More History in Cairo

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Today we get picked up later because we will not be coming back to the hotel before we catch our train to Aswan tonight. We were going to be picked up at 10am but they are a bit late due to a car accident on the main road in and out of the city.

MUMMIES, KING TUT AND ALL THAT STUFF

First up we head to the Cairo Museum, it’s a huge red building in the middle of the city so it makes it easy to get your orientation in the city (if you chose to leave the safety and comfort of your guide!). No cameras and videos are allowed so Nesreen puts ours in a safety deposit box.

She tells us about the major pieces and says if we stop for 1 minute to look at every piece we would be there for 9 months, so since we’re away from home for long enough we decide to let her decide which stories she tells. At first I thought maybe she only knows the stories on these particular pieces but when I ask her about other things she’s straight onto it, she really knows her stuff!

All the things that have been taken from the pyramids are housed here, including everything from the Queen’s pyramid we went into yesterday and also all of King Tutankhamen’s belongings.

It is amazing and perhaps a little voyeuristic looking at all these things, to think they were all used by and were special to somebody thousands of years ago.

When they are prepared for preservation, only their heart remains in the body. Their other organs are placed into 4 containers and kept near the body. The Queen’s containers are on display and you can still actually see some of these remains!

She had also some beautiful bowls, jewellery, a chair and her tomb itself. The tombs in general are made of solid stone, often granite and are almost 30cm thick.

KING TUT

There is a whole floor just for King Tut. As he was discovered in the early 1900’s all of his things were preserved, kept and recorded so that nothing went missing.

Because he died suddenly at the age of 20 (he got injured in an accident and then became ill and died) he never had the opportunity to plan ahead like others had. So it was up to those around him to ensure his path into Paradise. They believed that if they didn’t do this properly that they would also not go to Paradise. So an enormous amount of effort was put into arranging things. His body was placed into a casket that went into another casket. His face was covered in the blue and gold mask that everyone associates with him and he was wearing a huge amount of gold jewellery. Both the 2 caskets were heavily decorated in gold.

These caskets were then placed into a large box, the size of a 4 man tent, then this went into a larger box and this into an even larger box and then finally in a fourth and final box. Of course all the boxes were decorated in more gold.

He had a lot of jewelry, it’s hard to believe it’s thousands of years old, it is so nice I’d be happy to wear it now!

He had games and all the chairs that he used since he first became King at 9 years old, because he was so small and young they all have footstools so his feet wouldn’t dangle.

There is 356 statues representing his servants, one for each day of the year, lots of walking sticks and canes of all different sizes as he had one leg shorter than the other, chariots and shields he used in battle, containers of his favourite foods, just so much!

THE MUMMY ROOM

We also went into the mummy room which is exactly what it sounds like. There were about 8 mummies perfectly preserved and kept under glass. It was incredible to see what amazing job had been done so long ago. We can’t cure a cold but they could preserve the dead (not to mention all the things they built) to last thousands of years. You could still see their hair, teeth (some had incredible teeth, perfectly straight) and even their eyelashes. Even though each was kept in individual temperature controlled boxes, the deterioration was still evident when Tim noticed a bit of one shoulder dropped off (sorry to gross you all out!).

OLD CHURCHES AND THE LIKE

We then went to old Cairo, which is exactly as it sounds, the original part of Cairo. We went to a Christian Church that had been destroyed by the Roman’s and the new church was built on the remains of the old one. It is called the Hanging Church as it literally hangs over the original using logs. It is currently being restored by the Government to prove to the people that they acknowledge the other religions.

We then went to Mohammed Ali’s Mosque. No, not the boxer! This is a huge mosque built on the highest central point in Cairo so it could always be seen and is built inside an old fort. To enter you have to remove your shoes and they gave me a lovely green cape (it looked like a surgical gown worn backwards) to wear as I was only wearing shorts and t-shirt. This is a beautiful building and Nesreen was able to explain all the rituals that need to be followed and why. She also explained why the women have a separate place to pray. It’s because when they bend over to pray, it could expose something and just be considered an inappropriate position to be in in front of strangers. At home she prays with her husband.

We then went to the Khan El Khalili markets. Great markets, especially if you’re in the mood to barter. Whatever price they say, you could probably get it for between one third to one half. If you are particularly lucky, maybe even a quarter. After such a long day, we weren’t really in the mood to shop (no, not even me) but it was fun to walk through and look, they hassle you just like in Bali or Thailand to buy, buy, buy. This is also one of the first places where I encountered the down sides to being a woman here. First we went into a shop and first the guy would talk over me and then just ignore what I’d say, so in the end I told him to be quiet and let me speak. Tim said later he thought it was hilarious! Then in another shop, the guy was just out and out sleazy even though he knew that Tim was my husband and only a few feet away. So we just left.

OUR FIRST HARD ROCK CAFÉ OF OUR TRIP

We had some time to kill before our train so we got dropped off at Hard Rock café Cairo. I’m so in love with these restaurants and wish we had one in Perth, although if we did perhaps they wouldn’t be so special anymore!

We had ourselves a milkshake each, although I drank mine a little quick and then had to pay the price and feel a bit yucky for the next half an hour, but it was worth it!!!

OUR SLEEPER TRAIN

We went to the train station and had to wait about an hour for our train. Ahmed, who first met us at the airport waited with us. Obviously it was his job to make sure we arrived to Cairo okay and make sure we left! Above us was the new electric trains but the station where we were just had diesels. The passenger trains that were coming through were old and perhaps not what we really wanted to spend the next 12 or so hours in, I had read not to expect too much from our train so will be very interested to see what we end up with.

Finally it arrives and Ahmed takes us to our carriage. We have a little compartment to ourselves. It has 3 seats and a little basin with towels and soap to freshen up in. There’s a coat hanger and a couple of hooks to hang things and up the top is an area to put luggage, but there is no way we’re keen to haul our bags up there, so they make a good footrest instead.

Dinner arrives and there’s something to suit everyone, even cake for later.

The steward (he is wearing the coolest uniform - complete with bow tie) come and set our beds up for us, and I bags the top bunk! The beds are actually (and surprisingly) quite comfortable. They are all made up with sheets and a blanket and because the room is air conditioned it’s really quite cosy and I sleep really well, perhaps I get to sleep a little too quick considering because of work I should be conditioned to stay awake on a train!

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