I had been drawn to Egypt for years: the pyramids at Giza, the tombs of the pharaohs within the Valley of the Kings, unimaginable historical past stretching again 6,000 years, and naturally I envisioned myself driving a camel within the desert. The Egyptian antiquities have been as superb as anticipated, however the camel trip… not a lot.
I lastly acquired to expertise Egypt on the finish of 2022 on an extended awaited tour with Abroad Journey Journey. My small group of 15 traveled from the capital of Cairo to Abu Simbel, simply 12 miles north of the Sudanese border. The peoples and cultures of Egypt have at all times been situated primarily alongside this fertile stretch that borders the Nile River.
Cairo is an amazing metropolis: its metropolitan space now stretches so far as the sight of the Giza pyramids. Its inhabitants in 2022: virtually 22 million individuals. Visitors congestion makes it tough to get round, whether or not by automobile or on foot. Nonetheless, the Nationwide Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo is a must-see as preparation for the temples, tombs and historic websites of the remainder of the nation.
The brand new Grand Egyptian Museum will open its doorways in 2023 to increase such displays of Egyptian historical past. Positioned close to the Pyramids of Giza, it’ll show greater than 100,000 artifacts, together with the whole tomb hoard of “boy king” Tutankhamen.
The Pyramids of Giza have been constructed as tombs for the pharaohs of the Outdated Kingdom of Egypt (2700 – 2200 BC). Three principal pyramids dominate the skyline: the Nice Khufu Pyramid (initially 481 ft tall, additionally known as Cheops); Khafre (471 ft); and Menkaure (213 ft). Adjoining are the enduring Sphinx and smaller tombs.
The Nice Pyramid was the tallest man-made construction on the earth for greater than three,800 years. It was the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Historic World, and the one one which remained just about intact. A lot of its limestone deck and cap was eliminated over the centuries, lowering its peak to the present 454 ft.
Right here, on the pyramids, vacationers like me can indulge their camel-riding inclinations. Nonetheless, the Egyptian desert is just not gentle sand dunes. I discovered myself dangling from the saddle pommel as my camel lurched over rocky and barely damaged terrain. And staying within the saddle when the camel went up or down was one other problem. Satirically, my decrease backbone later felt prefer it had a chiropractic adjustment, for the higher!
The camels have been only a memorable “transportation” expertise. My group loved a beautiful six-day Nile cruise on a small river yacht from Luxor to Aswan. We go ashore to discover in horse-drawn buggies, three-wheeled tuk-tuks, and pickup vans. In small villages, we had lunch with a neighborhood farming household, watched artisans at work, and watched camels purchased and offered at a energetic camel market.
The period of pyramid constructing ended with the New Kingdom (1550 – 1069 BC) when the pharaohs moved their royal burials to the Valley of the Kings, west of Luxor. The tombs within the pyramids had been looted, so right here tombs have been dug into the rocky partitions of the valley to cover them.
For almost 500 years, pharaohs and their queens, excessive monks, and nobles have been buried within the Valley of the Kings. Nonetheless, many of the 63 tombs found up to now had been looted… apart from King Tutankhamun’s. Coming into Tutankhamun’s tomb is an expertise, however solely his sarcophagus stays there; all his treasures are within the museum.
A number of different royal tombs are additionally open to guests. We discover the tombs of 4 kings named Ramses: III, IV, V and IX. Sloping corridors result in the burial tombs. Intricate carvings painted on the partitions honor every king to make sure his passage to the afterlife; many are nonetheless remarkably vivid.
The kings of Egypt constructed magnificent temples and tombs. Typically these temples have been constructed over lots of of years; quite a few kings expanded them to go away their mark on historical past. The Karnak Temple and the Luxor Temple are two of essentially the most well-known within the present-day metropolis of Luxor, traditionally often called Thebes.
The traditional Egyptians believed that creation started on the website of the Karnak Temple, connecting them to the solar god Amun-Ra. This spectacular temple advanced covers greater than 200 acres. The Avenue of the Sphinxes joins it with the spectacular Temple of Luxor, top-of-the-line preserved historic Egyptian monuments. The Luxor Temple continues to be used as a spot of worship at present.
My tour visited many different spectacular websites. Esna’s Temple of Khnum had the best-preserved art work in towering 39-foot-tall columns that supported its stone ceiling. The Temple of Horus in Edfu was devoted to the falcon god Horus, whereas the Temple of Kom Ombo was distinctive in that it honored two deities: the falcon god Horus and the crocodile god Sobek. Subsequent door is a small mummified crocodile museum.
Two temple complexes have been saved by way of the monumental efforts of UNESCO earlier than the Aswan Excessive Dam opened in 1970; it flooded an enormous space and created Lake Nasser. At Abu Simbel, the Temple of Ramesses II advanced, with its 4 66-foot-tall statues of Ramesses, was dismantled into 16,000 blocks and moved greater than 200 ft to larger floor. Close to Aswan, the Philae Temple advanced was lower into 48,000 items and reassembled on Elephantine Island. Each the Philae advanced and the Ramses advanced have been UNESCO World Heritage Websites since 1979.
There may be far more to see in Egypt. The temples, tombs and antiquities visited solely intrigued me to need to expertise extra of this historic land.
Study extra right here and right here.
— By Julie Gangler
Julie Gangler is a contract author who has labored as a media relations marketing consultant for the Snohomish County Workplace of Tourism. She started her profession as a employees author at Sundown journal and later because the Alaska/Northwest correspondent for Journey Agent journal.