Luxor, Day Two - Tombs and Temples

I'm full of history! The first day of our organized tours we were picked up by tall, handsome Mahmoud, our guide for the next two days. We loaded into a spacious, air conditioned minivan and headed for Medinat-Habu, Ramses II's memorial temple. So much is ruins, but areas have beautifully preserved colors and reliefs. Our guide talked about the villages we saw as we drove to the temple. In ancient times, only workers lived on the West Bank, isolated from the regular population to help protect the location of tombs.

The details of what I saw can be read in any guidebook, so I won't waste space. My impressions are of the timelessness of everything. Somehow, the ancient Egyptians managed to retain a continuity of artistic style and look for nearly 35oo years. Subtle differences are seen in statuary with more grace in the figures, more detail, space between the arms and body, columns that stand alone where hundreds of years before they had connecting walls to lend support. Columns are interesting to follow. Previously they were made of sheaves of palm trunks, so the first stone columns were carved to look like palm trunks bound together. Ancient Egyptians were uncomfortable with change, so things needed to progress slowly.

Then, to add to the confusion about pharaonic periods, a pharaoh will take a shine to a past ruler's monuments, statues and temples, and appropriate it, scratching out the previous guy's name and adding his own. This has been confusing for even the Egyptologists trying to date all these things.

Then, you have the Romans and the Christian Copts scratching out stuff they didn't agree with and in the case of the Romans, overlaying walls of relief work with their own paintings. For archaeologists, the question is then, what do you preserve, the stuff underneath, or the overlayed things which are also ancient and historic. Added to all this is the 19th century graffiti to contend with. It leaves a huge puzzle to assemble and work to understand.

I stood apart from our guide often during our tours, listening to other English speaking Egyptian guides presenting any number of theories as facts. Kathy pointed out this morning that this is very much in keeping with an educational system that functions primarily on rote memorization rather than conjecture and and critical thinking skills. I wonder if we're doing much better in the U.S., but at least critical thinking is viewed as a vital part of our system.

I think some of this is also part of a culture that is steeped in religious law. Islam is a religion of law. Interestingly, three major religions share a heritage in the deserts of the Middle East, Islam, Christianity and the Jewish faith. Islam holds the tenants of their version of the Old Testament and the laws set out in it as the living, breathing reality of their daily lives, and they're reminded of this 5 times a day with the call to prayer. I have found that generally this is manifest in the people I have spent time with as acceptance. We do what we're supposed to do according to Islamic Law, and leave the rest to Allah. Cross the street against horrendous traffic, "inshallah" or leave it to God. I'll see you tomorrow, "inshallah", if God wills it. My wife is sick and in the hospital, "inshallah", she'll recover if God wills it. There is a certain peace in this system because the law has a certain black and white quality - I do my part and follow the law as best as I can, and God will take care of the rest. I'm very clear after 3 weeks that in order for us to make any headway diplomatically our diplomats need to understand the gravity of "inshallah" as the organizing principle of the lives of average people in Islamic countries. I know at this point that I don't in the least bit understand exactly how these people think and live.

We rested at the little town next to Medinat Habu and were entertained by an old man playing a two stringed instrument. Such a charming sound. I thought of Rachel's little ones and couldn't resist paying the man 20LE to take one home. He showed me how to resin the bow, tune it and play. We put on a little concert for all the locals hanging around, who clapped and laughed at my lack of skill.

Next stop, Valley of the Queens. The tomb I would have liked to see, Nefertari, Ramses II's wife is restored but closed to preserve it. It is estimated that each visitor leaves behind 2.6 grams of sweat, increasing the destructive humidity in the tombs.

Interestingly, royal male children under 12 years old are buried in the Valley of the Queens, so two tombs we visited, Amunherkhepshef and Khaemwaset were young sons of Ramses III, and the beautiful paintings were of the pharaoh introducing his sons to the gods. We also visited Queen Titi's tomb. We're not sure who her husband was, but heiroglyphs referred to her as "royal wife, royal daughter and royal mother," and the tomb was much like the two prince's tombs we visited. This has led archaeologists to the conclusion that she was probably a wife of Ramses III.

Interestingly, in the royal succession, being a son of a pharaoh was not as important as being married to a royal princess. So Ramses III was a commoner who married a royal princess, probably Titi, and thus was able to claim the throne. In the same light, when Ramses II's much beloved wife Nefartari died, instead of taking another royal princess to wife, he married his oldest daughter ritually - he had sixty-some commoner wives as well. He reigned so long, he actually went through four royal daughters before he died! Only two women in 35oo years fought the system and claimed the throne for themselves, Hetsepshut and Tawosret. As I've said before, ancient Egyptians stuck to their traditions, and didn't often rock the boat!

Next we visited the Tombs of the Nobles. So Nice! Not many people so we could linger over paintings depicting more scenes of daily life rather than scenes of meeting and reckoning with the gods.

It was still early, so we asked to go to the tombs of the workers. This was an interesting side trip. Working on tombs was familial. Digger's children became diggers, painter's children became painters. The week was divided into 10 days rather than 7. Workers worked on the royal tombs 8 days a week, then they worked on worker tombs for one day and had a day of rest. When a worker died, he was buried in the tomb currently being prepared, and then a new tomb was started. Each tomb, as with royal tombs was dug and plastered while the person was living. Painting was planned and most was accomplished after the person's death during the 90 days needed for mummification. Tombs in the valleys we visited were rarely finished. There just wasn't enough time even with several hundred painters working.

In the worker's tombs, paintings were primarily showing scenes of daily life. Each was about the same size and shape, and it was clear that to some extent they did their best work in their own tombs.

The village ruins of mud brick workers homes is nestled in the valley, and interestingly, the modern archaeologist's residences are situated high overlooking this valley. I paid a little baksheesh to be able to walk up and take a look at their view. Inspiring and beautiful!

We dragged back to the hotel and walked down the street to an English owned and run Indian restaurant. Excellent food and great atmosphere.

We went back to the hotel for a rest and was on the docks by 4:30 for a felucca ride organized by our taxi driver of the first day. There was very little wind, so the modern day solution is to catch a ride with a tug boat, or at least an Egyptian version of a tug boat. At one point there were four feluccas strung along behind the run down poor excuse for a motorboat. One we were upstream a ways, we pulled in our rope and drifted back. We watched the sunset, then the lights of the city while passing a relaxing two hours.

We were still too full for a full dinner, so returned to Dean's for dessert - chocolate mousse and sherry triffle.

Luxor, Day One

We flew from Cairo to Luxor on a late night flight Thursday December 4th. Lining up at the check-in desk reminded me of traffic on Cairo streets. You stake out your place and fight for it all the way to the front.

We arrived in Luxor at almost midnight, haggled with a cab driver over the cost to get us into town and finally checked into our modest but very nice and cheap(!) hotel, the St. Joseph. To get electricity, you stick your key in a slot next to the door after entering. Great idea! It keeps one from leaving the lights on and you never leave your key in the lock.

We woke up the next morning to a beautiful 4th floor view of the Nile and Deir al Bahiri on the West Bank near the Valley of the Kings. After a nice hot breakfast and two cups of Nescafe we walked around the corner to a tour agent recommended by cousin, Roy Kochendorfer. Unfortunately he couldn't arrange an English speaking guide for our first day, so we set up tours for Saturday and Sunday to all the major sites.

Then we strolled down the Corniche (the main street running along side the Nile) to the public ferry. Luxor is much cleaner than Cairo with sidewalks in most places and uncrowded streets. Our plan was to cross to the West Bank and grab taxi to the temple of Seti I.

After much haggling, we agreed on a price, piled in and headed out. There were 5 of us, Rose, Tish, Lauren, Kathy and I. Rose works in the high school, Tish at the jr. hi, and Lauren was a student teacher at CAC this semester.

Seti I has a much more elaborate temple at Abydos, but we decided not to take that day-long trip. The one here near the old capital at Thebes is small, relatively speaking, and surrounded by a village. What little rascals the children are! They learn early how to sell little nonsense things and beg. When we ignored them, they stood and pretended to cry. A number of adults in the area asked us to please not encourage them with unearned baksheesh.

Baksheesh quickly became a problem. A pound to go to the bathroom, a pound to someone who pointed out something special carved in a wall. These people depend on baksheesh to live, and my purse full was nearly gone during that first stop. A pound is worth about 17 cents!

The temple was in pretty bad shape, but the relief work in protected areas was lovely. I wish I could read heiroglyphs! Each pylon, giant entry walls, is covered with stories of Seti I's conquests and successes.

Our driver was a real salesman. We'd asked about a place to buy alabaster, and of course, he knew just the place to take us. He told us that he was NOT getting a kickback for taking us there. But we were pretty sure they were relatives. He effusively assured us that his only concern was that we were buying from an honest craftsman. Checks with other guides etc. over the weekend confirmed that we were delivered to one of the oldest best regarded factories.

We had a ball. The owner showed us how the alabaster is rough shaped, then covered in linen and plaster to strengthen it for the next process when it's hand grinded to cut out the interior rock. We all got to try, and it was hard work. The plaster covering is then chipped off and the piece is polished with sandstone polishers. To make pieces more transparent they are heated and coated with wax which soaks into the porous rock.

We were then led into the showroom where we were encouraged to look and pick what we wanted to buy. Nobody at this point would discuss price. I picked out six nice pieces and the bargaining began. It's fun but exhausting. After tea the owner pondered and scribbled on his little pad and finally gave me a price. I looked pained (which I was) and pushed several pieces away. He encouraged me to name a price for the whole lot - I countered with less than half his original offer. He looked hurt and countered. I took one piece and set it aside and countered. He put it back and countered. I gave him my firm final. He consulted with his brother, looked like he was going to counter and paused as I looked like I was about to stand up. He finally agreed to slightly above half his original price with a gracious smile after appearing to be ready to cry during our negotiations.

You really have to be up for shopping here because there is no set price for anything except food in restaurants and actual grocery stories. if you pay the first named price, you're probably paying 1/3 to twice as much as you should.

We gathered up our purchases and dickered with the driver to add a trip back into Luxor rather than being dropped off at the ferry. Our destination was the Winter Palace, the 100 year old hotel that has been serving the elite since the 1st excavations in the Valley of the Kings. A sorority sister of Kathy's and her husband were staying there and invited us to join them for lunch in the gardens by the pool. Such fine old style elegance and lovely gardens. Kathy's friends had organized a small tour of Egypt, and half the participants were there for lunch as well. We had a gay old time chatting about our trips, the history of the hotel and shopping while eating impeccably served overpriced food. But it was worth it to have an "Amelia Peabody" moment at the beautiful Winter Palace.

We walked back to our hotel, rested and headed to the rooftop to watch the sun set over the Nile. Four of us had a leisurely happy hour not realizing that our 5th, Tish, didn't join us because she had locked herself onto the balcony of her room!

We decided to stuff one more activity into an already full day by walking down to Luxor Museum for an hour before closing at 9pm. The few carefully chosen pieces were beautifully displayed with great information about their place in the long history of the area.

We finished the day at Dean's Restaurant around the corner from our hotel. This English expat has created a great mix of cuisines in a nice setting. The food was so good, we returned several times. Once just for the huge servings of chocolate mousse! We hit the hay exhausted after asking for an early call. Our tour started the next morning at 7:30am!

Dahshur and Saqqara Pyramids!

Yesterday was pyramid day, finally! Kathy's wonderful neighbor, M.J and I headed out early in the morning for Dahshur and Saqqara, the two earliest sites to view pyramid development. MJ is a wonder for setting the stage for what's to come. In ancient times, people lived on the east side of the Nile, and the necropolis was on the west, the side of the setting sun. There is little of this custom left now, but we did need to make the crossing as Maadi is on the east side, so instead of taking the 21st century route via bridges and highways, we drove through settlements that could have existed hundreds of years ago except for the cars, satellite dishes and industrial air pollution. Donkey carts loaded with produce, galabiyyas the standard dress, open air markets, narrow unpaved streets packed with people going about their business.

And then we came to the Nile River. We were the last to board the ferry, and the horse and cart in front of us had to be unharnessed to squeeze us on. The back wheels barely cleared the ramp. We were invited up into the pilot's area to watch the crossing. Lots of smiles and waves from the workers, the usual "Obama?" question and we were ready to debark after spreading baksheesh around.

We drove through beautiful agricultural areas with people working vegetable and grain fields by hand - no motorized equipment. The individual fields are quite small.

Then we abruptly came to the sand and the necropolis of Saqqara. Breathtaking in its size and the clear promise of treasures undiscovered. Every sandy mound is probably a mastaba, every dimple in the sand a likely entrance to something possibly wonderful. But Egypt is drowning in antiquities that are stored, but many not properly cared for. There is just too much, so perhaps it's better to leave these mounds for the future and concentrate on trying to understand the messages from the treasures stacked in storehouses already.

The small museum where we started our visit was an excellently displayed collection of a few of the treasures uncovered at Saqqara. Focusing on the story of Imhotep, the genius behind the original pyramid design. Helpful exhibits showed how old mastabas were laid out, the dramatic changes in engineering that characterize the step pyramid, which was the first true pyramid. There were excellent examples of the items found in Saqqara mastabas and pyramids.

Then we drove to the site of the mastaba of Mereruka, vizer of the Pharoah Teti (Yes! I know this stuff now!) We hired a native guide who showed us details we never would have discovered on our own. Carved into the walls of the 32 chambers were details of daily Egyptian life 4500 years ago! People growing, harvesting and winnowing grain, slaughtering animals, dancing, fishing, force feeding geese, breeding cattle and on and on and on. It's not allowed to take pictures, but anything is possible with a little baksheesh. One of us would stand guard while the other quickly snapped a photo for a few extra pounds of baksheesh (about 18 cents = 1 pound)

We crouched down and descended into Teti's pyramid. The ceiling is less than 4 feet tall, so it wasn't easy, but worth the effort to view the burial chamber and see how huge stones are wedged together to support the tremendous weight of the pyramid above.

We then went to the step pyramid of Cheops. MJ is very much at home here, so we quickly left the beaten path and explored the ruins of the enormous valley temple surrounding the step pyramid. We slipped over the wall into the causeway which was used to bring the dead pharoah, Unas, from the Nile, where his body was ferried over from the east side, and carried up this amazing carved causeway to his final rest in his pyramid. Around the Step Pyramid there are dozens of small tombs of minor nobles and family members which we had fun sticking our noses in looking for good reliefs. We peered down into deep pits which were originally under ancient mastabas, the place where the sarcophagas was laid to rest.

It was explained to us that the pit was created, then filled with sand. Then the sarcophagas, enormous and heavy, was placed on the sand which was removed from around and beneath to lower it into the deep pit.

We poked around as if we owned the place! MJ speaks 1/16 Arabic and most guides and natives speak about 1/16th English, and many of the impromptu guides and camel drivers know her.

The step pyramid was dramatic, but nothing compared to what was to come in the afternoon.

We stopped for lunch at an outdoor restaurant MJ knows, and was greeted by drummers and cymbals. We stopped to watch women baking our bread and the drummers, not being attended to stopped playing. Every time we looked their way, they immediately started again, then stopped when we turned back to the breadmakers. Finally we were drummed festively to our table where we feasted on mezzas and pita. I could live on mezzas, little serving bowls of hummus, bab ganouh, roasted eggplant, Taboulh, and on and on. The bread was amazing. Our driver joined us for lunch and an interesting English/Arabic discussion of politics both Egyptian and American. "Obama?, he said. "Words are good. Now we wait to see..."

Afternoon was a once in a lifetime experience. I've heard from others about their disappointment with crowds and commercialization around Giza pyramids. We were completely alone with the Bent and Red Pyramids of Dahshur! A tourism policeman came up to guide us and we paid hime to leave us alone. We spent over an hour strolling around the Bent Pyramid musing about just how it was built, and thn how it was later stripped of its outer layer of huge limestone shaped boulders. The limestone facing was stripped from the top, and from the corners... go figure! This is one of the great mysteries of the ages. NOTE: If you look very carefully, you'll see me right at the corner of this huge pyramid.

The Red Pyramid has lost its smooth limestone covering completely. When you consider that this pyramid is about 4500 years old, it was ancient thousands of years ago when builders might have valued the stone more than the pyramid itself. I chose not to go into Big Red. I just didn't think my knees would handle half a football's length of narrow, low tunnels descending then ascending into the burial chamber. I'll try to do this at Giza next week where ceilings are higher.

MJ is a perfect exploration partner. She loves this place and chooses to approach this very foreign culture with curiosity and respect. Im looking forward to one more adventure with her next week in Islamic Cairo.