The Ultimate History Lesson

Egypt is the ultimate history lesson.  I still can’t believe we were able to see so much in such a short time.   Happily I have photos because the visit somehow seems surreal.  I can’t say enough about our travel company, Memphis Tours.  Mark really made an excellent decision to use them to coordinate our travel in Egypt. 

Ramses III

Unfortunately the fear of political instability has really hurt the Egyptian tourist industry.  We never felt unsafe.  In fact, this is an excellent time to visit Egypt.  The pyramids, known for long, long, long lines were crowd-free, as were the temples and museums.  As a tourist the lack of other tourists was delightful but my heart goes out to all the people whose livelihoods rely on tourism.  Hopefully following the Presidential election in May, Egypt’s tourist industry will rebound. 

So what did we see on our whirlwind tour?  We started in Luxor where we visited the Luxor and Karnak Temples.  These were constructed during the New Kingdom (1650-1070 BC).  

From Queen Hatshepsut's temple

An obelisk at Karnak Temple

This is the time of the Ramses dynasties, Queen Hatshepsut, Akhenaten and King Tut, to name a few of the rulers.  It was a time of splendor.  While earlier empires built the pyramids, the kings of this epoch built temples to the Gods resplendent with bas-relief murals depicting the gods, kings, and military conquests along with hieroglyphics.   Within the temples there might be a massive solid granite obelisk reaching 28 meters, an alabaster statue or a reflecting pool where the king and priests would cleanse themselves before prayer.  

Aside from the architectural perfection (which is enough to make one gape in amazement) and the artistry of the temples, each temple we saw showed another aspect of the sophistication of this advanced culture.  The more I learned about the Egyptians the more I stood in awe of their knowledge. 

On the Nile

On the Alyssa, we felt like royalty

After a day in Luxor, we boarded the Alyssa, a gorgeous boat to take us South to Aswan. Our 5-day, 4-night Nile cruise was fabulous.  The Alyssa is a beautiful boat with a fantastic staff.  The crew even hosted on a Whirling Dervish and a Belly Dancer to entertain us one night.  

Whirling Dervish

Joy!

Who is happy now

The food was delicious and from the sundeck we lounged as we read and enjoyed the view of the Nile.  We became good friends with a fellow traveler, Juan from Spain, now a resident of England.

We had our own guides throughout our time in Egypt: Ahmed, Hassan and Maha.  Add to that our coordinators: Yahia in Luxor and Abdul in Cairo and including our drivers Adel, Magot and Honey, there is no doubt we were well looked after.






At one point we need to go through a lock to continue our travel from Luxor to Aswan.  The Egyptians are the ultimate merchants.  If we hadn't shopped enough, there was always more merchandise available.

Going through the locks

Shopping, shopping everywhere


On our trip down the Nile, we stopped along the way at Edfu to see Horas' Temple (one of my favorites), and Kom Ombo to view the temple of Horas, the Elder and the Crocodile God, Sobek.  What I loved about both of these temples was what I learned about the Egyptians.  At Horus’ temple in Edfu, we learned that the early Egyptians had used essential oils for medicinal purposes and for perfume.  

Edfu:  Horas' Temple

Offering at Horas' Temple

At Kom Ombo, at the temple dedicated to Horas the Elder and Sobek, the Crocodile God, the Egyptians had hieroglyphics explaining their calendar (3 seasons, 4 months in each season, 3 weeks in a month, with 10 days in a week equally 360 days with 5 additional days for celebration at the end of the year). In one hieroglyphic, you could see that they understood that a woman sitting rather than delivering in a reclining position most easily accomplished the birthing process.  They even had a hospital at the rear of the temple.  Many of the instruments they used to perform surgery are easily recognizable in today’s hospitals. 

Kom Ombo:  Temple of Horas the Elder and the Crocodile God

On our third night we arrived in Aswan.  We opted to take a side trip to Abu Simbel, the location of the temples of Ramsess II and Queen Nefertari.  Abu Simbel is about 20 km from the boarder of Sudan, deep into land of the Nubians.  

Abu Simbel

Two enormous statutes of Ramsess II with Neffertari (on his right) and his sons under his legs

Ramsess II’s temple is massive and reflects the ego of its namesake.  Upon arrival at the temple there is no doubt you understand Ramsess II’s power and majesty.  Next to his temple stands the temple of his Queen Neffertari.  

Neffertari's temple

Once again, Ramsess II’s ego is apparent when you see more statues of him on his wife’s temple than statues of her.  Both temples are truly magnificent.  The hieroglyphics and drawings on Ramsess II’s temple tell the story of his military conquests against his neighbors including the Libyans, Syrians, and Nubians.  As with the other Egyptian temples, the Kings’ supplication to the gods is always present in the form of carvings, statuary, stellas and hieroglyphics. 

Back in Aswan, we visited the temple at Philate Island, built during the Roman and Greek times, and dedicated to the Goddess Isis.   This temple like those in Abu Simbel had to be moved when the Egyptians constructed the Aswan high dam in the 1960s.  This knowledge only enhances ones appreciation of the genius and determination of the ancient Egyptians. 

Our last stop in Aswan was a trip to a present day Nubian village.  This village is located very close to the new Aswan high dam.  Although we were excited to learn about the Nubian people, our village visit consisted of a short walk through a few lanes filled with Nubian salesmen trying to sell us spices, musical instruments and knives.  We did enjoy some hibiscus tea and homemade bread with molasses and tahini but it wasn’t the cultural experience I had imagined.

Juan, Mark and Ahmed

Our Nubian skipper

A lovely Nubian hotel located on the bank of the Nile

Just cruisin' down the street in the Nubian village

Early the next morning we flew to Cairo and were whisked off to see the Great Pyramids of Giza.  Wow!  At over 4500 years old, they have aged gracefully. 

Cheops' pyramid

The earliest pyramid at Giza was built by Cheops over 4500 years ago.  His son, Chephren, so as not to be disrespectful to his father, built a slightly small pyramid but it appears larger because he built it on higher ground.  The pyramid of grandson, Mykerinus is the smallest of the three but unique in his use of granite, a stone found only near Aswan close to 500 miles up river.  Mykerinus also had pyramids built for his wife and two daughters.  Egyptologists have abandoned the theory that slaves made the pyramids and now agree that the workers were generally Egyptians with some slave and prisoner labor.  

Simply amazing!

All three pyramids lined up

Andrew, an avid amateur Egyptologist, who we met in Egypt, believes that if you compare the organization of a beehive with a queen bee and worker bees that is a good metaphor for how the early Egyptians served their king.   Happily for us, but unfortunately for Egypt, our visit to the pyramids was unmolested by hordes of tourists. 

Moses was a kisser!

After the pyramids, we visited the Cairo museum.  The museum is chock full of so much history with very little explanation.  Egypt is building a new Cairo Museum by the pyramids.  Hopefully the antiquities will be presented with better signage.  That said we only scratched the surface in our 4 ½ hour visit.  We saw animal mummies, jewels found in King Tut’s tomb, statues from the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms, a chariot purported to be driven by King Tut, and a cot with working hinges found in King Tut’s tomb.

The Goddess Hathor 

We had the pleasure of meeting up with Juan from our Nile River cruise and enjoyed a lovely dinner with him.  We chose to walk to the restaurant: an adventure in itself.  Being a pedestrian in Cairo is not for the faint of heart.

The following day, we also visited the Cairo citadel and Mohammed Ali mosque in the morning and then the Cairo Museum in the afternoon before we took the overnight train from Cairo to Luxor. 

Mohammed Ali mosque

After our Museum visit, Adel our driver took good care of us before we boarded our night train from Cairo back to Luxor.  

Waiting for their train in Cairo

Our train to Luxor

Amon-Ra with King Ramses II under his protection

Upon our early morning arrival, our Luxor coordinator, Yahia, had thoughtfully booked us a complementary day room.  We had a nap and a shower before we headed out to the Luxor Museum.  This is a lovely museum.  Although smaller than the Cairo museum it is much more accessible and better signed.  At 3PM, we left the hotel for the airport where we awaited our flight to Gatwick.  We reconnected with Andrew, the British man with whom we had flown to Egypt.  He was excited to hear our impressions of this country that has become a second home for him. 

Farewell Egypt.  I hope we return one day to learn more about your wonderful history.

The Nile