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Published: April 1st 2005
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Temple at Luxor
The size of these columns is staggering. Our guide said an important construction technique was to pile dirt at the base, slide up a block weighing several tons, set it in place, then add to the dirt pile until the top was finished. Unlimited manpower and time plus design and engineering genius. Egypt and Jordan - The Pharaohs, Moses and Indiana Jones
We left our ship in Egypt for another four-day overland trip, this time through two countries, Egypt and Jordan. If you look on a map, you’ll see that they lie more or less side by side on either side of the Suez Canal where it empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Israel (much smaller) comes down between the two countries in a wedge that prevents them from having contiguous borders. The still smaller Palestinian territory inside Israel also borders on Jordan.
Our first stop in Egypt was Luxor, where we saw temples and statues familiar to us from National Geographic pictures - the great Temple of Luxor with its towering 50-foot columns and a seated Pharaoh whose enormous feet were at eye level to tourists. It’s hard for pictures to convey the enormous weight and gravity of these somber five-thousand year old artifacts. They must have been overwhelming indeed when they were complete buildings in all their glory and were filled with priests and mysterious masters of death. Our guide described the process of mummification that took 70 days in an underground room among massive stone columns constructed from 3-ton
Temple at Luxor
Unbelievably, the entire temple was hidden underground until modern excavations uncovered it. The builders of the old mosque on top of it had no idea what was underneath. The mosque's front door once opened just above this large chamber whose high windows can be seen below it. blocks of granite. One man alone in the entire world - the pharaoh - was permitted to have a body that could go to the afterlife with him, if it was properly prepared. If Isis found him acceptable, he would be permitted to use there his golden furniture and servants, whose images were buried with him. It is absolutely amazing that ideas like this were at the heart of a culture that lasted longer than any other on the face of the earth, and produced its most enduring works of art.
Forgive me for getting carried away, but Egypt was a remarkable place. We also visited the Valley of the Kings in Cairo, the site of underground tombs for several Pharaohs, with walls covered with the hieroglyphs also familiar to National Geographic readers. It was a long hot bus ride to the site, full of so many American and European tourists that we could only file through the caves in our allotted ten minutes. Our guides who could have told us so much weren’t permitted to come in with us. And no picture taking allowed, on pain of having your camera confiscated. But it was an experience none of
Valley of the Kings
The hot dusty road leading down into the Valley of the Kings. The caves where mummies were hidden are around to the right at the base of steep cliffs. One reason the site was chosen was the shape of the center peak, which is similar to a pharaoh's headdress.
us would have missed.
Security was very tight in Egypt. They are taking no risks with their valuable tourist trade in this volatile part of the world. Our buses traveled in convoys, with an armed security guard on each bus. There were many armed guards at some of the more popular tourist sites, especially in metropolitan areas. Airport security was slow and tedious.
From Cairo we flew across the Nile and Israel to Amman, the capital of Jordan. (Remember the Ammonites in the Old Testament?) This struck us as a very laid-back place after Egypt. No armed guards on the streets or on our bus. Our young guide, Sami, entertained us with stories of his father, sheik of his clan, and his 20 brothers and sisters. His hometown was Petra, which we visited the next day, so he was delighted to be going there with our group. The desert land around Petra, he said, was divided by the government and King Abdullah among three tribes. Sami's father and many relatives lived in Petra.
But first we visited Mount Nebo, which was a remarkable experience. This was the mountain, tradition says, on which Moses stood when the Lord
Pharaoh's Foot
No ego problems here! Sometimes the king's favorite wife or daughter was shown as a knee-high image standing behind his foot. The "F2" sign, by the way, is our guide's way of keeping his flock together. showed him the Promised Land that he could never enter. It is approached by a nondescript paved road. There is a short walk from a small parking lot bearing a sign saying the site has been researched and preserved by the Franciscans. At the top are ruins of a series of old Christian churches dating back to 400 CE, with some lovely old stone mosaic floors still preserved. There is a panoramic view out across the Jordan River valley and beyond. To our astonishment, we were informed that Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives were only a few miles away, and on a clear day could be seen from the peak. (Unfortunately the air was smoggy from sandstorms on the Negev desert.) Looking at the map, it appears we were looking across Palestinian lands toward Israel, with Jerusalem on the border between the two.
Also in this neighborhood we visited the old town of Madaba (ma-DAH-ba) where there was another old church with an interesting mosaic map of the region in the floor dating back to the 5th Century and the early Byzantine Christian church.
We had a delightful lunch at Madaba, in an old stone courtyard where
Mount Nebo Mosaics
This lovely old mosaic floor was the last and final layer in the ancient church site at the top of Mount Nebo. This was one of three churches, all built side by side. This mosaic was covered (and protected) by a later floor which is now displayed on the walls above the rock foundation. It even survived a major earthquake. local delicacies were served in an endless series of platters and bowls brought from the kitchen. Every time we thought we were through, more arrived until we were stuffed.
Finally, after two days we set out on the long 3-hour drive south through the desert to Petra, which lived up to the Indiana Jones stereotype and more - except we saw no chalices or dead Crusaders in the caves! It was a very large and impressive site, with the famous Treasury building only the tip of the iceberg. It's called the Treasury building, by the way, because of an old myth that a pharaoh's treasure was once hidden in the vase at the top, which is pockmarked with bullets fired by hopeful Bedouins. The caves and carvings at Petra date back to 600 BC and later, said to be done by the Nabateans, who are also mentioned in the Bible. (Herod’s mother was a Nabatean, for example.) The site was thronged with tourists, gift shops, children selling postcards, camels and donkeys for hire, and all the other familiar denizens of famous tourist sites everywhere. Since we had already taken the obligatory camel and donkey rides elsewhere, Dick and I
Mount Nebo Statue
This modern metal statue was erected to honor Moses. It represents the serpent he held aloft in the wilderness, as well as the cross of the crucified Jesus. settled for a horse-drawn cart that took us down the mile-long crack in the rocks leading to the caves. Thanks to Mae Joyce’s warnings, we found one that took us slowly enough for comfort.
That night we had a catered dinner out under the stars in front of one of the impressive carved caves, lit by spotlights and with some local musicians providing music. It was on private land - the whole region is pockmarked with ancient artifacts apparently, like an archeologist’s dream. Sami our guide told us as a child he watched road construction in the area that threw up truckloads of dirt laden with museum-quality pottery and other old artifacts.
After two days we flew back to Cairo where we finally saw the famous pyramids and Sphinx. Again, words fail me. The pyramids were awesome, not the least because of what it took to build one, and the wondrously futile purpose of it - a grave for one man! That night there was a hugely impressive “sound and light show” for the entire ship, with all 600-odd passengers making the 3-hour trip by bus to see it. This was a special showing just for our group,
Mount Nebo View
View west from Mount Nebo, across the Jordan valley toward Jerusalem. It was a beautiful clear day but the view was hazy because of dust in the atmosphere. In King David's time and later, the land was heavily forested. Our guide said the trees were cut when Turkey dominated the area, to make their railroads. Jordan has not yet made much progress in reforestation, which is badly needed. courtesy of the Egyptian government, and it included another catered dinner on tables set up on a specially built platform over the amphitheater that usually seats guests. Talk about rolling out the red carpet! They did, literally, and as we stepped upon it we passed two trumpeters blasting out the Grand March from Aida. It was a wonderful evening.
We’re now on the way to Athens, resting up for a day of climbing the Acropolis and seeing the sights.
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anonymous
non-member comment
loved your blog
Hello. I'm an Egyptian, living in the states, and am always interested to know what others thought of their trip to Egypt. Glad to hear that you enjoyed your trip. Why Egypt? Because it's amazing, it's exciting, it's history. - Roonie