Nine feet!

Key memories from Hurgada - lots of water and swimming, lots of food, crazy service, apple flavoured sheesha and good bye to 2007. It was Thomson II’s first time and we all loved watching her – the initial ‘I don’t feel anything’, ‘Oh, now I get it’, ‘My head is spinning’ and the final ‘Nausea!’ But the highlight of Hurgada is going diving. After the initial euphoria of the thought that I'm going diving died out, the next step was actually donning the wet suit and jumping. God, was I petrified! What if I jump and I don’t come up again! What if he doesn’t see me signalling that I want to go up! What if sharks come and eat me up or worse, eat him up – well, the last was of course the over-imaginative me. But, it was a simply awesome experience. The fish, the corals and the achievement of 9 feet! I’ve said it before, I say it again – the beauty of creation leaves me speechless.

Isis,Osiris,Amun-Ra,Hathor,Nut,Mut and all their ilk

Anyway, moving on, our next stop was the Temple of Hatshepsut. The structure is her own memorial temple constructed by Hatshepsut but unfortunately the queen felt compelled to represent herself in male regalia irrespective of how effective a ruler she had proved herself to be, inspite of being female ;-/ To me the beauty of the temple is the manner in which it emerges out of the surrounding cliffs. Originally it was surrounded by plants and fountains and a causeway of sphinxes leading up to the terraced structure. Not much remains today of the surroundings but each of the terraces has been beautifully restored. The chapels of Hathor and Anubis on the left and right, followed by the temple dedicated to Amun, the sun god on the third terrace. The second terrace has the colossal statues of the queen herself in all the pharonic paraphernalia. Another beautiful element is the paintings representing the trade expedition undertaken during her reign to Punt (Somalia). It clearly shows the difference in vegetation, the items traded as well as a couple of jokes at the expense of the over-weight Punt chief’s wife. Much of what Hatshepsut created was defaced by her successor Tuthmosis III – kahani ghar ghar ki – you’d think she was his mother-in-law!
Skipped the Ramasseum, didn’t skip a work-shop where I slipped and bought a Nefertiti and then on to the Colossi of Memnon. The Colossi had stood guard over the funerary temple of Amenhotep II but a fatal design error led to the temple being placed in the Nile flood plains. Inundations and subsequent erosion has ensured that nothing remains. We only have mind-boggling descriptions of it from historians like Herodutus. The Colossi however have an interesting story to tell. It seems during the time of the Greeks, due to structural damage caused by the notorious earthquake, one of the Colossi used to emit a ‘haunting, musical sound’ every dawn. The Greeks believed that the statues represented Memnon, some Ethopian king who was the son of Eos, the Goddess of Dawn, and this was his way of greeting his mum every morning. In return Eos, grieving for the untimely death of her son at the hands of Achilles during the Trojan War, wept tears of dew. Unfortunately, the statue was repaired by a later Greek king, Septimus Severus (nothing to do with our very own Harry Potter and Snape) and Memnon was never heard again.

By this time we were all in need of non-historical respite. Lunch and a short break and on we proceeded to the Karnak Temple or more rightly, the Karnak temple complex. Yes, it is dedicated to the Sun God and yes, the name has originated from Konark, the Temple of the Sun in India, transported to Egypt by the marauding Arabs. What can I say about Karnak. It’s like an exploration site. Every turn you take gets you to a new wonder. The temple was built over multiple dynasties and rulers, each making his addition. The central pillar complex is humongous, 124 gigantic pillars, leading on to the twin Obelix. The significance of the Obelix – not only did they serve as an enormous slate to advertise the achievements of the kings ‘and queens’ but also a time keeper and finally the pyramid at the top, representative of Ra. I suppose if one were to dedicate a day to the temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor there would be many more stories to tell. An interesting fact – proof of the earliest copyrights! There are a number of carvings on all the walls and pillars. One king would construct the temple and the carvings and then subsequent rulers would ‘retype’ over the carvings and claim ownership. The solution – the stories were chiselled as shallow carvings in the stone and the name of the king, in the cartouche, was dug in deep so that it could not be changed. Also interesting was Tweedledum’s question on the numeration of the kings. How does one differentiate a Ramses II from a Ramses IV? Well, it seems, that each king had his own Egyptian name – something like – Meryamun ‘Beloved of Amun’ for Ramses II and Heqaamtre 'Ruler of Justice like Ra' for Ramses IV – which helps Egyptologists to give the right king his due. The story goes that Champollion gets a large part of the credit for deciphering the Egyptian script as well as the fact that the names of the kings were the letters in the cartouches. After struggling for years, one day, while working on a script he suddenly found himself able to read all the names of the Pharoahs. In his excitement, he ran all the way to his brothers house, burst in shouting ‘By Jove, I think I’ve got it’ (well the equivalent in French, of course) and fainted. Et merci de lui, maintenant, nous avons le capabilite de lire toutes les inscriptions sur les anciens murs egyptiennes….and the ancient knowledge and culture of the Ancient Egyptians lives on.
Luxor temple, another huge complex. A causeway of sphinxes, which used to lead up all the way to Karnak, bring you to Ramses II standing tall, granting you entry inside. Interesting facts – a statue of Tutankhamen with wife led to the question – he was married? Well, it seems, not only was he married but after his death, the political blunders of his wife led to the rule of Ay and the subsequent end of the Amarna dynasty, leading on to the 19th dynasty of multiple Setis and Ramseses. The central temple, which was dark and a little too crowded by the time we got there, has depictions of Alexander! With the Egyptian Gods! I love this picture by Thomson - Ramses looks so alive as if he just about to charge all the disrespectful tourists around.
Well..this is where our Ancient Egypt holiday came to an end. A beautiful drive through the Eastern desert the next day, as part of a convoy of course, got us to the beach resort of Hurgada. Time to pay homage to ourselves……

And now on to the Temple of Hatshepsut. The beauty of the temple is that it is seemingly carved into the cliffs.

Yes,wonderful things

Just to set the record straight, this time I was certainly not away for holidays. I've heard horror stories about bulge bracket working hours, but I'm not even bulge bracket! The realisation dawned, while working over the weekend, that if I keep up with the soft front and didnt start delegating and demanding, I'll be slogging away forever. So Monday saw the new me - and here I am, with time to relax at the end of a humanly hardworking day. Tweedledum is at his training in Florida, and I am here to continue my Egyptian tales. We pick up the story at Luxor......
...the boat docked at Luxor in the night and we went to bed dreaming of and dreading the next day. The Valley of the Kings, The Temple of Hatshepsut, The Colossi of Memmon, Karnak and Luxor temples - all in one day! Whew! Come morning and off went the 'Isis Group'.
First stop - Valley of the Kings. I didnt go with any expectations and I didnt know what to expect but still the mind registered it as a strange sight. You seemingly reach the edge of nothingness - ochre hills covered in sand. The heart tells you there's something waiting for you up ahead and the mind asks you....where? The first entry is into a building where they have a very informative 3-dimensional layout of the valley to help visualise the locations of the tombs. Then some tourist transport vehicles take you further in, a road, a gate and there you are. Nothing. Its just the desert and its hills. Well, not exactly nothing; now you know where the tombs are because of the lines formed to enter them. But to think of the archeologists who laboured here for the last 150 years...digging, hoping....
Each visitor pass allows viewing three tombs (Tuts being extra). We went into the tombs of Ramses IV, Setnakht and Siptah. As you enter, the walls of corridors are painted from roof to floor with images of the Gods looking inwards. The name of the king is written all over so that his soul would be able to find its mummified body. Scenes and images from their various books, the principal being the Book of the Dead, are everywhere. Some you understand because the guide has explained them, some you just let your imagination wander. The pharoah with the sun god Ra on his boat, the answering of the questions, the weighing of the heart against a feather - so many stories. The Goddess Nut stretched across a blue starry ceiling swallowing the sun god Ra in the west and giving birth to him in the east - what colours! And they have lasted till today!! So many, so many images - I cant possibly describe them all, I cant even remember them all. They just come back in flashes of colour. And finally, the child Pharoah. Rather than describe my feelings, I would much rather quote, because I kept imagining what it much have been like for them.....scrapping, digging, not knowing what one might find...For us there is a gang plank, we walk in and 30 seconds later, there you are, in the burial chamber, look around, go 'WOW! and then on to the next tomb.
This is Carter at KV20.."...the air had become so bad, and the heat so great, that the candles carried by the workmen melted, and would not give enough light to enable them to continue their work;...as soon as we got down 50m, the air became so foul that the men could not work. In addition to this, the bats of centuries had built innumerable nests on the ceilings of the corridors and chambers...which choked the noses and mouths of the men, rendering it most difficult for them to breathe."....still they persevered. I cant help but imagine them, as they dug, and then they would have held up the candles and in the flickering light of the candle seen all these paintings and images all around them, huge painted walls with Osiris and Ra and Iris and Nut; and then perhaps unknowingly stumbled on a mummy or a bat - Whew! I dont know if my head is imagining an adventure film or a horror movie.
....And the discovery of Tut..."Slowly, desperately slowly it seemed to us as we watched, the remains of passage debris that encumbered the lower part of the doorway were removed, until at last we had the whole door clear before us. The decisive moment had arrived. With trembling hands I made a tiny breach in the upper left hand corner. Darkness and blank space, as far as an iron testing-rod could reach, showed that whatever lay beyond was empty, and not filled like the passage we had just cleared. Candle tests were applied as a precaution against possible foul gases, and then, widening the hole a little, I inserted the candle and peered in, Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn and Callender standing anxiously beside me to hear the verdict. At first I could see nothing , the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle flame to flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold - everywhere the glint of gold. For the moment - an eternity it must have seemed to the others standing by - I was struck dumb with amazement, and when Lord Carnavon, unable to stand the suspense any longer, inquired anxiously, 'Can you see anything?' it was all I could do to get out the words, 'Yes. Wonderful things.' ".....contd

A couple of pictures before we move on

The kiosk of Trajan, taken from our boat.
Some panels and some heiroglyphics at Kom Ombo. There is a huge volume of Egyptian heiroglyphics at all the historical sites which helped Champollion and thereafter the Brits with the Rossetta Stone in deciphering the Egyptian script. The unfortunate Indus Valley Civilization has neither the volume nor the Rosetta Stone and hence all their knowledge and culture has been lost with the passage of time.

A panel from Edfu which Tweedledum found captivating - faces, of course, completely defaced. The original is vertical - I cant get the image rotated for some reason. Are there any tips from this part of the journey? - yes, of course. Dont follow the Lonely Planet recommendations for restaurants - atrocious. We had a horrendous experience when we selected a hotel in Paimpol based on the guide and it was the same in Aswan. Cheap but Bad food. For most travel, try and ensure you have a Master and a Visa card. Egyptian credit card networks are not very stable. Our master cards didnt work in most places. Fortunately, one of the Thomson and Thomson had visa which saved the day. The perfumeries are good, test all, enjoy yourself, and you can even go ahead and buy. I did and am loving the fragrance around the house. Plus it was addition to knowledge that quite a few french perfumeries actually import the flower essences from Egypt.
Next stop - Luxor

Cleopatra Inc meets Ozymandias

A confession - when I bought my camera, I got 4GB of free memory, and I have used it to the utmost in Egypt. Over all our previous trips, my camera would either run out of memory or start displaying blots instead of the image and then poor Thomson would be asked to complete the photographic tasks. This time I tried for a role reversal - I say tried because my shaky hand has ensured that most of the pics taken by me are good only for the trash can and capable of making seulement me relive the holiday. Still, between the four of us, we have over 400 pictures, which makes selecting a very strenuous task.

Anyway, from Cairo, we headed to Aswan. Post a fabulously comfortable Egypt Air flight, a flat tyre and an absolutely non-communicative Egyptian driver, we landed at our hotel. Paradise on an island in the middle of the Nile - I could have spent the entire vacation there. But, of course, we had other things planned. A wake up call at 2 in the night/ morning and by 4am we were part of a desert convoy on its way to meet Ramses II who had been saved, thanks to modern-day geniuses, from a watery grave at Abu Simbel. Now we're talking 1950 BC but somehow, after a while, dates loose their significance in Egypt. Gigantic rock-cut statues, seated in all their royal splendour, watching over the Nile, their fallen mate subtley reminding you of the mortality of all men, even those great ones who have managed to leave behind reminders of their glory for over 400o thousand years now. And as you finish wth the five minute guide, after all this millenia, you still feel the need to ask for permission, before you head inside to gape awe-struck at the carvings and paintings of entire battle scenes, royal episodes, religious moments that fill the walls inside from roof to ceiling. There are two caves - one dedicated to Ramses II and the other to his queen Nefertari, a follower of Hathor, it would appear.
The rest of the day was in homage to us - sack in the pool, squash, eat, drink...fight a little;-)
The first stop of our Nile cruise, the next day, was the Philae temple in Aswan itself. After all the multitudes of 2500/2000/1500 BC, this one at 300 BC seemed like it had been constructed yesterday. By this time, the Romans had made a preliminary entry into Egypt with the multitude of Ptolemys. Carvings all over the walls, the faces of which had been defaced by the multitude of modern day religions which were to follow the Ancients, in ignorance of their culture and advancements. Nothing has changed even today - destroy what you dont understand. That will always be the motto of man. I have a picture of the altar and for some reason, it feels like all the power of the temple has been focused here - quite eerie. One of the interesting elements at Philae is the Kiosk of Trajan - a piece of architecture which didnt get completed. The beauty is that different parts of it are at different stages of completion, which helps us understand how these marvels were constructed.
And on with the cruise.....what a lovely river....green fields on both sides and to think that 5 kms away it would be total desert. The natural topography is just as amazing as the man-made creations all around. The evening stop was at the temple of Kom ombo - dedicated to the Sun god Amun-Ra and interestingly enough a crocodile god called Sobek. Dual temple, dual gate, dual altar, dual hypostyle hall - each a perfect mirror image of the other. By the time we got there, the evening lights had come on, which of course increased the beauty multi-fold. The carvings here were mind-boggling. There was one panel which explained the numering system used by the Egyptians, along with their calendaring system. Another panel explained all the medicinal tools used in ancient times - scalpels, anaesthesia, amazing stuff, half of which I have already forgotten - a must see because it is so unbelievable, we are still talking BC.

And enfin, last and final stop - the temple of Edfu - Amun Ra. But by this time, all we wanted was to sack on the deck chairs on the cruiser :-)

She's always a woman to me....

This time I've been away because of all the holidays. So, it doesnt seem half as bad;-) First India, my little doll who, even though she had no clue who I was when I met her at the airport, knew that BM is this individual who absolutely adores her and so she accepted me into her world without any fanfare. The wedding, hogged till I had made myself sick and then.....EGYPT!!!!!
Its a cliched statement but in all honesty, words cant possibly describe the sight of the Pyramids. We had a stop over flight via Rome, which meant that by the time we landed in Cairo, all we wanted to do was have a warm shower, stretch our backs and put our feet up with a glass of beer at the side. Four tired souls slouched together in the cab as it drove towards the hotel....and then Voila! - there was the first sight of the Pyramids - the three lords towering over all that surrounds them - and your heart misses a beat. How many pictures, how many stories and still, you look at them and the first reaction is - "Impossible, how could the ancients possibly have made them!" Stone over stone over stone - without iron tools - in perfect alignment, with perfect geographical coordinates.
There's nothing I can say that hasnt already been said or cant be found elsewhere on the internet so this is a recording of all the little pieces of know-how which came as a suprise to me. For starters, the pyramids are all from the Old Kingdom, which means that they all date back to around 2750 BC. Never asked myself but if I had ever stopped to wonder, I'm sure I would have thought that they got the stones from some quarry. But no - the stones have been cut by heating rock surfaces and then chipping away at the cracks which would appear. Without iron tools! They were completely coated with limestone so they shone like white icons from a distance. The wonder of the lines hits you when you see the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid from the Step Pyramid - from a distance, the error of one emphasises the beauty, the symmetry and the mathematical precision of the other.
And finally - my beauty - have waited to see her - only to find its not a woman....the Sphinx is actually the Pharoah - Khafre! The body of a lion and the face of the Pharoah, guarding over the Pyramids. I still have unanswered questions for the Sphinx. For starters, if it is a pharoah and not a woman, why call it a Sphinx. Also, when we went to Kanark and Luxor, the face of the Pharoah had been replaced with the face of the ram headed Amun-Ra. So, what is the logic of the changeable face and the body of the lion? Sphinx is the name we of the new generation have given this depiction/ being. What did they call it?

And finally some tips - dont stay at the Cataract Hotel - five star, my foot!! I cant possibly imagine a hotel which actually runs out of water. Besides, staying at Giza, doesnt have you looking at the Pyramids out of your bedroom window (silly me for imagining so) so you might as well stay in Cairo proper. Felfella, good restaurant, good food - ask the maitre d' for tips, the order might turn out to be better. Felafel is called ta'ammiya in Egypt. They eat it only for breakfast, so if you ask for it at lunch or dinner time, you might end up with the waiter smirking at you like you are an illiterate foriegner who couldnt possibly be expected to know any better. Hummous can be asked for, even if you dont see it on the menu, though they seem to prefer Baba Ghanoush. The difference - the former is made of chick peas, the latter of aubergines.

The Egyptian museum - mind-blowing! A guide - a must-have; lots of time - even more of a must-have.

And a final note, the pictures are courtesy Thomson and my new camera. The former particularly gets a hats-off for the Step Pyamid with the camels - a new cover for Egyptian tourism.