VISITING THE ANTIQUITIES

By Carrie and Christopher


We left Cape Town on October 5th on an overnight flight, and entered the Muslim world of Egypt. We knew we were in for some changes. On Egypt Air, Tom asked for a beer and was given a non-alcoholic brand!! There were no appropriate childrens movies (which had been greatly anticipated) and the food was not a good introduction to Egyptian cuisine. All in all, we were thrilled when we landed in Cairo. We were met at the airport by a representative of the travel company and transported to a former palace, the Cairo Marriott. After resting until lunchtime, we then met our guide, Yasser, who would be with us for the 8-day duration. Little did he know what he was getting into when he signed up for a family excursion through his home country. Though as we soon learned, as a father of two young girls and with a third child due in December, he was well-suited for the task.

We wasted no time in seeing the sites. We headed 9 miles outside Cairo to see the Giza pyramids. The pyramids were built for Khufu, his son, Khafre, and his grandson, Menkaure. Tom and the kids braved the very narrow passageway to the center of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. While it was in the mid-90s outside, it was only hotter inside!! After 20 minutes inside the passage, they came out looking as if they had just showered. The museum next to Khufus pyramid housed a fascinating, 100+-foot boat made of cedar from Lebanon. The boat was buried at the time of the kings death in a pit next to the Pyramid. The pharaohs believed the buried boat would allow an easy passage to the after-life. Can you imagine the questions our kids asked about the after-life? Archeologists know where the second boat lies but it will take years to excavate.

We then saw the Sphinx guarding the entrance to the pyramid of Khafre. Relative to the size of the pyramids, the Sphinx is quite small. Egyptologists believe there is a second Sphinx (probably in pieces) since they generally are in pairs, but are waiting for funding (anyone interested?). Before leaving the Pyramids, we took the obligatory camel ride around the area of the Pyramids. It was great fun. Christopher led the camel caravan. However, camels would not be our first choice of the most comfortable way to travel. It is still amazing to watch a camel get up and lay down.

On the way back to the hotel, we went to a Papyrus Paper Factory, funded by the government, where we saw a demonstration of how the ancient Egyptians made paper. The papyrus plant grew along the fertile soil of the Nile but now the papyrus has to be imported. At this point we had Oooooed and Ahhhhhhhhhed so much we were exhausted and returned to the hotel for a night of an Egyptian October fest, including an authentic oompah band imported from Munich.

After a good nights rest we headed an hour outside Cairo to Memphis, the capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom period, and to Sakkara its necropolis. In Memphis we saw a huge statue of King Ramses II and a small version of the Sphinx at Giza. In Sakkara, we saw the first pyramid, the Step Pyramid, built for King Zoser. The stone pyramids replaced the mastabas, which were mud-brick tombs. From the Step Pyramid, we could also see the incredible Bent Pyramid of Sneferu, Zosers son. It began as the first straight-sided pyramid, but halfway up the engineers panicked, thinking the angle of the sides was too steep. They changed it to a gentler slope and created the Bent Pyramid. Sneferu shortly thereafter abandoned the Bent Pyramid in favor of the first smooth-sided pyramid, located nearby.

On our return to Cairo, we stopped in a village to tour a carpet school. Children of the village attend public school in the morning and the carpet school in the afternoon. It was fascinating for our children to see children their same age weaving spectacular pieces of art. After drinking a few cups of strong Egyptian coffee and viewing hundreds of carpets of every shape and size we left empty-handed returning to Cairo for an inviting swim under a beautifully clear Egyptian night. In keeping with trying new food, Christopher ate a very skinny roasted pigeon, and Tom and I finished our dinner with a smoke from an Egyptian water pipe. We didnt inhale!!!!

Our second day was spent in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The museum houses an incredible number of antiquities in an old non-air conditioned building. (We hear a new building has been proposed). Christopher found the belongings of King Tutankhamens tomb fascinating, and Brennan and Gregory were most intrigued by the air-conditioned Mummy room that housed many partially wrapped and unwrapped bodies. During the week we spent many hours discussing the mummification process in very detailed and graphic terms!

The next morning we flew south to Luxor along the Nile River. We visited the modern Luxor museum and then rested poolside at our hotel along the banks of the beautiful Nile. It is an amazing site to look out across the Nile and see the fertile banks and narrow stretch of land covered in date palms along each side of the river. In the same view, we could also see the rolling yellow sand hills of the Sahara desert. The Egyptians make good use of the limited fertile soil but it is also understandable why they are one of the largest U.S. food importers.

Up early and out the door the next morning, we then checked in to our floating hotel, the Sonesta Nile Goddess. The kids were very excited to experience their first cruise. They quickly scouted out the ship and became familiar with the swimming pool, the dessert table and the Captain of the ship! The staff quickly warmed up to the kids and always had a jar of peanut butter waiting for Gregory at every meal!! In the heat of the day, we reluctantly left the ship to begin our visit of the incredible Karnak Temple, a complex of temples, obelisks, reliefs and sanctuaries. It was restricted to only priests and Pharaohs. The construction took place over a period of 1300 years. (Whos Listening Here?) The sacred site of Karnak was the center of worship of the Sun God Amun.

Brennan was our traveling artist. We could always find her perched on the base of a pillar or on the ground sketching cartouches, hieroglyphics, and/or any number of statues of passing pharaohs.

We then made a strategic error and attempted to see the Luxor Temple, dedicated to Amun, the God of Thebes by Amenophil III in the 18th Dynasty. Gregory had had enough of piles of old rocks and stories about Pharaohs. We toured this temple at great speed and with many words of encouragement. At any rate, I carried 55 pounds of pure joy from one interesting spot to another. Major additions to the temple were done by Ramses II in the 19th Dynasty. Ramses II ruled for nearly 70 years and was very successful in self-promotion. At the Temple of Luxor, he removed the faces of previous pharaohs and replaced them with his own face. He also added many statues of himself at the entrance and throughout the temple.

Our first night of cruising was being sandwiched between two other cruise ships moored on the banks of the Nile. It wasnt exactly like we imagined, but again the kids were thrilled!!! Yasser had us up bright and early in order to miss the heat of the day (not likely) and to get to the West bank of the Nile to visit the Necropolis of Thebes, where the Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and Queen Hatshepsuts Temple are located.

As we were driving toward the great sand mountains and the Valley of the Kings, it was hard to believe that anything could still exist in this hot and barren land. As we climbed over 100 yards down into these elaborately decorated tombs, we were amazed at the well-preserved color and the beauty of the wall drawings. Hieroglyphics told of the lives of the Kings and how worthy they were to move on to the next life. To test the worthiness of the king, the jackal god, Anubis, would weigh the Kings heart against a feather. If the feather was heavier, he could go on to the after-life. But if his heart were heavier, he would go to the underworld. A heavy heart indicated turmoil in his life. We saw this depicted on the walls of almost every tomb in the Valley of the Kings and Queens. Because of the low humidity of the desert, many colors in the paintings looked as if they could have been painted yesterday. This is where King Tutankhamens tomb was discovered in 1922 under the tomb of Ramses VI. Christopher took a special interest in King Tutankhamen and with the help of Yasser he researched the young pharaoh (see his report below).

A few miles south of the Valley of the Kings was the Valley of the Queens, where the Queens and other royal subjects are buried. Queen Hatshepsut was the exception to the rule. She refused to be buried along with the other Queens and instead choose to be buried in the Valley of the Kings (a woman ahead of her time). She is the first women that acted as ruler while banishing the rightful heir, her nephew, to a life in the priesthood. Her reign lasted 20 years until her nephew wised up and returned to take back his rightful position. He then defaced all art referencing the Queen! We then visited Queen Hatshepsuts mortuary temple, which many Egyptologists consider to be one of the finest ancient buildings in the world. The temple is set in a great amphitheater and its three terraces are built into the rock cliff.

On our return to the ship we stopped at a small alabaster shop. The kids were able to watch how the alabaster stone is cut and shaped into many beautiful figures and vases. I think one of the highlights in visiting different countries is to see the beautiful crafts that are made from their natural resources.

We returned back to the ship and set sail to the town of Edfu. We had a beautiful afternoon floating down the Nile, watching fisherman slapping the water with long sticks to scare the fish, primarily Nile perch, into nets. They have successfully fished this way for thousands of years. There were also many children swimming in the river who would stop and wave at our boat as it passed. What a wonderful way to cool down in the intense Egyptian heat!

After cruising for around 5 hours, we approached a lock in the river and suddenly found our ship surrounded by floating boat merchants selling their wares. As one person madly paddled to keep up with our ship the other threw traditional Egyptian clothing up to the top deck (4 stories high) to where we were all enjoying our afternoon tea. Not coincidently, the next night we were having an Egyptian costume party on board, so I quickly jumped into the shopping arena and began negotiating. I consulted with a few Spaniards who seemed well-versed in Egyptian negotiation. Try to envision the kids catching clothing in plastic bags from the boats below, trying them on over their clothes and then throwing them back. They were having a blast in all the excitement. We started the negotiation at the equivalent of $75.00. After a lot a bartering and having the kids throw their final choices back (in order to demonstrate our negotiating position) we eventually settled on $15.00. Anyone looking for Halloween costumes for next year let us know!!!

After all the excitement died down we were informed of a problem with the lock. The lock had been closed the entire day and there were 30 ships ahead of us in line. Instead of taking the boat to Edfu the next day, we were going to be bussed everyone from all the other stranded ships!!!! This is where we had an opportunity to show our children the value of patience and flexibility as difficult as it was for both Tom and I!

In the early morning we headed out in a bus caravan for an estimated 45-60 minute drive. We were in a police-escorted caravan of at least 40 busses heading south. The 45 minute drive turned into a 2- hour drive because an official hadnt finished his breakfast and couldnt be bothered to expedite our land transfer. We also had to wait until another group of busses heading south from Luxor to Aswan arrived to join our caravan. For security reasons, it is against the law for tourist busses to travel outside escorted caravans. We sat on the bus for over 1 hours. Thank goodness we brought Yahtzee, playing cards, and beef jerky from home!!

Once reaching Edfu, we saw the beautifully preserved modern temple of Horus, the Falcon headed god. The sandstone temple was built under the Ptolemies and completed by the middle first century B.C.

On our return, our escorted motorcade was less strenuous; it took us only 2 hours. I cant tell you how happy we all were to get back on the ship. We sat on deck while we began to sail. It was the most incredible evening watching the sun set over the Nile and then to see the full moon light up the sky. It was all worth it!

We all dressed in our recently acquired Egyptian clothing and had an evening of fun and games with the other passengers. Brennan was the great winner of games in our family, especially the dance contest and the bottle toss. Tom and I were the valiant winners of the banana dance (sorry no pictures)!!

While we slept, the ship kept sailing and by morning we had arrived in Kom Ombo. Because of its great strategic location on the Nile, the town controlled the routes from Nubia to the Nile Valley and thus prospered during the Ptolemaic era. We visited the dual temple in Kom Ombo, divided into two symmetrical halves; the left side is dedicated to the falcon-headed God Horus and the right side to the crocodile God Sobek. The kids really loved seeing the mummified crocodiles! While walking back to the ship, we saw a snake charmer all wrapped up in cobras. Brennan, our reptile lover, desperately wanted to join in the fun, but thank goodness we needed to get back on board!

We then continued down the Nile, the great sand cliffs replacing the fertile strips of land along the Nile. We arrived mid day in the exceptionally beautiful city of Aswan. We headed out, with some resistance, to a pink granite quarry, where we could view how an obelisk was cut from the rock. After a little more resistance, we made the decision to take Brennan and Gregory back to the ship for a little R and R. Tom and Christopher visited the Aswan High Dam built by the Russians in 1960. The dam created the second largest artificial lake in the world. The building of the dam increased the amount of cultivable land dramatically and doubled the countrys electricity supply. We understand that Egypt is seriously considering a plan to create a second Nile river, 150 miles west of the existing Nile. They feel this would allow them more fertile soil and therefore be less dependent on food imports as their population continues to grow.

Tom and Christopher then visited the Philae Temple, which had to be moved because of rising waters of the old dam and then later by the High Dam. The temple complex was dismantled and reassembled on the higher ground of Agilika Island. They ended their excursion with a soothing Felucca sailboat ride across the Nile to join us aboard ship.

Our last day in Egypt ended up being fully packed and with some of our favorite memories. Our family began the day taking a small boat down the Nile to visit a Nubian village. Most of the Nubians lands were flooded after the dam was built and they either relocated to Aswan or across the southern border of Egypt to Sudan. The Nubians are very peaceful people and preserve many of their age-old customs. Their language is only spoken and not written and all history is passed on through word of mouth. They speak enough Arabic, but do not allow their people to marry outside their culture. When visiting a Nubian village, someone must escort you to and from the village. When our boat approached shore, there were a handful of very happy, excited children, all-trying to talk with us at the same time. Our kids were a little apprehensive but soon warmed up. They took us to a family home in the village and the local henna artist came and drew tattoos on our arms. She said it would last 3 weeks I am still trying to scrub it off Brennans arm!!! This trip has given us many opportunities to discuss not so much how lucky we are as a family because of all the things we possess, but more importantly, how little people truly need to be happy.

After being bumped off another Egypt Air flights (the only commercial airline in Egypt) we finally had tickets to take a 20-minute flight to Abu Simbel, a major highlight of our trip. It was perfect to leave the best for the last. After the High Dam was built and the waters and silt of Lake Nassar began rising, the temples of Abu Simbel were in danger of being flooded. An engineering marvel costing $40 million and taking four years to complete, the temples were cut up into more than 2000 huge blocks, weighing from 10-40 tons each. The blocks were reconstructed inside a specially built mountain 210 meters away from the water and 65 meters higher than the original site.

This Great Temple of Ramses II was dedicated to the gods Ra-Harakhty, Amun, and Ptah, and of course, to the self-promoter, Ramses himself! The smaller Temple of Hathor was dedicated to the cow-headed goddess of love, and built in honor of Ramses favorite wife, Queen Nefertari.

Guarding the entrance of the Great Temple are four colossal statues of Ramses II, staring across the desert. Each statue is over 65 feet tall and is accompanied by smaller statues of the kings mother Queen Tuya, his wife Nefertari and some of their children.

The innermost chamber is the sacred Sanctuary, where the four gods of the Great Temple sit on their thrones carved in the back wall and wait for morning. The temple, even after being moved, is aligned in such a way that on February 22 and October 22 every year, the first rays of the rising sun reach across the Nile, penetrate the Temple, and shine on the faces of Ramses II, Ra-Harakhty, Amun but not on the face of the god of the underworld, Ptah. King Ramses wanted to prove he was a god so he situated the temple in such a place that he shined along with the other gods on his coronation and birthdate, February 22 and October 22.

By this point in our Egyptian excursion, we were beginning to be able to recognize many symbols on the walls and the many gods being depicted. While in the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, Ill never forget watching Brennan and Gregory discussing which cartouche belong to Nefertari..a U.S. tour group found this fascinating and began to ask them many questions on what they had seen in Egypt. To our delight, they were able to answer a great many. They were listening!

We then took a 20-minute flight back to Aswan, had a brief swim at a hotel, and then flew back for a brief overnight stay in Cairo before our flight to London the next morning.

Once we arrived at our hotel in Cairo, we had to say good-bye to our wonderful guide, Yasser. We were so fortunate to have an Egyptologist who was not only incredibly knowledgeable but also extremely patient with our familys various interests!! Christopher took advantage of our time with Yasser; he never missed an excursion and loved talking with Yasser about what we had seen. We are thrilled that we may have a budding Egyptologist in our family. Christopher was very much involved in writing and editing this leg of our adventure.

KING TUTANKAMEN