Reflections on Egypt

Of the many superlatives used to describe Egypt, we have only our modest additions, surely found elsewhere in literatures across time and space: "awe-inspiring," "mysterious," and "the world's oldest civilization," spring to mind. There is more to Egypt than its ancient wonders but one cannot help but dive deep into 7000 years of human history along the Nile. The Pyramids, the Valley of the Kings, the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and all the rest of these incredible treasures are drawn to the soul like a magnet. To think that the ancient Romans were enthralled with Egypt - to consider that by the time Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and put an end to the rule of Egyptian pharoahs, Rome was still a backwater city.

Another World

We've now had the chance to admire what remains of ancient Egypt and step back in time to a world that is still a mystery to us all. In fact, some still cannot accept that human beings who lived between 4000 and 7000 years ago were capable of such incredible creations. They say they must have been guided by creatures from space or somehow just got lucky. With such precision and through the art of storytelling, the Egyptians have told narratives on the walls of these great structures that demonstrate their vast knowledge of everything from medicine to mythology. They fought great empires -- from the Romans to the Greeks, the Turks to the British and managed to mezmorize them all through their power of artistry and intellect.

Our photos could not possibly capture these stories and simply dwarf not only these magnificent structures but the accompanied mystery of their epic stories. Moreover, many of the best sites prohibit photography. We also found that many of the depictions of gods and pharaohs on these ancient temples were desecrated hundreds of years ago by the Coptic Christians, largely destroying the integrity of these great images. But in many ways, these barriers to photography maintain the mystique of these ancient sites and require one to engage the imagination more actively.

Today, Egypt's modern society stands among the ruins of its ancestors as a vastly different country than what existed here thousands of years ago. Modern Egyptian culture is a predominantly moderate, Muslim society that struggles with many of the same issues as other developing countries. Egypt's struggling economy relies mostly on tourism for its primary source of revenue. Freedoms are limited by a lack of resources, societal pressures, and pennies-to-the-dollar wages. Some still live on the equivalent of 50 cents a day, which cannot possibly feed and clothe a family sufficiently, forcing many to resort to corruption and baksheesh (widespread tipping for practically everything) as ways to supplement income. And yet beneath these problems lies a people with an extraordinary ability to find personal satisfaction in life. Islam acts as a powerful source of strength for people...a way to find inner peace, a guide for personal growth, and a means for maintaining a cohesive society. "Bin Laden," said one man, "is not a Muslim."

Egyptian people greet you with a bold handshake and direct eye contact followed by a smile and a joke that is sure to give you a good belly laugh. Humor does not always translate across cultures but we cannot tell you how many times a simple exchange has ended with a clever joke. Egyptians can't seem to let you go until they get you to laugh and we enjoyed every minute of it. Americans are well-liked in Egypt, even if the individual may not always like our country's politics. Our response has been, "Well, do you like your government?" Which seems to create a shared understanding. Egyptian people very intelligently seem to make the distinction between people and politics and are accepting of different views. We enjoyed our time in this country: a nation with two souls -- both old and new.

Cairo and the Pyramids

Cairo felt neither as busy nor as polluted as some of the other cities we have seen. Cairo is now a city of 26 million people with areas of the city boasting the highest population density in the world, though most of the city is spread out geographically over the upper delta.

Before leaving on a tour to Upper Egypt, we visited the Step Pyramid is Saqqara, the oldest pyramid dating back 7000 years and the 4000-year old Pyramids of Giza and Sphinx. When standing amidst these great structures, one has to be reminded of this vast timeline. It is difficult to put the mind around the reality that these great structures were built by the Egyptians beginning in 5000 B.C. - it's what makes these great relics so incredible.

Upper Egypt: The Great Pharaohs

We began our journey to Upper Egypt on an overnight train to Aswan, arriving in the morning. We were brought promptly to our boat - a small cruise ship in an ecology of such boats stacked and drawn along the East Bank of the Nile. Before we could settle in, we were whisked off to an awaiting felucca (small Egyptian sailboat) for stops along two islands: one a botanical garden and one encompassing a relocated Nubian village. The village had been moved after the Aswan High Dam flooded almost all of the homelands of the Nubians with the creation of Lake Nasser in 1971. We visited the Isis Temple at Philae, a Greek-built temple found on the tiny island of Agilkia which was also relocated and reconstructed with exact precision on higher ground.

We turned in early that day to prepare for a 3am departure to Abu Simbel, Egypt's southernmost town located just 40km north of the Sudanese border. That early morning, a caravan of buses lined up just outside of Aswan, waiting to be escorted by a police convoy for more that five hours to our destination and back. Our driver said, "it's for your protection." We weren't sure if this should make us feel reassured of our safety or afraid of what lies along this largely deserted stretch of land. Nevertheless, we jumped in our minivan and began heading south through the desert. The minivan tore down the two-lane highway like bandits fleeing the scene of a robbery. We weren't sure if we should be more afraid of the remote chance of a lone gunmen or our driver barreling down the dusty road.

We arrived at Abu Simbel to witness the Great Temple of Ramses II perched high above the shores of Lake Nasser. Four colossal structures carved from solid rock of the Pharoah Ramses II stare out across the vast desert with such grand presence, anyone approaching this land would not doubt its ruler, which was his intention. It's as if the desert sand is still haunted by the powerful spirit of the Pharaoh. His wife, Queen Nefertari, resides in memory in her own less-daunting but still impressive temple close by. Unlike many diminutive statues of wives and children, hers is the same height as Ramses II, for reasons we can only speculate.

Luxor and the Valley of the Kings

Visiting Luxor and seeing the Valley of the Kings & Queens is to experience time travel. It is almost too difficult to describe walking through the dusty valley surrounded by high mountains and stumbling upon the entrances to the tombs of King Tutankhamen, Queen Nefertari, and all of their predecessors. We were even lucky enough to see the archaeologists latest tomb discovery, directly across from King Tut's tomb. Inside each tomb, the walls are covered with the stories etched in brilliant relief of the ancient pharaohs and their journey into the afterlife. The mysteries of these pictoral narratives describe an ancient civilization that makes any traveler yearn to step into their world, if only to see what life was like for just a moment.

But the wall carvings do not remain untouched by time. Graffiti throughout the halls are a reminder of the countless people who have passed through and left their mark, from the many centuries old version of hate-graffiti of the Coptic Christians, who gouged out the faces and limbs of the gods (literally, to "deface") to demonstrate the superiority of their one God, to the 19th Century French explorers who added their names and year of visit below the heiroglyphic names of the great pharaohs, as if to say, "I, too, once walked this land."

By this time, we had been traveling with some new friends we met in Aswan, who seemed to be following the same itinerary. Johannes (from Austria) and Lijana (from Lithuania) became wonderful travel companions for most of our trip in Egypt. It is ironic that to travel together with friends for such a journey can be almost impossible to plan, and yet we managed to see each other almost every day, meet for dinner and sheesha, and take in the sights. It was a welcome break from spending 24/7 with each other, actually getting some good photos that include both of us in the frame, and, most of all, enjoying the conversations of fellow travellers and new friends. Sharing frustrations, observations, viewpoints and strategies with other couples is one of the delights of this type of adventure.

Sinai and the Red Sea

We set off from Cairo on a long and sandswept road leading us through the Sinai desert. We took our seats in the back of the bus, surrounded by a few tourists and Egyptian plain-clothed men, one with a pistol tucked into his pants. We're fairly sure he was security officer as he seemed to be quite familiar to the local authorities at the checkpoints. The long bus ride through the Sinai desert took all night, and in the morning we arrived in the small town of Dahab and checked into our hotel on the shores of the Red Sea.

The Red Sea conceals beneath its surface one of the wonders of the undersea world. The reefs and coral shelves that stretch along the coast offer some of the best diving and snorkeling anywhere. Having recently been certified in Phuket, Thailand, Michael wanted to check it out. Two dives later he reported traversing a huge reef, met with Napoleon and coronet fish, and encroached upon an eel garden of hundreds of long narrow eels that poke out of the sand and wave in the warm currents. He and two other divers swam through an underwater canyon, followed schools of fish, and were escorted along the reef to some great sights by a large black fish that Michael dubbed a "baksheesh" fish. On the beach, enclaves of New Russians invaded large swathes of the shore, and to hire a windsurf requires venturing into this land and being presented with a price list in Russian. The climate on the Red Sea is almost perfect: sunny but not hot, populated but not crowded, with water brisk but not cold. One can actually read on the beach in peace.

We spent another day in Dahab, wandering the boardwalk and talking with the friendly locals. We met Mikhael, a Coptic Christian and purveyor of the best falafel stand in town, who told us that nobody holds the ancient graffiti against the Coptic Christians and that relations among various faiths and sects in Egypt is "no problem."

That night, we left at 11 o'clock for our hike up Mt. Sinai. We arrived at the base of the mountain at 1am and began the strenuous hike up the dark slopes with just a flashlight in hand. The hike up the mountain lasted three exhausting hours. We found a spot on the side of the mountain, huddled for warmth, and waited for the sunrise. Our climb down was no less difficult as we return down the other side of the mountain and down 3,000 rocky steps laid by a monk as a form of penance. At the bottom we visited St. Catherine's Monastery, which houses a reputed descendent of the burning bush.

Back in Cairo after a minibus drive through the dusty Sinai desert, we caught up on Internet and tea at our favorite hostel, the Meramees Hotel, where we interviewed Islam (Luma) Sultan, belly-dance instructor. As night came and we headed for the airport for our flight to Jordan, we reflected on how much we enjoyed what we saw of Egypt. The sense of humor of the Egyptian people, renouned throughout the Arab world, created a wonderful counterpoint to the mysterious Egypt of the past.