Into Egypt

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Geo: 30.0982, 31.2461

I am going to try to do Egypt in 3-4 postings. This is the first. Egypt is an amazing place to visit. I chose to do a tour with G Adventures. This is a small group tour company that I also used last year to go to Israel and Jordan. Brenda, my travel buddy, also did the tour. We have known each other since 6th grade and first traveled together, to Europe, right out of high school.

I realized very quickly how little I know about its incredible history. Of course, I knew it was ancient and could name a few historical figures – Tutankhamen, Ramses II, Nefertiti, Cleopatra etc.. I had no idea of the actual periods of time of their existences and how important or not important they were in the overall scheme of things. There were so many pharaohs and queens and children of pharaohs and queens that it becomes a complicated maize of family trees. Added to this is a mix of gods and goddesses and the kings and queens who embraced them in a myriad of ways. Then, there is the "modern" history of the country which is equally as complex. All of it is fascinating and has set me on a journey to learn more so I can go back and enjoy the experience at a new level.

One of the things that is so striking is the massiveness of all the ancient structures we visited. From the pyramids to the facades and inner structures of tombs and temples everything is bigger than you would ever imagine. There are many massive ancient structures around the world but, of all I have seen, the ancient Egyptians set the standard for humongous.

Cairo/Giza

The journey started in Cairo with the hustle and bustle of simply getting through airport security to walk from the terminal to first night hotel stay, through their security and finally checked in. There is lots of security everywhere you go. Most of the airports have security screening to simply walk through the entrance and again to enter the main terminal and again before you board you flight. X-ray machines, shoes off and a pat down for every single person. Hotels and all archaeological sites also have at a minimum a bag check and many have full x-ray machines. This is the only sign that the country is in the middle of arguably the most volatile part of the world. When you are out and about it is simply business as usual and I never felt unsafe. In fact, most people don't even pay attention to you except when wandering around markets and the ever present trinket stalls at all of the archaeological sites. In these places you are constantly bugged by the merchants to buy from them. They call out “no hassle” but if you so much as look at an item, it is very hard to get them to leave you alone. I have developed a shield for this from having been to countries where this is much worse – no eye contact, no answering their questions and not even a quick look at what they have to sell. It seems very rude but unless you want to be hounded constantly it is the only way.

The first official day of the tour started with a ride to the Giza side of the Nile to our hotel. Thankfully the ring road makes getting from the airport across Cairo to Giza relatively painless which came even more clear a few days later when crawling through midday traffic to get to the Egyptian Museum.

From our hotel in Giza we could see the Pyramids through the haze and smog. Once at the site it was shocking to realize that you can't actually get a good view of the pyramids close up because they are so huge. You are constantly straining your neck to look up and in my head I must have said “wow” about a million times.

There are three main Pyramids in this area including the Great Pyramid. These huge structures were tombs for dead kings and typically built during the lifetime of the king ultimately buried there. The size of the Pyramid indicated the seniority of the monarch. The tombs for their queens were smaller. The Pyramids are the only one of the original Seven Wonders that still survive today. The Great Pyramid is the oldest and largest of the Pyramids. It was built by the 4th Dynasty king, Khufu (2589 – 2566 BC). The other two pyramids in this area for Khufu's son, Khafre and his successor Menkaure. There is an area where you can get a good view of these (photo of me in front of them). Any closer and you can't see all three at the same time. You can enter the smaller tombs for free and pay to enter the Great Pyramid but they were looted long ago and there is nothing to see. They were not painted and decorated like the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. If you are claustrophobic don't do it!

There is also the Solar Boat Museum which is well worth a visit. It holds a full-size ancient Egyptian boat, discovered in pieces in 1954, lying in a pit beside the Great Pyramid. Experts spent 14 putting the 1200 pieces back together again using ancient materials of wooden pegs and grass ropes. It is called a solar boat because it resembles the vessels seen in tomb paintings in which the sun god makes his daily trip across the heavens. It is not clear if the boat was buried for the son god or for the pharaoh's own journey across the heavens.

The Sphinx is a short drive from here. It is 66 ft. high and the head may be that of a king due to the royal headdress. There are many stories for how the Sphinx lost its nose but it was lost sometime in the

A visit to the Egyptian Museum is a must but make sure you have the time. The museum has been at its current location in Cairo since 1902 and was founded by the famous French archaeologist, Auguste Mariette. 120,000 items are on display with another 150,000 in storage. All of this will be moved to the new Grand Egyptian Museum which is scheduled to open in 2018. This museum requires several hours to do it justice but well worth it. It is only two floors but they are massive. It is organized by Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, Tutankhamen Galleries, Royal Mummy Room and then miscellaneous exhibits.

The most famous collection here is the artifacts from Tutankhamen's tomb and includes more than the pieces that toured the world. Seeing his actual coffin was very interesting. The king's mummy lay within a nest of three coffins, the innermost of solid gold, the two outer ones of gold hammered over wooden frames. Compared to other tombs discovered in the Valley of the Kings, Tutankhamen's is small because he was a relatively insignificant king in the overall scheme of things. His fame comes from the fact that this is the only “intact” tomb discovered. It hadn't been looted clean and was discovered accidentally in 1922 by Howard Carter the archaeologist funded by Lord Carnarvon.

The Mummy Room houses several famous kings such as Tuthmosis II, Seti I and the mighty Ramses II. It is quite amazing to see the good condition of these bodies in spite of the fact that they are some 3000 years old!

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Photos

Entry to the Great Pyramid
This is not the way in though

Most valuable artifact
It is only a few inches tall

Comments

[Sherrill]

Carole, I visited the pyramids while on a Mediteranean Cruise, some years ago. We were only there one day but it was so amazing, I can still conjure up visions of the grandeur of it all!!