Travel: Trip of a Lifetime to the Land of Pharaohs
SOURCE: LEDGER-TRANSCRIPT
BY: MARILYN SIMMONS
I have always loved history and archaeology, especially ancient Egypt – the pyramids, King Tutankhamun, Cleopatra – all the thousands of years of its history and culture.
So when the Jaffrey Chamber of Commerce announced that their annual trip was to visit Egypt, I just had to go. Twenty-five area residents joined with members of three other US Chamber of Commerce groups to make three busloads of travelers to explore and enjoy a ten day tour of Egyptian culture and history.
Our November trip began in Cairo – a bustling, traffic ridden mixture of old and new. Dirty and crowded, it was also vibrant and exciting. Herds of animals and piles of garbage could be only a few streets away from modern hotels and upscale restaurants.
I’ll always remember my first closeup sight of the Great Pyramid – it was our first night there, and we attended a Pyramid Sound and Light Show. As we approached, the massive monument was illuminated by white light, accentuated by the half moon in the sky. The show itself, narrated by an English accented actor reminiscent of a 1930s movie, perfectly extolled the history of ancient times as colored lights and images moved across the three pyramid complex and the ancient Sphinx. While some found the presentation cheesy, I felt it perfectly evoked the mysterious mood of the long ago. As we left, I looked back over my shoulder – the great pyramid was again silently bathed in white light, ancient and eternal.
Very different was our daytime visit to the pyramids, days later. It was a bustling commercial scene, with souvenir sellers, carriage and camel rides for sale, and tourist crowds of every description. Many of us opted for a ride on the “ship of the desert,” the iconic camel. I felt like Lawrence of Arabia atop the swaying beast. It was strenuous but satisfying to clamber up the side of the Great Pyramid and take a peek inside. We also had a close view of the Sphinx, newly restored within the last few years.
Our tour guide was Ihab, and he was terrific. He had intense brown eyes, a great sense of humor, and an excellent command of English. A small man, he was full of energy and was adamant that his “red bus family” (us) have the best possible time. A trained Egyptologist, we could not stump him with a question. Although his family wanted him to be a lawyer, Ihab was determined to follow his uncle, who used to be the Minister of Antiquities, a position recently held by famous Egyptologist Zawi Havass, and become an expert on his country’s history. He is currently writing a book on comparative religion. Married with two grown children (his wife also works), he told us he suffered financially after the 2011 terrorist attacks on tourists, when the number of foreign visitors to Egypt plummeted. Now financially recovered, he told us tourism is Egypt’s biggest industry but is now less profitable due to the costs of increased security. We had an armed security man on our bus, as all tour buses do. At no time did we ever feel unsafe.
At one of the temples, Ihab demonstrated how the ancient temple builders smoothed stones. One stone is rubbed with another, with sand in between. We could feel the difference when he passed the stone around. Other folks not in our group stopped to listen to his presentation, too.
No trip to Egypt is complete without a stop at the Valley of the Kings. Thanks to Ihab, we were the first tour bus to arrive soon after dawn, to beat the intense heat of the valley. The tombs involve walking up dusty brown hillsides. The valley itself is sandy, desolate and so barren it gives no clue to the sights in the many tombs. Glorious, intricate tomb paintings on walls and ceilings were the sights to see. King Tut’s tomb, now devoid of treasure, still has his mummy, enclosed in a glass case for his eternal sleep.
Of all the many temples we visited, I will always remember the Temple of Philae. Located near Aswan and devoted to the mother goddess, the entire complex was moved due to the rising of the Nile River when the Aswan Dam was built. It was the last temple to be conquered by the Roman Empire – many strange scratches on the temple pillars were said to be from Roman soldiers sharpening their swords. Ihab showed us a wall only half covered with hieroglyphics, and stated these were the final ones used in Egyptian history. The end of the writing said, “We are only sixty priests left at the temple. The Roman soldiers are killing u…” And there the writing stopped – a heartbreaking commentary on a sea change in world history.
A four night stay on the Nile cruiser Monaco was a great way to conveniently stop at some of the many temples on the stretch of the Nile between Aswan and Luxor. We also stopped at and viewed the famous Aswan Dam, an impressive engineering feat which enables Egypt to stabilize the Nile’s flow after thousands of years, increasing agricultural output but also resulting in salt damage to some ancient monuments – a new problem which must be faced.
Many of our visits to ancient sites coincided with school release days or holidays (one was the prophet Mohammad’s birthday). This resulted in crowds, many of which were school groups. We received many stares from the kids, the bolder ones trying out their English. “Hello! How are you? USA number one!” To which, of course, we replied, “Egypt number one, too!” Often, their teachers would make them let us go first in line at entrances.
Our itinerary included a visit to a Catholic day school in Luxor. School elections were in full swing, and the hallways were lined with campaign posters for the boy and girl candidates. The head of the school, a Catholic priest, welcomed us and explained through a translator that all denominations of students were welcome there, and tolerance and cooperation emphasized. We visited a first grade classroom and were serenaded by a rendition of “And Bingo Was His Name” except “Santa” was substituted for “Bingo.” We were invited to ask questions, and I asked what were their favorite subjects. “English” got many votes, but one little girl said, “Mathematics.”
We had been told the school would appreciate any kinds of supplies we wanted to donate. Art supplies and magazines were among the offerings. As a librarian, I chose three hardcover books for the school library. I was able to meet the librarian and present them to her. She was both surprised and touched to get them, as many of her books were paperbacks, and many were workbooks for English study.
Throughout our stay in Egypt, we saw men and women in both traditional and modern dress. The majority of men wore Western clothing, except in rural areas, where the traditional long loose gabaleya was the norm. With women, we saw everything from the full coverage burkha to Western dress. Many women wore Western clothing combined with just the headscarf.
One of the fun things of a bus trip is looking out the window at the street life outside. Catching someone’s eye and waving would always result in a big smile and an enthusiastic wave back. One time, our bus was next to a small truck with a load of young men in the back, obviously headed to a work site. I caught the eye of one of them and waved, and from then on down the street it was a competition of waving hands, laughter, thumbs up and peace signs all the way.
Most of our group continued on to Alexandria, on the Mediterranean Sea, for a two night stay. We sampled sea food at the famous restaurant, San Giovanni’s ,where Omar Sharif and Anwar El Sadat have dined, and ventured down a long spiral staircase to view the catacombs of Kom Ash Shuqqafa, a Roman burial site but also dedicated to the Egyptian religion. But the highlight of Alexandria was easily the new Bibliotecca Alexandria – an up to date, modern library complex with a museum, planetarium, and a bridge to connect it to the University of Alexandria, along with the usual volumes and research areas. Its stack areas seemed to stretch into the distance. Its aim, the same as its ancient counterpart’s (destroyed in 48 BC), is to obtain holdings from all over the world and offer free access to all. As a librarian myself, I felt an extraordinary kinship – I could easily have spent a week there.
All too soon, it was time to return home to cold New Hampshire, such a change from balmy Egypt. But Egypt has so much to see, you can never see it all in one trip, so, I really must plan another…