MY TRIP TO EGYPT 2008 - By Mike Bailey I stepped off the plane and walked into a building. There was a long line of people in the hall each with a sign with the person's name on it that they were there to meet. I walked along slowly reading each name on the signs. Finally toward the end of the line I saw a sign with my name on it. I stopped and raised my finger. We shook hands and he said his name was Mohammed and asked for my passport and 15$US. I gave this to him and he left to get the Egyptian Seal put in my passport. But first he took me to the line to wait in while my passport was being processed. When I got to the front of the line I had to fill out a little questionnaire stating who I was and what my business was in coming to this country. I put down that I was a tourist.

When this was finished the tour agent led me out to a waiting car and we drove an hour to the hotel I would be staying in for the next two nights. The atmosphere was dark and there was a metalic feel in the air. The driver and the tour agent spoke quietly to each other in their own language in the front seat. They didn't pay much attention to me. This was just another routine day at the job. This is what they did day after day, month after month, year after year. I was just another client. There was little traffic out at this time of night and we were driving briskly along on mostly freeways and turnpikes for most of the way so there wasn't much to see, just dark city buildings, mosques, and apartment buildings on one side of the freeway and a cement wall on the other side. The street lights projected a golden glow on the streets. It was hot and gritty like the sand that stood in the air was mixed with petroleum.

THE SWISS INN
After the long ride through the city we got to the place where I was going to stay. The Swiss Inn is a very nice hotel. Once I checked in I got into my room and took a shower and went straight to bed. It was 2:30 AM and I had to get up at six.

The next morning I woke up well before six. The phone rang. I picked up the reciever and a voice speaking in Spanish was telling me it was time to get up. "Ok, I'm up" I said and hung up the phone. It felt strange waking up in a Muslim country so far away from home and all alone. I knew what to expect: drivers and guides would come at the appointed times and take me to all the places that I would be going. It was exciting that I was there in that far away land of Egypt. I had looked forward to this trip with great expectation and anticipation at the prospect of seeing some of the greatest landmarks and historical places of the Earth. Places that I have dreamed of going to all of my life. There was something different about this trip. I felt alone. I had nobody to talk to.. except God. He's always there. I had nobody that I could see and share this experience with. Someone to discuss things with and share in the excitement. I had traveled to India alone in 2006, and had traveled to China, Russia and Mongolia in 2000. I traveled alone with no problem, but this time was different. I felt alone. I made up my mind, the next time I travel I want to take someone with me.

My room was in a building behnd that main part of the hotel and it was a short walk to the main lobby. I got dressed and went outside. It was still misty. There was sand literally standing in the air. I found out that while you are sleeping you are inhaling this sand filled air. I woke up in the morning and started hacking up sand in the back of my throat and spitting it out. Breakfast started at 6:30. Here is what I had;
little hot dogs
scrambled eggs
potatoes
bread
stuffed baked tomatoes
coffee

On this trip I am trying to eat substantial meals because I feel that I need this food for energy. Long before I decided to come on this trip I had started walking five miles about every three or four weeks. At first I had to stop and rest every couple of blocks, but after awhile as I got more in shape I could walk the whole way only resting a couple times. Also I brought alot of vitimins which I planned to take faithfully everyday. This would help me keep up my energy.

After breakfast I went to the lobby and waited for the guide to show up. He was supposed to be there at 7:30. The weather was a little warm. I noticed while walking over to the building where they serve breakfast that there are pesky little flies around. They don't just nonchalantly buzz around you. They attack straight off with all their might and dive bomb you repeatedly and you find yourself swatting at them just a furiously as they are attacking.

The guide and driver finally came in a van. I got in and we proceeded toward the road to the tune of crickets chirping in the grass in the early morning mist...of sand. The guide introduced himself as Mohamed. We were on our way to pick up three women from the east coast of the United States and then a young couple from Canada. After we picked up everyone I expressed to Mohamed my desire to go inside the Great Pyramid and into the King's Chamber. He in turn asked everyone else if they all wanted to do that. They all said they did, so instead of going to the Cairo Museum first as was planned, the driver made a U-turn and we were off to the pyramids.

THE GREAT PYRAMID

We arrived at the site of the Great Pyramid and got out of the van. There was a whole busload of Japanese tourists lined up to get into the pyramid. I didn't know it at the time but learned later that all the tickets had already been sold out for getting into the Great Pyramid for that day. I was told that our guide knew the person at the entrance of the pyramid and gave his a bribe to get us in. Thank God for bribes otherwise we would have never gotten in. The first thing the guide did

Interior Drawing of the Great Pyramid when we got to the foot of the pyramid was take our cameras away from us. They didn't want us to take pictures of the inside of the pyramid as if their haven't already been millions of pictures taken of it already. Up a short staircase made of cement and a short walk over I got to the opening of the pyramid where the two men were standing. This entrance was blown open by dynomite a couple hundred years ago by some people who wanted to get inside the collosal monument. It was just a gaping hole.
Thoth - The builder of the Pyramid At the entrance we waited while the Japanese tourists were still exiting. When the chance came I went in. The Canadian couple also went in. We exchanged a few words. They had never dreamed that they would ever have a chance to come inside this mammoth landmark. It had never even entered their minds but they were very excited at the prospect of going in. I could hear the three nigresses behind us at the entrance. "Eeeek"! I heard one of them squeal. "It's dark in there. I don't know if I want to go in" the leader said. "I might get my dress dirty" one of them said. Their voices faded and I continued forward through the descending corridor. I don't know about them but I specifically came to Egypt to get in this particular pyramid. I was told back in the States that they weren't letting people go in the Great Pyramid anymore. The public was trashing the monument and the authorities were seriously thinking of closing it altogether to preserve it for future generations before it got totally ruined. The pathway was a wooden ramp. The tunnel was narrow and only one person could go through at a time in places. Sometimes you had to bend over so you didn't bump your head on the low ceiling.
The Great Pyramid In some places it is less then four feet high and three feet by five inches wide. It slopes down at an angel of twenty six degrees. In some places I had to squat down and walk in duck fashion. In still other places I had to bend my knees while walking bent over. That was a real killer.
The entrance to the pyramid Finally we came to the main corridor. You had a choice at this point. You could either stay on this trail that leades to the Queen's Chamber or climb onto another path that went upward to the King's Chamber. Somehow I knew that going up the steel ladder would lead to the King's Chamber. Even though part of the way was generally straight like in the picture below, there was still some ducking down and bending of the knees in narrow passage ways. Some places you had to bend very low, but we finally made it.
Corridor inside the Great Pyramid The chamber was just the way I thought it would be. Now I knew the feel of the place. I was seeing it with my own eyes and not through the lense of a camera. The sarcophagus was there with the chip in it. I got inside of it. That was always my dream. I didn't see any markings on the walls or anywhere in it. The three of us walked around the room just getting a feel of the place.
King's Chamber On the way down we thought we would try to get into the Queen's Chamber but there was a pad lock on the gate. Getting out of there was the same; bending low squatting, walking like a duck in some places. I knew I was going to pay for this in the upcoming days in pain. And I did.

THREE LITTLE PYRAMIDS
Outside we met up with the rest of the group again and went to the other side of the pyramid to view the three smaller pyramids built for some of the queens of Kufu. They weren't as impressive as the Great Pyramid or as perfectly built as it is. After this we went to see a tomb of the alledged architect of the pyramid.

SOLAR BOAT
This boat was found in a pit next to the Great Pyramid. It was discovered in the 1950's and it took several years to extract it from the gound and re-assemble it. It now sits in an air conditioned building near the pyramid

Solar Boat

Camel Ride

We wandered around the sand in the blazing sun for a little bit, meanwhile the hawkers were out in force trying to sell their wares. I bought some things when I was offered a good price. Some of us wanted to take a camel ride so we went behind the pyramids where our guide said we could get a good price. One guy said that he would let us ride his camel for 50$US. This turned everyone off and we went away from him. Finally we found one camel handler that would let us ride for 20$US. I got on the camel named Alex and we were led a little distance out in the desert. When I first got on the camel the animal tender told me to lean back when I first got on. And then you had to shift your weight to the left and right to get balanced. Also you have to relax your body and roll with the motion of the beast. You can't stiffen up or you might fall off. I looked down to the desert floor. It was covered with large rocks that were not very inviting looking if you fell. After a few minutes I got the hang of it. We were taken quite a distance into the desert. Then after awhile we turned around and came back. There in front of us were the three pyramids sitting there on our right. What a back drop. No camera could do it justice. You had to see it in person. It was a spetacular sight that I will never forget.

THE SPHINX
Next we got in the van and went over to the Sphinx which was a very short distance to the south east of the Great Pyramid. It was also majestic as it has been sitting there in all it's glory for some five thousand years. The sun had gotten a little higher in the sky and the temperature was rising. We had to walk a short distance to get to the Sphinx, but my legs were like rubber from my little climb in the Great Pyramid. They would remain sore for the next four days. I kept going with out complaint.

BAZAAR
Next we were off to a bazaar which was housed on the first floor of a large building. I wanted to stay in the van because my legs were sore and my energy was sapped. The guide brought me a small coke in a glass bottle thinking that the sugar in it would restore my energy. I was still adjusting to the weather change. I had just come in from the State of Washington where it was sunny when I left but, but the difference between the two climates was quite extreme. After I drank the coke I still didn't feel like going into the bazaar. I didn't want to buy anything in there anyway because I was sticking to my plan of only buying CD's, postcards and inexpensive art. The guide was having none of this. He was bound and determined to get me in there at all costs. He wasn't taking no for an answer. Finally to get him off my back I let him think he persuaded me to go in. He had an invested interest in getting me in there. I think he felt that if he could just get me in there I would buy something. I came out of the van willingly wincing from the pain shooting through my legs. He guided me into the lavishly stocked room and waited until I got my balance and then he left. There was everything you could think of under the sun in there: statues of ancient gods, fine cloth of all kinds, every kind of knick-knack and souvenirs of every shape and size and price. It was all very nice but all very expensive and I didn't want any of it. I looked around. I didn't see him so I left. I went back to the van. The muscles in my upper legs were in pain. That was the best pain I ever felt though becaue now I have the memory deeply planted in my mind for ever that I just went into the Great Pyramid and went to the King's Chamber and saw the Sphinx.
Sphinx RESTURANT
Our next stop would be the oldest resturant in Cairo owned by an Englishman. Here we had our first taste of Egyptian cuisine. Here is some of what we had;
White beans
Humus
Vegatables
Water melon
BBq chicken

We spent two hours in there relaxing. It was a much needed rest.

AROMA THERAPY
From there we went to a place where they demonstrate and sell oils and fragrances. The salesman spent a litte time talking about the properties of these essences and products and then we were given an opportunity to buy something.

CAIRO MUSEUM
Later in the afternoon we went to the Cairo Museum. Our guide Mohammed teaches school and has a degree in Egyptology. Dispite being a little pushy he was very knowledgable in this subject. I learned alot from him and he was very good at it.

Housed in the museum is the entire collection of Tutankamen's treasures including his shoes, underwear and socks. We spent quite a little time looking at these objects while listening to Mohammed tell about it and answering all our questions.
One of three coffins of Tutankamen (this one is housed at the Cairo Museum) Apparently Tutankamen died when he was nineteen years old allegedly from a fall when he was thrown from his carriage and hurt his leg. The leg got infected in a few days and he died from it a little while later.

At an early age he married but the union never produced children and therefore no heir.

There are many stories swirling around about Tutankmen's life and early death. All I know is that his father in law was the pharoah Akhenaten. Some say Akhenaten was his father and he married his sister. How he became pharoah is unknown after Akhenaten died and is a great mystery. He inherited the gold of many generations of kings and emperors. That is why there was so much gold in his possessions and in his tomb. He had gold thrones, chariots, jewelry etc: I find the whole subject of King Tut very interesting, but to come right down to it not much is known about his life. Most of what we find in books is guess work, conjecture, theory and just plain made-up stuff. I guess we will never know unless something is found.

ROYAL MUMMIES
After listening to Mohammed talk about Tutankamen for awhile we were asked if we would like to see the royal mummies. It costs extra to go there. I decided to go because I felt that I would probably never get the change again. The room where these mummies are kept is at a very low temperature. These are the mummies that reside in this cooled room; Ramsese 2, Hapshepsut Seti 1 and a few more that I don't have the names of at the moment. I'll have to do some research.
After this we swept through the rest of the vast collection of artifacts in the museum. There is no way you can take it all in in a few hours.

One little snippet of information Mohammed gave while we were there was, "when a pharoah's beard is curled on a statue it means that the artifact was made after his death. If the beard is straight on a statue or relief, it means that is was made during the lifetime of the pharoah".

PAPYRUS DEMONSTRATION

Demonstration on making paper from papyrus We drove around for quite awhile then went to a place where they showed a demonstration on how a primitive form of paper is made from papyrus. After the paper is made an artist comes along and paints a picture on it. People are selling these all over the place in Egypt. I bought quite a few of them in an Egyptian store where I live. I like them.

BACK TO THE HOTEL

After a full day of touring we were on our way back to our hotels. We were all staying at different hotels. Since my hotel was the furthest away it took me the longest time to get back. The traffic was terrible since the next day was the start of Ramadan and people were out en-mass trying to get to their families. This is the custom in Egypt. When I finally got back to the hotel I was tired but not too hungry. I walked passed the dining room where they had all kinds of food spead out. I went to my room and took a shower and laid out all the clothes I would be wearing the next day and went to bed and fell immediately to sleep and then woke up at one am. The alarm went off at one thirty. I got ready and was in the lobby by two forty-five. The front desk gave me a boxed breakfast which I ate while sitting in the lobby waiting for the van. Shortly after that the van came. I got in and we were off to collect the other tourists at their various other hotels then we were off to the airport.

ON THE PLANE (Egypt Air)

Once we were on the plane the pilot came over the inner-com and announced that there was a delay of about a half hour. He didn't mention what it was. So we waited a half hour and then flew out of Cairo...destination Luxor.

THE CITY OF LUXOR
The city of Luxor is located in upper Egypt and was built on the ancient site of Thebes. It has a population of two hundred thousand people. All of them are hawkers or work one way or the other in the tourist industry. There are three distinct areas in the city of Luxor; Luxor city with the temple of the same name, the village of Karnak with temple and the necropoles of ancient Thebes.

Once we made it to Luxor and got off the plane and got our bags, we were met by a guide and were taken to a ship where we would spend the next five days sailing down the Nile and stopping off at different temples to look at them. All of the major temples are close to the Nile River. Since the airplane from Cairo was delayed we had a few hours before we were schedualed to do anything so I took the opportunity to take a walk and maybe take some pictures. I stepped out the door of the ship and felt the warmth of the sun immediately. I had on a hat and I had some sunglasses so I was prepared. I walked up the stairs to street level. Idealy this was the kind of day where you would want to stay inside and huddle around the air conditioner, but I was in Egypt. I just had to bear the heat and do some sightseeing. I started walking down the side walk when a guy across the street with a horse and buggy yelled over to me and asked if I wanted a ride. That sounded good. I wouldn't have to break out in a sweat and this guy would take me anywhere I wanted to go. I got in his buggy. The driver was a man of about forty years old
Tourist Boat on the Nile He was wearing the traditional garb that Egyptian men wear called a galabea. It is an ankle length, loose fitting, light colored garment with long sleeves. I told the driver that I just wanted to go around town a little so I could take some pictures and maybe stop somewhere and buy some Egyptian music. I seemed to be the only one from the boat that seized this opportunity when we had this unexpected lapse in time where we had a few hours of free time. I didn't see anyone else leave the boat. Maybe they were all unpacking. The driver wanted to take me to a bazaar. I said ok, that would give me a chance to buy a few souvenirs right off the bat so I would have to do it later. There were quite a few drivers on horse and buggy going passed us so I took quite a few pictures of them. They were all emptly. My driver felt good that he had a customer. He took me to a store about a mile away.

HAGGELING
I walked in the store and the place was literally stuffed with merchantise on every shelve from floor to ceiling but there wasn't a soul there except me. It was quite a big store. It had a large room in back and also a basement. There was a table between the two rooms near a door where three men in their thirties or forties and a teenage about fourteen playing some kind of a board game. I could hear them talking. The game must have been very intense because every once in awhile there would be a burst of excited talking followed by silence and consentration. Then the proprietor came over to me when he saw me. He looked to be a man in his fifties. I sensed that he owned the place.
"May I help you"?
"Yes". I said. "I'm looking for some Egyptian music".
"What kind of Egyptian music"?
I have recently been introduced to some music back in the States when I was anticipating coming to Egypt. Someone at an Egyptian store in Seattle recommemded the music of a female artist by the name of Um Kathum. She is a national treasure in Egypt. She used to hold a concert once every two months or so when she was alive, and during her concerts there would be no crime commited in the country. This is how popular she was and still is and how much people respected her. I bought a couple CD's before I came on this trip and learned to love her music.
"Um Kathum". I said.
He scratched his head for a minute and paused and told me that he didn't have any CD's, that he had some at his other store. He called into the other room and a kid about 14 years old came in.
He instructed the boy in Egyptian and told him to get a CD and bring it back.

So the kid left and the proprietor immediately began to try to interest me in buying some of his other merchandise while I was waiting for the kid to returen with the CD. First he offered me a cup of tea. I accepted. One of the men at the table was called over to get the tea. In a few minutes the tea came in a small decorative cup. I sipped while the proprietor began showing me other things.

From the way I see it the standard way to buy things in Egypt is they tell you a price and then you are supposed to make a counter offer. If they don't like your counter offer they may give another price. You go on like this until the buyer and seller comes to an agreement of what price the item will be sold for. This isn't the way we do it in America. We are conditioned to pay the price that is on the tag and that's it.

I had to be different and so I made my own way of bartering with him which probably ticked him off. He was trying to sell some little amulet of scarabs. They are beetles which are very sacred in Egypt. The price he gave me was too high so instead of giving him a counter offer I didn't say anything. I just let him keep talking. I wasn't playing by the rules and he didn't like it. Meanwhile the kid came back with the CD. I wanted to buy it so I pulled out my money and paid for it. When he realized that I was no longer interested in the amulets he gave me a very low price on the amulets. I bought them. I need practice on hagggeling. Maybe I'll get it right next time.

SCARABS
Here is a little bit of history about scarabs in Egypt. The scarab or beetle form of amulet was the most popular protective charm in ancient Egypt. It had powerful solar energy. The beetle lays its eggs in a ball of dung which it rolls on the ground with its four legs in motion the same way the sun follows its path through the solar system. When the eggs hatch new life springs forth from seemingly dead matter and life is renewed and continues on. The ancient Egyptians noticed this and the beetle became very sacred to them.

Scarab

KARNAK TEMPLES
I made it back to the ship and had lunch. I was assigned to a table of New Yorkers who I met when I first came to Egypt and Austrailians who had been touring Africa and were winding it up in Egypt. Since the delay at the airport messed up the itinerary the New Yorkers were worried that we were going to miss seeing the Valley of the Kings. I told them that delays probably happen all the time and they will readjust the schedual and fit everything in at different times. We were supposed to go to the Valley of the Kings as soon as we got there but instead we went to lunch at 1300. Later we were given a new itinerary but it didn't mention the Valley of the Kings. We will now go to the Karnak Temples. We loaded onto the bus and were on our way to the temple which was not far away. Homer in the Iliad called the Karnak Temples 'the hundred gated city'. In Arabic Karnak means 'windows'.

It is called Karnak Temples because there are many, many temples located there In fact the intricate temples at Karnak will boggle your mind if you get into studying it. The complex of temples is located on the east side of the Nile. The Valley of the Kings is directly across the Nile severl miles inland on the west side. At the entrance of this temple complex are pylons. Pylon = a monumental temple gateway.
Karnak Temples Arriving at the temple site we got out of the bus and walked toward the entrance. Before the gateway is the avenue of ram-headed sphinx's built by Rameses 2. Then we came to the uncompleted pylons that make the entrance of the temple. As we entered through the doorway
The Avenue of Sphinx's there are great mounds of mud bricks on the other side of the pylons. These were used as scaffolding by the workers who built the them. It seems funny that they were never removed after all these centuries. They just lay there in a big jumble. The larger pylon is almost one hundred and fifty feet tall. The other one as mentioned is unfinished.

Passing through the pylons you enter the forecourt of the great temple. The guide called it a kiosk. It was built during the 36th dynasty. The floor of the room is irregular, made of Roman style stone squares. It's roof has long been gone and it is a wide open space. Even though it looks like nothing when you first enter the place every nook and cranny of it holds valuable history for the avid student of ancient antiquity. The columns on the north and the south sides of the court are in ruins. A large altar is on the left. Further to the north is a building that has three shines dedicated to Amen-Ra, the main god of Karnak, Mut, his wife, and Khonsu, their son. These are dated from the Seti 2 era. There are reliefs on the walls of a king worshipping three sacred sailing vessels in the presence of gods.

The pylons that formed the east wall of the forecourt have fallen. It is a mass of sandstone blocks. In back of the ruind pylons are two sandstone statues in a relief of a king slaugering captives. He is holding them by the hair in the presence of Amen-Ra. This depicts thier god delivering more cities into his hands. Moving forward we go through the Babasite

The Great Hypostyle Hall Gateway and enter the great hypostlye hall. It is the largest hall like it in the world. It is fifty thousand feet square. The roof fell in centuries ago. In its day the roof was supported by one hundred and thirty four columns in sixteen rows. The two middle rows are higher then the outer columns. These are thirty three feet in circumference and eighty feet tall.

There are reliefs and inscriptions all over this great hall. The pharoahs who built the hall are depicted standing in the presence of Amen-Ra and various other gods. The pharoah who first planned and convieved the idea of building the hall was Horemheb (1350 - 1315 BC) and it was finished during the reign of Rameses 1 who inscribed his name on at least one of the columns. Many of the reliefs were added during the reigns of Seti 1 and Ramses 2,3,4,6 and 12. All of their names have been added to the reliefs and columns. Rameses 2 came in and carved his name so deeply in the column over another pharoah's name that no one will be able to erase it, and no one has as of yet. The reliefs are not easy to see especially when the sun is very bright like on the day I was there.

There are reliefs and inscriptions of Seti 1 on the northern wing of the outer walls of the great hypostyle hall. These depict the king at battle with the enemies of Egypt. Individual scenes on the wall depict a number of different themes. There are scenes and texts of campaigns of Seti 1
against foreign towns or people such as Bedouins, Libyans, Hittites etc. There is another scene

of the submission of his foreign enemies presenting tribute to him, and also one of him as the victorious king presenting spoils of war to the gods of Thebes.

Mummy of Seti 1 - He ruled Egypt from 1291 - 1279 BC

Relief of Seti 1 on the northern wing of the hyposyle hall at the Temples of Karnak in Luxor

THE OBELISK OF HAPSHEPSUT
The next room we went to was in front of the origional temple built in earlier times. It became the inner sanctuary, the holy of holies. It is now in total ruins. The space was totally open. Over in the distance on the right we could see the obelisk of Hapshetsut
Obelisk of Hapshepsut made of granite from Aswan. It is seventy feet high. Origionally there were four obelisks but three were knocked over in the passage of time. They used to stand at the entrance of the temple.

LUXOR TEMPLE

Next we went to Luxor temple which is connected to Karnak Temple by a path that has a row of sphinxes on both sides. The temples are only a few miles apart.

Someone in antiquity first built a shrine on the site where the temple now stands. Then later others came and did some major work on the site. The temple is crooked. There was supposed to be a straight line when you first come into the entrance of the temple but you have to move a few steps to the right to see down to the end of it. The entrance of Luxor Temple as well as

Luxor Temple most of the major temples of ancient Egypt are made in the pylon slyle. Ramses 2 built the entrance to this temple. Origionally there were six statues of Ramses 2 in and around the front of the temple. Four were seated and two were standing. Now there are only two standing. The rest have been defaced by his enemies and early Christians and Muslims who were destroying graven idols of man. Ramses 2 knew he had many enemies so he had to have many statues made of himself. His enemies couldn't possibly lop off the heads of all his statues. Consequently many statues of Ramses 2 are ruined but many more still remain.

There are two obelisks in front of the temple. One is standing and the other is now in France. Long ago the French took it and it now graces one of their city squares.

Ramese 2's battle with Kadesh is depicted on the exterior of the pylon at the entrance of the temple.

The Arabs started coming to Egypt after the fall of the Roman Empire and gave their own names to the temple sites and to the whole of the ancient Egyptian kingdom. Centuries ago the Arabs built a mosque on top of the Temple of Luxor. It is still there today.

After we spent some time listening to what the guide had to tell us about the temple and walking around for awhile looking at everything we went back to the ship and had lunch and didn't do much for the rest of the day.

THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS
The next morning I got up and had a large breakfast of...
Fruit
Hashbrowns
Sausages
Vitamins
I felt this would sustain me for the hot weather and all the walking we would be doing. When that was done the four of us in our group went outside to the touring boat that was tied up next to the shore behind the ship. This little vessel would take us to the west bank of the Nile where many of the pharoahs of Egypt and their queens were buried in hidden tombs thousands of years ago. On the way across the river it occurred to me that we had not seen any of the houses of the pharoahs since we came on this trip and I didn't hear anyone mention anything about it. I asked the guide about it. He paused a minute and said that he hadn't thought about that in a while. Then he said that the houses of the pharoahs used to be built along the east side of the Nile. These houses were made of mud brick and that is why they hadn't survived down through the ages. He said that recently they found some of the foundations of some of these ancient houses where modern houses have been built over them. The temples of Egypt are made of stone and so they last forever. Mud brick house only last for a short time.

On the other side we got into a waiting bus and drove the several miles into the interior of the desert and entered into a mountianous part of the landscape. In one of the valleys there are the tombs of many pharoahs of Egypt.

Valley of the Kings Once we got to the site we took a small train to the place where the tombs are. We walked up to one of the tombs that was closed up and the guide gave an interesting talk about grave robbers.
The robbers wouldn't go through the entrance of the tomb they were intending to rob because usually they would be blocked by large slabs of granite. The robbers would tunnel in through the side. After they made it through to the inside of the tomb they would let it air out for about four or five days because the paint and varnish that was used inside was very deadly if you breathed it very long. It took many people dying from inhaling the fumes before they realized they had to air the tomb out before they could go in and rob it. In the olden days this was known as the Pharoah's Curse, now they know it was the paint and varnish fumes that killed them.

He also talked about the paint that was used on the insides of the tombs. First of all they did not mix colors to make other colors in those days like we do today. That technology hadn't been discovered yet. They used only primary colors that were made out of natural substances. They would use a yellow plant to make yellow paint or red dirt to make the color red and so on like that.

Then he started talking about the worker village that is located on the opposite side of the mountains that inclose this valley we were in. The people who worked on these tombs lived in this workers village. Every morning they would get up and some of the pharoah's men would blindfold them and bring them to work in the burial site by a cart pulled by some animal. They were blindfolded so they wouldn't know how to get to the work site so they wouldn't come back and rob any of the tombs or tells anyone else where it was located. They would work carving out a tomb, or carve out reliefs or whatever their job was for eight or nine hours a day. At the end of the day they would be blindfolded again and taken home.

Sometimes the priests were more powerful then the pharoahs. When a priest needed some money he would sell a map to a king's burial chamber to a robber who would rob it and share the spoils with him.

One time a wife and a pharoah lived together. The pharoah died and was put in his great tomb that he had built for himself. The wife remarried. When she died she was put in her orgional husband's tomb. Then when her second husband died he had it in his will to throw the origional pharoah out of the tomb and that his body be placed in it instead. The guide told us this story to let us know of some of the crazy things that went on in ancient Egypt. Things have changed very little from those times.

TOMB OF SETI II
After this little introduction to the Valley of the Kings he said that we only had time to go into two tombs. I had come there to go into Tutankamen's tomb. I didn't know what to expect. I had heard before I came to Egypt that his tomb was empty. I didn't care I still wanted to see it. After his lecture I went up to him and told him that I would like to go into King Tut's tomb. He had already mentioned that it would cost extra to go into it. There didn't seem to be any interest of any other of the people in our group of going into his tomb. I went up and bought the ticket. Then decided to go into another tomb first. I went up a little hill and made my way to a tomb opening at the bottom of a cliff.

Tomb of Seti II It turned out to be the tomb of Seti II. I went inside and noticed all the hieroglyphics on the walls at the entrance and throughout the long hall way. There's a funny thing about me, which I'm sure other people can relate to. Before I came to Egypt I had practically zero interest in the pharoahs and other things about ancient Egypt. I wanted to be interested in these things, but somehow just reading books about it did not appeal to me. I knew if I went there and saw it for myself I would get hooked. That is exactly what happened. Since I came back I've bought over twenty books about 'all things Egypt'. While I was in the tomb of Seti II all I could think of was getting out of there to see King Tut's tomb. So I swiftly looked through all I could in the tomb. I thought to myself, I'd better go down to the end of it otherwise I will regret it for years to come. So I went down to the end trying to look at everything as I went. I didn't even know who Seti II was. I had probably heard of him before but I didn't know anything about him. I walked as quickly as I could back to the entrance promising myself that as soon as I got home I would look up the Pharoah and find out who he was. That is exactly what I did. He was a minor pharoah is one of the things I found out. He was not that outstanding. He has a nice tomb though.

THE TOMB OF TUTANKAMEN
I quickly made my way down the hill to the entrance of King Tut's burial chamber. There were surprisingly few people there and I got right in. I walked down the sixteen steps and went into the descending passageway where I gave my ticket to a friendly Muslim gentleman who pointed me onward toward the doorway that leads to the tomb. On the other side of the door is the antechamber. I entered the antechamber and looked to the left and saw the mummy of Tutankamen in person lying under glass. I was extremely surprised by this, and also amazed. I'm not someone who likes to look at dead bodies. I usually avoid looking at dead people but

Outside of Tutankamen's Tomb for some reason I didn't mind looking at this mummy. There was a white sheet covering his body and you could only see his head and feet. There were fans blowing on the glass to keep the heat down. I looked at all this for a few minutes and then turned to the right and walked about ten steps to the burial chamber where the golden sarcophagus lies. This is the inner casket that the king's body was until he was discovered in the 1920's. I looked at the painting on the wall that I had read so much on and had seen pictures of.

Inside of Tomb of Tutankamen Safisfied that I had seen Tut himself and his golden coffin I ascended the stairs of the tomb and back into the scorching sun. I walked across the way to a shaded area and waited for the rest of the group to come back. I told the guide earlier that I would wait for them there. After a little while they came down the hill. After I made sure the guide saw me I melted into the crowd and we went back to the bus and continued with the tour.

THOUGHTS ON TUT

When I got back from Egypt I read a book called "The Tutankhamun Deception" by Gerald O'Farrell. This book tells another story about how King Tut was found. According to the author the whole discovery was a hoax. Many details were uncovered such as the origional lid was removed from the sarcophagus and another one was put in it's place to hide the real idenity of the person in the coffin. This was done because the Egyptian government had made some new rules giving the finder of Egyptian treasure only a small percentage of their find and the government now taking the lion's share. The result of this was the falsifying of many things in this case so that all those who were involved in finding this treasure stole many things and rearranged things so they would come out with more then the Egyptian wanted them to have. The whole book cast some serious doubts about what the public was given as the truth about this discovery. It is not really known if this is the real King Tut. It could be someone else. As for the paintings on the wall of the tomb. For being five thousand years old, the paint looks very fresh. The author of the book believes that Carter was the one who painted it. He was an artist in his own right. He spent a number of years re-doing things in the tomb before it's supossed discovery. Anyway, maybe this is why not many people were in the tomb the day I was there.

ALABASTAR VESSEL MAKING FACTORY - Alabastar is a cream-like translucent stone.

Now we were off to a factory to see how alabastar is worked to make different kinds of vessels. First we saw a demonstration on how these pieces of art are made. The stop was designed to give us a chance to buy something. It was a nice rest where we could enjoy a nice cup of tea and sit down for a spell before heading over to the Tomb of Hapshepsut and the Valley of the Queens.

HAPSHETSUT
When we got to the Tomb of Hatshepsut we loaded into a little tourist train that took us close to the monument. The train let us off and we walked the rest of the way. The sun was high in the sky and it was quite hot. The temple sits at the bottom of a very tall limestone cliff. It was another short walk to the ramp. Upon reaching the top there were regal statues of the female pharaoh including her royal beard which was required whether they were male or female.
The Tomb of Hatshepsut Inside the royal mortuary there are the surviving statues and other important stones. Many have been smashed and ruined down through the ages by people who did not agree with the religion of the ancient Egyptians or for other reasons.

THE VALLEY OF THE QUEENS
Next on the agenda we stopped off at The Valley of the Queens. There are several tombs at this burial site. The place looks like nothing of any significants, but I imagine that it was calculated this way. All these tombs in Egypt were meant to be hard to find or not found at all. I went into only one of them while I was there. It was quite a distance from the entrance but it was well worth the walk. The chamber was hewn from solid rock and it quite a depth into the earth.
To begin with you had to go down a long, steep staircase. Once inside it was quite clostrophobic since it was hot and also cramped with people, but the walls of the four rooms were covered with reliefs and heiroglyphics that were in remarkably good shape. In one room there was an empty coffin carved out of solid rock.

COLOSSI OF MENMOM
As with many ancient temples in Egypt, and all over the world the Colossi of Menmom is the ruins of two ancient statues of men which was plundered for building material down through
The Colossi of Menmomthe ages. They were also ruined from the yearly flooding of the Nile River until the Aswan Dam was built in the early 1960's. For many centuries the wind used to blow through a hole in one of the colossi early every morning, emitting a whistling sound, but after an earthquake and the subsequent repair the whistling stopped. As on many of the ancient landmarks in the region there is graffiti carved into the base of the two massive structures, some of which gives information about the landmarks as well as other sites in the Luxor area.

After all this touring we were on the bus and on our way back to the ship. This gave me an opportunity to look at the houses the people lived in. The guide explained that the people in the country side take their time building their houses. They build them little by little over the years. That was the reason there were so many houses that were only half built along the way. The people do this so when their children grow up they can continue to live with their parents with enough room for their spouses and children. They are not in a hurry go get their offsprings out of the house as is done in parts of the western parts of the world.

While we were riding along the guide mentioned that it doesn't rain very much in Egypt. Sometimes it won't rain for about four or five years at a time. That was an interesting piece of information to me. I didn't know that but I can believe it since 90% of the country is desert. The only place where there is foliage in that country is along the Nile River and at a few oasis' in the desert on the western side of the Nile.

BACK ON THE SHIP
There is some kind of activities going on in the upper deck of the ship everyday. One the first day we were there, there was the Captain's welcome coctail. Everyone would go up and sit around the tables and drink cocktails. The next day would be the afternoon tea. There was
Little Boat on the Nile something different every day. On the top deck there was a covered area at one end and a swimming pool at the other. Some people would spend their time when they weren't touring either swimming or lounging around on the pool furniture in the sun or in the shady area.

REGULAR EGYPTIAN HOUSES
On the west side of the Nile beyond the desert is the home of the dead. Most people who live on the west side of the Nile live along the banks of the river. Usually the design of the house is square with a flat roof. Houses are constructed with sun diried bricks. The bricks are made of chopped straw and mud. This mixture is put into a brick mold and left in the sun to dry. After a few years the bricks tend to crumble and have to be replaced. The interior of the average house has earthen floors which are covered with reed mats. The ceiling is made of sticks and palm leaves woven together. The walls inside of the house are spread over with a thin layer of plaster. The rooms are small and dark with narrow windows and have low ceilings. The Egyptians usually have a cellar under their house to store things in.
Egyptian Houses Rural settlements average about five hundred to a thousand people. Houses are one to two stories. The village usually has a mosque or a church, a few shops and maybe a government building. Most inhabitants in the countryside work in agriculture. Animals owned by farmers are buffalos, sheep and goats. Houses are built in clusters along the banks of the Nile River. Village houses are built close together for security as well as for strength. Some villiages are sourrounded by ditches and fields. Many houses are whitewashed so the sun's rays are deflected and makes it cooler inside.

Houses generally have three sparsely furnished rooms; a sleeping room, a living room and an outside kitchen that has a cylindrical, baked clay oven. Poor families have no plumbing or running water. Western chairs are rarely seen in Egyptian homes. There are small tables of wood or wicker. There is also a place to grind grain to make bread or beer. Numerous types of wheel-thrown pottery are made for food storage. Often times you will see the people working on carpentry or in pottery-making in front of their homes. If the people are not Muslim they may have niches on the inside of their house where statues of protective gods and goddesses are kept. Narrow windows are built high on the walls for protection from the sun. Peasants sleep on reed mats covered with course linen. People of better means may sleep on woven mats on a wooden frame with fine linen sheets.

EGYPTIAN POTTERY - Pottery was designed to fulfill man's every need.
The Egyptians say they invented pottery four thousand years ago, but the truth is they learned it from the Sumerian civilization who lived in Mesopotania many thousands of years before them.

Pottery was around before the pyramids were built. Old Hieroglyphics attests to this. There are pictures of earthen vessels in 4th and 6th Dynasties.

Back to journal...

The next day the ship was steaming down the Nile. We were heading to a place called Esna. This is the place where there is a locks. All boats and ships going down the Nile have to go through it. It is where water on the one side of the river is lower then the water on the other side and you have to go through these locks to get to the other side. I opened the curtains over the window and pulled up a chair and watched out the window. There were an abundance of date palm and a variety of other green plants growing all along the banks of the Nile. Every once in a while we would pass a sprinkling of houses and villages. The houses are drab and blend into the landscape. Beyond the river in the background there are the stark mountains that have no trees or any kind of foliage on them. The only green in this country is vegetation along the Nile River. There were boats of all sizes passing along the Nile. Sometimes on the western bank of the river I could see people walking along the banks of the river. Most people were inside out of the scortching heat.

In the afternoon we got closer to the locks. The boat pulled over to the eastern shore and now we had to wait in line to go through the locks since only one ship can go through at a time. Hawkers in row boats came up next to the ships and were selling their wares. They would throw clothes and other merchandise up to the people in the ships and then the people would throw money down to them.

Later it started to get dark. I closed the curtains and watched TV for for awhile and then went to dinner. Later I went to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night because I noticed we were moving. I threw the curtains aside and saw that we were going through the locks. I put my head on the pillow and drifted back asleep.

Sumerians

THE TEMPLE OF EDFU
From Esna we traveled on down the Nile to the Edfu Temple. I got up in the morning and had breakfast and then we assembled in the lobby of the ship then went outside and up the stairs to street level where horses and carriages with their handlers were lined up. This would be our transportation to Edfu Temple. The temple is several miles from the ship so it took about twenty minutes to get there. It was interesting to go through the city and see all the sights and see the people who lived in that part of the world so different from the way we live in the west. This temple is dedicated to Horus, who is the falcon headed god.
On the Way to Edfu In olden times the people of Egypt worshipped the animals they saw in nature around the places where they lived. After awhile they wanted to talk to them and communicate with them. Later they were able to do this when they made masks of their gods, and later costumes of them and then establish elaborate rituals around them. This was the beginning of an intricate religion that lasted for thousands of years inwhich their art and symbolism evolved into something that is rarely seen on this earth.

Ptolomy III, who was a Greek governor started building this temple in 237 BCE, and it took two hundred years to complete. It is actually a replica of a temple that stood there two thousand years earlier.
Edfu Temple When you go into the courtyard you first see the many columns that were built along the walls. There are fifty-two of them. They are covered with reliefs. Two granite falcon statues stand at the enrance of the temple. When you enter the ante chamber you see eighteen more huge columns covered with depictions of Egyptian art. The temple contains various halls and a sanctuary.

On that particular day the place was crowded with tourists from many lands. The guide was taking us from one place to another at a very fast pace and talking in a very low voice. Many times I couldn't hear what he had to say because of all the noise around from so many people. As we were swiftly going from one place to another I was trying to follow some members of our group. I looked away for a second and then looked back and couldn't see any one from our group. I searched all over the immediate area but couldn't find them. There were just crowds and crowds of people speaking English, French, Italian and every other language under the sun. I walked around trying to find someone I could recognize. I couldn't find anyone. I went into one of the outer halls thinking I would find someone. Nothing. I then decided to just forget about finding them. I will look at this place on my own, so I started walking around and looking at everything. I felt that if there was anything important to see here I will try to look at everything and take as many pictures as I could, then I can read about it when I go t back to the States.

Finally after I had gone through the whole temple I decided to go to the entrance thinking maybe now I would find someone from the group. Half way there I spotted one of our party from New York City. She had gotten separated from everyone too. We walked back to the carriages and then everyone else started to appear and we were all together again. We found our driver and got in the carriage and went back to the ship the same way we came.

Back where the ship was moored I got off the carriage and had to fight my way back to the ship among the wave of persistant hawkers. It was terrible the way these people throw themselves at the tourists trying to make a living. When the dust settled and everyone was safely back the ship set sail and we were on our way to a temple called Kim Ombo. I spent much of the time sitting in a chair in my cabin with the curtains open watching life outside on the Nile go by from my window.

Hieroglyphs

KOM OMBO TEMPLE
Toward the evening we made it to Kom Ombo, about thirty miles from Edfu. The town of Kom Ombo is populated by relocated Nubians. The temple is dedicated to the crocodile headed god Sebek, and the falcon headed god Heruur. Over the centuries the temple was ruined by the flooding of the Nile. It is a temple of courts, colonnades, halls and santuaries. All the walls and columns are decoded with reliefs, hieroglyphs and symbolic representations of other things. The Romans and Greeks also had something to do with the temple. Points of interest; On one of the outer corridors there is a relief carved in the wall of a surgical instrument box. The guide said that it is usually hotter in Egypt this time of the year. It was pretty hot, but as the sun began to go down in the sky it became a little cooler. We spent about an hour following the guide around as he pointed out different reliefs and hieroglyphs in the temple. He also showed us the coffins that crocodiles were buried in in the olden days.

After the tour we went back to the ship and went to dinner. It was held on the upper deck and they had Egyptian bbq.

ASWAN - The gateway to Africa
Aswan is a frontier city with a large market. It used to be the capitol of Egypt but it was called by a different name. Aswan is the Arabic name given to it. It is a crossroads of an ancient caravan route. The atmosphere of the city is tranquil and orderly. It is an enchanting and magical place. You will find Egyptian and Nubian heritages here. The Nubians who live in this area used to live south of Aswan but when the High Dam was built president Nassar moved them into Aswan. What used to be Nubian land is now Lake Nassar. Thousands of date palm trees where destroyed when the water rose on the south side of the dam and many Nubians are still bitter about this relocation.

Nubians are dark skinned, non Arabic speaking people living between Aswan and the Sudanese border. People from old Nubia rarely interacted with the Egyptains intil they were resettled north of Aswan in 1963. The Egyptians now recognized the Nubians as an ethnic race. Many barriers between the Egyptians and Nubians have been broken down since the Aswan Dam was built.

The city of Aswan in located on the east side of the Nile River. It is about 185 kilometers from Luxor. It is a very dry and desert-like area. It is the southernmost major city in upper Egypt. It is called upper Egypt because it sits at a higher altitude then lower Egypt which is up north where the pyrimids are. The river Nile flows north. It starts in four or five countries in Africa. Some of these are Sudan, Ethiopia and others.

Granite is found in this part of Egypt. It was used to build the temples and monuments of ancient Egypt.
In the past Egypt had been hostile to Isreal, and that is the reason the United States wouldn't help Egypt financially when it wanted to build the Aswan Dam. Russia helped instead.

The next morning I woke up. We were in Aswan. We had sailed all night. We were parked next to a fairly modern boat that had a grass roof. Since it rarely rains in Egypt the grass roof is inexpensive and useful. There was a sign on the roof of the ship that said, Bill's Bier". I think they meant Beer.

THE TEMPLE OF PHILAE
After breakfast we were off to the Temple of Philae. We took a bus as far as we could and then went by boat to the island where it now stands.
This temple was relocated from its origional location like many other ancient monuments in Egypt. When the High Dam was built they had to move the temple stone by stone to a differnt location on higher ground. As it was the temple was under water a couple months of the year because of the flooding of the Nile River. It was moved to Agika Island. It took seven years to relocate it. It is a temple that has beautiful carvings on the walls of the pylons.

Temple of Philae As with many of the temples in Egypt it was used as an early Coptic church in Roman times as evidenced by a cross which was carved in the stone on the outside of the entrance of the temple, and on the inside where an altar was built and an indentation in the wall was carved out where they could put the Lord's Supper, which consisted of the bread and the chalice. The guide himself was of the Coptic religion and so he revealed these things to us. There are also other crosses carved in the stone throughout the temple.

The Temple of Philae is a place of columns and master stone work just like the other temple we saw on this trip. After touring through the temple we had some time to sit down and drink some much needed water and rest awhile before we got in the small tourist boat and went back to the main land.
AROMA THERAPY
The next place we went was a place where they try to sell you bottles of fragrances. It was like the one we went to in Cairo. It was interesting. I ended up buying a box. I bought them with the view of reading more about them when I got back to the States. The people of ancient Egypt used fragrances for different things. I thought I would find out what they used the different scents for. One day I will look into it.

THE HIGH DAM

After that we went to the High Dam. The dam was completed in 1964. It prevents the Nile from flooding. Over the centuries of the Nile River flooding it has destroyed large tracts of land. The dam has created the largest artificial lake in the world. It is called Lake Nassar. The High Dam has helped regulate the fluctuation of the flow of the Nile and has helped increase Egypt's cultivatable land by 30%. But now that the Nile can no longer flood, the silt cannot distribute on the land like it had for eons. Now other forms of fertilizer has to be used to grow crops.

There is a quarry in Aswan where there is a huge unfinished obelisk from an ancient period in Egypts history. Still nobody know how the stone was cut or how these large obelisks were transported.

Later in the evening I went out on an Egyptian sailboat called a Felluca on the Nile. It takes two men to navigate one of these fellucas. first we crossed the Nile and went close to the other shore. There we were able to see the small caves dug in the side of the bluff which once served as a monestary for the early Coptic church that sprung up in Egypt just after the appearance of Jesus on earth. We spent a couple hours on this felluca with the guide explaining a little of the history of the area. While we were on the boat we came close to Elephantine Island. It is off limits to tourists usually because it is where the Nubian people live. This concludes my trip down the Nile River.

GETTING READY TO GO TO ABU SIMBEL

I made it back to the ship and had dinner and then went to my cabin and packed my stuff. The next morning I would be taking an airplane to Abu Simbel. It is one of the major tourist sites in Egypt.

TAXI RIDE TO THE BANK
Later in the evening I needed to get some travelors checks cashed because I was getting low on cash. The people who ran the ship wouldn't cash travelor's checks and would not be of any help with changing U.S. currency into Egyptain Pounds. The first day I was there someone in the office changed some money for me with no problem, but now I was told I had to go to a bank. Anyway, they were not helpful in that department so I decided to take a taxi to a nearby bank since they were opened in the evening because it was Ramadan, and Muslim people were able to do any kind of work after sunset. During the day they had to fast and not do much work, but as soon as the sun went down they could eat and take care of business.

I realized that I should have someone go with me since I don't speak their language and people around there don't speak much English. Everyone knows a few words of English, but not much. I didn't know the city and I didn't feel like going out in a stange city with a cab driver who I couldn't communicate with. I asked the guy in charge if I could have someone from his staff go with me. I didn't care if he spoke English or not. I just needed someone who knew I wanted to go to a bank and let him do all the talking with the driver. The guy in charge picked a guy about 20 named Mohammed. (Every driver and guide that I had on this trip so far was named Mohammed) He spoke very little English, but enough to get the mission accomplished. He was told want I wanted. He agreed that I would pay him at the end of the trip for his time.

We walked out of the ship and into the warm night air. The stars were shining brightly in the sky. We went up the stairs to street level then walked up the street alittle. We stopped and he called a taxi on his cell phone. We tried to have a conversation but we didn't know each others language so it was futile. After a little wait the taxi came, we got in and Mohammed told him to take us to a bank, and we proceeded up the road.

Taxis in Egypt run like this; The taxi driver wanted to get through the traffic. When he would come across a car that wasn't going too fast in his lane he would pull up behind the car, getting as close to his bumper as possible and start flashing his lights and honking his horn until the car pulled over and let him though. When three taxis come to an intersection, one would start honking his horn and flashng his lights, and the other two would do the same. The horns in Egypt play a little line of music. When three taxis are honking at the same time it makes an interesting musical sound. Honking horns this way is their way of saying Hello to each other.

We found a bank but it was closed. A policeman who was sitting in a chair infront of the bank told Mohammed that there was a bank open down the street. If I had to do all this not knowing the language it would have been a nightmare. We went down the street and found the bank. There was a policeman stationed in front of this bank too. I went in. The bank was emply except for a clerk behind the counter. I went over. He gave me a puzzled look as if to say, "What would this person be doing out so late"? I asked him if he could cash an American Travelor's check. He shook his head in the negative. So I took some American money and asked if he could change it. He examined the bills very closely. He gave me back one of the twenty dollar bills and said he couldn't change that one, but he could change the rest. I found out later that money changers in Egypt will not take bills before a certain date. He took the money and counted it out very carefully and wrote the amount on a piece of paper. Then he had me give him my name, address and signature. After he changed the money I left the bank, got back in the cab and came back to the ship. I paid the driver and Mohammed and went in for the evening. If I ever travel again I will do all my changing of money before I leave the USA. It seems that on this trip I was constantly running out of money.

ABU SIMBEL - Three millennium of history was slowly covered in sand.
I woke up the next morning around breakfast time. I got up and went down to the dinning room and had the usual breakfast. Later a shuttle bus transported us to the airport where we would take the thirty minute flight to Abu Simbel.

At Abu Simbel there is a massive monument and temple dedicated to Ramses II and a smaller monument dedicated to his favorite wife. Ramses II started his reign of Egypt at the beginning of the 13th century and ruled the country for sixty seven years. There are more monuments of him then any other pharoah. He had many wives and hundreds of children. Ramses II was not of royal lineage.

Once off the plane we were shuttled to the teminal where our bags were checked etc: Then onto busses that would take us to the monument which was not far away. When we got off the bus we had to walk through the usual maze of hawkers. They were more aggressive then usual. It was a short walk to the monument.

The native people who live in this part of Egypt are called Nubian. They have lived in this part of Egypt since time immortal. They were around when the phaoah's ruled the country. Many say that their ancestors came from Sudan. They have thier own culture that is nothing at all like the Egyptain culture. They live in little villages where their houses are built in a row and painted in bright colors.
Abu Simbel
Once at the site the guide came and took us to the shade of a nearby Acacia tree where we sat on benches while he explained a little bit about Abu Simbe and its history. These temples were built 3,200 years ago. On the outside of the main temple are four statues of Ramses II seated. Three of the statues have survived, but one is in ruins and lays crumbled infront of where it formerly was. The statues are sixty feet high and are the height of a five story building. This temple was built on the site of an old shrine dedicated to the god Horus.

Several years ago before the Aswan Dam was built the whole monument was taken apart piece by piece and relocated to it's present place. Great lengths were taken to make sure that every detail of the monument is in its origional place. Even in the inner part of the temple where the sun shines on a statue of Ramses II at a certain hour of the day one day of the year.

Inside the temple of Ramses II there are pictures and reliefs of Ramses II offering to the gods and scenes of him fighting his enemies. The temple has many rooms and ante rooms. After about an hour looking at the site it was back to the bus and then the plane ride back to Cairo.

CAIRO REVISITED

Back in Cairo I was again met by the same person who had met me when I first came to Egypt. I think his name was Mohammed. After a little bit of a wait my suitcase came down the carousel and I grabbed it and we were off to the hotel. I was origionally supposed to go to the Swiss Inn, the place I stayed at when I first came to Egypt, but plans changed and I was booked into a hotel called Movenpick. It was a great place anyway. I stayed there the night.

The Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
I didn't get to bed until 10pm and I had to get up at 2am, so I had a short sleep and got up the next morning and went to the lobby where I recieved a breakfast box and then the van came. The new guide's name was Met. I was very surprised that it wasn't Mohammed. But the two drivers were both named Mohammed. Shortly after meeting Met he mentioned that he was Christian. "That explains why his name was not Mohammed", I thought. The first thing we did was to pick up the Canadian couple who I had gone into the Great Pyramid with when I first got to Egypt. The three of us would be finishing the last leg of this tour together. We wouldn't be staying in the same hotels, but we would have the same guide and see the same things from now on. After that they would go on to Paris and then home. I would be going back to London and then Seattle.
Sinai Peninsula After we collected them we were heading north passed some industrial areas. We stopped briefly once to get coffee. It was dark but we were driving parallel to the Gulf of Suez, then after a little drive we went into a very short tunnel called Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel. You blink ten times and you are on the other side. Now we were on the Sinai Peninsula. The hustle and bustle of Cairo was behind us. Now we were in the peace and quiet of the sandy desert. By now it was starting to get light. The road we were on is the traditional route that Moses led the Children of Isreal on their quest to find the promised land 4,000 years ago. This is also the route that the Muslim pilgrims take when they go to Mecca, only they turn off at some point and enter Saudi Arabia, where as Moses went into what we call Jordan today.
Now the coral sea was on our right and there was a barren mountain range to our left. I was surprised at seeing so many resorts along the way, and there were many other building projects in the works. Met said, that eventually if plans go right this whole area will become green and fertile. He said that everywhere in this area water can be found by digging down only a few feet in the sand. They can ship fertilizer in and build up the soil.
Camel It took a couple hours to get where we were going and we made a few stops on the way. One of the places we stopped was called Hammam Far'um. After this we passed several check points. They have check points because some terrorists blew up a couple hotels in this region a few years ago. Now every vehicle that passes through the area is checked three or four times at the check points. This way they know who is traveling through the area at all times. At one point we were asked to show our passports and it was radioed ahead that we were coming.

After awhile we left the flat desert land and started to enter the wild and rugged mountain passes where the natural landmarks remain totally unchanged. It is a region of desolation where only a few thorn bushes are seen growing in the landscape and an occasional Acacias tree.

ST CATHERINE'S MONASTERY
We finally arrived at St Catherine's Monestary after a long drive. We got out of the van and walked the fourth of a mile to the monestary. On the way we passed the gardens where the monks grow almonds, oranges, lemons, dates, apricots and grapes. This place is an oasis in the midst of a barren desert.
The monastery is full of Byzantine art.
St Catherine's Monastery has stood in its present location for fifteen centuries. The fortress-like monastery has walls of granite with crosses and lambs etched into them. The monestary sits at the base of a mountain range. The tall mountain near the monestary is called Mt. ST. Catherine. Mt Sinai in on the other side of it and is not as tall.
In the early days of Christianity a daughter of the king of Alexandria was converted to the new religion and tried to convert him. She was thrown into prison and was visited by the Savior. Her father had her head cut off. According to legend angels carried her body off to the top of a mountain. For two centuries no one knew where the body was. Later a monk had a dream of where the body was laid. The next day he went to a mountain and found the body. Later that day he and some other monks brought the body down from the mountain and put it in a coffin with a silver lid and placed it near the altar in the chapel where it now recieves homage from pilgrims who pass through the area.

The monestary looks like a fortress with its high stone walls and a turret on each corner. In more hostile times the walls used to be mounted with canons. The walls form irregular quadrangles of one hundred and thirty paces on either side. The building was erected by Empress Helena the mother of the Emperor Constantine. She came to the area in search of holy places mentioned in scripture. She had a dream one night that this area was where Moses led the children of Isreal in their exodus from Egypt and where Mt. Sinai was so she had a chapel built on that spot.

The exterior of the monestary is simple. The old entrance is a small door in the wall thirty feet from the ground. This can be seen in the picture above. In the olden days a rope was let down and people and supplies were hoisted up. Now there is a low doorway at ground level cut into the stone wall. The interior of the monestary is a complex network of verandas, galleries, porticos, stairways, cells for monks, rooms for guests, a library, a mosque, a minaret, a gallery, a church and chapels. In all there are twenty four chapels to different saints. Prayers are said in these in regular rotation. The heart of the whole complex is the Greek church. In the front near the altar is a coffin in rich design and has a silver lid. In the coffin are the bones of St. Catherine. Not far from that is the small chapel of the Burning Bush. The floors and steps are made of marble. The pillars and columns were made by ancient artisans plundered from heathen temples.