Egypt, the land of pyramids, mummies and much more....!

Egypt, the land of pyramids, mummies and much more....!

Dear Ilites!
I wish to share with you all the places I visited in Egypt and their historical importance. It would be informative and useful for those who plan to visit Egypt once in their life time and also for the casual surfers.
Please do not post your feedback till I have completed posting my compilation.
If need be the fbs may be posted in the following link-

http://www.indusladies.com/forums/s...47180-my-dream-come-true-tour.html#post549538

Thank you!
Love,
Malathi

 

[FONT=&quot]19th-20th December 2008[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]At last the D-day had come! [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Our flight to [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Egypt[/FONT][FONT=&quot] by Qatar Airways was scheduled for [/FONT][FONT=&quot]4.45 AM [/FONT][FONT=&quot]of December 20<. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]One by one our group members joined in. We were 39 in all! [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]After completion of formalities, the boarding call came and we were all in the Qatar Airways flight to [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Doha.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] It was a 4 hour 45 minutes flight and we landed at[/FONT][FONT=&quot]7 AM [/FONT][FONT=&quot] local time (2 and a half hours behind IST). Yes, there was a transit halt at Doha for about six hours! It was a bit tiresome after spending a sleepless night in the airport and then in the flight. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Then came the announcement for boarding the second leg of the flight to [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Cairo[/FONT][FONT=&quot]! We heaved a sigh of relief and rushed towards the gate! Once again we were inside the aircraft and the take off happened on time- [/FONT][FONT=&quot] local time! Another 3 hour 50 minute journey remained to reach the dream destination! It remained uneventful through out until we touched [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Cairo [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Airport [/FONT][FONT=&quot] at [/FONT][FONT=&quot]4.05 PM [/FONT][FONT=&quot] local time ( 3 and a half behind IST and 1 and a half our behind [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Qatar[/FONT][FONT=&quot] time). After completion of the immigration formalities, we were out of the airport, once again to breathe some fresh air! It was a welcoming sight. The weather was cold and chilly and the evening sun didn’t seem to be of much help in keeping us warm.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Cairo Airport [/FONT]

 

20th December 2008

The air conditioned bus provided by our local tour operator was waiting for us. When we were under the assumption that we would be eating at the same place where we were to stay, that didn’t seem to be. We were taken to an Indian restaurant for dinner before being dropped at the Oasis Hotel ( A four star hotel) where we were to stay for the 3 days we were in Cairo.Though the distance of travel was not much, because of the congested traffic we reached the hotel at about 8.45 PM about 3 and three quarter hours including an hour or so at the restaurant. We were dead tired! We had just enough energy left to collect our room keys and rush for a good night’s sleep!
]-->A full day trip to Alexandria was waiting for us! So folks, now let me call it a day! Good night! (Yawn)….. I am tir……..ed. ZZZZZZZZZ!! (Snore!)
1)The Oasis Hotel!
2)Row type rooms that give the impression of a cottage or resort!

 

21 December 2008
The phone rings in our room at 5.30 AM sharp! How I wished it was an alarm clock which could be hit on its head and made to snooze! I had a little difficulty in recollecting where I was and started wondering why the phone was ringing at such an unearthly hour! I looked around to make myself familiar with the new surroundings! Ahaaa……..! I was in a room in a 4 star hotel in Cairo I looked at the other cot. My son was happily asleep! Then it struck my numb brain that we were to be at the reception by 6.30 AM to board the bus for AlexandriaI. rushed to the wash room, had a quick shower in the hot water which had a soothing effect on the aching, tired muscles. Then I woke up my son who was quiet reluctant to come out of the warm blankets! “It is getting late”, I yelled! Poor fellow! Cursing me for not letting him sleep in peace, he walked towards the rest room! Once we were ready, We came out of the room and…….. VOW! What a beautiful sight! The dew drops still on the grass, the beautiful flowers waving in the morning cold breeze as if to welcome us and the mystifying fragrance of the unpolluted air ……! One has to be there to experience it!
It was almost 6.30 AM and we rushed to the Reception only to find that not many had turned up yet! Our packed breakfast was ready and each of us collected them, had some beverage in the name of coffee (!) and waited for the last of the group to assemble. Our cheerful guide was already waiting for us and our day started with his loud thunderous voice “ GOOO…D MOOORNING INNNNDIYAAAA!”
By 7.10 AM we were in the air-conditioned bus to drive down to Alexandria! It was a clear three hour journey. After a good night’s sleep we were all fresh and our Indianness had come back to us! By Indianness I mean, the usual bonhomie, the cheerfulness unique to Indiaall talking in loud voices at the same time, teasing each other, pulling one another’s legs and so on! Our poor guide took up the microphone to start talking about the days itineraryand also explaining some of the land marks on the way. But as is our Indian specialty, he was overruled and one of our organizers had the mike in his hands and then it was fun all the way- introductions, singing, sharing jokes, so on and so forth! Even the most introvert person was not given the choice of refusing the mike! The least that was expected was to introduce oneself!

As we were engaged in the fun and frolic, the bus started slowing down in one place. It was about 9 AM. When we looked out of the window we could see a small motel. So it was breakfast time! One by one we got down from the bus taking along our packed breakfast and walked towards the tables set under huge umbrellas in an open area. The day was cloudy and it looked as if it would start drizzling any time. We took our seats around the tables and opened our packets to gobble at our breakfast. Each packet consisted of bread sandwich, some variants of buns and a boiled egg. That was vegetarian breakfast! People who didn’t consider egg vegetarian, felt a little uneasy but they kept it aside and ate the sandwich and buns. People who could not resist coffee or tea, ordered it from the motel. Coffee came in various names and forms like cappuccino (that is the only name I can remember!) and many other types of tea too! I being a typical Degree filter coffee buff, stayed away from experimenting! The minimum price started with 10 Egyptian pounds, going up to a maximum of 30 pounds, that is 2 US $ to 5.4 $! Using the rest rooms would cost 1 Egyptian pound (In Rupee value- Rs.10/- rounded off for convenience) and they were as good or as bad as the Indian ones!

After having stretched our arms and legs thus and also having recharged and relieved (!), once again we were in the bus to leave for AlexandriaIn another hour or so we would be there!
The motel! And Aah! A rare picture of my son!

 

21st December...continued
ABOUT EGYPT
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern nation of Egypt. The civilization began around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it developed over the next three millennia. The rule of the pharaohs officially ended in 31 BC when the early Roman Empire conquered <st1:country-region><st1lace>Egypt</st1lace></st1:country-region>. The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians included a system of mathematics, quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that facilitated the building of monumental pyramids, temples, obelisks, faience and glass technology, a practical and effective system of medicine, new forms of literature, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques.

A few words about Alexandria as we are traveling in the bus-
Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. It was to be the link between Greece and the rich Nile Valley.This great young leader came to Egypt to fight against the Persians, who had invaded Egypt a few years before. In 333 BC Alexander entered Memphisthe ancient capital of Egyptwhere he was welcomed and hailed as a King by the Egyptians. He showed great respect and veneration to the gods of ancient Egypt, especially Ptah, the patron god of Memphis. Afterwards Alexander decided to visit the famous Oracle Temple of Amon, located in the oasis of Siwa, in order to consult the seer about his destiny. He was marching parallel to the Canopic branch of the Nile when he stopped to rest at an old Egyptian village called "Re-qdt” (its Greek name is “Racotis”). Alexander decided to build a town there, which became the chosen site of AlexandriaHe had an architect named "Dinocratis" plan it – it was the birth of a great new city. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left Egypt for the East and never returned to his city. After Alexander departed, his viceroy, Cleomenes, continued the expansion. Following a struggle with the other successors of Alexander, his general Ptolemy succeeded in bringing Alexander's body to AlexandriaIt had become the largest city in the world and for some centuries more, was second only to Rome. It became the main Greek city of Egypt with an extraordinary mix of Greeks from many cities and backgrounds.
The city passed formally under Roman jurisdiction in 80 BC, according to the will of Ptolemy Alexander but only after it had been under Roman influence for more than a hundred years. It was captured by Julius Caesar in 47 BC.
In 115 AD, vast parts of Alexandria were destroyed during the Jewish-Greek civil wars but it was rebuilt again by Hadrian and his architect, Decriannus. Once again on 21 July 365 AD, it was devastated by a tsunami (365 Crete earthquake), an event two hundred years later still annually commemorated as "day of horror”. In the late 4th century new Christian Romans had reached new levels of intensity. They destroyed all pagan temples in Alexandria and Christian churches were built in their place. The Pharos and Heptastadium quarters (, however, remained populous and were left intact.
The places of visit-
1) ‘The Roman Theatre’- Entrance fee- 20 L.E.(Egyptian pounds per person)
The Roman theatre is located in the modern area of Kom El-Dikaa, which is almost in the centre of the city of Alexandria, Egypt . It was built in the 2nd century A.D and has a large auditorium, about 42m in diameter. After the theatre was rebuilt and its auditorium was diminished to 33.5 m in diameter. An amphitheatre means a "double theatre". They are grand and impressive, shaped in a half circle, open to the sky, and might have held 100.000 people. [FONT=&quot]Actors performed in the central arena while the family mem. bers watched from the galleries. There were changing rooms too which were probably used by the performers. [/FONT] The stage had no curtain; it was just a stone platform. It is a raised circular platform in the centre of the performing area standing on which one can speak in a reasonably audible voice and hear it being amplified many times as though speaking over a microphone!

Picture 1)The circular spot where you can see me standing does the magic of amplifying voice! Believe me! I tested it!
Picture 2The changing Room!

 

21st December...continued

2)Catacomb-Entrance fee- 35 L.E per person
a)Tigran Tomb-
It is located in the same complex of Catacombs. Unlike catacombs, this tomb is located on the ground, not underground. The tomb is facing the main entrance of the complex. It belongs to the Pharonic time and the bodies of the father, mother and son of one family is believed to have been buried there.. Tigran family is believed to have belonged to a royal family in Alexandria during the Roman time. A mixture of Roman and Egypt art are seen on the wall paintings. Paintings of snakes and falcon on the walls and ceiling are believed to be of the Pharonic period. Horus, represented by the falcon, is also seen as the son of gods Isis and Osiris. A sun god, Horus was superior both physically and socially, representing the King and linking the sun and the moon, the two primary celestial beings. Horus was worshipped throughout Egypt The Kings of Egypt associated themselves with Horus and was personally identified with the king, as each succeeding pharaoh used the name of Horus as the first of his titles. The royal family was treated as the `co-ruler` for Romans when they occupied Alexandria and still had their rights as royal family among the people.

b)Catacomb (Kom El- Shuqafa Monuments)-
Cata- Many broken cups, Comb- A big hill or mound. (Arabic)
The Catacombs or underground tunnels lie in the district of Karmouz to the east of AlexandriaThese catacombs represent the largest example of a Roman burial within Egypt. (The Catacomb is the only Roman tomb found in AlexandriaAbout 300 bodies were accommodated in the catacomb.)
The area was called Kom El-Shouqafa or a pile of broken pottery. The cemetery dates back to the 1st century A.D and was used until the 4th century A.D. It was discovered by chance in 1900 AD, when a donkey drawn cart fell into a pit. The catacombs are reached through a spiral staircase rounding a central well through which bodies were lowered for burial. It consists of 3 levels cut into the rock, a staircase, a rotunda (circular building, with a dome), the triclinium (A couch facing three sides of a rectangular table, used by the ancient Greeks, and Romans for reclining at meals),a vestibule (a banqueting hall where visiting relatives would dine), an antechamber (a smaller room serving as an entryway into a larger room) and the burial chamber with three recesses in it; in each recess there is a sarcophagus (a stone coffin, decorated with sculpture).
The sarcophagus and its lid were cut completely from one block of rock. The body of the deceased was placed into the sarcophagus through an opening in the back wall, and then it was blocked after burying the body with stones. The sarcophagus is decorated with flowers, the head of Medusa (the belief that Medusa’s head turned to stone anything that met its gaze, led to the representation of the head as a protective figure on shields and on walls),
God Dionysus and other mythical gods. There is a representation of the deceased in a lying position.
The bodies were brought down by means of using ropes . Then the bodies were burnt and the ashes were put in the tomb.
(Pictures were not allowed to be taken inside the tomb)

3) Pompii’s Pillar (Amud El-Sawari or Column of the Horsemen) – Entrance Fee-20 L.E.
It is column raised in honour of Emperor Diocletian, in 300 A.D who saved the city of Alexandria from a frightful famine. On the western side of the column is engraved, "To the just Emperor, the god of Alexandria, the invincible Diocletian." It is approximately 27 meters in height and 9 meters in diameter sculptured of polished red granite brought from Upper Egypt across the Nile. It consists four pieces- of a base, a column, a capital and a statue atop which was destroyed in an earthquake. It was built amidst the ruins of the Serapeum, a temple to Serapis, the God created by King Ptolemy 1 in order to unite Egyptians and Greeks in shared worship. The Pillar is the tallest ancient monument in Alexandria.

4)Fort of Quait Bey- (Entrance fee-25 L.E)
It is one of the main tourist attractions of Alexandria. It was built by Qaitbey (Quait-bey), who ruled Egypt between 1468 and 1496. The main tower itself was built on an old island called Pharos, so named because this was the location of the famous Pharos lighthouse which was build in 238 BC, one of the wonders of the ancient world, before it was toppled by an earthquake into the sea. The outer walls were built by Sultan el Ghouri. The role of the Citadel was to defend the city against the ottomans attacks. The Fort has three floors, a mosque, a navel museum and a big courtyard.
The citadel is surrounded by two walls: the outer wall and inner wall, which are made of large stones, conforming to the martial role of the citadel. The principle tower (burg) of the citadel is located in the northeastern section of the courtyard. In its four corners are circular towers. In addition, the walls of this principle tower contain a group of projecting balconies, each of which has a slit in the middle of the wall for shooting arrows. The main entrance of the tower is located in the centre of the southern side and is characterised by an arched opening, decorated with the blazon of Sultan Qaitbay. The tower consists of three stories. The citadel's mosque occupies more than half the area of the ground level. The second storey consists of small chambers connected by passages which might have been used to store weapons and provisions, while the third storey is characterised by the great hall (seat) that was designated for Sultan Qaitbay, who would sit and observe from it the movement of ships in the harbour. There were three lines of defence, the first one –were small windows on the higher level of the citadel on all sides facing the sea. Whenever enemy ships were sighted, arrows and grenades were shot through these windows to ward them off. The beauty of these windows was that they are narrow from the outside (To prevent enemy attacks from outside) and wide from the inside! The second was a circular opening on the ceiling at the entrance of the fort. If the enemies dared reached the entrance, boiling hot oil was poured from the top through the opening!
If the second line of defence was also broken and the enemies entered the central portion of the Citadel (which was also used as a prayer hall by the soldiers who guarded the fort) large boulders were pushed from the top!
And our guide added with a sense of humour-“ And if this too was crossed over successfully by the enemies, then God save the King!”

5) El Salamalek Palace-
On the last leg of the day’s journey we visited the palace built by King Abbas Helmi in the year 1892 for his mistress who later became his wife. It was used as a hunting lodge and was known as EL Salamlek Palace. Now it has been converted into a hotel- EL Salamlek Palace Hotel. There was nothing much to see there as we had to pay even to enter the 5 Star Hotel! There was a casino to the left of the hotel which was closed. We just took pictures from the outside and got back to our bus for our return to Cairo!

By now it was almost 4.45 PM/ We had our dinner in Cairo at a restaurant called Sahara Ashoka. Here we got some food which could pass of as Indian! We were dead tired after the days trip and reaching back to our Hotel we felt thankful as we rushed to our rooms for a good night’s sleep so that we could get up fresh for the next day’s city tour.

Pictures-
1) Pompii’s Pillar
2) Qait Bey Citadel/Fort
3) Second line of defence- (Boiling hot oil poured from this opening!
4) The 5 Star Palace Hotel! (El Salamalek Palace)
To be continued.........

 

22nd December 2008
Thankfully today it was a city tour. We could sleep for an extra hour today! Our phone alarm rang at 6.30 AM and once again we got ready for the days trip starting with the Pyramids. At last I was going to visit the place of my dreams!
After breakfast at the Hotel, we were into our bus at 8 AMOur guide wanted us to leave early so that we could start before the crowds arrived. The pyramid site was quite near our hotel but because of the traffic it took us about 35 to 40 minutes to reach the place. The majestic pyramid could be seen from the road as we were nearing it! It was in front of this pyramid where we have seen Aishwarya Rai dancing for a song in the movie “Jeans”. This pyramid falls under one of the seven wonders of the world. Entry here is free and we drove nearer to the pyramids. There were nine pyramids in this site. The one which you see in the picture is the biggest one.


The highest pyramid- one of the seven wonders!

 

Our guide gave us some warning which we first thought were just to intimidate us!
These were the warnings-
1) Do not accept anything from the people who offer you gifts. At first they would say it is a gift and once you accept it they will start threatening you to part with hefty sums or will ask for your valuables like jewels, camera, sun glasses, shoes etc.!
2) The camel owners would bring their camel in front of you as you are taking pictures and request you to take their pictures as well and if you innocently oblige them you are trapped! Once again they would start threatening you to pay for the shots in cash or kind!
3) Do not approach any camel owner for a ride even if they offer it for a price. They will take you into the deserts, snatch away all your belongings and off load you in the middle of the desert and you will be lost! This has happened to a few western tourists recently.

Do you think we would dare to do anything adventurous after this warning in bold letters?! But our guide also gave us a reprieve when he added that he would let us know the safer place to take pictures and go for camel rides.
After explaining the history of the pyramids, our guide gave us some free time to walk inside the smallest of pyramids which was about 10 metres long. The entrance to this was free while the biggest pyramid which was about a 100 metres long would cost about 100 US dollars! That is what our guide told us! I Do not know whether it would be that costly! He also told us that we would have to walk on our knees all through the length of the pyramid and there would be very less oxygen supply inside and so it would not be advisable to go for the longest one which would cover a distance of 200 metres to and fro.
We settled for the smallest one! There was a security person at the entrance of this pyramid who recognized our geographical back ground! He was excited to know that we were Indians! He was familiar with Amithab Bacchan’s name! He asked whether we come from the land of Amithab BacchanHe was very generous in letting us in without much fuss though in the beginning he told us that it was a restricted area! (Of course that was a lie as we found out later!)
Now we were inside the pyramid!!!!!!
Wow! What an experience! It was quite dark inside as we went down the steps which had been renovated in recent times for tourist convenience and also for archeological research. Now the coffins are empty since the mummies have either been stolen or kept in various museums across the world.

The crowd had not yet started pouring in and we were the only large group inside the pyramid. Not all could go down the steps at a time as the entrance was narrow as were the steps. We were going in batches to take a look at the empty tomb which had a 5000 year old history! Slowly the crowd was gathering and now there was a small batch of about 7 to 8 Europeans inside the pyramid. They behaved like students taking a history lesson from their guide, all serious and attentive (They must have been in their middle ages) in contrast to our own lot who were creating a ruckus wherever we were, oblivious of the surroundings! Call it the darker side of Indians, or people lacking public decency, but that is what makes us Indians distinct and unique in a crowd. The cheerfulness, the camaraderie, the happy-go lucky attitude- they are all the trade marks of us Indians, the traits that are difficult to change, whichever part of the globe we are in! “After all, we were on a holiday, a pleasure trip, why not enjoy to the stilt till the moments last”, was our motto!

While the Europeans tourists watched us with amusement and a pleasant smile, the security guard came rushing in hearing the noise and commotion and barked at us to keep our voice at low decibels which of course fell on deaf ears! Once we were finished with our picture sessions, we inched out of the pyramid to the relief of the guard! He came behind us asking for our caps, sun glasses, shoes or whatever caught his fancy! After all our guide had not been lying, we thought!

Pictures-
1)Inside the Pyramid (entrance that leads down to the coffin)!
2)The steps leading to the tomb!
3)The coffin lid and the coffin inside the pyramid!

 

There were strong winds blowing as we came out of the pyramids, typical desert storms but of a lower intensity. Our guide asked us to pool up at a particular spot to tell us about our next course of action. “There are two options”, he said. “Interested people could take a camel ride to the next place and the rest could go over to the parked bus that would leave for ‘The Panorama’ (the place from where all the nine pyramids could be viewed at the same time). The camel ride would cost 30 US dollars per person and it would take about 45 minutes to reach the place. The desert ride would be scenic and memorable.”
Quite a few, especially the youngsters and the more enterprising amongst us chose to travel by camel and the rest of us walked to the bus.
While the camels were arriving and our guide was organizing the camel ride, a few of us went across the street to visit the roadside shops that were selling a lot of statues and figurines, the handiwork of the local people. Our guide had warned us that they would be exorbitantly priced and we should bargain for one third the price! We did buy a few of these to carry back home as pleasant memories. I bought the statue of a sphinx which reminded me of our own ‘Kamadenu’ for no particular reason.
Satisfied with our bargaining skills and our first shopping in Egyptwe went into the bus to travel to the next destination inside the same complex. Within ten minutes we were in this place –The Panorama’.

[FONT=&quot] Pictures[/FONT]
1)Back breaking journey on the camel!
2)Could not capture all the nine in one shot!