Our Egyptian trip-A land of Pharaohs, pyramids, mummies and lovely people

 

It has been my dream to see the Egyptian civilization. It is one of the most ancient ones, land of pharaohs, mummies and pyramids, reportedly about 7000 years old. The sheer huge size of pyramids reportedly many times higher than the World Trade Center in New York, huge sand stones weighing as much as 60 tons each transported far away from quarries to lower Egypt near Cairo all hold every reader and every tourist spell bound. Spiced further are the movies based on Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and others.

We reached Cairo in the afternoon of the 21^st Oct. by the Etihad Airline. At the airport, we had our rapid antigen tests for Covid. After 2-3 hr wait for our negative results, we sighed a relief and left airport for the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities/Egyptian Museum near Tahrir square. A mention of Tahrir square evoked memories of uprising, peoples’ protest, that started on the 25^th Jan 2011 for about 3 weeks against the erstwhile Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak. Later, after the elections, Mohamed Morsi of Muslim Brotherhood became President. He was overthrown in 2013 by the current President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. We visited the Egyptian Museum in the late afternoon. It has Greek and Roman influence and looks like a storehouse of statues and other artifacts. In 2020, Egyptian mummies were ceremoniously transferred to the new National Museum of Egpytian Civilization at Fustat, Old Cairo which has come up and was officially opened in April 2021. It is on the grand scale to showcase the Egyptian history unlike one at Tahrir Square restricted to ancient history (photos 1).  

Photo 1: Front of the Grand Egyptian Museum

After Museum visit, we checked in the Movenpick Hotel at Mediacity, in Giza Governate.

Day 2: We checked out of hotel early morning of the 22^nd Oct. at about 3.30 am. We flew to Aswan, about 2 hr flight from Cairo by EgyptAir. We reached Aswan at about 11 am and then went to see dam immediately.  Aswan dam is built of the largest man-made embankment of water of the river Nile in 1960s and is called Lake Nasser, after ex-President Gamal Abdul Nasser. It also produces electricity and provides irrigation for farming. Later, we visited the Philae temple (Photo 2) which is situated in the island on the lake Nasser and the Aswan Dam river. This temple is held in high esteem as it is considered to burial place of Osiris, God of fertility. This temple is built about 350-400 BC for the Isis, the Goddess who was worshipped during Greek-Roman period of Egypt. Visitors are also reminded of Nubian villages around it. Nubians are tribals originally from Ethopia.

Photo 2: Philae temple

 

Later in the evening of the 22^nd Oct, we checked in the Jaz Nile Cruise at Aswan. A beautiful scene from our room on cruise.

Day 3: About 300 km south of Aswan, near Sudan border, we visited the Abu Simbel temple (Photo 3-4) on the 23^rd Oct. The road passed through desert of Sinai and on both sides, we could only see sand. There was hardly any habitation. After about one and half-hr, we saw a roadside dhaba that served tea and snacks and provided services of washroom. Later after an hour, as we neared the Abu Simbel temple, we found some villages too.

The Abu Simbel temples (2) are reconstructed temples as they would have submerged in the dam and are UNESCO world heritage sites. These temples were carved out in the mountain in the 13^th century BC and are the monuments for Pharoah Ramesses II, his wife Nefertari and children.

Photo 3: Abu Simbel temple

 

Photo 4: Abu Simbel temple

After spending about an hour so in Abu Simbel temples, we returned to Aswan Cruise. We stayed on cruise for 22^nd, 23^rd and 24^th nights.

On the 23^rd Oct morning, we sailed and reached in the evening a city of Kod Ombo (Photo 5). There we saw a temple. Besides, there is croc museum here.

Photo 5: Kod Ombo temple

Day 4: In the morning of the 24^th, we reached Edfu. There we saw a temple of Horus (Photo 6) after a horsecart ride. God Horus is identified as Apollo in greek. This temple is built during Ptelomic period (237-57 BC) and depicts lot of carvings including age-old war scenes between God Horus(God of kingship and sky) and God Seth (God of desert, storm, disorders etc.). This is one of the best well preserved temple during Ptelomy regime when Egypt was through prosperous times.

Photo 6: Temple of Horus

Day 5: On the 25^th Oct morning, we reached Luxor and checked out of cruise in the morning. Later, we visited suburb, Markaz el Qarnah, around Luxor.

 We visited the Valley of kings (and queens) who are buried deep below the ground. This valley is mostly of limestone. This was during the new kingdom period (1539-1075 BC) when pharaohs were buried. One magnificent three terraced opposite the city of Luxor into cliff of Del-el Bahari was of mortuary temple (Al-Dier Al-Bahari temple) of queen Hatshepsut built in 1470 BC (Photo 7). People believe in the afterlife and hence, mummies of kings and priests are preserved deep in ground or inside pyramids along with all necessities of living. Even, in some places, ordinary people believed to have their own pyramids built. 

Photo 7:

 

In the valley of kings, there are more than one hundred burials, deep in the mountains, as it was found that pyramids are liable to raid by thieves. This was used for burial of kings and few queens for 500 years during 16^th and 11^th century BC. We climbed down two burials-one deep down about 200 steps (Photo 8) and another about 50 steps. Ramesses and many of his sons are buried here. Merentah burial deep down was the 13^th son of Ramesses II who ruled for ten years during 1213-1203 BC. So, is burial of queen Hatshepsut, and probably others. Burial of Cleopatra is not yet found.

Photo 8: casket of Merentah

At nearby Luxor, we visited Karnak temple complex (Karnak temple and Open Air Museum) (Photo 9) built over 2000BC and 100 AD. It is temple of Amenhotep IV. It is dedicated to the gods, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. It has highest obelisk. There is statue of beetle. Encircling it seven times fulfils the wish of devotee.

 

Photo 9: Scarabid considered pious wish fulfilling on encircling it, with obelisk in the background

 

 

Close to or within city of Luxor, Qesm Luxor is another temple (Photo 10) which has great influence of Greeks and Romans as they occupied Egypt just prior and after Christian era.

Photo 10a,b: Luxor temple 

 

 

We in the evening of the 25^th Oct (after staying 3 nights 22-23-24 at Cruise on the Nile river) checked in Steigenberger resort at Luxor. Photo (11) is the other side of the river bank and tandoor at our resort next day 26^th morning.

Photo 11: Luxor opposite of river bank where our resort is located

 

 

At Steingenberger Resort in Luxor, we came across tandoor. Egyptians bake their leavened bread in it.

Day 6: On the morning of the 26^th, we left Steinberger Resort and then Luxor by air and reached Cairo in the evening after about 1 or 1.5 hr flight. We went to see light and sound programme at Giza in the cool environ of Giza for about 1 hr.

Day 7: In the early morning of 27^th, we visited at about 7 am Giza, near Cairo to see pyramids (Photo 12) again. There are three pyramids two large and one small built about 2100 to 2600 years BC (Photo 13). Besides, there is also a magnificient Sphinx (Photo 12). The largest pyramid is built by Khufu (2589-2566 BC), the second by Khufu’s son, Khafre (2558-2532 BC) and Sphinx either by Khufu’s another son, Djedegre or Khafre and Khufu himself. The third pyramid, smallest is reportedly built by Menkaure (2532-2504 BC). Besides, there are small pyramids. These three pyramids and the Great Sphinx belong to Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC). These were times when pyramid building was perfected. Pyramids are the final resting places after death of kings, priests and other nobles.

Photo 12a,b: Pyramids at Giza

Photo 13: Sphinx at Giza

 

At Cairo, we stayed at Medicity for the nights of 26^th and 27^th.

After early morning of 27th Oct visit to Giza pyramids, we then drove for 3 hr to Alexandria in the North. Alexandria is named after Alexander the Great and is at Mediterranean sea. It had light house, which was considered a wonder of the world. Now, there is citadel in its place.

We also visited catacombs of Komb el Shuqafa, in the downtown city. Catacomb (Photo 14) is well shaped entrance to burials of kings and/or high officials along with others. There are many stacked burials, about 2-3 storeyed down below. Quite interesting was burial of horse. Besides some carvings and statues were also made inside the catacomb. Outside near entrance were some sarcophagi, caskets of stones which were supposed to house bodies.

Photo 14:Catacomb-circular entrance to burials

 

We visited the famous library of the Alexandria University

We returned to Cairo from Alexandria in the night of 27^th and then in the morning of 28^th left Cairo for airport.

Day 8: We had flight at 12.15 pm on the 28^th. We reached Abu Dhabi in the evening and then at about 10 pm left Abu Dhabi to reach Delhi at 3 am of the 29^th Oct.

 

Glimpses of Egyptian life

1.     No beggars; no cattles in the street;    Many houses seemed empty and in bad conditions in Cairo

2.     Except for Cairo, not much of traffic jam elsewhere-cars, trucks, tuk-tuk, occasionally horse or donkey cart

3.     Cities and towns seemed clean;  Tourist places well maintained. Entrance fee for museum from 150 to 300 Egyptian pound

4.   People wear both modern as well as traditional dresses. Most ladies seen wearing hijab. Most speak Arabic, some English.

5.   Agril crops-maize, banana, mango, citrus, and vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage seen in fields

6.  The river Nile is lifeline as most cities and towns are on its bank, otherwise hardly any rain and most terrain of sands. It is relatively clean.

7.  Economy is oil-based as well as tourism-based. 

8.  Lovely people

 

 

 

Photo 15: Old town Alexandria with tram