An Incredible day in Giza, at the Pyramids

What an absolutely fantastic day we had, visiting the pyramids, sphinx and cruising down the Nile.  We boarded our bus for a 2 hour ride to Cairo, a city of 25 million people.

 

On the way to Cairo  all desert

  This absolutely huge place contains the equivalent of three-quarters of the population of Canada clustered around the Nile River.  The general impression one gets of the city is troubled, evidenced by the huge number of partially completed buildings where construction has stopped, the  several block long line-ups for gasoline, and garbage strewn about everywhere.  The new government has, apparently, not improved matters for the ordinary citizen of Cairo. 

 

Modern cairo

 Giza, which is the name given to Cairo on the other side of the Nile, is much the same.  This is the same city that was once known as one of the most beautiful in the world. What a change there has been!

Crossing the Nile

We were surprised to see that the pyramids we visited were not far out in the desert but were right beside the suburbs of Giza. The pyramids are incredibly huge, remarkable in that they were built 4700 years ago. 

 

The pyramids (4700 years old)

 

Gail with her friend

John and Gail with friend and pyramids

 Recent evidence has revealed that these gigantic structures were built by workers who toiled eight hour days, were very skilled and well paid for their labours, contrary to the popular myth that slaves were used, as in the movie “The Ten Commandments”. When completed, these pyramids were covered with a limestone plaster that made them shine in the sunlight.  The second pyramid still has some of the plaster near the top.

 

Plastered top of middle pyramid

 The largest of the three pyramids has a base that will hold all of the major churches in the world (St. Peter’s, St. Paul’s, Notre Dame, etc) with room to spare. Absolutely breathtaking structures! Off in the distance, twenty miles away, you can see three more pyramids, including the step pyramid.

Step pyramid and others, 20 miles away

 The only problem with the whole experience is the persistent, annoying, abrasive vendors.  You literally cannot take a single step without being accosted by someone trying to sell you something.  We somehow got tricked into having our pictures taken by a local who owned a camel, and then tried to extort $50 from us because of the effort he made.  We gave him ten dollars, while he tried to wrestle more out of John’s wallet.  It’s a very good thing that John was bigger than he was.  One of the women on our bus wasn’t so lucky and was very upset when she got back on.   

There are, obviously, problems with the local economy and tourism has decreased dramatically, probably because of how tourists are treated by these locals.

We then took a short trip to the Sphinx, an equally impressive structure.

 

Sphinx - also 4700 years old

 The Sphinx, also about 4700 years old, sits beside the mortuary.  This is the building where all the work was done in mummifying the Pharaoh. Afterwards, the body was taken in a procession to the pyramid along a mortuary walkway that is still there. I wonder how many of our modern day structures will still be around in five thousand years? 

 

Gail with Sphinx and pyramid

 

Mortuary walk

 

John and Gail at the sphinx

Once again, vendors, including many children, are everywhere. It seems that anything can be purchased for a “dollah”.

Next we were taken for a brief shopping stop at an elegant store.  It was interesting to note that outside the store were armed guards, protecting the shoppers presumably since they were stationed by our buses. 

 

Guard near bus

  Most of the goods were quite expensive, and Gail managed to get a charm (bust of Nefertiti) at a very reasonable price.

Finally, about 2 PM, we arrived at the docks for our Nile River luncheon cruise. 

 

Nile Cruise Boat

 We all boarded a large ornate boat and were provided with a buffet lunch and a show, the highlight of which was a very agile belly dancer.  During our two hour cruise we got to see a good part of central Cairo.

Guess who?

Cruising the Nile

As we left town, in heavy Sunday traffic (the weekend is Friday-Saturday in Arab countries), we drove through some interesting areas of the city.  It seemed very strange to us to see so many animals (horses, donkeys, sheep and goats) wandering about, farm carts pulled by burros, and open markets selling produce and meat right at the side of the major roads.  This is very different from what we are used to, even though we live near St. Jacob’s Market.

At the side of the road

Along the way out of cairo

On the trip back, our guide, Dina, told us that we should send a message back to the western world that Cairo is a great and very safe place to visit.  We would echo that, but first they have to do something about aggressive vendors and the garbage in the streets.

We arrived back at our ship, humbled by what we had seen and very tired, after 6 PM. 

An amazing day in Petra, Jordan

After docking at the port of Aqabah, Jordan, we boarded a bus early in the morning for the two hour trip to Petra, an amazing archaeological city that was established in 312 BC.  It was unknown to the western world until 1812, when it was discovered by a Swiss explorer who described it as “a rose red city half as old as time”.

Modern-day City of Petra

Petra is a well protected site, originally built by the Nabataean people who discovered water wells in the area and had already established themselves in trade and caravaneering.  They were heavily influenced by Egyptian and Roman architecture, which is evident in the remains of the buildings they carved from the sandstone rock faces of the valley.  

Walking through the Siq

As we walked through a deep narrow gorge leading downhill to the site, we were  impressed by the unusual rock formations and beautiful colours.  

Colourful walls of the Siq

 This deep passage, called the Siq,  is recognizable as the location for one of the Indiana Jones movies.  There were lots of tourists and some chose to be transported in horse drawn buggies, or to ride horses.   

We walked the entire almost four kilometres down, and then back, uphill with several steep sections.  The weather was actually cool for this area, a blessing in the strong sun.  There were gusts of wind that stirred up the sand, blowing it into eyes and mouths.  The traditional Bedouin attire of long robe (for both men and women) and head scarf that can be used to cover the face makes all kinds of sense in these conditions.  We were glad we brought hats and I was grateful for a scarf, though it did not prevent sand from getting behind the contact lenses – ouch!.   

 

Tomb inside the Siq path

Nevertheless, we marveled at the tombs and remains of carvings that appear along the pathway.

At the end of the walk through the Siq, there is the most spectacular sight, as the rocks part to reveal the Al-Khazneh, otherwise known as the Treasury. 

 

The Treasury

 There have been stories of hidden treasure in this building for years, though none has been found so far.  It is a huge facade (30 M wide and 43 M high) which was dazzling in the morning sun as we approached.  There was quite a lively atmosphere here, as there are camels and donkeys awaiting tired pilgrims who might want to ride the rest of the way.   

Gail with a couple of friends

John, some buddies and the Treasury

The tour continued past the Treasury for another kilometre into the rest of the Petra site.  This is another area, also with steep downhill sections, where the inhabitants of Petra lived in stone homes and used the surrounding mountains as burial sites.   The homes were destroyed by an earthquake in the eighth century. There was even a special area for kings and other nobles.

 

Tombs in the hills

Royal Tombs

Scene from the street

At the bottom of the site is a large theatre carved into the rock face that was probably used for sacrificing animals, though the Romans later used it as a stage.

Ampitheatre

After a long, uphill, dusty walk we went to a Movenpick resort for a 3 PM lunch and then a bus ride back to the ship.  On the way back we passed the Valley of Moses where, legend has it,  he struck the side of a hill with his staff and water poured out.

Valley of Moses, on the way home from Petra

Once on board, Gail immediately headed for the shower and John had a very hot bath, with suds and a very cold beer.  Sorry, but no pictures are available.

Safaga, Egypt – Gateway to the Ancient Past

After four days at sea and some great, active and very full art classes, we arrived at Safaga, Egypt.  This is a relatively large port city, founded in about 275 B.C., on the Red Sea at the base of an extensive mountain range.

Safaga Harbour

On our first day in port, John went on a fourteen hour tour leaving at 7:45 AM. The first part of the tour involved a three and a half hour bus ride along the Egyptian version of a highway, very bumpy, partially complete and very dusty.  While it was ostensibly a two-lane highway, there were many times when cars would pass, forcing on-coming traffic to make its own path along the soft shoulders. In the first hour of our ride we saw several Bedouin encampments, and lots of mountains.  

 

Typical Bedouin encampment

 During the second hour we entered the beginnings of the Sahara desert, still mountainous but very dry and dusty. After three hours we finally got to cross the Nile River.  This huge river provides all of Egypt with its fresh water and all of its agriculture occurs within a few miles on either side. 

 

Crossing the Nile

 

Life along the irrigation canal

Half and hour later we arrived at the Valley of the Kings.  Unfortunately, the local police would not allow us to leave the bus with our cameras. The sights, however, were quite impressive.  This is the area where Pharaohs were buried, hoping that grave-robbers would not find their remains. 

 

Valley of the Kings from the outside

After a long walk uphill, we were taken to the tomb of Ramses IX who died about 1350 BC.  The burial chamber is about 200  m inside the mountain.  The downhill path is quite remarkable.  The tunnel is about four metres square and completely covered in pictures and hieroglyphics.

The second tomb was that of Ramses V.  This was a warren of tunnels since along with the Pharaoh were buried a number of other relatives and kings. What makes this tomb unique is that it was discovered in 350 AD by the Romans.  They used the tomb as a kind of hotel as they travelled through the area.  In 380 AD, the tunnels were commandeered by early Christians.  Because of this, the tomb contains some very early graffiti, from Roman pictures over Egyptian pictographs to Christian writings (in Latin), sketches of early monks with crosses drawn around them.

We were then taken by bus to the area of the Valley of the Queens where there has been a recent discovery of  many tombs of  wealthy nobles from some 3500 years ago.

 

Tombs of the Nobles

 There was a photo stop at the Temple of Hatchepsut, the only female Pharaoh of that time.  Her temple is a remarkable structure that is three stories tall and was buried by sand for thousands of years. There are also some very interesting ruins near the temple that are just now being excavated.

John at Temple of Hatchepsut

Ruins near Temple of Hatchepsut

Our next stop was at the Colossi of Memnon, the only remaining structures at the entrance to a temple that no longer exists.  The birds really seem to love these sculptures.

Collosi of Memnon

We were then taken to the temple of Karnak, which is 65 acres in size and took almost a thousand years to complete.  It is enormous in scope, and we only managed to cover about ten acres of the property.  This involved a very long walk on a hot and dusty day.  A good part of the temple, with construction starting about 1350 BC, had a large roof supported by 109 pillars, each about 15 to 20 m in height. The ceiling, which no longer exists, was beautifully painted. Another remarkable feature of this temple is that the entire 65 acre site was surrounded by a mud-brick wall that was fifteen feet (about 5 m) thick. 

 

At Temple of Karnak

 

Entering the Temple

 

Support Columns at Karnak

 

Protected from the elements, a 3500 year old painting

 There was also a road connecting Karnak to the Temple of Luxor that is one kilometre long containing 1000 sphinxes, 500 on each side of the road.

Part of the road from Karnak to Luxor

Our last stop was at the Temple of Luxor.  We were quite thankful that this temple was much smaller than Karnak since we were all very tired at this point.  This temple is very beautifully constructed, again with a roof supported by many pillars, and many intricate carvings and sculptures. 

 

Inside Luxor

 

John at Luxor

 

Support columns at Luxor

  This was the temple which Alexander the Great captured in about 350 BC. He then added a wall of pictographs showing himself as a god-like person in the Egyptian style.  However, if you look at his depiction, you notice the well-formed ears, musculature, knees and other special features that Egyptian pictographs do not have. He also included a new god of fertility (look closely at the pictograph) along with himself.

Alexander the Great with the god of fertility

We were then taken to the Hotel St. George for dinner.  Here we had a lovely, hour long meal along the Nile River. 

 

Dinner on the Nile River

 

Sailing on the Nile

 From here we left at 6:30 PM for the ride back to the ship arriving in Safaga at 10:15.  A very long day indeed!