2nd January 2023: Lies or oblivion? {Egypt, Winter 2022-2023}

Posted on 22 January 2023 by Sakaki Delijah

I was awake at 6:40, but no phone call ever came. I was distressed because this gave way to two options. Either the tour guide had lied to me, or someone had forgotten that I existed. Neither was a happy thought. I tried to cheer myself up with a cup of Espresso from the room complimentary bar, and around 8:30 I went to have a quick breakfast. I was not hungry and to be honest quite upset. I had insisted five times about this beforehand.

A bit after 9:00 I tried to call the ground agency, Galaxia Tours, and I texted them through the website. But around 9:20 I said screw it. The hotel had a mini travel agency – I had noticed this because we had made an attempt to go see the light and sound show at Giza on the 30th, which the tour guide had walked around. Instead of telling us “you won’t have the time” he had deflected every question we asked about it.

Had I had more time to organise things, I would have hired the mini-agency to take me back to the Egyptian Museum, the Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, or even the Valley of the Whales. However, since the tour guide had mislead me, I was out of time. Then again, the hotel was not in actual Cairo, but in Giza [الجيزة], and a nominal 20 minutes away from the Giza Plateau and thus the pyramids, so I hired a tour over there. And, believe it or not, I ended up… on a “camel” – actually a dromedary – for a few hours.

I had been resisting doing a dromedary ride of any kind out of concern for animal welfare, especially after seeing how they were treated at the Petra site in Jordan. However, this time it looked like it was the best option to spend my three hours around the pyramids, introducing Moses the dromedary (Camelus dromedarius).

Moses the dromedary kneels looking at the camera over his shoulder. He exudes personality

I checked out at the hotel, left my luggage at reception, and was driven towards the The Pyramids of Giza Archaeological Site [مجمع أهرامات الجيزة]. My driver was a bit creepy, so I tried to keep it light. We arrived at a backstreet next to the Great Sphinx [أبو الهول] entrance, from where I had a great view. This entrance was a bit different from the one we had used on the 31st next to the tourist bus parking lot. Most people using this entrance were Egyptians, and they were thoroughly patted down. Upon entry though, the view was astonishing – the Sphinx, and Pyramid of Khafre standing right behind it, the Pyramid of Khafre [هرم خفرع], the Pyramid of Menkaure, with the Pyramids of the Queens peeking to the side.

A front view of the sphinx, with three pyramids behind it. The pyramids decrease in size from right to left

Riding the dromedary was easier than I thought. The trickiest part was managing his kneeling down and standing back up – I did get a cramp on the very first standing up – but it was mostly a matter of leaning forward and backwards. Through this new walk around the Giza Plateau I got to see the modern cemetery on the left, then we moved onto the archaeological site itself. From this side, I saw the path that joins the Great Sphinx with the Funerary Temple of Khafre and the Pyramid of Khafre. I also got to see the Tomb of Queen Khentkawes I [مقبرة الملکه خنتکاوس] and the Central Field of Mastabas and rock-cut tombs. It was weird, having such a vantage point of view! I got used to the rocking very quickly, so I got a few good pictures.

Two views of the archaeological area of Giza, with pyramids in the background and low, excavated tombs in the foreground.

My guide – and Moses – took me to a a different Panoramic Point of the Pyramids, the picture perfect one, a few metres south of where we had been the previous day – this spot is not reachable from the bus, but I honestly cannot calculate if I would have had the time to get there and back the previous time – it’s hard to estimate distances in the desert, and the pyramids are too big to gauge good references.

A general view of the area of Giza. All the big three pyramids and the small six are visible.

We rode around the Pyramid of Menkaure, and actually passed between two of the Pyramids of the Queens.

A collage showing the approach to the Pyramid of Menkaure. The smaller pyramids of the Queens are in the foreground, and the camera seems to go through them until it focuses on the bigger pyramid.

Then we moved on towards the Pyramid of Khafre. Coming closer was really cool, as I could see the granite blocks that would have made the pyramid smooth back in the day, along with the rest of some columns. Also, two sides of the pyramid are actually somewhat sunk in the ground, with a vertical wall of rock-cut tombs. I know I was paying for it, but being able to walk around the pyramid felt special, and allowed me to feel awed at the size and technology again, considering these were built about 4500 years ago.

The pyramid of Khafre. The top is still smooth as granite blocks have not fallen. At its foot, you can see the granite blocks that have fallen, some aligned next to the pyramid so you can guess how it would be smoothed. Another picture shows the moat like structure around the pyramid - it is the back-wall of some tombs

The Pyramid of Khufu stood to the left, and we continued our ride towards the Central Field of Mastabas and rock-cut tombs and the Tomb of Queen Khentkawes I.

A view of the Great Pyramid from behind.

A number of basement-like structures excavated in the desert. They are the tombs of the nobles and the pyramid builders.

I dismounted again and walked into the Valley Temple of Khafre [معبد الوادي لخفرع]. This time, not running and with fewer people, I got to see the megalithic structures for real. I also could go to see the rump area of the Great Sphinx of Giza.

Collage showing the sphinx with the pyramid of Khafre behind it; the megalithic temple through which you access it; then a lateral view of the sphinx and a view from the rump.

Afterwards, there was an “essence shop” experience, but as I told the lady I would not be buying anything, she dispatched me really fast. My driver got only creepier in the way back, so I tipped him and ran off to the reception of the hotel, where I sat down to wonder whether someone would pick me up from the hotel, or they would forget me like they had for the dray trip. Fortunately, I spotted some people I had seen during the New Year’s Eve party, and it turns out that they had the same pick up. That was good, because handling the transfer for Cairo Airport – and the airport itself – would have been more stress than I was willing to deal with. I actually think I was forgotten indeed, but this family was not – I did approach the representative they pointed out, and made him aware of my existence. Firmly.

At 14:05, we were off on the mini bus towards the airport, and it took a bit over an hour. Meanwhile, they gave me a questionnaire to fill in – I tried not to get personal, nor attack anyone, but I was very sincere about the things that had gone wrong. Being forgotten is not a nice feeling.

We reached the airport past 15:00. There were two security controls for luggage, and one pat down. In the second control, the guards got money to let a group go before me, and the guard actually gestured that money would make things go faster. However, waiting had an interesting consequence… I met the people who went on the day trip, to Saqqara again, and they entered other pyramids there. So there had been another day trip – and again, lied to, or forgotten about?

But I had had my own fun, so I did not let that rile me up. I checked in, dropped my luggage, got my exit visa and settled down to wait – I was now just destined to have to listen to We wish you a Merry Christmas on loop for as long as it took to board. I got myself a cheese sandwich for lunch – this was past 16:00 by now, I was a bit hungry after only a fast breakfast. Cairo Airport is anything but traveller-friendly. Half the shops were closed, but without signs, so they just yelled at you if you walked in. There are no sitting areas next to the gates, just the shops, and I did not want to sit on another floor and rely on their English to know when boarding was ready, so I just walked up and down “a few” times. I was lucky enough to be next to the gate when boarding started – with yet another X-ray control, getting separated by sex, and being frisked. And yet, you have to take off your shoes, but you are allowed water bottles on the plane… Weird.

We finally took off around 19:30 for very uneventful five-hour flight. We got dinner on the way, which was unexpectedly nice, and I had a window seat, extra water, and got to see Cairo goodbye.

An aereal view of a city at night. The streets are lit, and light pollution diffuminates in the background. There is a black line in the middle, north to south - the Nile.

Overall balance: things were left unseen, and maybe one day I’d go back to see the rest of the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, and the new Grand Egyptian Museum. Possibly the Valley of the Whales. But I don’t really feel I must come back any time soon. It was the adventure of a lifetime, and I am very grateful I got to live it. I do admit, however, that I dropped by my travel agent’s to make it known that someone had either forgotten me, or lied to me, and that I was not happy – similarly to what I had done with the questionnaire. I don’t know if I’ll ever get a reply, but I have to say the experience has left me not feeling up to trusting anyone with my travelling for a little while. Though I had to admit, my first solo experience with a group was all right… nice people all around, so I’ve been lucky in that department.

1st January 2023: The Lotus Flower {Egypt, Winter 2022-2023}

Posted on 21 January 2023 by Sakaki Delijah

I read somewhere once that you should start the year doing what you love, that is why I decided to go out on the 1st January 2022. I could have never imagined 2023 would start as it did, in Cairo [القاهرة] of all places. As a settlement, Cairo can be traced to the Babylon Fortress, built around the 1st century BCE, but its real foundations were laid in the second half of the 7th century by the Fatimid dynasty. The city survived the Caliphate and kept spreading. Today, it is the largest metropolitan area in Africa, and the 12th in the world with 22 million people.

After waking up around 7:00, I was the first in my group to go down to have breakfast, and when I did, I saw that the breakfast buffet had added a ‘hangover’ buffet – Ibuprofen, Strepsils, painkillers in general… I thought it was hysterical. To be honest, I was tired and sore from the pyramid climbs, and probably a bit hungry since dinner had been… strange. One out of three was dealt with after some coffee and a very… British breakfast somehow – scrambled eggs, potato wedges, roasted tomato, a sausage… this gave me energy for the day, which we were to spend in the Unesco World Heritage Site Historic Cairo.

Departure was scheduled for 9:00 – too late, in my opinion. First, we got caught up in the horrible traffic. Then, when we arrived at our first destination, we had to turn around because the bus parking lot was full. On the way we caught a glimpse of the City of the Dead (Cairo Necropolis, or Qarafa [القرافة]). In this area, tombs, mausoleums and houses cramp together, up and down. Some people have made their houses out of the mausoleums due to Cairo’s crazy urbanisation. The City of the Dead was created almost at the same time as the city of the living.

Cairo, City of the Dead from the moving bus. A bunch of low constructions with flat celings or domes, with some trees sprinkled inbetween.

We also saw the ending of the Cairo Citadel Aqueduct [سور مجرى العيون]. Though originally designed during the Ayyubid period between the 12th and 13th century, it was later reworked by several Mamluk sultans (13th – 16th century) to expand water provision to the city. Today, it does not carry water, and it is under ‘redevelopment’ in order to display it as a heritage monument.

Aqueduct. Built in dark grey bricks, it has been buried by the sands of time so only the upper part shows.

Finally, after way too many scares with the bus, we reached the area called Coptic Cairo. It is located in what used to be the fortress of Bayblon, and in order to access it you have to go down a flight of stairs that feels way too long due to the pyramid climb. I do know a thing or two about soreness, and as I was hopping down the stairs as fast as I could, someone complained that it was unfair that I was ‘fresh like a lotus flowers’ while they were sore. That made me laugh – I guess I’m more used to being in pain than others.

The Coptic Catholic Church is the main branch of Christianity in Egypt. The Coptic Church seceded from Catholicism in the 5th century due to disagreements about the “nature of Christ”. Coptic Catholics believe the same general things as other Christian faiths, and fast a lot – 40 days before Christmas (7th of January), and 55 before Easter. They have a different Pope and rules for priests. Copts are a minority in mostly Muslim Egypt.

Our first stop there was the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus [ϯⲉⲕⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ ⲛⲓ⳥ ⲥⲉⲣⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲃⲁⲭⲟⲥ ϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲓⲥⲡⲉⲗⲉⲱⲛ]. Christian traditions tell that the Holy Family fled the Massacre of the Innocents. In the nativity narrative, Herod, King of Judea, ordered the killing of all male children under two years near Bethlehem, in order to get rid of the “King of the Jews”. Having been alerted by an angel, Joseph took Mary and infant Jesus to Egypt. According to the tradition, they rested in the cave underneath the church, now turned into a crypt. The church is dedicated to the two martyrs, who died for their faith in Syria in the 3rd century CE. The building, erected in the 4th century, has a central nave and two side aisles, with 12 columns, probably quarried from Ancient Egyptian monuments and temples.

Collage. The upper part shows the Coptic chruch. The walls are made out of red brick, and the altar is hidden by a wooden structure. The lower picture shows a crypt with a small wooden altar, brick ceilings, and white columns

We then made a small stop at a Roman Tower, one of the Roman emperor Trajan’s addition to the original Fortress of Babylon (not that Babylon, the name was probably corrupted from the Pharaonic name). Trajan also created a quay back to the Nile, which has now dried out.

Ruins of a rounded tower built in white and red bricks. The colours alternate to create horizontal patterns.

We had a small stop at a bazaar shop, then we went into the so-called Hanging Church [الكنيسة المعلقة or ϯⲉⲕⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲉⲥⲓϣⲓ], officially Saint Virgin Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church [ϯⲉⲕⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉⲑⲉⲟⲇⲟⲕⲟⲥ ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ ϧⲉⲛ ⲃⲁⲃⲩⲗⲟⲛ ⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ]. It is called the Hanging Church because it would have been suspended over the water gate of the Roman Babylon fortress – though today the ground is higher and the view is less impressive. It was built somewhere between the 7th and 9th centuries, and holds over a hundred icons. It is built in a basilica style, with 13 pillars representing the apostles and either Christ or Judas – depending on where you read. The rich decoration, with mosaics and reliefs, especially on the outside, mixes Arabic and Coptic motifs.

Collage of the Hanging church. The façade is sandstone, carved with Coptic and Arabic designs. Then there is a courtyard with a staircase that yields to a white building with two bell towers and a wooden porch. The lower picture shoes the interior, with the altar behind a wooden structure, very decorated ceilings and bare stone columns

That was all for Coptic Cairo, as we moved on towards what should have been our first stop – the Citadel of Saladin | Qalaʿat Salāḥ ad-Dīn [قلعة صلاح الدين الأيوبي]. There was going to be a high price to pay for all that time in the bus that morning, we just didn’t know yet. The Citadel was built by Saladin in the 12th century CE. Saladin was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. He became Sultan of Egypt in 1171, fought the Christian Crusaders, and conquered Syria. He was considered smart and noble, even by his enemies.

A sand-coloured wall with two minarets peering from the background

In the Citadel, we visited the Mosque of Muhammad Ali [مسجد محمد علي] in the Southern Enclosure, also called the Alabaster Mosque. It was built in the first half of the 19th century in the Ottoman style, and had to be completely restored in the 1930s due to cracking. It has two minarets, and a metal clock tower – the Cairo Citadel Clock, which apparently was a gift in return for the Luxor Obelisk that currently sits in Paris. The mosque has a courtyard for ablutions, and although the interior is usually carpeted, the carpets were out for cleaning, which created an interesting effect. It was my first time in a mosque, and I was pretty impressed by the huge glass lamps. Most of the courtyard and the interior are covered by alabaster – the upper part of the interior is only wood – and the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali is built in Carrara marble.

Before leaving, the Citadel, we went towards the wall to catch a view of what is modern Cairo, in what we were told is called the Wall of Saladin, which is basically the limit of the Citadel. Looking very carefully, one could spot the pyramids in the background, among the high rises.

A ruined medieval wall, with a view of Historic and modern Cairo in the background. A floating image superimposed shows a high-contrast close-up of the skyline, making the pyramids visible through the haze

Afterwards, we went back to the bus to find the restaurant we were supposed to have lunch at – a “luxury boat” on the Nile that tried to short-change two of us – a travel-mate for 20 EGP and me for almost 60 EGP. We had nothing of it, though I had to be a bit more forceful than he did. We finally got into the most interesting part of the day at 15:17 – The Egyptian Museum in Cairo [المتحف المصري]. Considering that the museum closed at 17:00, this was outrageous. We had to run through the museum, with the tour guide complaining that we were not fast enough – he actually grunted that I was not there when I was. Considering how many people there were, we spent time trotting behind the guy, trying not to lose him.

We saw – thankfully – the Tutankhamun Galleries, with his sarcophagus and mask. I say thankfully because at this time, the treasures were scheduled to move onto the Grand Egyptian Museum next to the pyramids within the same month – and the tour guide could not even tell us where exactly the treasure was. We also saw most of the masterpieces:

Galleries of Yuya and Tuya (18th Dynasty), containing most everything regarding this couple, including the Book of the Dead
Statuette of Khufu (Cheops) in ivory, a tiny representation of the pharaoh, the only sculpture of his in existence
Scribe statue CG 36 (Fifth Dynasty)
Menkaure triads, in alabaster (Fourth Dynasty). Statues of deified Menkaure.
Narmer Palette, a cosmetic palette considered the “first historical document in the world”, documenting the union of Lower and Upper Egypt by Narmer (Dynasty 0, 3000 BCE) with the first hieroglyphs
Bust of Akhenaten, Amonhotep IV
Sphinx statue of Queen Hatshepsut
Small wood sculpture compositions from different tombs
Sarcophagi from several pharaohs and noblemen
Rahotep and Nofret (26th century BCE)
Statue of Seneb and his Family (25th century BCE)
Face of Queen Hatshepsut

Cairo Museum Collage: a view of the building, striking pink; the first gallery showing the top of a few pyramids and some colossal statues; sarcophagi.

Cairo Museum Collage: Close up of a black basalt sarcophagus, showing colourful hieroglyphs; canopi jars; a sitting scribe; a spynx.

Cairo Museum Collage: Face and Sphynx of Queen Hatshepsut; bust of Akhenaten; mummy

By the time he actually cut us loose, it was almost closing time, 16:40. I managed to wander a little on my own, and at least catch a glimpse of some colossal statues and the exhibited pyramidia (tops of the pyramids). I am not going to lie, I was miffed. We should have gone out of the hotel earlier, and if the bus could not enter the Citadel, we could have walked for ten minutes rather than waste an extra hour driving around Cairo. The best, though, was still to come. My travel-mates had come later than me, but they left earlier than me – almost 12 hours earlier. Back in Aswan I had tried to organise a day trip for myself for the second, and throughout the bus rides, I insisted thrice about organising something, but was just told that my pick-up was 14:00.

We were driven around Cairo for a little while after the museum until we reached the area known as Islamic Cairo | Al-Mu’izz’s Cairo [قاهرة المعز], the heart of the Unesco Heritage Site – it is also known as Historic Cairo or Medieval Cairo, and it existed before the current city expansion, built throughout the Middle Ages around the Citadel. It is surrounded by a wall, that can be crossed through a number of monumental gates. We had a walk down Al-Muizz li-Din Allah al-Fatimi Street [شارع المعز لدين الله الفاطمي], the most important artery of the historical city, with a number of historical buildings, such as the Qalawun complex [مجمع قلاون] and the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Barquq [مسجد ومدرسة وخانقاه الظاهر برقوق]. At the end, there is a tourist market that we were told was Khan al-Khalili, but I was not able to find the historical part of this famous souk, and to be honest, I did not feel too comfortable hanging out alone – we were given an hour of time to ‘do shopping’ here. Though the street itself was quite neat, and the buildings were nicely lit, again, I was not in too much agreement with the timing, and the shopping area was not welcoming at all – at one point I was sent a child to beg me for a pound, and she kept crying around me. One should never give money to beggar children, as it encourages the practice, but it was hard to force myself to ignore her.

A collage of Medieval Arabic buildings at night, lit in pink and green lights. The decoration is rich and ellaborate. The street is full of people.

When we came back to the bus, we got on route towards Al-Azhar Park [حديقة الأزهر], and a supposedly famous restaurant with views. Though it has very neat views from the terrace, the set menu was weird. The barbecued meat was okay, but it came after way too much rice and fries. I’m not sure how much the restaurant got from the extra trip price (60€ per person) though.

A collage. The biggest picture shows the Mosque of Muhammad Ali in the background, lit in purple for the night, with a darkened garden leading up to it. Two other pictures show the entrance to the restaurant, and a small Arabic fountain. The other two picrures show Cairo skyline, and the food we were served: Egyptian bread, hummus, and a barbecue of chicken and lamb meat

Most of the group was exhausted and they had to leave at 3:00, so we just bailed out on the rest of whatever was planned. I insisted on the following day and I was told I’d receive a call to my room the following morning. We said goodbyes to the tour guide, and I said my goodbyes to the rest of the group.

I went to bed wondering what time I would get that call. I set my alarm clock for 7:00 just in case.

31st December 2022: So high! {Egypt, Winter 2022-2023}

Posted on 20 January 2023 by Sakaki Delijah

The breakfast buffet at the Cairo hotel was definitely better-stocked than the one on the motorboat, but we did not have time to linger. I was more than a bit giddy because today was the great day. The traffic was horrible, but as we were stuck there, we caught our first sight at the pyramids! The haze and smoke over Cairo [القاهرة] are thick in the morning, so instead of heading directly to Giza, we turned our back from it and drove off towards Saqqara [سقارة]. Both Saqqara and Giza are part of the Unesco World Heritage site Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur.

Two pyramids in the background through the window of a moving bus. The quality is not that great as the glass is somewhat tinted and the weather is hazy

Memphis was the capital of Ancient Egypt during the Old Kingdom, for eight dynasties. It flourished during the Sixth Dynasty (24th – 22nd centuries BCE), but started a decline at the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty (16th – 13th centuries BCE), first in favour of Alexandria, then of Thebes (Luxor). If Memphis was the city of the living, Saqqara was its city of the dead, the cemetery.

The Necropolis of Saqqara [أهرامات سقارة] starts off right at the end of the area where the fertile land from the Nile ends, so you cross from a date palm forest to a scorching dry desert. The burials there predate the Old Kingdom, and the oldest tombs belong to the Second Dynasty, and here the first pyramid was built. The timeline for burials was Abydos (which we did not get to see) → Saqqara → Giza (both of which we would see that day) → Valley of the Kings.

A garden or forest of palm trees from the bus. There's a low stone fence in the foreground.

Our first stop was the Necropolis of Teti. Teti was the first king of the Sixth Dynasty (24th century BCE) in the Old Kingdom, back in the time when the Egyptians had started working on elaborate burial sites. Thus, he had a pyramid complex for himself, his queens and officials.

Teti’s vizier (and probably son-in-law) Kagemni was buried in the necropolis. The type of funerary monument built for him was a mastaba. A mastaba [مصطبة] is type of burial, maybe a precursor of the pyramids – it is a rectangular structure with inward sloping walls built using mud bricks. They remained common among non-royals for over a thousand years after Kings were buried in pyramids.

Thus, we went into the Mastaba of Kagemni, vizier to King Teti of the Old Kingdom. The inner walls of the mastaba are decorated with coloured carvings of every day’s life, and mourning scenes for the deceased. There are lots of fishing scenes, featuring hippopotamuses, crocodiles, catfish… and cattle rearing work.

Mastaba of Kagenmi. Collage showing the narrow entrance, flanked by two carved warriors. A view of the walls of a reddish building. Carving on walls, some of them coloured, showing fish, a cow being milked, and Ancient Egyptian people carrying offerings

After the vizier’s tomb, we went into our first pyramid, the Pyramid of Teti [هرم تتي] himself. The pyramid today looks just like a hill from the outside – under all the rubble there is a big pyramid, along with three smaller ones, and a funerary temple. The pyramid was opened in 1882, and despite the poor condition of the above-ground area, the corridors and chambers inside very are well-preserved. This pyramid is one of the first ones with carved funerary texts – a number of rituals and spells called the Pyramid Texts. The entrance to the structure is downwards. A ramp leads into a narrow and low corridor which ends in a vestibule that in turns opens into three small chambers to the left, and the mortuary chamber to the right. The King’s sarcophagus remains at the pyramid, with carvings inside – the first carved sarcophagus ever found.

A rubble-like pyramid and shots of the inside. A very narrow and low passgeway, a sarcophagus in a pentagon-shaped room, and the decoration inside the sarcophagus.

I am not sure I can describe the high that I felt when I went inside the pyramid. It was like breathing history. Unfortunately, we had to move on too quickly. Fortunately, there were more things to discover! We got out of the bus to see the line of three pyramids – Pyramid of Unas, the Step Pyramid of Djoser, and the Pyramid of Userkaf.

A view of three pyramids. The one in the foreground right is little more than rubble. The one in the middle is not smooth, but it has five steps. The one in the background left is mostly hidden and only a flat tip can be seen.

Djoser was either first or second king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, sometime around the early 27th century BCE. His architect Imhotep is credited with the design of what possibly was the first ever pyramid. Djoser Mortuary Complex comprises the enclosure wall with a colonnaded entrance, a number of Heb Sed chapels, where dedicated priests honoured the different gods of Ancient Egypt. The roofed chapel area opens into a large patio, which used to be surrounded by a mud brick wall – today only the entrance stands, having been recently restored. In the middle of the open court, stands the Step Pyramid of Djoser [الهرم المدرج للملك زوسر].

Complex of Djoser, collage. The first picture shows the reconstructed wall, made of mudbrick, and the pyramid. Two other pictures show the inner columns of the hall, and the final picture shoes the pyramid again, it has five steps and it is not symmetrical.

The Pyramid of Userkaf [هرم أوسركاف] was built for the founding pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty (25th century BCE, Old Kingdom). The pyramid and all the surrounding funerary structures were pillaged in antiquity, and time has taken its toll – the structure is a core of rubble that looks like a huge anthill.

The pyramid of Userkaf, mostly collapsed, with a ruined stone path leading to it

The Pyramid of Unas [هرم أوناس] is even more decayed. Unas was the last king of the Fifth Dynasty (24th century, Old Kingdom), and his is the smallest pyramid of the Old Kingdom, but the first ever in which funerary texts were inscribed. Some of the outer casing is still visible, and there are also some remains of the mortuary temple in front of the pyramid, but most of the complex it is unstable rubble. Nevertheless, I’m a bit sad we did not get to go in and see the texts.

Pyramid of Ulnas. The upper part is mostly sand and debris, and the bottom shows blocks of stones collapsed

We overlooked the New Kingdom Tombs and the Persian Shafts, tombs of the high officials in Persian Egypt between the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. The tombs are connected together underground, but again, we only saw them from the outside.

Several funerary structures made out og mudbrick, and a deep square pit

We went back to the coach and were shown to a carpet / tapestry “school” which was a bit unsettling as it felt like a cover for children’s work. Then we drove off back towards Cairo and Giza [الجيزة], where we ran into a ten-lane traffic jam. However, we eventually made it to The Pyramids of Giza Archaeological Site [مجمع أهرامات الجيزة].

The tour guide had been trying to talk us out of stepping into any Giza pyramid claiming that “all of them are the same”, and we had already been inside one in Saqqara. This time, however, we did not buy into his “recommendation”. Part of the group wanted to go in, and of course I was among them – I might have been a bit worried about claustrophobia, but I did not want to miss the experience. All of us chose to enter the Great Pyramid of Giza [الهرم الأكبر], attributed to the pharaoh Khufu, aka Cheops, the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty (26th century BCE, Old Kingdom). The pyramid stands 137 m high, nine lower than when it was built, due to 46 centuries’ worth of wind erosion. At the time of construction, it was the highest man-made structure, and it remained so for almost 4,000 years, until in 1647, it had eroded to 139 m, slightly lower than the Strasbourg Cathedral in France (142 m, built in 1439). Ancient Egyptians used 2.3 million large blocks that total to 6 million tonnes in weight.

The Great Pyramid of Giza from afar and from its very foot, a wall upwards.

We were lucky enough to start queuing for entry during “lunch break” so we did all our little climb without sharing the space with anyone climbing down in the opposite direction. First, we went up the outside of the pyramid towards the entrance, then we went inside. There was a narrow, tear-shaped corridor, then you start the actual climb through a 1 m x 1.3 m passageway that ascends 40 m to the Great Gallery, which is also narrow, an extra 47 m upwards and 8.5 m high. And finally, we reached the King’s Chamber with the sarcophagus, dead in the middle of the pyramid. For a few minutes, we had the chamber for our little group, which was even better. When we were ready to leave we went our way down and did not cross many people either. The emotions I felt being there, inside the Great Pyramid, were amazing. I know it is not reasonable, but the feeling was exhilarating. It was being inside history, 46 centuries of it. It was just awesome, in the literal sense of the word.

Inside the Great pyramid: a very long narrow and low passage that feels claustrophobic, two shots of the Great Gallery, A-shaped; a picture of the mortuary chamber, with the naked pharaoh's sarcophagus inside.

Afterwards, we went back to the coach, which drove us around the complex so we had a view of the pyramids from one of the Panoramic View of the Pyramids points. There, we got to hang out for about 20 minutes as part of the group took a dromedary trip. From the view point we could see the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre [هرم خفرع], the Pyramid of Menkaure [هرم منقرع], and the Pyramids of the Queens [أهرامات الملكات]. The Pyramid of Khafre (aka Chefren, Khufu’s son; Fourth Dynasty, 26th century BCE) measures 136 m, and it still has part of the original limestone casing at the tip. The Pyramid of Menkaure (aka Mycerinus; possibly Khafre’s son; Fourth Dynasty, 26th century BCE) is the smallest one, “merely” 62 m high, and rather unfinished because the pharaoh died prematurely. In the background, stood the modern city of Cairo.

The three main pyramids of Giza stand in the middle of the desert. Three small in comparison pyramids stand on the right. There are tiny modern buildings in the background. The image is repeated, with the names of the pyramids written on the second one: Khufu on the left, Khafre in the middle, and Menkaure on the right, next to the small Pyramids of the Queens

And just like that, it was over, except it was not, because we still had a little while to see the Great Sphinx of Giza [أبو الهول], which is a reclining lion with a human head, made out of limestone. It measures 73 m long and is 20 m high. It is part of the mortuary temple of Khafre, so it is probably his face the Sphinx bears, dating from the 26th century BCE. The Sphinx is currently missing its nose and beard. To access the Sphinx, first we went by the dried up Nile dock and we crossed the Valley Temple of Khafre [معبد الوادي لخفرع]. The temple was built out of megalithic rocks of red granite. The Sphinx was… pretty in a weird way, he had a very pleasant head, despite all the pidgeons.

A view of the sphinx with two pyramids in the background. The dried Nile dock, and a megalyth-temple.

The sphinx, looking right. There are lots of pidgeons on his head.

Then, we were driven back into the Cairo chaos to a restaurant for lunch. By this time it was around 15:00, and the menu was fixed. I was highly amused by the fact that the tour guide had tried to up-sell this place as a high-scale seafood restaurant. We were served rice with squid in different ways – breaded and in tomato sauce – three prawns, and fish. The best thing, honestly, was the Egyptian flatbread Aish Baladi [عش بالدي], and the view – after all the name of the restaurant was “Chestro Restaurant Pyramid View” for a reason.

A view of two pyramids with the sun setting to their right. The picture is surrounded by smaller pictures of Egyptian food - pickled vegetables, Egyptian bread, calamari with tomato sauce, rice with calamari, a roasted seabass

After our very late lunch, we headed off to the last visit of the day – yet another shop. Finally something I was interested in, a place where they had papyruses. Papyruses are made out of the papyrus plant (Nile grass, Cyperus papyrus), a type of flowering sedge. Here, someone explained the process of making the papyrus paper. I found something I liked, a reproduction of Tutankhamun’s jewellery box with a guarding Anubis (currently at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo).

A painting on a papyrus. It shows Anubis in jackal form sitting on a box. The lower part shows a man holding a papyrus plant, next to it different utensils to make the papyrus paper. On the left, the real box showing the jackal on top.

It was around 19:00 when we got back to the hotel, where the tour guide informed us that (the now free) dinner gala would be held from 20:00 to 00:00. We had a bit of a laugh about being so not ready – since nobody had brought any kind of formal clothes as most of us had not booked the dinner – and we arranged to meet at 21:15, since we had finished lunch late. I had a shower, then went downstairs. We met at the agreed time, and spent some time taking pictures, and in the end… we were almost late for dinner! By the time we sat down it was 21:30… and the buffet only ran till 21:45…

Food was not so great, and even less worth 190 €. The singer was terrible, the exotic dancer… was more like a stripper, and I ended up defending all our grapes to the death. To be fair, it was a nice detail that the tour company got us twelve grapes each to celebrate the New Year’s. Despite the time and quality hiccups, we had a lot of fun. We counted-down to the New Year with the Egyptian time, and one hour later connected to the Spanish TV in order to listen to the bell tolls for midnight and eat our grapes. I had another shower and went to bed, though I could not sleep till the other hotel party finished at 2:30.

Shots of the New Year's Eve party at the hotel: two Christmas trees, a napkin folded like a tuxedo, some food, table decoration and a screen reading Happy 2023

It didn’t matter too much though, as the buzz and the high from the pyramid experience kept me content until there was enough silence to zonk out.

30th December 2022: Philae and the Aswan – Cairo jump {Egypt, Winter 2022-2023}

Posted on 16 January 2023 by Sakaki Delijah

Belonging to the city of Aswan [أسوان], the Philae Temple [فيلة] complex is currently part of the Unesco World Heritage Site Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae. When the first Aswan Dam was built in 1902, the monument became semi-submerged, and it would have completely disappeared after the completion of the High Dam. Between 1972 and 1980, through the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, it was dismantled and reconstructed over at Agilika Island, 20 m higher.

The main feature in Philae is the Temple of Isis. Isis was the major goddess from the Old Kingdom to the Roman period. Isis was the spouse of Osiris, and is considered a mother and protector goddess, divine mother to the pharaoh, and mourner of her husband. In the Osiris myth, after he was killed and dismembered by Seth, Isis looked up and down Egypt to gather all the pieces. After she did, she breathed upon him to resurrect him, they conceived Horus (there are more or less gory versions of this), and Osiris went back to the Underworld, where he became lord of the Afterlife. Isis was the longest-revered goddess of the Ancient Egyptian religion – her cult survived in Philae until 550 CE, when Christians took over, defacing the gods and carving the Coptic cross all around.

I left for breakfast having vacated the room, suitcase ready at the open door, and hoped for the best. I settled my drink tab, which rounded up to 235 EGP; however, with the same smirk I had been given the previous day, I reminded the person at reception that they owed me ten pounds. The debt was honoured and I left with a giggle – yes, it was not that much money and I could have let it slip, but nope. Not this time. After that, our luggage was loaded onto the bus (luckily) and we drove off to a tourist dock to board the boat to Agilika island, which we reached after a few minutes. We landed and climbed up towards the archaeological site.

The Temple of Isis holds the general structure of an Ancient Egyptian Temple, with a pylon, a court, a hall and finally the inner sanctuary of Isis. An obelisk stands before the pylon, in the outer court that has been preserved.

Collage. View of the outer wall of Philae, with the colonnade and the pylon; entrance to the sanctuary, richly engraved with deities and hyerogyphs; a cat sitting in front of the columns.

When looking carefully at the pylon, it shows the different water marks from the time the temple was submerged – at two different levels, depending on whether it was flood season or dry season. During the rescue, a cofferdam was built around the original constructions to dry the area out. Then, between 1977 and 1980, the whole complex was dismantled into 40,000 blocks, moved and rebuilt. The old position can still be spotted 500 m away, marked by the remains of the metal anchors for the cranes.

Close up of the pylon showing carvings of Hathor and Horus. Two water lines can be appreciated above and below them

Another structure in the island is the unfinished Kiosk of Trajan. I even managed to be alone in there for a heartbeat.

A cube-like structure built from columns, with the river behind them.

The final building is the Temple of Hathor, Horus’ wife.

Collage. A ruined building with derelict walls and a few standing columns - from land and from the river.

Next in the plan was shopping (joy -.-“) and we went to an essence shop. The lady claimed that Egyptian essences were the base of many brand-famous perfumes. I have no idea, but I was irked by the rigid sex separation of scents, and I developed a rash from one of the testers… While some people in the group shopped, someone else found the adjacent papyrus shop, and a small number of us went to snoop there.

After being spared a second shop – this one for spices – we were shuttled to the airport to take our charter to Cairo. It was a surreal experience through which I was patted down twice. The airport segregated by sex because you got the pat down even if you cleared the metal detector, which was weird. Also, it turned out that we had an extra suitcase in the bus! Creepy!

Our tour guide did not fly with us. When we landed in Cairo [أسوان], we were taken to the hotel by another representative, who assigned rooms and called our names in the bus, before we even arrived, but did not hand the cards until we were there and had handed in our passports for check-in. It was of course too late to try and go to the Pyramids light show – seriously, everything would have been so much easier with a “sorry, no time”, especially considering the crazy Cairo traffic. At this point we were already planning to try it on our own – I had found out that the hotel had a mini travel’s agent that we could use.

A traffic jam heading to the Cairo airport traffic control. The green neon on top reads Welcome to Cairo

We met up for planning – and paying for the Night Cairo Walk, which was to take place the following day – and I sat down to catch up on everything that had happened in the days when I had been internet-less (have I mentioned that it was not such a bad experience?).

The whole trip was a New Year’s special and came with an optional 190 € dinner that I had not booked because… no. I had packed some cereal and chocolate bars just in case, and it turned out that only one couple out of our eighteen-people group had reserved it. There had been a tiny riff-raff when I asked my travel agent about dinner that day, and she received an email about the “Gala Dinner” being compulsory (demanding the extra money), and I asked her to reply that nope, I would not be attending.

Well, that night we were told that the local agency was treating us to the dinner – my theory? The restaurant they had agreed for the Night Walk would not take us for New Year’s Eve, the walk would be impossible due to people celebrating. Thus, they found themselves in a tough spot – so they used the spare from the overpriced optional trips to pay for it. Then, the night walk was bumped to the first of January. Looking back, I believe that they had completely overlooked the NYE factor.

Also, the hotel not only had free Wi-Fi, it also had complimentary water in the rooms, and free mineral water during dinner. And a bed that did not vibrate. It was a good night’s sleep. But before that I took a shower so long and so hotm, that I almost glowed in the dark afterwards.