Having read about the most ancient Egyptian civilization, the longest river Nile, the magnificent pyramids, Tutankhamen’s mummy, Cleopatra’s beauty, the massive library of Alexandria, the Red Sea in history and geography classes as a student, and actually seeing these for myself was a thrilling experience.Egypt has several interesting places. The magnificence of the pyramids of Giza hits you only when you stand in front of it and they tower over you. When I stood at the base of the pyramid and looked up, I almost fell off – it was so tall. And to imagine that they were made thousands of years ago sans technology is amazing! A desert safari on camel back with the pyramids in the distance made for a good picture!
I am not one for museums, but the museum in Cairo was awesome. The amount of gold, precious stones, treasure, and other items found in Tutenkhamen’s pyramid is mind-boggling. His mummy was not a very good sight to see – yucky. He was apparently a boy of 19 when he died. He was not really popular in ancient times, but the discovery of his treasure few years ago has made him a hero! Lucky guy! All of us were keen to see and hear a lot about Cleopatra, but not a word, not a picture, not a mention! That’s because she was a greek and ruled Egyptians so the Egyptians do not like to talk about her. Queens Nefertity and Nefertari were everywhere. And ofcourse Ramses II who had dozens of wives! His temple at Abu Simbel is a proof of his shameless narcicism. But it also speaks volumes of his might and grandeur.
All of us enjoyed smoking sheesha (hukkah) at quaint little cafes along the Khan-e-khalili market in Cairo! Lots of interesting trinkets in the scores of tiny shops of the market were a treat for the shopaholics. We bought papyrus paintings, crystal pyramids, galabayas, the fancy head-dress, khartoush (pendants with name written in hieroglyphics) and a lot more.
The belly dance on the floating restaurant on river Nile was scintillating! But enjoyed the Tanura or the whirling dervish even more. Men, wearing several layers of colourful skirts and going round and round to mesmerizing music! What an art! The 3 day cruise on river Nile was very relaxing after the hectic sight-seeing. We stopped by several temples along the way – each one more beautiful than the other. All walls were sculpted with hieroglyphics and the Egyptian Gods – Ra, Horous, Isis, Amun, Osiris, Anubis and several more.
At Luxor we went for a hot balloon ride early in the morning. It was freezing cold but our enthusiasm levels were high! What a beautiful sight from up there. We could see the valley of kings and temple of Hatshepsut – the only woman pharaoh of Egypt. Our guide told us of an easy way to remember her name – Hot chicken soup! The pilot of the balloon very romantically asked one of the girls to marry him and even offered to give 1000 camels to her family!!
Our last stop was at the Hilton in Hurgada on the shores of the Red Sea. THE Red Sea! I mean I almost felt the sea would part when I stood on the shore! And the red sea was blue in colour! The highlight of the trip, atleast for me was snorkeling in the red sea! What beautiful corals – in brilliant colours I have never seen before. Schools of beautiful fishes swimming by just inches away from you, several sea creatures that I have never seen before, it was a wonderful sight!
That was the end of our 10 day trip and none of us wanted to go back home With a heavy heart we parted ways...
To check out all the photos, visit the flickr set Mummies Visit
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