenirs for sale, tourists browsing and merchants calling from their stalls. As we entered the restaurant Naguib Mahfouz, we threaded our way through a room of hookah smoking patrons to the more formal part of the five star restaurant. Fortunately, 5 star prices in Egypt aren't what you would pay in some other places. We had an excellent authentic Egyptian meal, negotiated a fare from a taxi driver and ended the day with one more trip through the wild traffic of Cairo.

Food & Fun

Preparing to leave our good ship MS Miriam enroute for Cairo, I want to add a word about food and our fun companions. We have been blessed with a wonderful group of travelling companions and an excellent guide. Our table mates, a group of travelling Hawaians made every mealtime a delight.

And then there was the food. Each meal was a sumptuous buffet in which we indulged heartily. Although some people were longing for a plain old tuna sandwich by the end of the trip - the Egyptian version of International cuisine suited my palate admirably. There was always a generous dessert spread. On the night of the galabea party, the food was authentic Egyptian style. The wait staff were all very friendly but we all became particularly fond of "omelette man." I feel bad that we named him that without getting to know his real name. As the name implies, he made delicious omelettes at breakfast each day and also wonderful crepes with mango sauce. He had a fondness for Canadians and wore a Canadian pin. I gave him a tiny Canadian flag pin which he added proudly to his uniform. He greeted us daily with a cheerful "Canada Dry?" To which Peter liked to respond "But Egypt drier."

The Nile: Highway of the Pharoahs

Wednesday September 29

The Nile is the best way to travel in comfort and style while touring the ancient sites of Egypt. The pharoahs used this route and still today it is a busy highway for tour boats and local craft. Today we sailed most of the day and enjoyed the relaxation as we watched the intriguing sights of modern day life on the river. There are always fishermen in pairs in their boats, either with nets or poles. Sometimes they fish with poles or they they cast nets and slap the water to make the fish rise. Animals come to the water to cool off and drink and families play on the banks. The village houses crowd the banks at times. There are miles of farm land and long stretches where the dusty desert encroaches. I always keep my eye open for signs of tombs cut into the hills that are sometimes quite close to the shore.

In the morning the Mashi Mashi group gathered in the lounge for a discussion led by Abdu, about modern Egypt. We learned about day to day life, family traditions religion, health care, education and a whole lot more. After the talk, we were taken on a tour of the bridge, where we met the captain, who guides the ship down the river. At times it is quite shallow and there are many sandbanks, so the skill of an experienced captain and crew is a great advantage. Next we visited the engine room, (very noisy and clean) and the kitchen where preparations for lunch were underway.

Once again we passed through Esna lock and then on to Luxor which would be our final port.

Some of the group took the opportunity to see the Sound & Light Show at Karnak Temple (which they reported was pretty good - better than the one at the pyramids). Peter and I decided to visit an Internet cafe to see if we could catch up on email and post something on the blog. It was only a two minute walk from the boat, but after 20 minutes of slooooooow internet connection - we called it quits. I am sure there is nothing waiting in the "real world" that can't wait for our return. Meantime, back to shipboard life and our last night on board.

Magnificent Abu Simbel

Tuesday, September 28
Several people had told me that the visit to Abu Simbel was the highlight of their visit to Egypt - so we certainly had to sign up for this optional excursion. It was a half hour flight from Aswan Airport to Abu Simbel. Our seat allocations on the plane were assigned to us in alphabetical order, so many of us, who do not share last names with their spouses, ended up sitting beside strangers - well not really strangers - we're all part of this journey together even if we hadn't met before. I had a delightful companion and we landed at our destination while we were sharing our life stories.
The temples of Ramses II and his beloved wife Nefertari are majestically and magically relocated on higher ground above the waters of Lake Nasser. The technical marvel of moving these monuments is stunning. To avoid the crowds, Peter and I headed immediately to the smaller temple, dedicated to Nefertari. It is quite elegant and has a gentle, feminine touch. By contrast the monumental edifice of Ramses II is strikingly massive and dominates the site with the four massive statues at its entrance. Inside the battle scenes are beautifully rendered with more movement and passion than we had seen before. The statues of Ramses II deified and the three other gods in the sancutary (forgotten their names) are still lit by the sun twice a year just as they were thousands of years ago when they were placed in their original setting. We were not allowed to take photos inside these temples.

As always, the merchants were lined up in their stalls at the exit to the site waiting to sell us more souvenirs. I am getting pretty good at knowing when to say "La shoukran" (no thank you).
Half an hour's flight and we were back in the relaxed comfort of our ship. We immediately set sail for Kom Ombo where we stopped again for some of the passengers who had recently joined our cruise to visit the temple. We chose to stay on board and watch the temple grow golden with the sunset and then glow with the illumination of the lights.

It is a surprise to us each day to find the many ships rafted together at the docks. So often we have to walk through the lobbies of several ships in order to reach the dockside. This unfortunately often means that we have to keep our cabin curtains closed, otherwise we would be looking directly into the cabin of the next ship, just a few feet away. Almost every night this was the situation. When we go on deck in the evenings, we look across the top decks of several ships, lined up beside us.

Aswan

Monday, Sept. 27
This was a busy day with little escape from the heat. We had docked in Aswan and in the morning went to the granite quarry where the ancient Egyptians came to get the granite needed for things like obelisks and sarcophagi. The huge unfinished obelisk was abandoned there when the stone cracked during the process of shaping it. It is so immense in size that it is hard to imagine how the workers planned to move it from the site. It was fascinating to walk among the rocks where workers had hewn granite thousands of years ago. The marks of their tools and the signs of objects cut and removed can be easily seen.

From here we did a short drive to view the High Dam. There are two dams, the old Aswan dam built in the 1900’s and the High Dam built in the ‘60s that created Lake Nasser. The creation of this dam has brought many changes to Egypt, its economy and its environment.

We made a stop at the perfumery and while we served mint tea and hibiscus juice, we learned about the pure essences that they produce. By the time we had finished the demonstration we were a sweet-smelling group, with our fingers and arms dabbed with peppermint, lotus, myrrh and other exotic fragrances.

Today we also took a motor boat ride to the island of Philae to see the lovely Temple of Isis that was moved to higher ground due to the rising of the water.

After lunch we had a short Felucca ride, which is the traditional sailing vessel used on the Nile. Not a lot of wind, so after a while we were towed by a motor boat. Our Nubian crew, entertained us with traditional music and after we as a group returned the favour (not quite as melodiously) the crew of the felucca revealed a display of handicraft for which we all happily bargained. The Nubian craft work seems of a better quality than a lot of the other tourist offerings that we find at every site we visit.

Some of us had opted for the excursion to a Nubian village which we did on board another motorboat with a specialist Nubian guide. Even though it was a pleasant outing, past the botanical garden, with many sightings of beautiful birds, we were drained of energy by the relentless sun. Even in the shade, it was oppressively hot. But we did have our first camel sightings and at the charming house where we were welcomed by Mohammed and his family, we were able to buy ice cold drinks (never did Coke taste so good to me!) as well as being served the traditional mint tea and hibiscus. The village and its houses were very pretty and decorated with designs inside and out. The Nubians have a long history, dating back to when the pharoahs ruled the land, but many of the villages were relocated here when the dam was built and their homes were flooded by the creation of Lake Nasser.

Temples of Horus and Kom Ombo

Sunday, Sept. 26
Overnight we docked at Edfu and were out and about early to visit the Temple of Horus. Another well preserved temple, as it was mostly buried in the desert sand for thousands of years. In the shrine, there was a copy of a barque used to transport the deity from one temple to another. Outside the temple we visited the market set up for tourist trade and bargained for a couple of galabeas - traditional Egyptian outfits. While the ship travelled to Kom Ombo we enjoyed the tiny pool and the passing scenery of the river and it banks. Its always baking hot up on deck, so not that many people come outside, but we manage by following the shade under the deck awning and dipping in the pool from time to time.

As soon as we tied up at the dock in Kom Ombo we walked to the temple. This temple is unusual as it is dedicated to two gods, Sobek – the crocodile god and Horus – the falcon god and has two sanctuaries. On the walls are interesting medical texts with illustrations of medical implements and procedures. One of the “guides” offered to show us a chapel dedicated to Hathor and beside it in a room blocked off by stones he told us there was a crocodile mummy. He took a photo through the hole with my camera but all we could make out was a black blob with eyes. This, on later inspection, turned out to be a cat. But when we blew the photo up on the computer we found that beside the little black cat, there was a human mummy and what appears to be the remains of another mummy. We felt it was our special find and well worth the couple of pounds we tipped the “guide” and the tourist guard. We asked Abdu about this, but he wasn't sure what it was and why the mummies were there hidden in a blocked off room.

Tonight was the galabea party where we all dressed in our finest Egyptian outfits and had a special Egyptian dinner. This was followed by dancing and general silliness – passengers and crew together.

The West Bank

Saturday, Sept. 25
This day has been the highlight for me so far. At 6 am we set out for the West Bank and the Valley of the Kings. The hills are honeycombed with tombs, easily visible from the road. The magnitude of the excavations is staggering. The colours, images and scale of each tomb is similarly impressive. There were workers clearing a tomb robbers shaft, so we saw a basket brigade hauling the rocks. We had tickets to see three tombs, and we took the option to see Tutankhamum’s tomb as well. After all, by now we have seen everything else of his!

These are the tombs we visited: KV 11 – Ramses III; KV 47 – Septah; KV 62 Tutankhamun; KV 16 – Ramses 1. Words fail me in trying to describe the experience of descending the steps into the tomb of an ancient king. In some, there are scenes on all the walls and multiple rooms. In others, like Tutankhamun’s, only the final resting place of the sarcophagus has paintings. Just before I left on the trip, I heard a lecture on the paintings of his tomb, so it was a special moment for me to see them in real life. Cameras are not allowed in the tombs, but Abdu arranged for us to buy photos if we wanted. He is very organized that way. At each site he can help us navigate the essential buying and bargaining.

Even though we were given a generous amount of time in around the tombs, many of us could have spent many hours more learning about the fascinating legacy left to us by this amazing culture and their search for everlasting life. After negotiating the vendors and succeeding in buying a statue of the god Bes, god of laughter, we were back on the bus for the short drive to the magnificent funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut. She is one of the few female pharaohs who left a significant mark of her reign. The temple nestles at the base of a hill and commands a view of the valley. From a distance, the temple is dwarfed by the cliffs but as you get closer, it has a commanding presence. As you ascend the long ramp, it becomes a powerful monument with a spacious, almost renaissance feeling. In its protected spot, the sun beats on it like a furnace.
We stopped for a quick look at the Colossus of Memnon, all that remains of the great temple of Amunhotep III and passed by numerous tomb shafts, monuments and evidence of other temples. It is all somewhat mind-boggling.

Back for lunch on board and relaxation while we sail to Esna lock. Just before the lock, small boats appeared is if from nowhere and latched, onto our ship. They tied ropes onto the ship so that they were pulled along with us. Suddenly a floating market materialized. Each boat carried an assortment of merchandize which they displayed to the passengers and encouraged us to buy. They would throw up a plastic bag containing an item for us to inspect and then the haggling began. Of course in many ways, they were in a losing position because once we approached the lock, they had to disengage. Some of them jumped off their boats and continued their sales while running alongside us on the lock wall. Many of us got caught up this strange marketing approach and I ended up with a couple of nice throw rugs. When you’ve agreed to a price, you put the money into a bag and toss it overboard. Even if you paid too much, it was worth the price for entertainment value. It is a dangerous but enterprising business for the young entrepreneurs.

Dendera & Luxor temples

Friday, Sept. 24
Once again we were up early to beat the heat and the other tour busses to Dendera – Temple of Hathor. This temple has many interesting features including an image of Cleopatra VII and her son Caesarion. (yes, that's where the term Caesarian-section comes from) There is evidence of the early Christians (Coptics) who took refuge and lived in the temple. They have left their mark in the form of Christian symbols and a church as well as the systematic defacement of many of the ancient images, which they viewed as idolatry. We were able to go into the crypt as well as on the roof where the Coptics chiselled holes in the decorative images, to tie their animals. This temple also has the famous zodiac ceiling in one of the rooms; although the original is in the Louvre and the copy is very dark, so not easy to see.

Back on board the ship, we cruised back to Luxor where first we visited the Isis Papyrus Museum. A very sophisticated set up for display and demonstrations of the making of papyrus. How could we resist purchasing samples of genuine papyrus inscribed by local artists? Then we visited Luxor Temple, which was lovely in the setting sun.

This evening I made an attempt to use the onboard internet service. But after some uploading hassles, all I was able to do was load one page of the blog before using up my time – which costs 40LE for half an hour.

We are being very well taken care of on the tour. The busses are always waiting for us at the appointed place and Abdu has an excellent system for keeping us all on time – we call it Abdu-savings time. On board MS Miriam we are served three hearty meals a day and spend the sailing times either in the cool of the lounge or on the deck watching the world go by. Even in the shade, it is always very hot on the deck, but it is the best place to watch the Nile and its every-changing scenery. Most of the time it is very tranquil – from pastoral settings to quiet village life; fisherman, donkeys, cattle and families enjoy the banks of the river together. We watch women washing rugs in the river and children splashing and swimming. Farmers are busy in their fields which are lush with a variety of crops – bananas, sugar cane and others that I can’t identify. The fertile green land gives way abruptly to the harsh desert sand and hazy hills in the distance. Every now and then we can see tombs cut into the rocks.