Experiencing the history and mythology of Egypt: The Gift of the Nile

Going through any description of Egypt (pre-visit reading, as Lonely Planet calls it) can get confusing very quickly. The dividing lines between archaeology, history and mythology start getting more and more blurred. 

 

One gets lost between the temple and tomb building tales of the Pharaohs like Ramses, Seti and Tutankhamen (who were actual kings/rulers but were treated like Gods) and the fables of the various Gods like Ra, Anubis and Hathor whose life histories and human/animal images were etched in stone 5000 years ago and are strewn all over the Nile Valley.

 

Add to this the stories and mysteries surrounding the Pyramids, Mummies and tombs full of treasure, and many an intrepid traveler will want to unravel the enigma which is Egypt, no matter how many well wishers will warn  that it is an ‘unsafe’ place.

The Pyramid at Giza

There are two Egypts. 

One is the reality of today when people in this “developing” country are trying to cope with very familiar day to day problems of poverty, inflation, price rise and the burgeoning population. Add to this the confusing political situation where a succession of erstwhile army colonels have become presidents democratically!!. 

 

The other Egypt is the one boasting of having descended from the great pharaohs and hoping somehow that the past glory will illuminate the present.    

"Unfinished" Apartments in Cairo:No tax since they are still under construction!

 

Needless to say one travels halfway around the world to immerse oneself into the Egypt of yore. The one with the ancient civilization with its history of brave Kings (Pharaohs) who kept themselves busy fighting the enemies (raiders from central Asia and tribals from Africa ) when not being entertained by their countless wives and producing dozens of children; Pharaoh Ramses had 123 of them! 

 

Interestingly the ancient (Egyptian) dynasties seem to have been seamlessly intertwined with black African (Nubian) kings and in later years succeeded by those of Greek (Ptolemaic) and Roman descent before the birth of Christ and coming of Islam about 600 years later.

 

The Luxor Temple

The one truly redeeming feature of this country seems to be the existence of what is called “low grade Islam”.   It is a 95% Sunni Islamic country with no caste confusions, and prayers are offered five times a day. The Christians  and even some Jews who still live here, are left alone.  There is no hint of radicalism. Our guide happily informed that there is only one God, Allah, and he has two messengers: Muhammad and Jesus !! 

 

The most obvious evidence of this tolerance is the large number of women who roam around freely doing outdoor jobs till late, with their entire face seen. The attendance at girls’ schools and colleges is particularly heartening. Presumably that is a surrogate marker of the status of women  in this part of the Islamic world.

College girls in Luxor, Egypt

The complex and mind boggling mythology seems to overpower the historical facts and archaeological evidence clearly pointing to the fact that there existed a Grand River valley civilization in this part of the world more than 5000 years ago.  

Wall carvings at Kom Ombo Temple

The other overwhelming belief that was propagated was the concept of the  after life. An extraordinary amount effort was put in to ensure an afterlife as good, if not better, as the present one. To the extent that today the only archaeological remains that are found, are the temples for the Gods and the over the top arrangements for the after life; the pyramids and the mummies.  There are no palaces to be found at all. The hardest of stones (granite and dolerite) was reserved for constructing tombs for the afterlife.

Cairo Museum

We started our tour with a visit to the famous Cairo Museum, which in itself is historic, having come up in 1906. Not only does it contain the original papyrus manuscripts including the Book of the Dead (made famous in the movie Mummy) but also the contents of the Tomb of Tutankhamen. 

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

 

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.

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..

 

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”. 

Muslim bride

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. 

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 . 

Boat to Philae Temple

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. 

Fertility treatment

Deliberate defacement

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.

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.

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.

The Crocodile temple at Kom Ombo

 

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.

 

 

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.

Egyptian Bread

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!!

Hathor escapes chiselling

 

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.

The Nile Locks

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. 

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!

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

 

Mosque on the Temple

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.