Since I was a little boy, I was absolutely fascinated with the great pyramids and absolutely anything regarding ancient Egypt. The year after my father died, the King Tut exhibit toured the nation and my mother took my brother and me to see it up in Seattle. I was mesmerized! The awe of seeing such beautiful antiquities that predated Christ by more than 1300 years was spell-binding to me. Since then it has always been a bucket list item of mine to travel to Egypt and see these wonders in person. This last month, my beloved wife and I were finally able to realize this dream of mine.
I literally took thousands of pictures, but wished to share some of the ones that were most striking to me.
First are the great pyramids of Giza lying on the west side of the Nile River. The dead were to be buried in the west and the living lived on the east side of the river.
Of course this is the Great Sphinx in front of the Great Pyramid of Kufu (or Cheops as the Greeks named him.) The air quality in Cairo and on the Giza plateau was full of dirt and pollution which greatly saddened me to see; however, it did not diminish from the grandeur of these last remaining seven wonders of the ancient world.
The sheer size of the pyramids was truly breathtaking.
My wife and I did opt to go inside Kufu's pyramid and climb up to the burial chamber. This is not something I would recommend if one is claustrophobic or has breathing issues as the air gets rather close at spots. As you can see in the picture above, there is one stretch of roughly 100 yards where one has to ascend this rather steeply inclined walk-way in a hunched over manner. (Coming down was equally fun!)
For those tough or crazy enough to crawl through the passages to the burial chamber, one is rewarded with the view of a large barren room with a giant stone sarcophagus located towards the far end. While some seemed to think it was anti-climatic, I found the 4500 year old tomb to be fascinating!
We then later that day went to see the even older (4700 years old) step pyramids of Saqqara. They were similarly beautiful and other-worldly.
Here is King Tutankhamun's chair (throne) that was found in his tomb from the Valley of the Kings and now resides in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. My apologies as I was not entirely able to eliminate glare and reflections from the glass case. The artistic detail, even for such a minor king, was stupendously beautiful!
This is the gold leaf covered case that held the four alabaster jars containing King Tut's organs. King Tut's death mask and sarcophagus was also displayed in the museum in their striking beauty; however, security would not permit photography in that room, to my great chagrin.
Next we visited the Mosque of Muhammad Ali which was built on the fortress of the existing citadel constructed by the great Saladin. Cairo is considered the city of a thousand minarets due to the myriad of mosques throughout the city; however, today I suspect that number of minarets far surpasses even that. This beautiful mosque's architecture was modeled after the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey.
The stained glass, chandelier, and beautiful craftsmanship throughout made this place an unexpected treat.
This is a view of the city of Cairo from the citadel where the mosque was perched.
The following day we flew from Cairo to the city of Aswan in the south of Egypt. From there we drove three hours south nearly to the Sudan border to see the incomparable temple of Abu Simbel. This temple was carved into the stone by Pharaoh Ramses II to serve as a monument to him. A smaller and less grand temple sits nearby to honor his wife Nefertari.
The temple of Abu Simbel was built in the 13th century B.C. but was relocated in 1968 by archeologists to higher ground when the high dam at Aswan was constructed, otherwise this priceless treasure would have been submerged under the massive Lake Nasser that the dam created.
Statues of King Ramses II inside his temple at Abu Simbel.
This next one was an unexpected delight as well. This is the Temple at Philae, which is a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis. It sits on an island in the middle of the Nile river near Aswan.
It would seem that a not uncommon theme was the defacing of some Egyptian temples by later inhabitants. The outside of this temple of Isis was co-opted eventually by the Coptic Christians and there were several spots where a Coptic cross was carved into the walls.
This is looking out on the Nile from the east side of the Philae Temple courtyard.
Part of our tour included a three day cruise on the Nile from Aswan to Luxor. I found the dichotomy of the lush verdant vegetation along the banks to the stark beige of the sand shortly past its banks to be striking. Truly the Nile is the source of life for this nation still to this day as a vast majority of its population remain living along its banks.
We also took a felucca boat (Egyptian sail boat) ride on the Nile to an island botanical garden which I found very peaceful and thoroughly enjoyable.
One of the things I found fascinating, hidden in the hieroglyphics of an ancient Egyptian hospital at the temple at Kom Ombo, is a depiction of their surgical instruments. This can be seen in the upper center part of the picture above. At one point a depiction of what could only be described as a sperm cell was carved into the stone. No one has been able to explain how a microscopic cell could be known by these ancients prior to the invention of the microscope.... and yet, there it was. Amazing.
Part of the Temple of Kom Ombo was dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek. The Egyptians would pray to Sobek for protection from the numerous gargantuan crocodiles that proliferated in the river at that time. Luckily, now there are no crocodiles in the lower Nile anymore since the construction of the high dam at Aswan. Evidently these prayers did not always work. Above are the mummified remains of some intimidating specimens!
We also were able to tour three of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Currently there are 63 known tombs that have been discovered here, including the famous tomb of Tutankhamun. The picture above shows the intricate artistry adorning the walk way to the burial chamber of Ramses IV. The vibrancy of the colors and lack of degradation of the tomb was astonishing in its beauty. You can see the large stone sarcophagus in the center of the picture above.
This is the burial chamber of the Pharaoh Merenptah, which many archeologists believe is the Pharaoh of Exodus in the Old Testament that pursued Moses and the Jews to the Red Sea. Supposedly they have come to this assertion based on the unique salt content in the wrappings of the mummy of Merenptah that are found only at the Red Sea.
This last carving was found by us in the tomb of Ramses III. Beautiful!
This is the temple of the Queen Hatshepsut. She was the second confirmed female pharaoh to rule Egypt. Her temple was near the Valley of the Kings on the east side of the Nile from Luxor. Indeed, if one was looking from the entrance of Karnak Temple, one could see across the river to see this grand temple carved into the mountain on the west side.
One of the interesting things about Queen Hatshepsut's temple was the fact that part of it was unfinished, which gave a remarkable insight into how the ancient Egyptian's decorated their temples and tombs. You can see the red ink on the wall outlining two figures that were to eventually be carved into the stone of the temple.
The next day we proceeded to the temples of Karnak and Luxor. Above and below are some of the striking columns from the remains of Karnak.
This is one of the three remaining Obelisks that adorn the temple at Karnak. One of them was damaged in a great earthquake many centuries ago, and only the top of it is still displayed at this temple.
The architecture of most of these ancient temples was such that the common people were only allowed into the first courtyard of the temple. The wealthy and more elite of society were allowed to worship in the second section of the temple, whereas only the pharaoh and high priests were allowed to access the "holy of holies" in the third section. Above is the stone altar at Karnak, where a idol would have been placed in its day. Karnak was dedicated to the gods Amun (god of the sun & air), Mut (goddess mother), and Khonsu (son of Mut and god of the moon.)
These are some of the statues in the second (wealthy) courtyard of Karnak.
Towards the back of the Karnak temple is a carving of an "ankh" in the wall which recent superstition says will bring you luck if you place your hand upon it. I don't know that it works, but they say it does whether you believe it or not. :) The ankh is the symbol of life for ancient Egyptians. My wife, with her Nubian henna tattoo couldn't resist the opportunity to garner good luck and touched it accordingly.
Next was the Temple at Luxor, which is located down a three kilometer road lined with sphinxes from the Temple of Karnak. The expanse of this is not fully open yet, but you can see the beginning of the path from Luxor and its sphinxes below.
I am still trying to wrap my head around all of the beautiful things we saw and reflect upon each location. It is interesting as I still have been unable to determine a "favorite" as each was spell-binding in its own way. I am truly blessed to have been able to realize my childhood dream and spend this time in the land of the pharaohs!
8 comments:
Congratulations on the trip and thanks for providing so many excellent photographs. It looks like you got a comprehensive look at the country. It's a fascinating place (I went there in 1979). Some of the ancient Egyptian monuments have graffiti carved by Roman soldiers who were stationed there; even in their time, the monuments were ancient.
That "sperm cell" could be any number of things. There's an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph that looks remarkably like a modern traffic light; with simple shapes, the mind tends to associate them with something familiar even if its real origin was something different.
They did a remarkable job relocating the Abu Simbel temple. That could very easily have gone wrong, with disastrous results.
Air pollution? Better call Greta Thunberg and shut down Cairo.
The degree of air pollution is actually a good indicator of economic development. As societies get richer, they can afford to spend more on cleaning up the air. In the nineteenth century the air pollution in American and British cities was probably as bad as in Egypt now. Even fifty years ago the smog in US cities was terrible by today's standards. As Egypt gets more developed the pollution situation will improve.
Can't believe I'm watching the players of the NFL kneeling and praying on the field...and to beat all, it's being telecast-ed.
Infidel, I would have loved to see what differences, if any, there were between what you saw in 1979 versus the condition of these places 43 years later. As for the sperm cell, that was my first thought too that this was simply a symbol for something else that merely looked like that; however, our tour guide who was trained as an Egyptologist and can read hieroglyphics seemed to lean fairly heavily that that was indeed what it was and it was depicted in a relief describing creation. I have my doubts, but it is interesting to contemplate.
As for Abu Simbel, I agree with you. I am amazed that they were able to relocate the temple to higher ground with such precision. They did a fantastic job, sir.
As for the air pollution, I hope that Egypt is trending towards cleaning up their environment. There was a lot of trash in the streets and in the river, which I am sure is a result of the rampant poverty there still. That said, I have hope for the country as most of the people we encountered were friendly and gracious. It was interesting to compare the relative cleanliness of Jordan as compared to Egypt. Poverty seemed to be far less there too, which supports your assertion. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Infidel!
Wonderful photos and sounds like a great trip. We also saw the King Tut exhibit in Seattle many years ago. :)
Of all the places I've been in the world, the Middle East was the one where the people were most friendly and welcoming. It belies the impressions often held about the local culture by Westerners, who tend to picture the Middle East as full of screaming lunatics obsessed with killing each other off. That does exist, but most people there are living normal lives focused on their family, jobs, keeping the bills paid, etc, just like here.
I'm sure those countries have changed a lot since I was there. Several years ago, while employed at a university here, I met a student from Jordan and I mentioned that I had been to Jordan in 1979 (that must have been well before she was even born). She said the country has changed enormously since then. No doubt Egypt has as well. (This is true of most of the "Third World".) Certainly when I see pictures from the Middle East today, it looks much more modern than I remember it.
Egypt has about a hundred million people crammed into just the Nile valley and delta, which has a total land area a fraction the size of Oregon. Such densities make sanitation more of a challenge.
I can't speak of your tour guide specifically, but one sometimes has to be a bit cautious about what they say. In Syria I was part of a tour group, and on the trip from Damascus to Palmyra, the tour guide told the group that we would be passing through part of Iraq on the way, which made some people a bit nervous. I knew the local geography and I knew we wouldn't be going anywhere near Iraq, but the bus did go trough a couple of checkpoints manned by soldiers with guns. To the average tourist who had no idea where the borders of those places are, and didn't know that Arab countries often have such internal checkpoints on their highways, it probably seemed plausible that we were crossing a boundary. I suppose the tour guide thought it would add a bit of drama to the trip.
Hi Rain! It was truly the trip of a lifetime that was all inspired by the seed of seeing the King Tut exhibit in Seattle all those decades ago.
Infidel, I have generally found human nature to be fairly consistent regardless of where I traveled in the world. There are always detractors from every group, every culture, every faith, and every nation sadly.
I have been in the Middle East before, albeit in very different circumstances, but what I found quite interesting this time was the number of people, particularly groups of Egyptian school kids that would shout out to us "Welcome to Egypt!" (How they could tell we were foreigners is a mystery to me. :) ) Many of the school kids would ask to take pictures with us, particularly with my pretty daughter and her friend. The people were very charming and friendly with few exceptions.
I did find the people in Jordan to be friendly as well, but perhaps a little more aloof. I will eventually post pictures of our visit there as well.
As for Egypt, it was astonishing how 25 million people could live in the greater Cairo area. Most of the housing was dilapidated apartment complexes, many of which would have been condemned in the U.S. My heart ached for many of poor people trying to simply survive here. Indeed most of Egypt's population was near the long expanse of the Nile River.
As for your trip to Syria, it does indeed sound like you got a little bit of a dramatic bonus from your tour guide. I suppose such is entirely possible with my tour guide as well, but he didn't strike me as one bent towards the dramatic over the several days we were with him. He seemed very sensible and grounded. He also was very charming and invited us to his home in a small village east of Luxor if we were to ever return. He has corresponded with us and sent pictures of his family since we got home.
Anyway, there doesn't seem to be a logical explanation about the "sperm" symbol carved into the ancient walls, and I honestly suspect that is not what that was meant to represent; however, who can truly say?
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