After getting to the hotel I was bedridden until a doctor tended to me and gave me drugs, lots of them!
What I missed out on:
- Philae temple
- Aswan markets
Friday, 19 September 2008
Trip to Egypt - Day 4 - 26/12/2006
Today I was overcome by a horrible plague. Tired, high fever, difficult to walk, stomach pains and double vision. Yes it was the common cold.
After getting to the hotel I was bedridden until a doctor tended to me and gave me drugs, lots of them!
What I missed out on:
After getting to the hotel I was bedridden until a doctor tended to me and gave me drugs, lots of them!
What I missed out on:
Saturday, 3 February 2007
Trip to Egypt - Day 3 - 25/12/2006
Christmas day! Which started with us visiting the Cairo museum.
Immediately through the gate is a courtyard leading to the actual museum itself. Within this courtyard is a pond with Papyrus in its centre surrounded by Water Lilies - the two symbols of Upper and Lower ancient Egypt with the two brought together symbolising the unification of these two parts of Egypt. (For those not in the know the Upper part of Egypt was actually in the south of Egypt - called Upper because it is from where the Nile flowed).
Inside the museum (where we were not allowed to take pictures) was a vast collection of items showing how well advanced this ancient civilisation was.
We were immediately shown a picture of the Rosetta stone - the original being situated in London in the British Museum - which had writings in three languages: hieroglyphics (used in important or religious documents), demotic (common script of Egypt) and Greek (used by the Egyptian rulers at the time). The hieroglyphs on it were deciphered Jean-Francois Champollion in 1822 after several hundred years of others making an effort at it.
Further on we were shown statues with amazing detail some from rocks so dense and difficult to carve yet the finished product looking effortlessly created.
We were of course shown real life, thankfully not live, proper mummies. First we looked at mummified animals - crocodiles, birds, horses almost any animal was prepared for the underworld using this process.
This was an impressive sight but that of the royal mummies was something very special. The embalming process was frightfully good. One queen (the wife of Rmases XI) was made incredibly lifelike with a pair of glass eyeballs. Scary and I can still imagine her looking back at me.
During the embalming process all the organs were removed except the heart which was needed for the judgement in the Osiris' room in the afterworld. Here the heart would be weighed against a feather along with the deceased being questioned by a grand jury of 42 (has the deceased lied, stolen, killed etc.). Failure would be met by the heart being eaten and spending eternity in a place like hell.
We were shown artefacts used at the time:
That is pretty much all we got to see in the museum... nothing else really just more ancient stuff here and there...
OK we did see one big major thing. The treasures of King Tutankhamen. An amazing display of wealth. Two sarcophagi incredibly decorated with symbols of protection and other decorations. There was a lot of gold in this well guarded exhibition room - head dresses, necklaces and jewellery Such magnificence and splendour for this relatively minor king who left little impression in Egypt's history.
Unlike other kings who left a bigger footprint in Egypt's history, King Tutankhamen's tomb was left untouched. Its treasures were well protected when sand from construction of another tomb (in the Valley of the Kings) truly buried king Tut's tomb.
We then visited an the Alabaster Mosque - the mosque of Muhammed Ali. Outside we enjoyed a quiet walk along walkways made of limestone greeted by kids we passed along the way.
Just outside the temple entrance was a carousel like structure with intricate designs and paintings with water taps.
Before entering the mosque we were made to take off our shoes.
Inside was a large room with a high dome ceiling, full of lighting including a large chandelier. The roof included had meticulous gold coloured designs which included praises to Allah. Atop a large flight of narrow stairs was the "alter" (the pulpit).
While in the temple Maged discussed religions and politics. Of course the war in Iraq was mentioned with Maged making an interesting point that fighting amongst the various tribes has been going on for centuries. It is a way of life for them - having a kid with an RBG is a way of life for them (which was around before the war in Iraq). This is what the Americans are up against.
In Egypt around 17% of people are Christian (who own 50% of its wealth). I mention this because we next visited the hanging church. Named as such because it is situated 15 metres above ground. Previously its lower levels used to be flooded by water until some work to stop this was performed.
The church was built in Basilica style and seeing as I have been over-churched in Europe that is all I shall say (but you cannot say I didn't go to church on Christmas).
After visiting several other churches we headed off to some markets. A lot of activity packed into narrow lanes. Small shops selling glass constructs, miniature pyramids and sphinxes, representations of gods and of course fake papyrus.
Just outside the markets were unlicensed people selling furs and stuffed animals (some of whom were chased away by the police).
We finally headed to our hotel for some rest before a 14 train hour journey to Aswan.
Immediately through the gate is a courtyard leading to the actual museum itself. Within this courtyard is a pond with Papyrus in its centre surrounded by Water Lilies - the two symbols of Upper and Lower ancient Egypt with the two brought together symbolising the unification of these two parts of Egypt. (For those not in the know the Upper part of Egypt was actually in the south of Egypt - called Upper because it is from where the Nile flowed).
Inside the museum (where we were not allowed to take pictures) was a vast collection of items showing how well advanced this ancient civilisation was.
We were immediately shown a picture of the Rosetta stone - the original being situated in London in the British Museum - which had writings in three languages: hieroglyphics (used in important or religious documents), demotic (common script of Egypt) and Greek (used by the Egyptian rulers at the time). The hieroglyphs on it were deciphered Jean-Francois Champollion in 1822 after several hundred years of others making an effort at it.
Further on we were shown statues with amazing detail some from rocks so dense and difficult to carve yet the finished product looking effortlessly created.
We were of course shown real life, thankfully not live, proper mummies. First we looked at mummified animals - crocodiles, birds, horses almost any animal was prepared for the underworld using this process.
This was an impressive sight but that of the royal mummies was something very special. The embalming process was frightfully good. One queen (the wife of Rmases XI) was made incredibly lifelike with a pair of glass eyeballs. Scary and I can still imagine her looking back at me.
During the embalming process all the organs were removed except the heart which was needed for the judgement in the Osiris' room in the afterworld. Here the heart would be weighed against a feather along with the deceased being questioned by a grand jury of 42 (has the deceased lied, stolen, killed etc.). Failure would be met by the heart being eaten and spending eternity in a place like hell.
We were shown artefacts used at the time:
- sewing needles
- combs
- instruments
- spears
- farming equipment
- jewellery
- dolls
- even boomerangs! (how dare they this is an Australian invention damn it!)
That is pretty much all we got to see in the museum... nothing else really just more ancient stuff here and there...
OK we did see one big major thing. The treasures of King Tutankhamen. An amazing display of wealth. Two sarcophagi incredibly decorated with symbols of protection and other decorations. There was a lot of gold in this well guarded exhibition room - head dresses, necklaces and jewellery Such magnificence and splendour for this relatively minor king who left little impression in Egypt's history.
Unlike other kings who left a bigger footprint in Egypt's history, King Tutankhamen's tomb was left untouched. Its treasures were well protected when sand from construction of another tomb (in the Valley of the Kings) truly buried king Tut's tomb.
We then visited an the Alabaster Mosque - the mosque of Muhammed Ali. Outside we enjoyed a quiet walk along walkways made of limestone greeted by kids we passed along the way.Just outside the temple entrance was a carousel like structure with intricate designs and paintings with water taps.
Before entering the mosque we were made to take off our shoes.
Inside was a large room with a high dome ceiling, full of lighting including a large chandelier. The roof included had meticulous gold coloured designs which included praises to Allah. Atop a large flight of narrow stairs was the "alter" (the pulpit).
While in the temple Maged discussed religions and politics. Of course the war in Iraq was mentioned with Maged making an interesting point that fighting amongst the various tribes has been going on for centuries. It is a way of life for them - having a kid with an RBG is a way of life for them (which was around before the war in Iraq). This is what the Americans are up against.In Egypt around 17% of people are Christian (who own 50% of its wealth). I mention this because we next visited the hanging church. Named as such because it is situated 15 metres above ground. Previously its lower levels used to be flooded by water until some work to stop this was performed.
The church was built in Basilica style and seeing as I have been over-churched in Europe that is all I shall say (but you cannot say I didn't go to church on Christmas).
After visiting several other churches we headed off to some markets. A lot of activity packed into narrow lanes. Small shops selling glass constructs, miniature pyramids and sphinxes, representations of gods and of course fake papyrus.
Just outside the markets were unlicensed people selling furs and stuffed animals (some of whom were chased away by the police).We finally headed to our hotel for some rest before a 14 train hour journey to Aswan.
Saturday, 6 January 2007
Trip to Egypt - Day 2 - 24/12/2006
Sleeping was a scarce commodity made more rare by the religious chanting in the early hours of the morning. After a quick buffet breakfast it was time to see Egypt.
And what better way to start than with the the pyramid of Giza. The pyramids were definitely more impressive in real life. The pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) - standing 138m tall - the last remaining seven wonders of the world. Weighing (I think) 6m tonnes the thing took around 20 years to build and in around 2500BC.
It was once a great structure with a smoothed limestone surface but now a jagged surface shows made from the 1.5-2.0 tonne bricks used in its construction.
The pyramids were littered with locals either wanting to sell you something or have you take a picture with them in it. We were warned by our tour guide, Maged, not to indulge them as the picture was going to cost us money (even if they told us it was going to be free).
These people were persistent too, "no" must have been a word that someone forgot to explain to them. Feeling non-plussed by their persistence I turned towards Maria (our Italian connection) for inspiration. After being continually harassed by a local she stormed off telling the local to "forget about it!" just like Donnie Basco in the movie.
I decided then that all bets were off - rudeness was required to get these people to leave us alone. This was not a happy thing to do but it was getting silly.
Near Khufu's pyramid are three other pyramids, used for Khufu's mother and royal wives. We were able to descend into a nearby pyramid (Khafre's pyramid, I think). With many tourists flowing in out of its narrow passages there was a lot of patience required to see the thing.
(The picture beside shows our tour group, excluding our guide Maged who took the photo. From right it is Me, Caitlin, Barrie, Roy, Maria, Bridget and Andy).
The descent into its tomb was down a long plank of wood with rungs jutting out to stop one sliding down like a slippery dip. The experience was more a crouch while you walk given the low passageway. Inside the tomb it was warm and well lit.
At the end of our passage through was a rather high spacious chamber with an empty open tomb in it. Here one could stand back and marvel at this feet of human ingenuity. All this built to honour a king and prepare for his passage into the afterlife.
While I was not feeling claustrophobic it was time to go. Our next
destination the Sphinx.I was glad we got to see the Sphinx so quickly. The largest single stone statue in the world, with a height of 20m. Looking east, gazing upon the rising sun an object which the ancient Egyptians worshipped a great deal. We learnt that the Sphinx might deteriorate to very little in about 100 years if left without care due to pollution and erosion.
There was quick stop at a papyrus store to see how paper was made and to learn a little about the art drawn papyrus paper followed by stop at a kebab store to buy some food before moving on to Saqqara.
Saqqara is the site of the step-pyramid built almost 5,000 years ago and conceived by Imhotep (featured as the bad bald guy in the movie "The Mummy"). The step-pyramid was found well preserved with all its treasures because it was completely covered in sand until 1924.
We learnt that Imhotep was a very clever architect also 2000 years later he was to be honoured as a the god of medicine and healing because of his medical achievements.
Not far from here we saw the inside of Titi's pyramid which displayed hieroglyphics (a feature not present in all pyramids). The hieroglyphs were carved into stone all over the pyramid with the same pattern carefully repeated. The meanings to prepare the the deceased for his journey through the underworld.Around the site we were shown walls with very fine intricate pictures and hieroglyphs caved into them. The amazing thing about all this is how well it was built considering it was 4,000-5,000 years old. Things like this are easy for me to take for granted if not reminded that all this was built in times long before I came into existence.
Trip to Egypt - Day 1 - 23/12/2006
Having said our goodbyes to our friends and family the night before (both here and abroad) Caitlin and I were ready for our trip. We were going to Egypt the land of a once great empire to see the many artefacts and writings created thousands of years ago and still admired today.
There had been very heavy fogs in London causing some flights to be cancelled due to the poor traffic conditions. When we arrived at Heathrow (T4) we were made to take an indirect route to get to the departures area being diverted to an outside car park to get in (with no signs apparent to help us make our way which seems to be the way here in Great Britain).
Then there was the outstanding punctuality of BA so far managing to run only moderately behind schedule. We arrived in Cairo an hour late (which was the next day in fact) and were greeted at the Airport by a representative from our tour guide company and later met Maria one of five others in our tour group.
We were asked by our tour representative to buy a truck load of good old Egyptian tax-free liquor which would have been easy enough if it were not for some American in front of us arguing for 15 minutes over being charged 7 Egyptian Pounds (about £0.60/$AUD1.50) more than the marked price for not one, not two but three bottles of Jonnie Walker Red Label.
We were then driven to our hotel on our seeing vehicles drive by with passengers "surfing" on the vehicle roofs. The driving here was reminiscent of a dodgem car race and to make matters more interesting there were no traffic lights. Or at least very, very few.
On arrival the hotel gave us some tea (a special Egyptian iced tea of some sort) and took us to our room. It was around 2a.m. and we had an 8a.m. start. Our efforts to get to bed as quick as we can were marred by a porter desperately trying to sell us a local Sim card.
And then finally some rest (or at least a lie down for some reason sleeping was not easy thing to do).
There had been very heavy fogs in London causing some flights to be cancelled due to the poor traffic conditions. When we arrived at Heathrow (T4) we were made to take an indirect route to get to the departures area being diverted to an outside car park to get in (with no signs apparent to help us make our way which seems to be the way here in Great Britain).
Then there was the outstanding punctuality of BA so far managing to run only moderately behind schedule. We arrived in Cairo an hour late (which was the next day in fact) and were greeted at the Airport by a representative from our tour guide company and later met Maria one of five others in our tour group.
We were asked by our tour representative to buy a truck load of good old Egyptian tax-free liquor which would have been easy enough if it were not for some American in front of us arguing for 15 minutes over being charged 7 Egyptian Pounds (about £0.60/$AUD1.50) more than the marked price for not one, not two but three bottles of Jonnie Walker Red Label.
We were then driven to our hotel on our seeing vehicles drive by with passengers "surfing" on the vehicle roofs. The driving here was reminiscent of a dodgem car race and to make matters more interesting there were no traffic lights. Or at least very, very few.
On arrival the hotel gave us some tea (a special Egyptian iced tea of some sort) and took us to our room. It was around 2a.m. and we had an 8a.m. start. Our efforts to get to bed as quick as we can were marred by a porter desperately trying to sell us a local Sim card.
And then finally some rest (or at least a lie down for some reason sleeping was not easy thing to do).
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