Out of the about 100 odd known tombs of Pharaohs, this was the
only one found in a nearly intact state by Howard Carter in 1922. One can only
imagine his reaction when he stumbled upon this priceless treasure. There is an
old black and white photo of this moment.
The better part of an entire floor of the museum is dedicated to
these contents which includes the six giant golden boxes, throne, sarcophagus
and the golden mask. Also on display are various other objects used by the
emperor including chappals and even a condom made from linen!!!
Another section containing the actual Mummies in
glass containers attracts an additional ticket, but is a must see. The mummy of Ramses (one of the greatest Pharaohs) lies along with small packets containing
hair and pieces of him. It seems the mummy was sent by the Egyptian Govt to
Paris for scientific research. A few months later, small pieces of it turned up for sale on ebay!!.
The Egyptians quickly called the
mummy back and the packets now lie next to him, in gory testimony of the fact
that human greed and stupidity, in any part of the world, knows no bounds. Reminds me of
the similar fate which the original Star Spangled Banner met with in the USA,
and now lies in the Smithsonian Museum at Washington with pieces of it missing.
The ground floor has a replica of the Rosetta
Stone and statues of various Pharaohs salvaged from the archaeological sites
all along the Nile. The level of craftsmanship, use of materials like granite
and dolerite, sophistication of shape and design and particularly the use of
crystals to make lifelike eyes on the statues is actually jaw-dropping. One has
to keep pinching oneself every now and then to be reminded that all this was
done 4-5000 years ago!! Unfortunately no photography is allowed inside the
museum.
The little pond with lotuses outside with papyrus grass growing
there is actually symbolic of all that Egypt stands for.
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| Cairo Museum |
To really enjoy the sense of history, a guide is a
must and actually a whole day is required. But one should try to reach at sharp
9 AM and spend at least 5 hours. The other agenda of the day being the pyramids and
sphinx, ‘covering’ Cairo in a single day is actually a shame!! But that’s what
most itineraries will allow and so after a quick bite one heads towards Giza, a
township on the west of the Nile.
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From the Le Meridian@Giza
|
As per the ancient tradition everything about life
is to be on the East of the Nile while the West, where the sun sets, is reserved
for the dead/afterlife. The Pyramids were the earliest tombs built by the
Egyptian royals (about 4000 yrs ago before wheels came into existence with only stones and copper chisels !!) and
are about 100 in number. The best known (oldest and largest) are located at
Giza.
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| On the Grand Pyramid, Giza |
Even if one has seen pictures of them a million
times, they still manage to take your breath away. Proudly standing for 4000
odd years, they keep mocking at you knowing that your brain is being hammered
with the question:how on earth did they do it. Each stone is about 5 feet high. The complete absence of rain in this part of
the world of course makes them look fresh and new.
The Pyramid of Khafre also
has a surviving cap of ‘casing stones’ which appears from far like a smooth
plaster. These smooth stones were actually covering all pyramids but were
removed by various later kings and used as construction material elsewhere ! In fact one of the later Muslim rulers actually
had plans of destroying and using the stones from the entire pyramid, but found
it too difficult to dislodge them.
All the burial chambers have been opened in antiquity and
have been looted and are therefore devoid of all contents. It might still be worth the EGP 50 for a visit to the inside of the Pyramid.
The Great Sphinx is located nearby and though it
pales in size when compared with the Pyramids, it is in itself quite a
substantial monolithic structure. Hundreds of smaller sized sphinxes are seen
in all the historical temples and they seem to roughly perform the same
function as the Nandi bull does outside our temples.
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| The Grand Sphinx |
The Sphinx area, which is otherwise the site for
the daily evening sound and light show, was buzzing with activity. Yanni the famous musician
had been invited by the government to play live at this historic location. One
because he likes doing that and mainly because it was a Governmental initiative
to encourage tourism.
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| Yanni live at the Pyramids. |
In the evening we went walking along the Giza
road, now the scene of high security bandobast, with the pyramids in the
background with the laser lights making the whole thing surreal.
We were taken for the compulsory commercial visits
where one is shown how papyrus and perfumes are made and then expected to buy souvenirs.
As it happens, the technique of papyrus making is so ridiculously simple and
the grass grows wild all along the Nile. The perfume factory is a bit of a
ripoff but it is very difficult to resist the charms of the salespersons..
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| The Papyrus Grass |
Our hotel was host to a marriage party in the evening and we got
a firsthand look into a Muslim marriage in Egypt. Seeing this and the sights of
Cairo and other places, we were convinced about the description of Egypt as
practicing “low grade Islam”.
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| Muslim bride |
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| Waiting for their turn! |
The next morning we took a flight to the southern
town of Aswan which is close to the Sudan border and is famous for its granite
quarries and the High Dam.
Also quite perceptible is the change in the skin
colour of the locals who are of African decent, wear a gown like dress called
Galabaya and even speak a non Arabic language called Nubian. Incidentally one
the Pharaohs was also a Nubian (black) and accepted as the ruler of entire
Egypt.
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| Aswan High Dam |
The Nile is the longest river in the world and
flows southwards from neighbouring Sudan. The old Aswan Dam was built by the
British in the early part of the last century. The High Aswan Dam was built in
the 70’s with the help of the Russians.
Any dam project tends to create a lake
displacing and inundating many structures. In this case the Lake Nasser
threatened to inundate the ancient Philae temple. With help from UNESCO, the
entire structure was moved, stone by stone and recreated on a nearby island .
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| Boat to Philae Temple |
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| Philae Temple |
This “historic” temple of Philae is approached by a short boat ride. The temple
is dedicated to the god of fertility. Any woman wanting children would petition
the God by rubbing her fingers along the stone columns. This has left deep
grooves in most stones in this temple. The face of the goddess has been
completely worn out due to this fertility treatment.
This damage is severe
but not as unfortunate as the deliberate chiseling of various sculptures
that one finds all over Egypt done by later
rulers like the Maltese Christians and Muslims.
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| Fertility treatment |
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Deliberate defacement
|
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| Lower half of carvings - chiselled deliberately |
We boarded our luxury liner the Miss World, for
the three day Nile cruise. To say that this was a most memorable
experience would be an understatement.
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| Sunset on the cruise |
Unbelievable, ethereal, amazing…you can go on
conjuring adjectives to describe this feeling and still fall way too short.
Sailing down the Nile in a boat, a floating five star hotel is closer to the description, water gently
lapping the sides, the night breeze blowing as small villages dotting both the
banks pass by, and hardly any feeling that you are actually floating….
The first thing which strikes any Indian traveler is how squeaky clean the
entire 1000 Km of the river bank is; including the areas with heavy human
habitation.
No floating plastic bottles, no polythene bags (which by the way
are not banned in Egypt and are freely available), garlands or other muck. In
fact there is not even a mossy smell!!. The Nile truly is a gift to the people
of Egypt, and one which they actually look after, cosmetically and otherwise.
I’m sure Egyptians will find it incredulous that we actually have to create a
ministry to keep just one of our so called “holy” rivers clean; of course with
little or no result whatsoever.
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The clean Nile
|
Historically speaking, the Egyptian dynasties
which were considered the original (local) ones are those that existed till
before 500 BC while those derived from the Greco-Roman era are considered the
foreign ones.
Obviously the later archaeology ought to be better preserved, but
in the words of our Egyptologist guide, the Greeks were misers. Didn’t
want to work the hard stones like granite and dolerite, and instead chose to
use local white sandstone for their temples like those at Kom Ombo.
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| The Crocodile temple at Kom Ombo | |
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| Crocodile Mummies at Kom Ombo museum |
The temple of Kom Ombo is dedicated to the
Crocodile God. The origins of their Gods like elsewhere are based on a simple
concept. Whatever you feel threatened by or are actually troubled by gets
elevated to the status of God. The God needs to be appeased by way of prayer
and by offerings, which would naturally be handed over to the priests for
further transmission.
Since the graves were most at risk of being violated by
jackals (in search of food) guess who is the God of death and mummification:
Anubis the jackal headed God. Since the Nile was filled to the brim with
crocodiles who attacked humans, guess who is the God of the river; Sobek the
crocodile headed God.
In fact a most fascinating arrangement exists at this temple where there is a duct connecting the Nile and the Temple with a
projecting tube like structure. The animals (Sobek the God) would appear and
the fish offerings brought by the people would be tossed to them!!
Another feature of the temple is the Nilometer, a
device which would make any finance minister blush. It’s a deep well connected
to the river from underneath and the water level in the well would determine
how well the river has flooded in that year, in turn nourishing the lands to
that extent. So the tax rate for that year would depend on the level achieved
at this Nilometer.
What
is never mentioned in any hieroglyphic, is the all pervasive role of the High Priests who
seemed in control of everything, and were very wealthy as well. The subtle subtext
is seen everywhere. After all it was this middleman who made sure that the commoners
feared the wrath of the various Gods and made offerings to the temple in his
name.
They further declared that the Pharaoh was sent by God himself to protect
them. The Pharaoh didn’t mind being
lifted to the status of God and spent unprecedented amounts to build temples to
appease the Gods and their spokespersons-the Priests.
And so it carried on till
the first century BC when during the Greek times, when the royalty became more hedonistic, and even
the commoners started losing interest in embellishing the clergy. This is in stark
contrast to the ancient times when the High Priest was held in very high esteem
by the Pharaohnic kings, who in turn derived and perpetuated their Godly status
with their blessings over 3000 years and dynasty after dynasty.
The priests
even had their exclusive language and script, now known as the Hieroglyphic.
There being another for the commoners, the Herodotic and lastly the Greek in
the later years as so monumentally represented in the Rosetta Stone. Something
very reminiscent of events closer home.
As if to prove this point, we were shown a secret passage under the two halves of
the Kom Ombo temple where the priest would hide to listen to the
prayers of the people. This was a chamber devised exclusively to enable the
priests to extort money from commoners so they could claim that God had heard
their prayers and that they could make them come true.
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Our ride at Edfu
|
The next stop was the
West Bank city of Edfu. Disembarking at this mofussil town, we get a
feel of what the hinterland of Egypt is like. It seems nobody makes
chapattis at home and egyptian bread is to be acquired from the
bakeries.
The hospital and other facilities are quite run down. The
downturn in the economy and tourism is on evidence as able bodied men
sit around at nukkads and smoke their hukkas. The tourist figures are
one fifth of those in 2010 when the revolution occured and there was a
phase of political uncertainty. Nevertheless this town, like everywhere
else in Egypt, is squeaky clean.
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Egyptian Bread
|
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| Swach Egypt |
This town owes its existence to the Temple dedicated to Horus, the falcon God. Built in the later Greco
Roman style, the rather well preserved temple has an interesting glyphic which
depicts the numbering system of the ancient script. One comes across an image
of the Cow Goddess Hathor suckling a baby which has escaped chiselling while
the other Gods have been chiselled away. Even the looters and destroyers had a
code it seems!!
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| Hathor escapes chiselling |
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| Hieroglyphic numeral system |
As one is sailing down the Nile, just short of the
city of Luxor, one comes across a barrage. This causes a sudden dip in the level of
river by almost 50 feet. The boats are able to negotiate this dip by using an
ingenious device called a lock. Since it takes almost an hour to cross the
locks, the locals have converted this into a unique sales opportunity.
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| The Nile Locks |
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| The Golden City of Thebes: Present day Luxor |
If we thought building Pyramids was a mind-boggling concept, there was more to come. Several dynasties after the Pyramids were
built, finances were running low. But the need to keep the Pharaohs safe and
provided for the after life was equally pressing.
On the west bank of Thebes
(present day Luxor) which was the richest capital cities in history, there
existed a dry valley with limestone rock cliffs adjoining the great
western desert.
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| Valley of the Kings |
During the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep (1500 BC) they conjured up the ultimate concept in
tomb technology. Just dig a deep tunnel, full of secret passages and turns, embellish the walls with paintings of
all the incantations and spells, place the sarcophagus with the mummy and all the gold, and seal
the entrance. Thus was created The Valley of the Kings.
63 such tombs have been
discovered till date and work on one more was on.
Unfortunately within 500 years of
their creation, tomb robbers became active and looted all the gold that was
buried with the mummies. The only one which survived till modern times, that of Tutankhamen, tells us what unimaginable treasures have been lost.
One is allowed to visit three of these tombs and
going down the steps immediately transports one into the netherworld. The brain
literally starts swimming in the tales of the
“solar boat”, Amun-Ra etc. Seeing the sarcophagus of Meremptah in the burial chamber and all the detail on the mysterious wall paintings starts playing tricks on the mind...
No cameras or guides are allowed inside the tombs so it is necessary to get briefed on what to expect inside. One may also carry a pocket torch. The local staff tries to "guide" you inside and even winks at you indicating that you could take a quick photo, only to later demand a fat baksheesh. It is best to ignore them.
 |
| Temple of Hatshepsut |
Located behind the Valley of the Kings is the
grand temple built by the Queen Hatshepsut (pronounced as Hat - cheap - suit) who ruled for several years. One can
straightaway understand where the Greeks borrowed their style of architecture.
T
his “queen” also had to face some gender inequality issues but nevertheless ruled for 20 years by sending her son off on a study tour to Somalia and by representing herself in the sculptures as a man with a flat chest
and beard even!
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| The towering Colossi of Memnon |
The other jewel hidden in the Nile silt for thousands of years and only recently discovered and reassembled are the two mammoth statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III called as the Colossi of Memnon. Standing next to these colossal structures truly makes you get perspective into gigantic ambitions and thinking of our forefathers.
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Baloons on Luxor
|
The West bank of Luxor is also host to a setup for a ride in
Hot air balloons. Apparently for 120 USD, this is the cheapest balloon ride in
the world! Unfortunately one has to start at 4 am, and may be a deal
breaker for many like us.
The largest temple complex in Egypt is the Temple of Karnak at Luxor. It is actually a cluster
of temples built by various Pharaonic kings in order of the period that they lived.
Each one has added a structure to the North of the existing ones. The deity in
every case is Ra, which like Vishnu,
has myriad avatars including that of goat, cow and crocodile etc. Surprisingly very few of
the statues of the diety itself are in evidence.
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| The only surviving statue of Ra with his wife |
What is seen are
gigantic statues of the Kings themselves, who ordered these temples to be
built. Of course the Christians and Muslim invaders did their bit by overwriting and destroying what
had been built over thousands of years.
 |
| Hypostyle hall |
Considered unique is the hypo-style complex
(central hall) and the three obelisks. The narrative of how they were sculpted
and then raised is even more fascinating. Also notable is the scarab (beetle)
statue which grants any wish if you go
around it five times.
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| The Scarab |
There is a gallery dedicated to the depiction of
all the bird species found in ancient Egypt including those that were brought
here by the son of Queen Hatshepsut from Somalia.
Both the temple complexes are connected by
a passageway, now partially blocked, lined by an endless row of Sphinxes. The
older dynasties show them to be having animal (Ram) heads, while the new ones
with human heads; the base being that of a Lion.
 |
The row of Sphinxes
|
The Luxor temple dedicated to the wife of Ra is still spectacular considering that it was inundated by the Nile floods and completely silted over. The front gate is adorned by two gigantic statues of pharaoh Ramses. What we didn't know at that time was that according a British architect who did laser analysis, the symmetry of the face is found to be so accurate so as to be impossible to have been created by the means available at the time.
 |
| Luxor Temple |
Just ahead of the front gate, sitting atop a wall quite bizarrely, one finds an actual mosque loudly transmitting the afternoon Azan.
The story goes that the mosque was built on a rubble heap along the Nile.
Later the rubble heap turned out to be the Luxor temple!! Perhaps the only temple where worship occurs in any of
the ancient Egyptian temples today, since now there is only one God that is Allah, and He has no
statue and no face.
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| Mosque on the Temple |
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The Phallus and the cup
|
In this temple the
God Ra takes on an even more
interesting avatar of the God of fertility depicted with a disproportionately prominent phallus
with the recipient collecting the contents in a cup. The rest of the story
merits further research, I presume, since our guide did not elaborate!!
On our last day of the tour on the full board five star luxury liner, the need to have real food had become very
urgent. A chance discovery in the Lonely Planet regarding some Indian restaurants had us
all charged up and we were looking forward to a real meal after a hot morning
roaming the ruins of Karnak and Luxor temples.
We reached the location of the "Bombay restaurant" only to find that it had closed two years earlier. After searching a bit more, we drove
up in front of the welcoming sign saying “A taste of India”. Just as we thought
that our search for curry had ended, the truth struck like a bolt of lightning.
The restaurant had not opened yet.
But not one to give up so easily on what she
desires, Sangeeta decided to whip out the phone and tell the manager to open
up for the hungry souls from India!
Unfortunately he did not relent and we just ended up in the lap of Ronald uncle who feeds the world for one dollar. McDonald Zindabad!
We flew back to Cairo from Luxor airport and
boarded our connection back to India. As our Emirates flight banked to the left,
we were rubbernecking to get one last look at the Pyramids.
As we climbed higher we kept thinking about this strange land which can still evoke such
mystique about events that occurred 5000 years ago.
Local logistics: M/S Ramassidae, Alexandria
Travelers: Dattakiran Joshi, Sangeeta Joshi
Travel dates: 29 Oct 2015 – 04 Nov 2015
Camera: Nikon P 600
Routing: Bangalore-Dubai-Cairo and back by Emirates. Stay at Le Meridian Pyramids, Giza. Cairo to Aswan by Egyptair Express. Aswan to Luxor by Cruiseliner Miss World. Luxor to Cairo by Egyptair Express
 |
| Le Meridian Pyramids, Giza |
Travel Tips:
1.
No Egyptian currency can be found in
India. The traveler has to buy US$ (cash or card) and come to Egypt and convert
it to EGP (Egyptian Pound) also confusingly referred to as LE (the French name
for it)
2.
WWhile anyone will convert US$ to EGP,
the same enthusiasm will be lacking for the reverse. Infact the very helpful
bank at the hotel,which will convert it on arrival, will point you to the bank at the airport
which will never be found. So convert
only how much you need on arrival. It is easier to transact in EGP especially
the small tips and Baksheesh.
3.
All internal flights are run by the
state carrier Egypt Air Express. The Embraer aircraft are pretty decent and
they serve free juice/water on board.
4.
The Le Meridian Pyramids, Giza is a
very good value for money place, though 1 ½ hours from the airport. Inspite of
being five star, it goes for Rs 6K per night complete with swimming pool and a sumptuous
breakfast. No wonder it’s a preferred destination for all group travel
companies and the lobby, where Free Wi Fi
is available, always seems to have a festive air about it. Most importantly there is a tea kettle in the room
with one sachet of tea/coffee/milk powder per day but no free bottled water. This tea kettle will prove
invaluable to heat the ready to eat packets like MTR.
5.
Free water is not available in any
public place including airports. A 1.5 litre bottle is available for 5 EGP
everywhere.
6.
Buying souvenirs is extremely
challenging since quoting 500% inflated prices without batting an eyelid is
the norm. The marketing zeal of the hawkers, agents and shopkeepers would put
Punjabi shopkeepers in Karol Bagh to shame. No matter what you do, which Govt
authorized shop or alabaster factory you go to, you would still come out
thinking that the papyrus or perfume you bought is fake and should have been way cheaper.
Special tips for vegetarian travelers:
1.
Vegetarian options are highly limited
but a survival strategy can be worked out.
2.
If you order a cup of watery
vegetable soup (served with breads and butter) in the room, it will cost you Rs
470 (EGP 57). A falafel (Daal wada stuffed inside a kulcha) at the branch of
Felafela located just outside the Meridian Hotel will cost Rs 20 and be far
tastier and filling.
3.
The rooms come with a tea kettle which
can be used to boil the ready to eat MTR meals. One should carry disposable
plates and spoons.
4.
The elaborate breakfast spread, though
enticing, is low on options. The best way is to go for the freshly made
Egyptian bread, to be had with Ful (mashed rajma). Add to it nice yogurt
(plain and flavoured) and rice pudding (kheer) and you have a full tummy. Even
the pancake with maple sauce is worth a try.
5.
On the cruise there are hot croissants
(in lieu of chapatti) and coarse looking rice, though eminently edible. There
may be a curry sabzi or only potato wedges. The trick is to walk away with the yogurt pack from the morning breakfast and bring it down for the meals. Curd-rice is the minimum menu for a vegetarian I suppose. It will be ideal if
single use achar sachets can be carried from India. Water bottle on the cruise
is Rs 400, so one brings a small bottle for dinner.
