EGYPT #5: Coptic Cairo

Our last few days in Cairo were hectic. What we didn’t see at the beginning of the trip, Amr attempted to squeeze into the last two days.This morning we headed for Old Cairo, so named because it is the oldest part of Cairo, and, in fact, predates what is now Cairo. Some Egyptologists believe that there was a settlement here as far back as the 6th century BCE. Later, the Romans built a fortress here, which was called Babylon. Some of these Roman walls still exist. Later, it became a Christian stronghold, with as many as 20 churches built within an area of one square mile. Today there are only five churches remaining. Our first stop that morning was the Coptic Church of St. Sergius where it is said that Jesus and the holy family stayed after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.Continuing our ecumenical journey through the old city, we next stopped at Ben Ezra Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Egypt. The building dates from the 19th century, but the land for the synagogue was purchased in 882 CE by Abraham ibn Ezra of Jerusalem.Not wanting to leave anyone out, we continued our journey to the Amr Ibn el Asse Mosque, the first and oldest existing Mosque in Egypt. For several centuries, this Mosque had been the religious and social center of the cosmopolitan city and the old capital al-Fustat. In 641 CE. Amr entered Egypt after the surrender of Alexandria. When the whole country became under Muslim rule, Amr chose El- Fustat as the capital of Islamic Egypt.

Next on our itinerary was the Citadel of Saladin built by Salah El Din El Ayyubi, founder of the Ayubbid dynasty. Looking like a medieval stronghold, the Citadel was started in 1183 CE. Six centuries later (1830 CE.). the impressive Mohammed Ali Mosque was built within the compound. Also on the site is the Jewel Museum, the Cairo Carriage Museum, and the Military Museum.According to Amr, our guide, the Mohamed Ali Mosque is amongst the most interesting Mosques in Egypt. It stands proudly on the highest point inside the courtyard of the Citadel of Saladin, and is also called the Alabaster Mosque. The architect was Yousf Boushnaq, a Turkish man who had come over from Istanbul to build this great Mosque for Mohamed Ali, the ruler of Egypt from1805 until 1849. In 1899, the Mosque showed signs of cracking and repairs were undertaken, but some of these repairs were not adequate. Therefore, in 1931, during the reign of King Fuad I, the big main dome, the semi domes and the small domes were demolished and then reconstructed according to the original design. The project began in 1931 and was finally completed in 1939.
It was an interesting morning. The Old City has a different feel than the more modern, cosmopolitan side of Cairo. It was even more apparent when Amr “let us loose” at the Khan-el-Khalili Bazaar, a major marketplace for both locals and tourists. The market was originally built in 1382 and has remained Cairo’s most important shopping area.
With camera in hand and lots of $1.00 bills, we ventured out to see what treasures we could find. Since several of us had recently been in the main bazaar in Istanbul a few months earlier, there really wasn’t a lot we wanted to buy. However, walking around the neighbourhood immediately surrounding the bazaar was wonderful--an insight into a way of life foreign to many of us: relaxing with friends over a Huka,buying bread on the street,and having lunch with a friend, curb side.None of us wanted to leave the bazaar,but it was time to get back to the hotel to finish packing and get ready for our farewell dinner.

It seems incredible that three weeks earlier we had arrived in Tel Aviv and sat down to our first Shabbat dinner. There were so many special moments in Israel:

• our visit to Caesarea, the town King Herod built in the first century BCE,
• going to Atlit, the Illegal Immigrant Detention Camp that tells the story of the struggle of Jews fleeing Europe from Nazi persecution and death,
• visiting Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus,
• watching the planes take off and having a special tour of Hatzerim Air Base,
• crossing the Sea of Galilee,
• walking the Twelve Stations of the Cross,
• standing on top of Mt. Scopus and seeing the old city of Jerusalem and the Temple on the Mount as it dominates the skyline,
• standing at the Kotel--the Western Wall,
• crossing the border into Bethlehem and visiting the Grotto of the Nativity,
• walking through the Children’ Memorial at Yad Vashem
• and celebrating the B’not Mitzvah of Barbara and Pamela Handel and Zoe and Stacie atop Mt. Masada.

Egypt has its own memories:

• standing in front of the Pyramids of Giza,
• cruising the Nile, ballooning over the Valley of the Kings,
• seeing the mummies at the Egyptian Museum,
• walking through the great temples of Karnak and Luxor, and
• visiting Abu Simbel was my dream come true. I had finally made it to Egypt.

It had been a wonderful trip with memories that will last a lifetime.

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Egypt #4: The Temple Ramses II Built

After the Pyramids of Giza, probably the most recognized monuments in all of Egypt are the two Temples of Ramses II carved out of solid rock at a site on the west bank of the Nile, south of Aswan, known today as Abu Simbel. The temples are magnificent, but the fact that they were moved, actually dismantled and raised over 60 meters up the sandstone cliff from where they had been built more than 3,000 years before is even more remarkable. Once moved, they were reassembled, in the exact same relationship to each other and the sun.

I’m getting ahead of my story. It was our last day on the cruise,we were heading back to Cairo that evening for a New Year’s Eve celebration. We were up bright and early to catch a 6:00 a.m. flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel. Before coming on the trip I had read about the reconstruction of the temples and knew they had to be relocated due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam. I was excited to see this remarkable feat.
The temples were built by Pharaoh Ramses II (1279-1213 BCE) over a 20-year period beginning in 1244 BCE and dedicated to the sun gods Amon-Re and Re Horakhte. Known as the "Temple of Ramses, beloved by Amun", it was one of six rock temples erected in Nubia during the long reign of Ramses II. With the passage of time, the temples fell into disuse and eventually became covered by sand. The temples were actually discovered by a Swiss orientalist, JL Burckhardt, in 1813, but it wasn’t until 1817, when Italian explorer, Giovanni Belzoni, traveled to the site and was able to enter the complex that their existence became known. Belzoni took everything valuable and portable with him. Tour guides at the site relate the legend that "Abu Simbel" was a young local boy who guided these early re-discoverers to the site of the buried temples, which he had seen from time to time in the shifting sands. Eventually, they named the complex after him: Abu Simbel. True or not, it makes a good story.

The massive facade of the main temple is dominated by the four seated colossal statues of Ramses. These familiar representations are of Ramses II himself.Each statue, 67 feet high, is seated on a throne and wears the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Each are sculpted directly from the rock face. The thrones are decorated on their sides with Nile gods symbolically uniting Egypt. I can go on and on about the various statuary, the bas-relief that frames the entrance and much of the interior that tells stories of the marriage of Ramses to battle scenes and military champaigns. It was a wonderful morning and if you ever have the opportunity to visit Egypt, visiting Abu Simbel is a must.

We flew back into Aswan and since we still had several hours until our flight back to Cairo we took a motorboat to the beautiful island of Philae. Philae Temple was also dismantled and reassembled in the wake of the High Dam. The temple, dedicated to the goddess Iris is in a beautiful setting, which has been landscaped to match its original site.

For a change of pace (after four days of visiting temples I was templed out!!!!) we stopped at a wonderful perfumery on the way back to the ship.The owner of the factory explained the use of oils and aromatherapy by the ancient Egyptians, who distilled essential oils for cosmetic purposes as well as to treat all manner of illnesses.Oils were also used in religious practices and in preserving dead bodies for the afterlife. According to our presenter, essential oils of different flowering plants cure everything from heartburn to headaches to insomnia. Since I’ve been an insomniac for years, I bought the magic elixir (oil of lavender) in hopes of getting a few hours of sound sleep. The verdict is still out!We made it back to the ship for a late lunch, said our goodbyes to the ship’s captain,gathered our mountains of luggage, and headed back to the airport at Aswan for our flight back to Cairo. It was New Year’s Eve. I had arranged for a special dinner at the Villa D’Este, a wonderful Italian restaurant in the Conrad Hotel. Because of the horrendous traffic in Cairo we didn’t get back to the hotel until almost 8:00 p.m. We managed to stay awake long enough for dinner, but faded fast after a couple glasses of champagne. So much for whooping it up in Cairo for New Year’s!!!

The job of a tourist is never ending. Amr, our guide, did let us sleep in, so to speak, but by 9:00 a.m. we were heading out of Cairo to see the Pyramids of Dahshur and the soaring Step Pyramid, the first stone structure ever erected and a prelude to the Pyramids of Giza.The earliest Egyptian pyramids were actually step pyramids. During the Third Dynasty the architect Imhotep built Egypt's first step pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser, by building a series of six successively smaller mastabas (an earlier form of tomb structure), one atop of another. But, by the Fourth Dynasty, plans had changed into the transformation of the "true pyramid". The earliest smooth-sided pyramids are those found in Dahshur.At the archaeological site of Dahshur are some of the oldest pyramids in Egypt, including the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid.
Also at Dahshur are several minor temples and tombs, some constructed during the Middle Kingdom.

We headed back to Cairo in the late afternoon with a brief stop at a local carpet factory.Having been to carpet showrooms and factories in Turkey, it was interesting to compare the types of carpets made in Egypt. From what little we saw at the factory, I definitely prefer Turkish carpets.Join me next week in old Old Cairo visiting the beautiful Coptic Church of St. Sergius and the century old Ben Ezra Synagogue.

EGYPT #3: Edfu and the Aswan Dam

The ladies on a felucca with the Redlands Daily Facts

This was our second day on the Nile--I can’t think of a more relaxing way to travel. If you have never been on a river cruise in Europe, China, Egypt, South America or Asia, put it on your list of “things to do.” It’s relaxing, entertaining and educational. In many countries, including Egypt, the river is the sustaining source of life--it provides food, water for washing, drinking and bathing, transportation and business. People all over the world find enterprising ways to make a living.

We had visited the Temple at Luxor and the Temple Complex at Karnak and were planning a visit to the Temple of Horus in Edfu that morning, but were waiting for a group of adventurous souls to come back from their hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings.The pictures, courtesy of Marjorie Handel, tell it all. According to Marjorie, the pilots were wonderful and flew low over the Valley of the Kings, pointing out tombs and monuments, many places we had been the previous day.
Also, skimming over small towns got lots of smiles and waves from the villagers. At one point we got so low we could actually see them cooking breakfast over an open fire. It was great.

Once the group returned to the ship we were off to Edfu, a town located on the West Bank of the Nile between Aswan and Luxor.The Temple itself is dedicated to Horus, the falcon headed god, and was built during the reigns of six Ptolemies.We have a great deal of information about its construction from reliefs on outer areas. It was begun in 237 B.C.E. by Ptolemy III Euergetes I and was finished in 57 B.C.E. Most of the work continued throughout this period with a brief interlude of 20 years while there was unrest during the period of Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy V Epiphanes.Edfu Temple is not only one of the best preserved ancient temples in Egypt, but is the second largest after Karnak. It was believed that the temple was built on the site of the great battle between Horus and Seth. According to the ancient myth, the falcon god Horus fought a fierce battle with his uncle Seth who had cruelly murdered Horus’s father Osiris. Like politics today, there was always a lot of drama in the early days of the Egyptian dynasties. The current temple is the last in a long series of temples built on this location.

In my last few articles I talked very little about shopping, an important part of any Bill and Marjorie trip. Everywhere you stop there are vendors. At the major temple complexes you can’t leave the site without passing dozens of vendors in strip-like malls, but not quite that modern.
The biggest difference, comparing the vendors to those in China, Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba and India, is that the Egyptians understand the word “no.” They don’t give you a hassle. Bargaining is part of their culture so be prepared to spend time if you plan to buy something.

One of the more memorable parts of the cruise was the vendors on the boats that came out to greet the ship. Talk about entrepreneurial.We were on the top neck and they would throw their merchandise, wrapped in plastic, up to the deck --- tablecloths, shawls, galabiyyas, blankets, etc. If you wanted what came flying up, you would start the bargaining process. Once you agreed on a price, you wrap your money in the plastic bag and throw it down.If you didn’t want the goods, you throw the goods back down. Most of the time they landed in the boats. It really gets chaotic when you can’t remember who threw what and things are flying every which way. This “shopping spree” went on for 20 minutes and would have lasted longer but we were heading into a lock.

Jim Felber found the perfect galabiyya.

The following morning we disembarked for our visit to Aswan and the world famous High Dam, an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960’s.The dam provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt. Together with the original Aswan Dam, built by the British between 1898 and 1902, it has regulated the flow of the Nile and increased agricultural production throughout Egypt.Here I am at the Aswan Dam with friends, Marjorie and Judith.

Unwillingly, we went back to the ship to get ready to leave the following morning. Once back on the ship several members of the group took advantage of the free-time to start packing for our trip back to Cairo. It was a beautiful afternoon, too pretty of a day to be inside and just perfect for a sail aboard one of Egypt’s famous Feluccas (sail boat). What fun. I can see why so many Californians get hooked on sailing.Join me next week for our visit to Abu Simbel and our trip back to Cairo.

EGYPT #2: Valley of the Kings

After two days in the hustle and bustle of Cairo traffic, I was ready to leave Cairo for our Nile Cruise. We took a very early morning flight---arrived in Luxor and hit the road running: our first stop--The Valley of the Kings.Located on the west bank of the Nile, the Valley of the Kings was the necropolis (cemetery) of the New Kingdom pharaohs. By digging their tombs in a remote area deep in the Theban Hills, pharaohs, beginning with Tuthmosis I (c. 1500 B.C.E.), hoped to stop the grave robbers from stealing the priceless possessions buried in the tombs. The idea was good, however, it didn’t work. Despite their hidden locations, every burial chamber was raided, except for three--Yuya and Tuya, the great-grandparents of Tutankhamun, and Tutankhamun’s tomb, discovered in 1922, with all its treasures intact.To date, 62 tombs have been found in the Valley of the Kings; all numbered in their order of discovery. Because of the vast number of tombs, not all are opened to the public at the same time. We visited three different tombs: Tawosert- Setnakhte (11-85-1182 B.C.E.), the largest tomb in the Valley. It has double burial chambers, one used for Queen Tawosert, the other for King Setnakhte. We also visited Ramses VI and the tomb of Tutankhamun, the most famous of all the tombs.

To describe each tomb would take several articles. What I found most amazing were the wall decorations and the vividness of the drawings after three thousand years. In most instances the walls and passageways were decorated with scenes that are guides to the afterlife for the pharaoh. They depicted the gods he would meet and the perils and trials he would face in his quest for immortality.
We continued our journey through the Valley of the Kings to the Temple of Hatshepsut, a stunning sight nestled at the foot of a sheer limestone cliff. Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt (1479-1457 B.C.E.). According to our guide, Amr, she was one of the most successful pharaohs, reigning longer than any other woman of an Egyptian dynasty.The Valley of the Queens lies to the southwest of the Valley of the Kings and holds the tombs of many royal wives and children. Of the 80 tombs that are in the valley, the most popular is that of Queen Nefertari. From everything I have read, the tomb of Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramses II, is regarded as the most beautiful tomb in Egypt, decorated with scenes evoking the ritual journey of the soul to the underworld.

When we arrived at the tomb we discovered it was closed for a renovation project. To say I was disappointed is an understatement.

Seeing all the tombs and learning about Egyptian history and archaeology is absolutely fascinating , but after three or four hours, my brain goes on overload. I was ready to go to the ship. However, Amr, our guide, wasn’t quite ready, so we did make one more stop at the Colossi of Memnon. Amenhotep III (18th Dynasty) built a mortuary temple in Thebes that was guarded by two gigantic statues on the outer gates. All that remains now are the 75 foot high, one thousand ton statues of Amenhotep III, known as the Colossi of Memnon. Though damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still impressive.We made it to the ship by early afternoon and settled in for our four-night cruise up the Nile. After our hectic schedule I was truly looking forward to some lazy days on the river. As much as I was looking forward to being lazy, it never happened. There is just too much to see along the Nile.

Before leaving Luxor the following morning, we visited the Karnak Temple Complex, a group of ruined temples, pylons, buildings and other monuments that showcases some of the finest Egyptian designs and architecture.The Karnak Temple is the largest temple complex in the world and is dedicated to Amon-Re, the pre-eminent got of the New Kingdom. From Karnak we continued on to the Temple of Luxor and the amazing Avenue of the Sphinxes. Like the Temples at Karnak, it lay buried until the mid-19th century, and excavation has been ongoing since then.

Luxor Temple is about two miles from the Temples of Karnak, and the two sites were once connected by an avenue of sphinxes.Much of the Luxor Temple was built by the New Kingdom pharaoh Amenhotep III. Today, it is a beehive of activity, with the Luxor bazaar directly behind the Luxor Temple and all sorts of shops and tourist restaurants nearby. The Temple of Luxor is not as large a site as Karnak, but the statues, hieroglyphics, pillars, and obelisks are just as impressive.
Once back on the boat we set sail for Edfu. The weather was warm and it was great sitting on the upper deck watching life along the Nile pass us by.
Actually, it’s the other way around--we passed them by, but it was fun watching the fishing boats and feluccas sailing along with us.In the evening we had our” Welcome to Egypt” party and “dressed” for the occasion. It really was fun and I now have a great costume for Halloween or Purim!Join us next week as we explore the Temple of Horusin at Edfu, considered the best preserved of all the large Egyptian temples.
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