January 10, 2011

Almost impossible to believe that just yesterday morning we were asleep in our stateroom on the ship!

Since then we’ve been everywhere, done everything, and all we have to say about it is, “WOW!”

As well, somehow all of our clothes continue to shrink!! We’ve gotten so much exercise since we first arrived on the Jade that we were sure we’d have to go shopping for a smaller size but no……fortunately the de-humidifier on the ship has taken care of the problem for us. Not only does it keep the humidity down on the ship but it sucks all the moisture out of the fabric in your clothes so they shrink quite a bit during the time that you’re on board. Buttons on blouses have begun to gape, bras barely hold it ‘all’ in, full briefs have turned into thongs, and jeans have become capris…..it’s like having a whole new wardrobe. It seems that even metal can be affected by the dehumidifier – Lynda even had to have an extra link put in her watch strap today!

We’re both tired tonight! So tired in fact that when Lynda stood up from the dinner table she almost fell back down again. It seems that her muscles went to sleep without her, which can be a real problem when you’re trying to stand on a ship that is underway!

The past week has been kind of like being in a time warp that spans more than 5000 years. We’ve travelled from the present where eatfests take place on ships that look like Hawaii to times long past where gladiators fought for the entertainment of others and where pharaohs oversaw the building of temples that are beyond description. We’ve experienced sights and sounds that seem to have come directly from the movie screen and we’ve made friends with people from around the globe.
To focus in on the past two days will be a tall order as there may not be enough words to describe our experiences in Egypt. But here’s our best attempt……
A 4:30 wake-up call should have been an indication of just how busy we’d be during this shore excursion but we were undaunted and ready for anything yesterday morning. Our guide for the 2 days would be Hoda, an Egyptian who has more information about this country in her little finger than all of the guide books ever printed!

Bus to airport in Alexandria where we boarded an Egyptian Air flight for Luxor. We crossed the Nile as we left the port and drove through an eclectic mix of old and new that was just an appetizer for what was to come. 6 million people live in a 25 mile strip that is the city of Alexandria, named for Alexander the Great. During our bus ride we learned that pretty well everyone in Egypt has more than one job as wages are quite low so regardless of whether you’re a teacher, a government worker, or a labourer….it is likely that you’ll also drive a taxi, have a shop, or work in a restaurant during your “off” hours. On that same topic…..it is very unlikely that the income from that second job will be declared though…..this works in the favour of both the worker and the employer. The employer doesn’t have to pay benefits and the worker doesn’t have to pay taxes on that income because officially…..people only have one job. We also learned that in ancient Egypt everyone lived on the East side of the Nile as the West was reserved for death. In death all the gods cross from East to West as Rah, the god of sun, leads the way by rising in the East and setting in the West. As Hoda told us about what we were passing along the highway to the airport and about what the next 2 days would look like….we could see horses pulling wagons laden with crops, obvious poverty in the housing, women clad in burkas, and men smoking water pipes as they enjoyed a cup of coffee or tea on the corner….and all of this out of the bus windows. That would be the only thing that I could find fault with over the past 2 days….there were so many things that I saw and wanted to take pictures of but taking them out of a bus window as it’s bumping along at fairly high speeds is pretty much impossible. Our time was so packed full that we literally ran from early early morning till well after dark when we simply fell into bed for another 4 or 5 hours just to do it all again!

Flight to Luxor took about 1 ½ hours and was very comfortable. Luxor seems cleaner than Alexandria and maybe it is a little more ‘polished’ in keeping with the meaning of it’s name. The word luxor means ‘palaces’ in Egyptian. Looking out at the passing landscape and city scenes we could see lots of donkeys pulling carts, water buffalo crossing the Nile, horses pulling wagons around the city like taxis on every corner, LOTS of police that were very obviously armed, men sitting in coffee shops with their pipes and glass of tea, women working, and children playing. I saw an entire shop window dedicated just to selling burkas, and in the next block there was another shop dedicated to selling tiny little evening dresses for nights out in the clubs. The vast majority of women here choose to wear the traditional Muslim dress but what they’re wearing under it remains a mystery…..perhaps it is one of those tiny little dresses??? The call to prayer was underway (this sounds 5 times per day) and the sound of it adds to the exotic nature of the place. Most of the buildings are the same colour…..and colour isn’t really a word that fits to describe the homes we’re looking at. The only colour is the laundry that is hanging from the balcony’s to dry. The buildings are all kind of drab…..red/grey brick seems to be the most popular. There are so many satellite dishes on the rooftops…everyone must have TV! Many of the homes are unfinished and Hoda explained that this is because Egyptians don’t really believe in borrowing money from a bank so they put their money into their house and when they run out of money, they stop building until they can get more cash to work with. As well, it is common for a son to continue with the building when the time comes for him to take a wife and need a home of his own. In that case…the mom and dad would live on the lower floor and the son and his new wife would live on the 2nd floor and so on and so on. In addition…..we’ve heard that if a house is unfinished there are no taxes to be paid so there is a definite advantage to living in an unfinished house.

Our first stop would be the Valley of the Kings and unfortunately we weren’t able to take our cameras into the Valley at all. There has been too much damage to the paintings in the tombs from flash photography so the government has taken a very strong stand and imposed a zero tolerance policy for anyone having a camera anywhere in the site. The Valley of the Kings was an amazing surprise for both Lynda and I …… we just kept saying, “wow” over and over again.

I used to think that the pyramids were kind of the ‘be all and end all’ but thanks to Hoda now know that there was a time when the pyramids were the only home to pharaohs in death but once the grave robbers began to take their toll on the wealth that could be found within…..the builders of the tombs came up with a new plan. They recognized that the pyramids were just too obvious in helping the grave robbers to find the location of tombs and their treasures so they decided to not have any markings above ground but rather to create the magnificent hallways and rooms that can be found in the Valley of the Kings beneath the surface and out of sight and hopefully safe from thieves. In addition to the Valley of the Kings there is also a Valley of the Queens, a Valley of Nobles, a Valley of Workers, and so on….everyone and everything received some form of mummification and passage into their afterlife when they died. The Kings & Queens were buried using the most elaborate methods of mummification and had golden statues and masks to accompany them on their journey. The Nobles had a slightly simpler mummification process and their life form faces were painted onto the sarcofagace that their preserved bodies were placed in, the Workers, commoners, and animals had the simplest form of mummification and may not have had any face painted on their ‘coffin’. Even today….science cannot identify all of the chemicals or processes used in ancient mummification but there is evidence (and we saw a lot of it in the past couple of days) that a properly mummified body can last for many thousands of years!!

Each of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings is numbered in the order in which it was discovered and the signage also explains who’s tomb it is and what special features it boasts. The tombs that Lynda and I visited included: KV2 (that means it was the 2nd one found) that was built for Ramses IV, KV6 (the 6th one found) belonging to Ramses IX, and KV20 that was built for Ramses I. Both KV2 and KV6 were relatively easy to access but KV20 was another matter! It went almost straight down into the ground using steep stairs. I’m not sure how many stairs there were but our estimate is that it would be the equivalent of at least 4 or 5 floors so by the time we emerged at the surface again…..I for one was pretty much done for at least a few minutes and until we got to the next one. Ramses I tomb was hot, stuffy, and difficult due to the super steep flights of stairs. For the last 30 or 40 stairs….my right knee pretty well gave up so I put my head down gritted my teeth together and made it the rest of the way with my knee grinding itself to what felt like a pulp. We also visited KV62 (yes….the 62nd one found on the site) that I was really excited to see. It is King Tut’s tomb and I have to say that it was somewhat of a shock. When you look at all of the treasures that have come out of Tut’s tomb….you might think that it would have to be quite large but it pales in comparison to my imaginings. It is a small and fairly simple tomb that appears to have been hastily built (perhaps this is because Tut died so young) but….boy oh boy….was it ever packed to the gunnels with some really amazing treasure! The one really special thing that was in Tut’s tomb though was his mummified body and sarcofagace. There it is for all to see under glass just a couple of feet away in the same place that it has lain for the past 3000 years. It was such a gift to be able to see him right there in his tomb and I was glad that I had purchased the extra ticket to visit KV62. The other additional ticket we purchased was for KV9, the tomb of Ramses VI, and that will always be a highlight of the trip for me. KV9 is in unbelievable condition and the overall size of the space is beyond imagination. The tunnel from the surface is about 10’ wide and about 12’ high. Each “section” (and I don’t know why I call them sections….but that just seems the right word to use) is maybe 20 or 30 feet long and always sloping down and then there is a steeper section that goes deeper into the earth and then there is another long sloping section and then another that is steeper and then another that is long and sloping and then another steeper one and then…..I won’t go on but just say that KV9 was so much like the Sistine Chapel….the deeper you got into it….the stronger the pull to continue the journey. Every inch of KV9 was carved relief work on the walls and ceiling, there were decorative columns and little cut outs into the walls, like shelves, along the entire journey. As I felt myself being drawn deeper and deeper into the tomb I felt emotional….how is it possible that something this beautiful could be buried so deep beneath the surface and how is it possible that this has lasted so many thousands of years and still looks so good? I wonder how many nameless people must have died building this masterpiece, how long it must have taken them, and how many more tombs are still buried beneath the surface of the modern world.

Emerging from the tombs in the Valley of the Kings was shocking! The sun was so bright on the stark landscape that consists of light grey (almost white) rock/gravel that is everywhere. There is not a tree or a plant anywhere….just rocks and dust and people…..so many people! It feels wrong in a way that all of these people should be running around on top of the mazes of tunnels that lead to tombs beneath the ground. Sunglasses are an essential here and we can only imagine how hot it must be during the summer. Here we are in January, the middle of winter, and we’re uncomfortably warm.

An important tidbit of information that you may find interesting is that 25% of all the world’s ancient monuments are located right here in Luxor! Even the statistics here are AMAZING!!!

From Valley of the Kings…we were off to Karnak Temple (Lynda’s favourite) where we were greeted by a row of miniature sphinx’s lining both sides of the walk. For any of you who have been to the Luxor in Vegas…..you’ll have seen the replica of this walk as we were standing at the original site of what they copied to create the illusion of this phenomenal place in Vegas. This temple site is impressive in size alone and as we wandered through it from room to room learning about the meaning of the relief stories that were written all over the walls there was a sense of silence among the noise of the crowds as everyone was conflicted with the same emotions…..a combination of awe, wonder, respect, and curiosity. The temple consists of a series of rooms and passageways and there are an astounding 134 massive columns still standing today. Each column is probably 10-12 feet in diameter and stands at least 30 feet high. We felt like ants walking among them…..the power each of them possessed through sheer size and number alone was impressive but when that was coupled with the fact that they’ve ruled that land for 5,000 years……it was overwhelming and we were all awestruck. Hoda showed us the wall that held the first peace treaty ever in history….it was between Ramses II and the King of another land. Ramses had not been entirely successful in conquering the King so the peace treaty spells out the agreement they came to and the fact that Ramses would take the Kings daughter to be one of his many wives to seal the deal. The relief work (in addition to this peace treaty) at Karnak was evident everywhere and Hoda explained about stories of war, of festivals, of death and of the afterlife. It was as though the characters on the walls came to life to whisper their stories to us as we passed through this ancient wonder.

From Karnak we were back across the Nile again (BTW…the Nile is 1500 miles long and if filled with boats of all sizes) to check into our hotel, the St George’s – a former palace. We had only 15 minutes to drop our bags in our rooms before we were off again. There was enough time though to be reminded that we were in a Muslim country as the call to prayer was on again and this time we could hear it coming from multiple mosques simultaneously……their voices blending together in their individual calls.

Within minutes we were back on the bus and headed to Luxor Temple, another ancient site, that was equally impressive but that we’d be able to see by night under the lights which added an even more magical dimension to the already phenomenal experience. Here the columns were narrower and curved ever so slightly to give the illusion of the shape of a papyrus and to give the impression of something that was both a work of art and a symbol of the belief that the papyrus was a holy plant. The lights also magnified the relief work that covered the walls here as well so there was another opportunity to hear the whispered stories of 5,000 years ago.
After a late night dinner…we fell into our beds in our palatial room overlooking the Nile with lights from the Valley of the Tombs glowing in the distance across the river.

Our 4:30 wake up call, a breakfast box to go, and a cup of Nescafe or tea (yes…they only have instant coffee here) got us to the airport in time to catch our early morning flight to Cairo for the continuation of our Egyptian adventures. It’s interesting to note that we only saw Egyptian Air planes at the international airport….whether this is because we only saw their hangar or because those are the only planes that fly here…..is a question we don’t know the answer to. The Cairo airport is under major construction though so perhaps other flights are there but just not visible to us from our small vantage point.

Cairo is a huge city with a population of 20 million people and plenty of smog! It is the largest city in Africa, known as “the city that never sleeps” and with that comes the insanity you might expect. Traffic is at a standstill much of the time and vehicles of all sizes communicate with one another through their horns and whistles so there is a constant background noise that is unfamiliar to visitors from a place like Summerland. It’s a good thing that they have this method of communication as the lanes that are marked on the road aren’t really used at all…..where there are 4 marked lanes….the vehicles find 6 to use! There is huge disparity in the homes we pass by along our journey….some are veritable palaces and others are barely shacks. There appears to be lots of poverty and garbage fills the ditches that line the roadways. The people are clean and busy with their daily lives as we pass by them on our way to experience the pyramids across the Nile to the West bank and Giza. Driving through Cairo left us with the feeling that we truly were in Egypt….everyone was obviously local and the only visitors to the country were on the bus with us. Before crossing the river, we stopped at the Egyptian Museum where we joined the throngs of visitors to explore this building that is filled to the rafters with archives and treasures from the ancients. A highlight for everyone was the rooms that house King Tut’s treasures…..to think that all of this could have been packed into that tiny burial chamber/tomb with him…..is almost beyond belief. Solid gold masks, locks of his grandmothers hair, shoes, boxes, jewellery, knives, hundreds of statues, seeds (that when planted in modern times actually grew!), buttons and beads, a floral arrangement (that until the tomb was opened had retained all of its leaves and petals but that now is beginning to deteriorate a little since our interference with it), and more artifacts that he might have been able to use in his afterlife. King Tut didn’t rule long (only 10 years) and he really didn’t impact the history in any significant way so it is interesting that his treasures were so rich and that as a result he is probably the best known of all the pharaohs the world over.

From the Museum we were back en route to Giza and the pyramids. It was a surprise to find them right in the city……I don’t know what we expected but maybe that we’d have to cross the desert (the Sahara borders the location of the pyramids) to get to them but no…..we could see them in the distance while we were still driving through the city. In fact the hotel where we would have lunch later in the day was very near the pyramids and boasted some of the best views right from their rooms.
There were 3 stops at the site of the pyramids….the first was the main stop where we not only had the opportunity to wander the (very uneven) grounds around the base of these massive and ancient wonders but also were able to climb atop a camel for a short ride down a small hill, a photo opportunity, and the ride back up. Both Lynda and I participated in this ‘extra’ and you can rest assured that getting on and off a camel is not an easy task. Well…..the getting on and off isn’t really all that difficult….it is more when the camel stands up or lays down for you to get on and off that is the tough bit!! It’s a matter of leaning in the right direction and holding on tight!!! No one fell off though so it was another great addition to our amazing Egyptian adventure. We decided to forgo the descent into the pyramids as there is nothing to see there and it would take time away from the short time we had to wonder at the majestic sight that was above the ground.

Still smelling a little like a camel and with some camel poo stuck to our shoes….we were off to the next location…..the Sphinx. Here there was another great photo opportunity with this recognizable beast in front of the pyramids in the background. This location, like all the others, was crawling with Tourism Police, and some rather aggressive vendors.

All in all……the Ultimate Egypt tour was worth every penny and will leave a lasting impression on both of us. The 3 hour bus ride back to Alexandria gave us time to reflect on all that we had seen and felt over the two day trip. The highway took us through farmland (crops include grapes, cotton, and rice) and some interesting looking rather large bullet shaped structures. Hoda explained that they were pigeon houses! Egyptians love pigeons….for pets, for carrying messages, and for food…..yes…..they manage to find enough meat on those little birds! In fact….we’re pretty sure now that pigeon might have been one of the dishes at our lunch buffet in Luxor. It was called duck but it was the smallest boniest duck ever. Lynda had some and said it was good but different.

We made it back to the bus a few minutes after our scheduled departure time! Several busses had been delayed with the traffic coming out of Cairo and ours was one of them. This is one of those occasions that you’re really glad you’re on a tour that has been booked though the cruise line as they’ll hold the ship’s departure for your return. The drive back through the traffic had been an adventure in itself…at one point we thought our driver was going to get into a fight with a big green tanker that was beside us and who wouldn’t let us into the flow of traffic and past him. Aggression is a critical element to success in driving here! I’m really glad I didn’t have to do it!!

Boat is now underway to Malta, our final stop, and we’re going to enjoy this day at sea where we’ll have an opportunity to rest up from all we did in Egypt. I’m really thankful to have this time to get some of my notes from Egypt into the blog as I don’t want to forget any of it.....till next time,

L & L