Egypt - A journey into the past

With just one more day left until New Year's Eve, I started getting nostalgic. My first New Year's Eve in a foreign country was in 2014 - beginning of 2015. My choice for New Year's Eve was Egypt. I always loved the stories about Egypt with its mysterious pyramids and temples and their controversial history.

My journey began in Cairo where we stayed only for one night in the beginning, to come back there again at the end of the journey. The first day, early morning we began traversing the big country to head out to Aswan from where we would take a cruising ship on the Nile.

The road to Aswan was very long and tiring, almost 6 hours drive.

At one stop we made, I met this beautiful little girl, traditionally dressed, that had a baby lamb. She was very sweet and innocent and not afraid of foreigners.

When we finally arrived in Aswan, I was pretty exhausted, but still I gathered my strengths to explore the surroundings.

The world’s longest river, located in Egypt, the Nile flows 4,132 miles (6,650 kilometres) northward to the Mediterranean Sea. It was considered the source of life by the ancient Egyptians and has played a vital role in the country's history. The historian Waterson notes, "The Nile has played a vital part in the creation of Egypt, a process which started about five million years ago when the river began to flow northwards into Egypt" (7-8). Permanent settlements gradually rose along the banks of the river beginning c. 6000 BCE and this was the beginning of Egyptian civilization and culture which became the world's first recognizable nation state by c.3150 BCE. As the Nile River was seen as the source of all life, many of the most important myths of the Egyptians concern the Nile or make significant mention of it; among these is the story of Osiris, Isis, and Set and how order was established in the land.

From here we took a felucca and went to see the beautiful Botanical Gardens on the El Nabatat Island known also as Kitchener's Island, named after Lord Kitchener who owned it. Kitchener was gifted the island while he was General-Consul of Egypt between 29 September 1911 and June 1914. He was the onw who turned this island into an exotic paradise.

El Nabatat Island is one of two major islands on the Nile in vicinity of Aswan, the other one being Elephantine, which is larger and is located between El Nabatat Island and the city of Aswan (east bank).

It is a truly beautiful place. Kitchener brought here plants from the Far East, India and parts of Africa.

Its majestic trees are a stunning sight, particularly just before sunset when the light is softer and you can feel a cool breeze.

Definitely visit this place if you find your self in Aswan and have a quiet afternoon away from the noise of the city.

This was my day of 31st of December, 2014. It was a pretty good way of ending the year. And it was not all, in the evening we went on and visited the Temple of Philae.

This was the first Egyptian temple I saw, so it remained for me a unique experience. I was amazed by its grandeur, although in ruin.

The site for Temple of Philae is not the original one. The temple was moved from Elephantine Island to Agilika Island in an attempt to save it from flood. The Temple was dismantled and transferred, stone by stone, from the submerged Philea Island to the redesigned Egilica Island. Each and every stone had to be numbered, and then replaced, in the same position, in the new location. It was a massive, and very complicated, project taking over 9 years to be accomplished. This was achieved with the help of many nations and also UNESCO.

This was an ancient pilgrimage center for the cult of Isis and dazzled travelers with its power for centuries. This sacred site was venerated from the Pharaonic era up to the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine periods with each ruler adding their own stamp onto the stones here.

Being dedicated to Isis, the scenes on the wall depict the myth of Isis and Osiris and scenes from Horus childhood.

The eight-columned Vestibule is the first room of the inner temple area and was originally separated from the court by screens between the columns on the front. Look for the Coptic crosses and Greek inscription incised into the walls that show how the temple was transformed into a Christian place of worship during the early Byzantine age under the Coptic Bishop Theodore. Also, look above the door for the inscription commemorating the archaeological expedition sent to Philae in 1841 by Pope Gregory XVI.

I would really like to come back and explore some more the site.

The next days I continued the exploration of the Egyptian temples, starting with Esna, then Edfu and Luxor.

The town of Esna (Iunyt or Ta-senet to the ancient Egyptians and Latopolis to the Greeks) is roughly 50 km south of Luxor (ancient Thebes). It seems that the first temple (or shrine) in Esna was built during the reign of Thuthmosis III (during the New Kingdom), but the present temple dates from the Greco-Roman period, when the town of Esna became the capital of the third nome of Upper Egypt.

The temple of Esna is primarily dedicated to Khnum (a god of the Nile who moulded the "ka" on his potters wheel) but was also dedicated to a number of other deities, most notably Neith (the ancient goddess of war and weaving) and Heka ( the personification of magic) Satet (a goddess of the Nile) and Menhet (the lion goddess who was the wife of Khnum at Esna).

The temple was built almost nine metres below ground level and although the hypostyle hall was excavated by Marriett, the rest of the temple is still buried underneath the modern town. As a result the temple appears to sit in a large pit hollowed out from the town. Although some masonry blocks attesting to the construction during the reign of Thuthmosis III have been reused at the site, the oldest complete part of the temple is the back wall of the hypostyle hall which was built during the Ptolemaic period and features depictions of Ptolemy VI Philometer and Ptolemy VIII Euergetes. The rest of the excavated building was built by a series of Roman Emperors from Claudius (41-54 AD) Decius to Decius (249-251 AD).

Continuing the journey, the next stop was at Edfu to the temple dedicated to Horus. It is one of the best preserved shrines in Egypt, built in the Ptolemaic period between 237 and 57 BC. The inscriptions on its walls provide important information on language, myth and religion during the Greco-Roman period in ancient Egypt.

Edfu Temple consists of traditional elements of Egyptian Temples of the New Kingdom, together with a few Greek elements, such as the Mamisi, which is situated to the west of the main entrance of the Temple (Mamisi means "house of the divine birth"). It consists of an entrance, a court and chapel. The walls of the mamisi are decorated with scenes showing the story of the divine birth of Horus the child, in the presence of the Goddess Hathor, the God Khenoum and other deities who were concerned with pregnancy and birth.

The Temple has a Pylon that is considered the highest among surviving Temples in Egypt today. It is 37m high and is decorated with battle scenes, representing King Ptolemy VIII smiting his enemies before the God Horus.

Next there is an open courtyard that contains columns with floral capitals on three sides. This open court was open to the public and was known as the court of the offerings, being the place where people could give their offering to the statue of the God.

The Hypostyle Hall is rectangular and 12 columns support its roof. On both sides of the entrance to this hall stands a statue of Horus of Behdet, in the shape of a falcon. This hall is also known as the outer Hypostyle Hall.

The falcon-headed Horus was originally the sky god, whose eyes were the sun and moon. He was later assimilated into the popular myth of Isis and Osiris as the divine couple's child. Raised by Isis and Hathor after Osiris' murder by his brother Seth, Horus avenged his father's death in a great battle at Edfu. Seth was exiled and Horus took the throne, Osiris reigning through him from the underworld. Thus all pharoahs claimed to be the incarnation of Horus, the "living king."

The Sanctuary of Horus is the holiest part of the temple. The sanctuary centers on a black-granite shrine that was dedicated by Nectanebo II, making it the oldest relic in the temple. This once contained the gilded wooden cult image of Horus. Next to the shrine is an offering table and the ceremonial barque (barge) on which Horus was carried during festivals. Reliefs on the right (east) wall of the sanctuary show Philopator (Ptolemy IV) worshipping Horus, Hathor and his deified parents in the sanctuary.

The temple of Edfu is the largest temple dedicated to Horus and Hathor of Dendera. It was the center of several festivals sacred to Horus. Each year, Hathor traveled south from her temple at Dendera to visit Horus at Edfu, and this event marking their sacred marriage was the occasion of a great festival and pilgrimage.

The next day our stop was at the Valley of the Kings - the place where for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, rock cut tombs were excavated for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt).

You are not allowed to photograph inside the tombs. Almost all of the tombs seem to have been opened and robbed in antiquity, but they still give an idea of the opulence and power of the Pharaohs. The valley is known to contain 63 tombs and chambers (ranging in size from a simple pit, to a complex tomb with over 120 chambers).

Most remarkable place in the Valley of the Kings is the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.

Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BCE) was the first female ruler of ancient Egypt to reign as a male with the full authority of pharaoh. Her name means "Foremost of Noble Women" or "She is First Among Noble Women". She began her reign as regent to her stepson Thuthmose III (1458-1425 BCE) who would succeed her and, initially, ruled as a woman as depicted in statuary. In around the seventh year of her reign, however, she chose to be depicted as a male pharaoh in statuary and reliefs though still referring to herself as female in her inscriptions. She was the fifth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty during the period known as the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BCE) and regarded as one of the best.

Although she is sometimes cited as the first female ruler of Egypt, or the only one, there were women who reigned before her such as Merneith (c. 3000 BCE) in the Early DynasticPeriod (probably as regent) and Sobeknefru (c. 1807-1802 BCE) in the Middle Kingdom and Twosret (1191-1190 BCE) after her toward the end of the 19th Dynasty. Hatshepsut, though not the first or last, is undoubtedly the best known female ruler of ancient Egypt after Cleopatra VII (c. 69-30 BCE) and one of the most successful monarchs in Egyptian history.

The mortuary temple is dedicated to the sun deity Amun and is situated next to the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II, which served both as an inspiration, and later, a quarry. It is considered one of the "incomparable monuments of ancient Egypt."

Another interesting monument is the Colossi of Memnon. The twin statues depict Amenhotep III (fl. 14th century BC) in a seated position, his hands resting on his knees and his gaze facing eastwards towards the river. Two shorter figures are carved into the front throne alongside his legs: these are his wife Tiy and mother Mutemwiya. The side panels depict the Nile god Hapi.

The original function of the Colossi was to stand guard at the entrance to Amenhotep's memorial temple (or mortuary temple): a massive construct built during the pharaoh's lifetime, where he was worshiped as a god-on-earth both before and after his departure from this world. In its day, this temple complex was the largest and most opulent in Egypt. Memnon was a hero of the Trojan War, a King of Ethiopia who led his armies from Africa into Asia Minor to help defend the beleaguered city but was ultimately slain by Achilles. He was associated with the colossi because of the reported cry at dawn of the northern statue, which became known as the Colossus of Memnon.

Last stop for our cruise on the Nile was Luxor, where we have visited the Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple.

Unlike the other temples in Thebes, Luxor temple is not dedicated to a cult god or a deified version of the king in death. Instead Luxor temple is dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship; usually this was the place where many of the kings of Egypt were crowned in reality or conceptually.

Like other Egyptian structures a common technique used was symbolism, or illusionism. The two obelisks from this temple (the smaller one closer to the west is now at the Place de la Concorde in Paris) flanking the entrance were not the same height, but they created the illusion that they were. With the layout of the temple they appear to be of equal height, but using illusionism, it enhances the relative distances hence making them look the same size to the wall behind it.

The last Egyptian temple I saw was the temple of Karnak, known as Ipet-isu—or “most select of places”—by the ancient Egyptians. It is a city of temples built over 2,000 years and dedicated to the Theban triad of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. This derelict place is still capable of overshadowing many wonders of the modern world and in its day must have been awe-inspiring.

The most known ritual held at Karnak was when the Pharaoh and his priests entered the temple and ceremonies were performed to regenerate Amun, recreate the cosmos and transfer Amun’s power to Pharaoh. When he finally emerged from the temple sanctuary, the vast crowds cheered him and celebrated the guaranteed fertility of the earth and the expectation of abundant harvests. During the festival the people were given over 11000 loaves of bread and more than 385 jars of beer, and some were allowed into the temple to ask questions of the god. The priests spoke the answers through a concealed window high up in the wall, or from inside hollow statues.

This was how my encounter with the Egyptian temple ended, however not my Egypt journey. My next stop was at Hurghada, on the shore of the Red Sea.

After many days of walking and exploring ancient temples it finally came the time of relaxation. Although I didn't have quite a good weather for sun bathing, as that year was a very strangely cold year, in Jordania even snowed, I enjoyed the view and the fact that even if it wasn't quite a weather for sunbathing, it was pretty warm.

At the hotel we were staying, I even took some Nubian belly dancing lessons.

Then, a must do at the Red Sea is sailing and snorkeling. Red Sea Corals are truly amazing. And if cooling in the water is not your thing, you can just enjoy the breeze and the beautiful beach and watery scenery.

The relaxation days on the beach ended with a trip to the Sahara desert. In ancient times, the Egyptians called the desert the "red land", distinguishing it from the flood plain around the Nile River, called the "black land". These colours reflect the fact that the desert sands have a reddish hue and the land around the Nile turned black when the annual flood waters receded.

Nomadic tribes continue to roam these desert regions as they have done for centuries, stopping at oases to replenish their water supplies. I have to admit, I envied a bit the quietness of this life they chose and how it keeps them more close to nature.

Saying goodbye to the desert and as well to the Red Sea, we began our long journey back to Cairo. As if the cold night of desert would haunt us, when arriving in Cairo the temperature dropped to below 15 degrees celsius and we also experienced a very powerful sand storm exactly as we were visiting the pyramids. So this is me trying to keep cool inside the storm.

Still to this day, these gigantic architectural monuments remain a mystery with many facets.

And of course, the amazing Sphinx standing proudly, guarding the pyramids.

This is how Cairo looks when taken over by a sand storm:

In Cairo, some must do's are the Giza plateau with the pyramids and the Sphinx, the Museum of Egyptology with an amazing display of Egyptian artifacts, including a special section dedicated to Tutankhamun, and last but not least I recommend you visit the bazaar Khan Al-Khalili.

If you found your self a bit disapointed of the missing statues/decorations in the temples/tombs, the Museum of Egyptology will offer a very good insight of how these looked. You are not allwed to take photos inside, but you can photograph the statues placed outside, around the museum.

Bazaar Khan Al-Khalili was for me like a hidden treasure, from decorations, to jewelry, lighting, clothing, there is nothing you cannot find here. Just make sure your negotiating skills are well developed.

For me it is certain that from the architecture to the jewelry, and then to the decorations in their tombs and on the wall of their temples, the Egyptians truly had an eye for beauty.