tonight is my final night in egypt. i can’t believe 3 weeks went by so fast. i also can’t believe everything i was able to do.
today was my final day and instead of laying about M and i got up early and headed out to the red sea. actually we headed to the gulf of suez which connects to the red sea – but i digress. the drive was an interesting look at the topography of egypt. it is easy to think desert=sand=same, but actually there was a fair amount of diversity.
don’t get me wrong – there was still sand on the right side and sand on the left side, but the color varied from blond to not quite ocher. and we moved from eroded mounds to impressive mountains which eventually lapped up against blue green crystal waters.
even with all the trash of egypt blown into it – the suez canal water looks like something you want to lounge beside, swim in, be thankful for. but a bit breezy and the water a mite cold, i put my toes in, swished my fingers through it and got back in the car satisfied that i had both seen and touched.
M doesn’t believe in retracing his steps so from ain sukhana (which boasts a chili’s AND a carinos to my dismay!) we drove south to za’farna (lined with the shells of potential resorts by the dozens) and turned inland.
this proved less fruitful than M had hoped. a military road with periodic outposts scattered – the most interesting things we passed were an old monastery and what could only be a leaking pipe from the nile transporting fresh water to the budding resorts. we noticed this because of the conspicuous patches of shrubs and greenery at intervals along a lined route.
a little north of beni suef we headed north for cairo with a distant view of yesterday’s pyramid and the bent one in the distance as we approached.
after 15 years my dream trip is coming to a close…i’m looking for a new dream…any suggestions?
despite a lousy night's sleep (which should be explained in here at some point) i am going to try to jot down some thoughts about the last few days. they have been busy to say the least.
tuesday the 9th was mostly a day of rest. still sore from climbing into the pyramid and from horseback riding, i was moving a little slow and M had some work to do (bless his heart he's been amazing).
when he returned to the house we decided to go out for a drive…the day was still clear ( a real rarity here apparently). we headed for a bluff that we pass going pretty much everywhere. a few churches but against its edge and building stand, unseen, behind them. M hadn't explored up there so we headed in that direction with only a compass and a landmark to guide us. foiled by a wall and guards we drove around the rather posh area – watching kids screaming with glee at the decorated horses parading back and forth up the street.
i spied a side street and we meandered our way in that direction…kind of a view…a little further…maybe…until we spotted a clearing ahead and a view past the giza pyramids with sakkara and dashur off in the distance. it was amazing. the city of the dead sprawled out before us and the river and the skyline accessorized the city. it was stunning.
from there we drove back to maadi, leaving the city behind in almost an instant…we drove into a canyon. banked up against the city, it was a river bed that used to feed the nile and has paleolithic village remains. we drove the 10 or so kilometers and at one point stopped to climb and grab a view from up high. stunning. of course trash was strewn all about – probably caught in the desert winds and blown in from the city. garbage is something that abounds here.
wednesday we departed at 7am headed for a couple of desert destinations. the first was a pharonic period temple – Qasr al-Sagha -the golden fortress/temple. it used to be on the oasis shore (which has receded on a couple of occasions now) and doesn't have much left to show except the actual stones and some empty spaces presumed to be enclaves for the different gods.
from there we continued through the desert and located Dimeh al-Siba (avenue of the lions), the ruins of a greco roman village that was once on the shore of the same oasis (since receded further). the area is strewn with pottery remains, part of two temples and what are presumed to be random buildings and a road – for which the area is named (ave. of the lions). no lions remain.
after roaming around there for a while we cut through the desert in a different direction butting up against the fayoum oasis. green jumped from the desert as if ambushing it. no gradual assertion of its boldness…it was confident. we drove through the outskirts of this agricultural area, marveling at how women could do farm work with their entire faces covered and floor length galibaya, as we met the tar road.
the agricultural area continued. the oasis evident before i ever saw the fayoum oasis water. and once it emerged – to my right – i was also made aware that it is not the source of the farms because the high dam has cut off the niles flooding effects that spilled into the oasis and now the salinity is too high for most fish or almost any life. instead farmers use canals and irrigate with nile water.
following the road we entered wadi al-hitan, a unesco world heritage site. it is better known as valley of the whales because the whole area used to be an expanded part of the mediterranean sea and was underwater. and embedded in the rock and sand are the skeletons and fossils of whales (back when they had hind legs still) and mangroves…among other things.
after wandering around the area for a while M and i set up camp. by sun down we had the place to ourselves (with the exception of the workers who had housing further out). settled in for the night we were amazed by the light of the almost full moon…it lit up the box canyon we nestled so brightly you could almost read by it. the stars had trouble competing with it but we sat out in the cold air, watching the fire burn – and at several points – a desert fox roaming closer and closer to us (around 10 feet) we presume searching for food.
after a freezing night in the tent we woke to a leisurely start to the day, took a different route out of the park through what i expected the desert to look like (more sand dunes and wind blown designs) to where i fell asleep.
i awoke in time to see what appeared to be a pyramid or something in the distance and asked M what it was. he hazarded a guess "mud core pyramid" but steered the car in that direction. we discovered it was a step pyramid dating earlier than sakkara and in amazing condition with a lot of the original facing still on it. after climbing down into it – weary of the "staples" holding the crumbling rock in place – we were amazed at the success of this pyramid more than its failure (the top collapsed -presumably from too steep a top, the thing that that bent pyramid's builders corrected at the end).
we wiggled our way into the mastaba as well – literally – on our bellies for part, climbing down rickety ladders and across questionable planks. but it was worth it – inside we found an open sarcophagus.
homeward bound after all that excitement. tomorrow is my last real day here…i can't believe it is almost over.
the last few days have been packed…but i'm exhausted. just know that it involves a paleolithic village, whales, the first pyramids, greco roman ruins, and a fox…tomorrow i'm off to the red sea and saturday i leave (egyptian time) and saturday i return (american time). see you soon – with photos!
by plane, car, rail, boat, and carriage i have traversed the egyptian countryside. today i added horse.
M is a fan of doing things that other people don't do – part of the reason we get along so well – so when i told him i was coming and wanted off the beaten track egypt he started researching. don't get me wrong, there are the musts…giza pyramids and nile cruise…that anyone who comes here MUST do or feel cheated. but there is a world beyond tourist buses/boats racing each other up and down paved roads and undulating water.
yesterday's trip to the step pyramid (zoser complex) in saqqara (depending on how you want to spell it) was us beginning to venture off tourists usuals. we saw a few tour buses but nothing like giza no crowds like luxor inducing egyptians to sell any incarnation of made-in-china crap a tourist might look twice at.
today we saddled horses and headed back in that general direction to abu sir. luckily the horse lady – maryanne -has local knowledge and got us through the gates and into the desert where we trotted along gazing into the hazy distance to squint at the outlines of the step pyramid and far off in the gritty distance – giza.
after circling us around the crumbling pyramid – eyeing a fox wandering in the shadow – we ended up at a discarded sarcophagus. empty of course. no lid to be found. but in an interesting position for pictures.
from there we trotted back through the farming village (it is remarkable how in one moment you are in the desert with no green growing and the next nestled in the lushness of the nile). we trotted back – bum bumping against my saddle – trotting between kids with cap guns and women in colorful scarves holding babies bundled against the "cold" (it was like 75 or 80 degrees).
after disembarking we headed on to dashur for the bent and red pyramids. now you are talking even fewer tourists.
the bent pyramid -chronologically speaking – is after the step and before the red. i'll post pictures eventually but you can tell the bent because it is imperfect. the angle was to severe and they had to bring it in at the top to hold the weight. it is its imperfection that makes it interesting to look at. that and the vast amounts of limestone covering (like the tip of khafre in giza) are added appeal.
the red pyramid…still the third tallest despite being the first complete accurate all stone pyramid…is beautiful against the desert. even more so against the sky, clouds floating almost out of place in the egyptian sky. the usual cairo haze was clearing.
after gazing up we began the trek…a fairly steep climb to a hole in the middle which leads to a steep decline through darkness…think reverse womb travels…into one of the most interesting pyramid interiors. there you can see the stepped sides coming together in an angular arch.
the smell of ammonia was acrid in the airless space…but even that was well worth the tiring climb.
between that climb and the horseback riding…tomorrow should be an interesting time for my body to betray me.
the final pleasure of today was driving down a local canal road for a few kilometers until we happened upon a spot maryanne told us about. a marshy lake with the bent and red pyramids behind it. "it looks like something out of a children's bible" she said, and she wasn't wrong.
from there – the sky exceptionally clear – we headed back to cairo and were surprised to see the giza pyramids emerge to our left. usually the cairo grit prevents a clear view but the sky so blue on one side left me wanting a photo. unable to find a place we got on the freeway and drove until it ends (they found antiquities during the building and had to stop) and there, found a beautiful spot to see all three pyramids in a clear blue sky in front of shamrock green farmland. it would be an every day sight if it weren't for the pollution.
a beautiful close to an off the beaten track kind of day.
leaning against the side of the metro as we bumped along the track was not a new sensation. even the body in close proximity wasn't new. i haven't ridden in the harem, all female, car yet as i've been riding with M so i just squeeze in with the other men and women into some version of a person-sized space.
but this evening the car wasn't that full. and so the body resting next to me, his arm actually touching mine, felt a little odd. it was only a little odd because it took me a few stops to notice.
once i noticed i moved over, giving him the space and holding on to the rail. he moved over and grabbed the same rail – letting his hand rest slightly against mine. i moved my hand and again his fell next to mine.
this time i moved to the center of the car and stood. he stared.
uncomfortable, i moved to the other side. he continued to stare. and even as he moved to the door to exit, his hands full with rugs, he continued to stare.
and while i've been hissed at in america, ogled in tanzania, and felt-up in south africa…obviously much more tangible lewdness…this one felt no less palpable…no less real for its physical restraint.
today's adventure was the khan el khalili. it is a vast 600 year old market. the tourist crap has misplaced most of the local stuff (one could argue a different kind of crap) so that it extends a pretty long distance in multiple directions. M and i grabbed the metro and rode out to real cairo (maadi where he lives is rich egyptians and ex-pats) and followed the throng of people in the direction of stands on top of stands across from the looming bus station.
i thought we had entered the khan. i was wrong.
more walking, winding down streets with stuff and more stuff and we finally arrived at a narrow alley so swelled with people and boxes and pants and galibayas and tea and and and…you get the picture…that it looked a little like someone drinking from a fire hose – people going down, others erupting from the opening of the alley.
initially i ignored the "ssssss" sound i heard coming from various directions. long years of famu men hissing at me has made me immune but i finally figured out that is the sound for get the bleep out of the way or get hit with something large and potentially debilitating.
so much to look at, and everyone vying for attention, "hello" "america" "obama" "sister" and yes…on multiple occasions "brown sugar". i have no words so i'll just let that hang out there.
one of the more amazing things i saw, however, was a woman in full black galibaya, head covered, face veiled, breast feeding her child. it took me a moment to figure out what she was doing but i was struck…if a people as modest as the egyptians can be comfortable enough to breastfeed in a place as crowded as the khan…can american really use modesty as a reason to not?
plunging deeper into the maze of tables and shops, mosques and city gates we eventually emerged on the tourist side of things. more lekgowa's (foreigners) and cheap "egyptian" stuff made in china. someone attempted to sell me turkish coffee- why i would search out turkish coffee in egypt still escapes me, and another tried to feed me a sense of belonging by asking me -in english – if i was egyptian!
throng of people aside the old crowded streets hint at a time long past and yet still right here and now. the mosques with their quiet beauty…metal-worked windows, arabic carved into stone, minarets rising above the noise and madness in the streets…the residences with intricate latticework on their windows…metal workers creating copper lamps…butchers carving up slabs of meat that were only moments ago sheep living in the alley next door.
this is an interesting place.
the nile, in her simplicity, is mild mannered. but it is in context…of how long…at points- how deep…how sustaining she is…that boggles.
and it was with many eyes that i absorbed the nile on the five day cruise.
from the top of the high dam…looking south side where the water has collected making lake nasser and north where the nile has been tamed into submission to the hydroelectric whims of people…
from the cushioned bench of a fulucca – sail billowing against blazing blue sky – waves splashing cool water on my face as birds soar to landing on the glistening surface…
high above the shores where children wave while acrid smoke trails at a languishing pace…
the face of the nile is unchanging but not my view.
she is not coy. her treasures line her shores easily. riding the motor boat up to luxor, the temple sits within easy sight of the nile, nestled between busy streets and claustrophobic hotels all leaning in for a better view. old meets new in a casual acquaintance…luxor a nosy neighbor to progress.
and in karnack – sprawling out for acres…gate after gate after stone gate opening up into hall after hall. ramses II showing his might and before and after him others, erasing their predecessors. thitmosis III erasing hapshetsut as far as he dared – leaving her obelisk in tact but walling it in instead for fear of divine retribution.
and of course hapshesut’s temple…grand before III’s defacing of her statues in the wake of her death. but even in death she was confident…arranging her burial in the valley of the kings for her final respite.
and the nile unveils them all…some closer than others…but they all drink from her water, her wealth, her fertile shores…
until now. the dam controlling her tempest mood swings. keeping flooded waters at bay. only to reveal the balance of life now unbalanced…that without her mighty anger there is no fertile soil. and where once crops grew easy, now they require chemical might. control comes at a price.
but drifting down the nile…papyrus on the shore…women, clad in black galibaya’s and hair wrapped tightly from view, washing clothes in the nile…mules grazing…sugar cane emerging from terraced plots…mosque’s green minarets lighting the horizon…call to prayers floating on the breeze…is as old as time or as new as now.
after the mile walk to the metro station in the cool morning, i was excited to see exactly what the metro would look like. transportation in various countries can be colorful. as efficient as south african khumbies are, they are a haphazard bunch of minivans typically held together with floss and a prayer.
that said, the metro here is a pretty standard train. packed beyond capacity at some points but a train none the less. i toyed with the idea of riding in the harem car but after seeing women enter the general population cars i joined them – martin in tow.
given that the cities in egypt are along the nile the metro runs accordingly. and so we left el maadi and arrived at the sadat station. men selling newspapers, and tea on the side of the road blended with cars ignoring traffic rules. cairo is as city as it gets.
after dodging traffic we arrived in line to pass through the first of two sets of metal detectors. on to buy tickets at roughly $12 and then to find our guide. touts offered their services widely but we had prearranged a guide who is actually an egyptologist and not simply someone who speaks english.
wahid was amazing…given that the egyptian museum has enough stuff in it to make even the most focused person feel like she has ADD. i’m not that focused and sometimes i found myself wandering in the opposite direction of wahid and interrupting to ask…why or how or when?
patient man and knowledgeable beyond my capacity to understand, he answered questions. and when there was no answer he offered that up as well and theories for the absence of information.
this trip stems from an unrealized dream of my high school days, when i was supposed to make this trip the summer before senior year. the trip was cancelled at the last minute and i’ve been thinking about it ever since. but in the wake of the cancellation i was mildly obsessed with egypt for a while. i read up on her mythology and history. today reminded me how much i love egypt’s women.
when i was subbing a few years back i remember doing a lesson on queen hatshepsut – the queen who would be king. i was all the more excited about her a few days later when one of my students pointed me out in the crowded hallway and told his mother, “that’s miss ashley, she taught us about queen hatshepsut.” who knows why he was excited about her…but i was excited to share such a kick a$$ woman.
in this pharaoh you have a woman willing and able to take over egypt. when her husband died, instead of allowing the throne to be passed to the young son, she instead ruled both as queen and king. and she ruled well. 22 years until she finally died of cancer…but in all that time she was not a woman to be trifled with. on down the line…king tut’s grandmother (who ruled for her husband – pretending to be him and doing so well that in the largest statue in the museum she is seen with both the upper and lower crowns of egypt – to his solitary one- and her hand extended to his back to support him – a male posture). these women took no mess.
lets just say i can’t begin to share what is housed in that museum. martin, the history buff, has been multiple times and still responded as if it were his first time…because in a lot of ways it always is. apparently, if you looked at every object for 15 seconds it would take you months to see everything…that is how much is there.
wrapping up the day, we had dinner delivered from a local spot. molokeyha with chicken…a dish that is a kind of green soup the consistency of okra with a red tomato based soup to accompany them both over rice. kobeba – known to me better as kibbie. baba ghannoug. and aubergine with garlic, tomato and vinegar. it was all pretty amazing and martin – who had never had any of it before – said he’d be happy to let me order again…you know i’m loving that.
around about 3 in the morning i’m off on my next adventure…flying to luxor to start my nile cruise that will end at aswan. i’m sure i’ll have things to report on that upon my return.
stolid, behind the bustling streets and haphazard building of giza, the pyramids appeared through the gray haze of big city smog. they caught me by surprise. i think i expected more preparation, sand unfolding, crumbling rock, and then the grandeur.
but the grandeur appeared from the standard city scene. and once we drove through the gate and into the parking lot everything else was dwarfed by the sheer immensity of the pyramids. beyond ancient…beyond magnificent…
i don't have words yet…but i'm working on it.
since my junior year of high school i have been obsessed with egypt. my history teacher had planned a two week trip for june that i signed up for in september. by may there had been a bombing in a tourist area and the trip was called off.
the group went to greece and i stayed home and lamented my lost opportunity.
right now i’m sitting in the cairo suburb of ma’adi on the cusp of realizing my dream.
my friend martin lives here and has offered himself, his home, and his knowlege to my trip and it looks to be amazing. i’m still bleery eyed from the long flight so i’ll be fighting the urge to nap for another 6 or 7 hours…but after that i’m sure to have interesting things to report.
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