March 18, 2020 Finally, Pyramids!

We are not sure exactly how we will accomplish the planned megaday: pyramids, camel rides, the Egyptian museum, and more. But we do! And here is what we experienced…

En route to the highlight of the day, they, the pyramids, suddenly appear amidst congested traffic on the cityscape horizon. I had always imagined them to be far away in a desert landscape. Yes, and no.

This is more like what I had imagined. But looks are indeed decieving. 180 degrees from the scene above is an equally close congested neighborhood. Off to the other side, a golf course.

Left-most pyramid in photo above shows a rather flat top compared to others. Believed to have neen damaged in an ancient earthquake which also sank these structures by several meters.

Up close and personal, looking straight up the side of one of the great pyramids at Giza. There are 118 pyramids so far identified in Egypt, and some are indeed far out in the desert. These at Giza seem to be the focus of most of the archaeological attention.

Construction of one pyramid took about 20 years with men laying a slab of stone every 4 minutes 24/7. About 2.3 million blocks were used for each of these larger structures. Limestone and sandstone blocks formed the exterior, granite on the interior rooms, which were located about 67 meters below the surface. We were not allowed into the interior, which is said to be musty, hot, dank, and unadorned.

Close up of the first course of stone of one of the pyramids. Neither the stones nor the structure are smooth, although they appear so from afar. And each stone is set perfectly straight and level.

One of our group members stands in front of the bottom course of stone to give you a sense of scale. Mary Elizabeth is about 5’6″ tall.

A classic view of these grand structures. What a photo cannot describe is the ever present strong odor of camel dung. Nevertheless, we went for a fun camel ride around the pyramids.

Within the ark-shaped structure above is a boat taken from a nearby pyramid shaft in 1954 by Italian archaeologists. Boats are commonly found among the grave goods in these tombs, and are intended to help the pharoah sail to the afterlife. The boat measures 43 m long by 10 m high.

Adjacent each pyramid is a series of shafts which were incorporated into the landscape and contained the royal boat the deceasedwould use to sail to the afterlife.

The famous Sphinx. It is smaller than expected, but no less impressive. Believed to be the guardian of the pyramids, this monument of stone was entirely buried in sand until its discovery. Its nose has been damaged–broken off by a Saudi prince many years ago who objected to its religious significance–and not by Napoleon as is popularly believed. This according to our expert historian Tarek Sarhan.

Our guide urges us each to take a picture and poses us just so. But we do not understand why until we see the photo. Apparently, it is a kind of a tourist gag to have ones picture taken kissing the Sphinx.

After lunch we head to Cairo’s “old” museum. In October 2020 a new museum, The Grand Egyptian Museum, is scheduled to open. It will be the largest archaeological museum in the world, which cost “one hundred thousand and one hundred billion dollars” to build, according to the guide. Presumably this questionable number is in Egyptian dollars. Construction began 15 years ago. In addition to artifacts, it will house 19 restoration labs. The exterior will be covered entirely with carved alabaster and glass, affording a panoramic view of the pyramids.

The existing museum, the old museum, is straight out of an old movie, “Curse of the Mummy” perhaps. It is charmingly old, with ancient display cases, limited security, and if it ever had glitz, it is buried in museum dust. Hard to believe it holds the most valuable pieces of Egypt’s archaeological history, including treasures from King Tut’s tomb, for all of these years.

Early statues.

As we flew by the hundred thousand or so artifacts in this 2 1/2 hour tour, I took photos of things I found appealing, like this carved animal above.

The museum holds all of the everyday items of early Egyptians, including this toiletry basket which may have been the possession of a very privileged person. Other items not photographed include sewing kits, fishing gear, shaving kits, musical instruments, tools, nails, weight stones, weaving looms, pots and pans, and household cleaning tools.

Early toilet seat carved from limestone.

Earliest known painted panel in Egypt, or perhaps elsewhere, with beautiful original paint intact. Early paints were made from ground forms of copper, iron, and limestone, then mixed with egg albumen.

Text of this early papyrus gives the account of a husband’s complaint about his noisy wife. Presumably she talks too much. He is asking the gods to please replace her with a quieter wife in his afterlife.

Dusty crates of artifacts being readied for transport to the new museum. The old museum is being stripped of items and dismantled. Many of the display cases are empty.

Early Egyptians did not believe in death, but rather, in a rich afterlife. Above, one of four rooms removed from King Tut’s tomb. Each contained the goods the pharoah would need in his afterlife. Exterior of these rooms, as with many artifacts, is the purest form of gold. Scientists have no explanation for how early Egyptians were able to process such a pure form of gold–99.9 purity. Egypt is believed to be the first country known to purify and use gold.

Exterior of another room from Tut’s tomb.

Closeup of the second room from Tut’s tomb.

A single piece of carved alabaster forms this vessel containing original perfume.

Chess board from Tut’s tomb.

I was able to take this photograph before a guard scolded me. Ornament of pure gold from Tut’s tomb. I viewed many other gold and jeweled items including beads, intricately formed bracelets, rings, necklaces, and other ornaments.

Ceramic face masks found in ancient tombs; believed to depict the image of the deceased.

King Tut’s bed made of pure gold.

Detail of headboard of Tut’s bed.

Less impressive perhaps, but equally important is this wooden embalming bed on which Tut’s remains were preserved. Stains at the head and foot of the bed show where Tut’s head and feet resided during the long embalming ritual.

Miscellaneous grave goods.

Perhaps in his afterlife, Tut will ride this handsomely carved bull?

King Tut ruled from age 8 years to age 18 when he died of unknown causes. His tomb was one of the smallest, yet it contained over 3,000 artifacts. His death mask, which I viewed but was forbidden from photographing, weighs 22 pounds and is carved from pure gold.

The University of Japan is continuing archaeological work for its 55th year. Recently they discovered a secret shaft in the Cheops pyramid–one of the 3 iconic pyramids we are all familiar with. They dropped a camera down the shaft. It revealed a solid gold door. In the years hence we may hear about this new discovery, so stay tuned!

Egypt in Bits and Pieces

Today was a travel day with little to report, so I take this opportunity to share bits and pieces of interest.

* This is a culture that respects women. Our guide told us a funny story about traffic accidents and the different way these are handled depending on gender. If a woman driver should, say, hit the car of a male driver, the man must respect the woman during the forthcoming exchange of information. He may not yell or scold the woman. Conversely, if a male driver impacts a woman driver, she lays him out in lavender! In the first instance above, the male driver can express his anger at any male passenger in the car ( say, the woman’s husband) but not in public. Any scolding happens between the two men in private only. This bias to woman also extends to traffic violations and ticket violations. It seems women get away with a lot here.

* Our guide, Tarek, is a gem. He holds a masters degree in Egyptology, speaks Japanese, English, arabic, and Polish fluently, has yet to be stumped by any question regardless of how bizarre. He is the renown go-between of Egyptian and Japanese engineers working on the monumental mapping of the pyramids which is sponsored by National Geographic He is involved on archaeological projects regularly here.

* Egypt from the air is a cluster of square light-colored buildings set into sand the color of khaki, which is the predominant color here.

* The typical taxi here consists of a motorbike which hauls a small open wagon seating 6-8 passengers, transporting schoolchildren to school and their parents to work. They have a robust train system as well.

* Five times a day loudspeakers blare out a call to prayer from the local mosque. It is an enchanting, haunting sound. As in every religion, not everybody follows the strict traditions of their religion.

* Men who have been educated must serve a year in the army. Those who are not educated must serve for 2 years, with their first year spent learning how to read and write.

* Sadly, there is an awful lot of open trash and litter here, especially in the rural areas.

* The food here is pretty normal, the gin terrible.

* Pleasant looking and docile wild dogs dot the rural landscapes and wander about all of the archaeological sites. Local people seem to feed them.

* Security here is tight. During each bus we ride, tour, or group gathering, security is present in the form of a nicely dressed man with a fully automatic weapon (Cesta is the brand name). Today our bus was stuck in traffic. When the tour guide saw a police car, he jumped from the bus and waved down the car. We got a police escort through the traffic jam ( because we are Americans, he said).

Tomorrow the pyramids!

March 15, 2020 More Temples and Other Fun

Each day seems to surpass the previous one in its richness. Again today, no more talk, let pictures tell the story which I hope you will enjoy.

We have sailed through the night to the city of Aswan, a more metropolitan area. Here is located one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world. Built in the 50’s, it is now winding down as nuclear, solar and wind power take precedence. When Egypt approached the US for funding for this dam it was refused. Eventually the soviets funded it.

Monument to honor the Egypt-Soviet alliance in completing the dam.

View looking up from the base of the 5 pillars of carved limestone that form the monument.

We visited the Temple of Philae built to honor the goddess Isis. As with other temples, its erection was an enormous undertaking. Read on…

View of another portion of the temple…

And another…

So, here is what impresses us the most: some years ago the rising waters of the Nile caused this temple to became partly submerged. With the assistance of the Italian government and UNESCO, modern day architects, engineers, and archaeologists carefully deconstructed the temple and reconstructed it in its present location.

Present day temple worker. Most of the Egyptian men I observed wear this traditional dress. And yes, I tipped him a couple of US dollars after I took the photo, which is the polite thing to do.

If you look carefully at the faces carved in the top of these temple pillars, you may notice how their expression changes from a frown to a smile. This is intended to depict the ever increasing happiness of the gods as monetary offerings increase!

Our guide points to a barely perceivable square centimeter of pure gold that remains intact on this ankle bracelet of the god depicted here. It is believed that the original design was completely covered with pure gold. It must have been a spectacular sight.

Pockmarked image resulting from attempt to erase the image of the god depicted here, believed to have been done by Coptic Christians who invaded Egypt. Note coptic cross at right.

This rather weakly inscribed entry is believed to be written by the last priest to inhabit this temple. The handwriting on the wall, literally, speaks of the end of the Egyptian civilization. It is believed to be the last written piece of Egyptian hieroglyph.

Granite stone quarry at Aswan where all of the stone used to build the temples as well as the pyramids was quarried. In the foreground a very large piece of granite was in the process of being chiseled out. It was to be an obelisk. Unfortunately it cracked in situ. It is known as the unfinished obelisk. Hundreds of men probably worked for months to accomplish this work which had to be abandoned some 3,000+ years ago.

Later we set sail in a small boat to a botannical garden located offshore. “Crocodile children” row up in small boats, attach themselves to our boat and sing us songs hoping for a tip. We sing them an American song in return. These children are of Nubian descent, an indigenous group numbering about 5 million people in southern Egypt.

Botannical garden at Kitchener’s Island. This was advertised as ” teeming with birdlife” but I found it to be teeming with domestic cats.

As we depart for the mainland we are treated to a view of the hotel said to be the place where Death on the Nile was written by Agatha Christie.

Upon returning to my room onboard, I am greeted daily by a comical arrangement of my bath towels: today a monkey holding my pillow; yesterday an alligator with the TV remote clenched in its mouth. Day before that a swan. Clever cabin crew.