Saturday, December-25-10 9:10AM
This tour is more comprehensive than any I have taken before, partly because with thousands of years of history to explore, there is much to take in. The other reason is that in Egypt tour guides must be licensed by the government and must renew their licenses every year, every five years sitting another exam. Our guide has a master’s degree in Egyptology; he knows so much more than we can even begin to ask him about. Guides that we have had in Russia and China or in South East Asia, were Australian. They spoke enough of the country’s language to get us about and they had a familiarity with the history and culture, but absolutely nothing comparable to the depth that we are enjoying with Maged. At particular spots they would employ local guides, for example, in St Petersburg or in the Kremlin, but our contact with these people was very time limited and also sometimes made difficult by struggling with their particularly accented English. Being with Maged for so long we are getting to connect more easily with his brand of English.
Yesterday we had another intense day, checking out of our hotel early, though leaving all of our bags with the porter. By van we visited the granite quarry from which most of the obelisks in Egypt (and those now in other countries) were taken. This quarry also provided materials for the large statuary to be found at various sites in the country and in museums. At the site is a large unfinished obelisk, still lying in the position where it was damaged and then abandoned. Queen Hatshepsut ordered this one, about 43 metres in length, to be made to commemorate her reign. An enemy of hers had it damaged, however, by having large cracks driven into the width. This person, whose motivation I am not clear about (though I should ask Maged), also managed to obliterate many of the records about her. The ultimate in erasing history a la 1984. Maged demonstrated for us by use of drawings on a stone, the method of mining the granite and of shaping the obelisks. There is another rock native to the area which is even harder than granite. This was fashioned into tools which were used to dig along the sides of the obelisk at the width, depth, and length desired. Holes along the sides and underneath were then fitted with large pieces of dry wood. The workers would soak these pieces over and over. When the wood became maximally swollen, the piece of granite would “pop” out of its position. While still in the quarry hieroglyphics would be etched into the rock. Transporting the pieces was another major challenge as each obelisk weighed over 1000 tons. The quarry was not far from the harbour at Aswan but nonetheless the movement involved intricate engineering skills. Each piece was wrapped carefully, then placed in a wooden case and rolled down to the harbour on a platform of logs. There it would be shipped via boat to the site of the temple for which it was intended. Once there, the method of setting it upright was another huge challenge. A large hill was built on either side of the designated place. The obelisk would be pulled up one side by animals and humans located on the opposite hill. At the top of the incline, once about 50% or 60% cantilevered over the open space between the two hills, it would be manoeuvred down into the prepared base. The hills would then be removed. Aliens were not in fact responsible.
From the quarry we travelled a few miles to see the High Dam at Aswan, the large one constructed in the 1950s by Nasser. Maged told us a bit about the politics and finances involved. There was a smaller dam created in the 1890s but clearly a larger one was needed, both for hydro-electric power and to regulate the flow of the Nile, responsible every year for flooding and for deaths in parts of the country. Nasser approached Eisenhower about help with money for the dam and also for help in developing his army. Eisenhower agreed provided that Egypt allow an American military presence in Egypt, i.e., bases. Nasser refused. He approached the World Bank then; approval seemed assured as all reports showed it as a viable project. But, according to Maged, the USA interfered, causing the World Bank ultimately to refuse funding. Nasser then went to Khrushchev. The Soviet Union agreed to help with funding and with support for the Egyptian army. It was at this point that Nasser decided to nationalize the Suez Canal, making use of the income from it to underwrite the dam. This led to war with England and France, though the hostilities were short-lived. Our guy, Lester Person won a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating an end to the war. So Nasser got his dam and at the same time a great deal of respect from his countrymen.
The day before yesterday we were at Abu Simbel to visit the transported temples of Ramses II and Nefertari. After seeing the Aswan Dam we set out on a motor boat to an island now holding the temple of Philae, a Greco-Roman style site honouring Isis, the goddess of beauty. This temple had been situated on another island that would have been inundated with the waters of the newly formed Lake Nasser, so like the other temples, it was removed by a joint international effort. We walked about the temple for some time, hearing Maged`s explanations of its history. From the motorboat we transferred to another van, this time to visit a perfume factory. Another girl, Heather, and I begged off because of our allergies and were allowed to sit that one out. An older gentleman who had been resting in the shade at the factory with a friend came over to speak with us. He teaches English at a local high school and he was keen to listen to our accents and to ask us questions about ourselves and about our reactions to Egypt. It was all quite charming to begin with but became more of a chore as the time dragged on. A younger fellow who was employed in glass-blowing for the perfume vials became interested in Heather. Was she married? Did she have a lover in Canada? Would she like to have a husband to bring to Canada? This went on at some length. Heather, who is a rather quiet woman became more and more uncomfortable and embarrassed by this attention. She was not about to confess to these conservative Muslim men that her lover, another woman, was with her on the tour. Finally the others returned and we made our escape.
Back to the hotel to retrieve our bags and on to the cruise ship, much more well-appointed and lovely than we had dared to dream. It`s not travel on the Royal Caribbean, but it`s very nice. We had lunch, a generous buffet, and some longed for free time. After a nap Mark and sorted through our luggage for the first time in over a week of rapid overnight stays. We hung things up and could actually see what we had brought with us from Toronto but had forgotten about. Dinner at 7:30 was a Christmas Eve feast with turkey and trimmings, salmon, lamb, many salads, cooked vegetables, breads, desserts, and so on. It was beautifully done, a very nice treat especially for the predominantly Christian (i.e., North American) people on board, given by the predominately Islamic crew. There was an hour`s break between the dinner and a belly-dancing show that was to be performed in the ship`s lounge. Mark and I took advantage of this to take my lap-top over to our former hotel – just a couple of blocks away – to use their Wi-Fi. It had been out of order while we stayed there and was only fixed yesterday as we checked out. I was able to get a post off and I returned this morning after breakfast to send out another that I had written and was saving. We arrived back at the ship for the finale of the belly-dancing but didn`t mind. Then off to bed for a needed sleep.
Sunday, December-26-10 10:40AM
Yesterday was Christmas. After breakfast our group met in the ship’s lounge, all wearing our Santa hats with lights flashing, to “exchange” tacky gifts. Each person was to buy the tackiest souvenir that they could find it the bazaar. It had to be at or less than 20 EP (about $4 Can) and it had to have been bargained down from a higher price. Each was wrapped and laid on a centre table. Counting Maged, there are 14 of us. Each pulled a number. The person with No 1 chose the first gift and opened it. The next could either take that gift away or chose something else from the pile. The first several chose from the pile but after that there was a great deal of taking away of a more desired item. If one’s gift was taken he or she could take another’s or chose from the pile. Some gifts changed hands several times, even going back to the person who had originally picked it. Because he was No 1, Mark got the last choice of all. It was a hilariously funny game as people got and then lost pieces that they desired. Lots of pictures were taken of happy and crest-fallen faces. The gifts ranged from a camel-shaped candle, which was later voted the tackiest of all, to figures on a papyrus, a mug with stamped figures, a shot glass with a god figure, a tiny gold-tone camel which opened for pills or coke, and a wonderful toy camel purse – much sought after and scored by Mark at the end. For this he had to give up his initial gift, a mini-sarcophagus of Tutankhamen. Many jokes about giving up his “mummy” for a purse. It was a lot of fun.
Mark and I went back again to our former hotel to use their Wi-Fi again and then across into the bazaar. Last night was to be a party on board for which people were to wear Egyptian clothing. We went on the hunt for a gallabah (not the correct spelling), the long gowns worn especially by Nubian men. When we left the ship we were greeted by a young fellow who introduced himself as one of the cooks from the ship. He said that he had seen us at breakfast. He walked along with us, telling us places where we could find internet. We told him that we were going to the hotel. When we came out from there we “ran into him” again. Such a coincidence. He said that he was on his way to visit his family which has a store in the bazaar. He wanted us to come with him to meet them. We said that we were going down another street. He called after us to promise to come to their store afterward. Clearly he was not from the boat but had been on the watch for someone coming from there. It’s very difficult to get away from the sellers in the shops unless one is very assertive and definite about one is doing. It was better just to avoid the pressures from this fellow to buy at the family’s shop because he had established a kind of relationship with us.
The ship sailed in the early afternoon and we had some experience of being on the upper deck in the lovely warm air watching the Nile glide by. About 4:30 we docked at the site of a temple called Kom Ombo. It is to honour two gods: one, the god of evil, represented by the crocodile; the other, the god of healing. On the walls of the temple dedicated to the latter were pictures of various tools used by doctors or priests: a saw and other instruments for bones; pinchers for pulling teeth; birthing stools for women in labour; and, descriptions of herbal remedies for conditions such as poor virility. The picture showed a penis with few drops coming from it (before) and another with many more (after). In the part of the temple for the god of evil were figures of high priest wearing masks like the heads of crocodiles. Mummified crocodiles were found in sarcophaguses there. The temple was about a kilometre from the landing place of the ship and we walked en mass to it, all wearing our Santa hats sparkling with flashing red lights. The souvenir sellers were so amazed at this vision that some even forgot to assail us with their goods as we walked along. Lots of people living there and other tour groups laughed and a[applauded as we went by. We wished everyone a Merry Christmas as we went. It was a lot of fun; we were such a deliberate spectacle. At the temple some people approached us asking to take our pictures or to have a picture of themselves taken with us.
We returned to the ship in time for it to set sail once again, heading for Edfu where we docked last night. All dressed in their Egyptian best for dinner – Mark with his new long gown and a “Lawrence of Arabia” type of headdress that I had bought from my funny fellow at the pyramids; I wore the black gown with elaborate silver decorations that was given to me mistakenly at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul a couple of years ago. (The seller mixed my purchase of little outfits for the girls with another woman’s.) I topped this outfit with one of the little hats with beads down the sides that I purchased at the Sphinx from the little girl with the smarts. Others came in a variety of costumes. It was much fun. A fellow from India who sits at our table told me that I looked like a queen. I thanked him and told him that he could begin to eat his dinner now. After dinner there was a dance in the lounge to Egyptian music. Maged was right in the centre of everything, teaching and leading steps and getting everyone involved. It was a good day.
Once again scroll to the bottom for more photos of our adventures. Take care and keep in touch. Brenda.
No comments:
Post a Comment