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Published: September 26th 2009
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We were warned that Cairo was going to be a hectic immersion point and we were well prepared, but we were not expecting the streets to be so busy at 2am on a Sunday morning. Intense crowds in their (Sunday) best thronged the streets eating ice cream, throwing firecrackers and generally having a proper old party, even the shops were still open and doing excellent business! The reason for this late night revelry was that all of Cairo were marking the end of Ramadan in joyous, boisterous celebration. Some welcome.
The next morning we embarked early on the tourist trail by booking a taxi for the day to take us to the pyramids at Saqqara and Giza. After a drive through some arable land where we witnessed farmers in Gallabiyya riding donkey carts, kingfishers buzzing the canals like iridescent exocet missiles, children playing in the streets and women clad head to toe in black, pumping vigorously and a standing well, we came out into the dusty brown desert and the step pyramid of Saqqara. This pyramid was the first to be built in Egypt and hence can be seen as a prototype for the more recent (comparatively) and impressive examples
at Giza and Dashur. Rather than the steep, almost flat flanks of these, Saqqara consists of six large "steps". From here we had amazing views to the pyramids at Dashur and the three pyramids of Giza, which is where we headed next.We were pretty late getting to Giza so only had a short time to take in the monumental scale of the pyramids at Giza and the sadly battered Sphinx. Once we had had walked out into the desert a little to get a better view and to avoid the incessantly buzzing touts and unwelcome attention Anny was receiving from some, most, pretty much all the men, we were able to make an attempt at processing the superlatives of these three spectacular behemoths. We failed. To think they were constructed 2566 years before Christ, that's over 4500 years ago is incomprehensible. That they are 140 meters tall and constructed of over 2,300,00 stone blocks weighing, on average, 2.5 tonnes each is mind scrambling. Even though their image is one of the most ubiquitous of all buildings, it did not lessen their impact when seen in the flesh, or should I say stone. Stunning.
Next day we attempted to get
more of a handle on the ancient world of the Pharaoh's by visiting the Cairo museum. I'm not normally one for such places, to my detriment, but this was was one of the best. The museum houses a colossal amount of artefacts, far too many to see in one visit, so we went straight to the most famous and viewed the artefacts removed from the boy king Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922, by the Englishman Howard Carter. Although, so we were told, it was not him who discovered the tomb. Apparently, after living in Luxor for seven fruitless years, he was taking a final ride on his horse before leaving for England when, descending the valley of the kings, his horses foot went through the earth and opened up the tomb. Thus it was his horse, and not Howard Carter, that discovered the tomb! No matter who it was, the artefacts found are quite simply exquisite. The detail of workmanship and the beauty of his burial mask attests to the stunning skill of the artisans at the time. Small details, like the clasps on some of the jewellery, were hardly different in design from those used today, yet these are 4000
years old!
After lunch we took a walk through the almost medieval streets of Islamic Cairo. The narrow streets, liberally scattered with stunning Mosques and crowded by souks and bazaars, were a noisy, disorientating but thoroughly enjoyable place to get completely lost in. We came upon a Mosque, that of Sultan Al-Muyyad Sheikh, which had the largest and most beautifully detailed doors. We stood gawping at these for a while before we were noticed by a gentleman who asked us to come inside. We spent the next hour being given a guided tour of this amazing building by this intelligent and gentle man, the highlight of which was ascending the minaret to gain an unparalleled view of the Cairo skyline, all for a couple of pounds baksheesh!
That night we had the pleasure of a 12 hour train ride to Luxor. In truth it was not really that bad, especially as we opted for seating rather than sleeper to save money. Half an hour after arriving we had bagged ourselves a room with spectacular views of Luxor temple and the Nile and were setting out on a tour of the sights of Luxor's East bank. Our plan, successful
as it turns out, was to visit the tombs in the valley of the kings, the same in the valley of the queens, the temple of Hatshetsup and the Colossi of Memnon. it was an amazing day but I've never, in all my travels, been quite so hot as I was today! We were reliably informed that this was an exceptionally hot day for the time of year and that the mercury was pushing 50 degrees! We hoped that inside the tombs, one of which descended for 150 meters, would offer a cool haven but they were stuffy, humid and just as hot as outside.
The tombs, though hot and crowded were pretty interesting, what surprised me most was how well preserved the colours were on the carvings on the walls. All the tombs were predominantly the same, being decorated by the Egyptian book of the dead, a psychedelic guide to the dead kings soul to help his progress to the other side. The hieroglyphs were amazing but, for me, it was the depictions of the various gods that really took my breath away, literally. Hatshetsup temple was next, the location of which, at the base of a huge
cliff in the desert, is particularly stunning. The Temple has been restored and it was nice to get a greater feel for how it must have looked all those many years ago. The colossi of Memnon were colossus. A long, hot, physically debilitating day that will live long in my memory.
I have visited so many Temples on my travels, indeed at times I've been properly Templed out, and there was a danger of that happening now. Thankfully this was the last we planned to see and most definitely the best, quite possibly one of my favourite ever. Although in disrepair (unsurprising giving its phenomenal age) this was a Temple on a quite profoundly huge scale. The most impressively huge, well preserved and beautiful areas of Karnak is the Hypostyle hall. This "room" consists of some 134 massive columns some 23 meters tall, all of which are impressively carved. It is truly like entering a land of giants. As the oblique morning sun sliced through the forest of columns to cast long shadows on the floor i raised my eyes, mystified, to the sky where I could see, underneath the huge slabs that balanced across the tops of the
columns, the most beautifully painted, colourful depictions of scarabs, Hieroglyphs, Gods and monsters. A surreal and magical place.
This was only one small part of the enormous complex and we spent am amazing couple of hours exploring the rest of the sight. Huge statues loomed round every corner, Obelisks like enormous needles pierced the unrelenting blue of the sky, small but exquisite details on crumbling pillars were observed and reflections marvelled at in the sacred lake whilst our eyes wondered past the nile to caress the horizon to see Hatshetsup in the quivering distance. The only negative about this phenomenal place was the presence of "guides" who, seemingly round every corner, would pounce upon us, point out a particular detail, recommend we take a photo and then demand baksheesh for this invaluable "service"! We made a game of this and became quite adept at dodging them!
So now, after the speed, noise, size, brilliance and pain of the last three days, and a horrid, nasty 20 hour bus journey, we are now happily ensconced in a delightful guest house with spectacular views across the Gulf of Aqaba to the mountains of Saudi Arabia. We are relaxing. I shall
explain how later. Ma'al el salama.
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