Egypt
Now
<99 Days
to Panama home>
by
Harriet Halkyard
May, 2011
|
We
just
returned from Egypt. Unfortunately the country was also lamenting that there were no tourists to fill the hotels and the souks. We took a tour with Overseas Adventure Travel as they deal in groups no larger than 16 people and we like their down to earth, meet the people, attitude. There were 12 people on this trip and just 6 on the pre-trip to Jordan.
Egypt, the pyramids the sphinx must be on everyone’s bucket list and now is the time to fulfill that wish. |
We were in Singapore for the spring revolution in Egypt. Should we go on the trip we had booked? Should we cancel? In our usual style we procrastinated. Then our tour company, Overseas Adventure Travel, contacted us and said that they were starting up again to take people to Egypt and we would be the first group since the revolution. We felt that we would be ok.
It was more than ok.
John had been teaching in Malaysia and Singapore for a couple of months and we met up with OAT to take their pre-Egypt trip to Jordan. We swam in the Dead Sea, explored Jarash which is an utterly spectacular Roman city and then took the King’s Highway to Petra.
Words cannot describe Petra. As you walk
through the
narrow, water-carved canyon or siq (seek)
you can feel the passage of time. The
water-smoothed sandstone in various shades of creams and oranges change
as you
walk into the shade and back into the scorching sunlight. In places the
canyon
walls almost touch overhead. Fifty years ago when my mother walked the
siq she
was walking over centuries of river silt. After 9/11/01 when there was
a dearth
of tourists the locals were employed to dig out the canyon. They dug
down to a
paved road with aqueducts on either side designed to take water to the
city
hundreds of years ago. Alcoves with gods carved into the sandstone were
discovered where pilgrims would pause to pray along the way.
Then as you wind through this channel of dark
and light
you suddenly catch a glimpse of the magnificent Treasury. When you walk
into
the dazeling open courtyard it is revealed to you in full splendor. In
reality
it is a sarcophagus for a cluster of tombs, long since emptied of their
residents.
As you continue to walk, or perhaps ride a
camel, towards
the ancient city of Petra you pass hundreds of other tombs carved at
various
levels of the cliffs on either side. Then the pink limestone walls open
out to
where the city in ancient times had stood. Not much is left of it now
but there
is plenty to see. Petra wasn’t rediscovered until 1812 and there is a
complete
temple that was only discovered in 1992 by researchers from Brown
University,
Rhode Island, who are still there working on it.
We thoroughly enjoyed Petra, but I want you to
note the
number of tourists there. I have a link below to our pictures. No, it
wasn’t
overcrowded and the locals complained that since the troubles in the
Middle
East, tourism had dropped measurably. Then if you take a look at our
pictures
of Egypt you will see how few people were there.
Some of the most dramatic and wonderful sights
in the
world were peaceful and quiet without busloads of Europeans and herds
of
Americans laughing loudly in every corner.
In Cairo, our tour guide, Sami, jumped on the
bus and
proudly showed his ink-stained finger to prove that he had voted. He
was fifty
seven years old and that was the first time he had voted.
The country was celebrating; you could feel it
in the
hotels, you could feel it in the souks, markets.
Our first stop in Egypt was the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities that sits in Tahrir Square. Liberation Square, as it is known to the locals, is a complex interchange of roads with the blush pink museum anchoring one side and the burnt out ruins of the Democratic Party Building staring empty eyed next to it. The demonstrators had stood with linked arms to protect their museum and after the unrest had cleaned up the litter from Tahrir Square.
The museum itself is a dank, dusty building that has long outlived its mission. What it contains however, is amazing. We strolled the quiet corridors overwhelmed by the artifacts of Tutankhamen and other pharoes, the mummies and items of daily life preserved for thousands of years. I would have liked to have spent all day there even though I am not usually a museum person. Fortunately there are plans for a new museum to be built out near the pyramids. The great statue of Ramses II is already there waiting for the museum structure to be built around and over it.
In Luxor the temple is in the middle of the
city. Again here, centuries of debris
covered a
whole avenue of sphinxes that have only been rediscovered in recent
years. We meandered
through the halls and courtyards of the temples as the sun set. The
light
changed the columns from light cream to a dusky peach. There is an
avenue of
sphinx with the heads of rams that once stretched from the Temple of
Luxor all
the way to the Karnack Temple. Now you can see just a few of them but
you can appreciate
the awe in which the population of this ancient city of Thebes must
have felt.
The Luxor Temple is next to the Nile and right in the middle of the city. It was once used as a Christian church and then was lost and buried under shifting sand and the detritus of new Luxor. A mosque was even built on top. When the temple was uncovered the mosque was preserved and how forms an integral part of the site. I felt completely dwarfed as I walked between the colossal 52 ft columns. The colonnade leads you to the courtyard, also lined with columns designed to look like budding papyrus and this takes you to the hall of Hypostyle. But I don’t want to bog you down with history; anyone who is interested can look that up. To me it was the special feeling of being there, where great processions in glorious colors and gold glinting in the sun would have taken place. And there we were, almost alone to absorb the atmosphere.
The name Karnack means ‘most select of places’
and it
was. I left our little tour group so that I could simply sit alone in
among the
forest of columns. Where there are usually crowds I was almost alone.
Just me
and a couple of sparrows.
There are over three hundred ships that sail
from Luxor
up the Nile to Aswan. Many carry hundreds of passenger. In February
most were
sitting idle. Our little boat, designed to accommodate 32 guests had
twelve.
The Aswan High Dam created Lake Nasser, the
second
largest lake in the world. Unfortunately it also flooded many of
Egypt’s
ancient sites. The greatest of these is Abu Simbel.
There was huge parking lot with space for
hundreds of
coaches. There were just three there when we arrived in our little
minivan.
When those hundred and fifty or so tourists left, we were entirely
alone. There
was just the dozen of us to be overwhelmed by these magnificent
monuments.
Not only is Abul Simbel a massive pair of
structures
carved into the rock. Beyond the magnificent edifices are temples, a
labyrinth
of halls and rooms carved deep into the rock. There was a second great
engineering feat that took place here. In 1968 the entire monument was
sliced
apart and carried above the new water level to be reassembled onto a
specially
made hill.
It was hard to take in all in as we stood in
the shade of
a little tree while Sami gave us our history lesson. I don’t think I
really
heard it as I was in such wonder of the temples before me. Ramses II
built this
complex in the 13th century BC to intimidate his Nubian
neighbors to
the south. I can’t imagine wanting to wage war on someone who could
create
gigantic replicas of himself and his gods.
The temple dedicated to Nefertari, Ramses’ wife, was the first one we explored. There was the main hall and beyond was the rock cut sanctuary and two side chambers all with wall covered with pictures of the pharaoh and his beloved wife. Sometimes they were portrayed as gods and sometimes the gods were portrayed as animals so without a guide it was hard to tell who was who but they were all awe-inspiring and fascinating and beautiful.
By the time we reached the second and larger
temple the
three coach load of Germans had left and we had the temple to
ourselves. When
you enter you are greeted by eight imposing twenty foot statues of
Ramses as
the god Osiris. When you walk behind the statues you come to walls that
are
adorned with etchings and paintings. You can see the gods Set and Horus
adorning Ramses and of the pharaoh defeating the known world and his
bound
captives kneeling before him. There are etchings of him defeating the
peoples
of what are now Syria and Libya and other faraway lands.
Yes, I know we had been asked not to take
pictures and I
did turn my flash off but there was no one there to disturb. The
primary reason
photography is forbidden is that it slows the movement of the tourists.
We were
the only visitors. As my eyes adjusted to the light I could imagine the
priests
in all their golden glory carrying incense and offerings to the gods
within. To
my right Ramses is wearing the crown of Upper Egypt whereas on the left
he
wears the crown of Lower Egypt to signify that he rules all the land.
John was the last to leave. It was just him and
the two
guards with their enormous keys to the temples. There was no one else
on the
great plaza of Abul Simbel.
Do take a look at our pictures (see below) as I
just
can’t do the description justice.
The legend goes that in 1817 a local boy took
Italian
explorers to where drifting sands had almost buried the temples. Under
the
protecting sand they found the temples. The boy’s name was Abu Simbel.
That afternoon I wanted to go into the souk in Aswan. Not that I really needed anything I just like to interact with the locals and I treat a market like a museum where I can take things home if I want to. I took the hotel car the mile or two and was shown a good place to buy saffron. I walked down the narrow lane sided with shops and stalls. Half were closed but those that were open overflowed into the lane. I found the spice shop and continued to walk by until the shopkeeper called to me and invited me to tell him what spice he had in his hand. I took a sniff and we discussed the numerous colored piles in front of his establishment. In no time I was inside enjoying a cup of hibiscus tea and talking about his family and where he had previously worked.
“Did you get involved in any of the
demonstrations?” I
wanted to know.
“No.” he cast his eyes downward. “Aswan is too small. It is too far from Cairo and the other big cities. There were no demonstrations here.”
“How do you feel about the revolution?”
Again he looked at his shoes but when he caught my eye again there was a little smile on his face. “Now I can tell you how I feel. Before I couldn’t say.”
I still get goose bumps when I remember that.
We chatted
some more and I made a friend.
I wandered on down the empty lane with my
purchases. “Do
you know what that is?” another spice salesman asked.
“Yes.” I replied. “It is hibiscus for making
tea. I have
some.”
“Do you know how to make hibiscus tea?”
I didn’t. He went to great lengths to explain
it to me
and I walked on feeling that the place was full of nice men. There were
no
women sales people. It was only men selling in the souk. The place was
empty
and I saw just two western couples.
One side of the lane was the wall of the mosque
and there
was a stall of postcards. I bought some and was enticed into the
owner’s shop
where he also sold me some papyrus pictures. I know I had just bought
some but
these were so much cheaper and had the images I wanted. Next time I
would know
better than to buy in the fancy shop with air-conditioning.
I came to a little stall in front of the mosque
and approached
to look at some beads.
“You know what they are?” came the familiar
question.
“Yes, I think they are prayer beads.” I said
without
looking up. They were ugly plastic made to look like jade. There was no
way I
was going to buy them.
“You know what it says on them.”
“No.” It was the engraving that had drawn me to
them in
the first place.
“This one says Mohammed and this says Allah. So
it says
Mohammed, Mohammed, Allah, Allah.”
“Do you own this shop?” I looked up and saw
that he was
holding a little cup of coffee in his hand.
“No. I’m a barber.”
Now at this point I need to explain that I had
been
traveling for almost three months and my hair was so long that I was
ready to
take scissors to it myself. Also, I had just been shown by a charming
Muslim
woman in a lady’s room, how she wraped a scarf around her head to
create a
turban to cover her hair. If the worst came to the worst I could wear a
turban
for a couple of weeks until my hair grew back.
“Will you cut my hair?”
His eyes opened a little wider. “Yes. Come with
me.”
I followed him about fifty paces to his shop.
It was a
typical barber’s shop with two chairs, a mirror covering one wall and a
counter
with dozens of jars containing scissors and combs and the like.
I don’t think he had ever cut a woman’s hair
before. All
the local women cover their heads and there is no way they would show
their
head to a stranger let alone permit him to touch it. But by then I was
seated.
“How do you want me to cut?”
“Just a little off all around. Perhaps this
much.” I
indicated an inch.
He fussed about asking if he could spray water
and could
he do “steps” in the back which he taught would look good.
“You are the professional. You know how to cut
hair. Just
make me look beautiful. Whatever you want.”
He stepped back looking at my reflection in the mirror in front of us, waving his hands out to his side, one holding a comb, the other scissors not knowing what to say. He leaned forward and gave me a little kiss on the top of my head and went to work. I now have two friends in the souk of Aswan.
Sami had warned us that they sell out of
tickets to enter
the sepulcher inside the great pyramid so we needed to get there early.
Because
of the lack of tourists there were just two people ahead of us and
after they
left we were alone in the heart of one of the wonders of the world. It
was
silent and I could almost feel the pressure of the stone around us.
Earlier that week when we had visited the Valley of the Kings we had found ourselves again completely alone in the tomb of Tutankhamen. At the same time the previous year people had waited an hour and a half to be there in a hot crush or people.
I returned from Egypt with special memories of breathtaking sights and heartwarming experiences that I would not have had at any other time.
If you want to experience the best of Egypt go now before the rest of the world wakes up and crowds you out.
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Our pictures
are on Facebook and
available to everyone. Just go to FaceBook.com and enter Harriet
Halkyard, or use the links below. |
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Amman, Jordan, including Jarash Ballooning over the Colossi of Memnon Shopping for dinner and Karnack, Luxor Nile cruise and Temple of Horus Abu Simbel and a haircut. My favorite day St. Simeon’s Monastery & Nubian village by camel Pyramids and the Sphinx |