Diary of a travel video: part 2
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by Brian Deakin |
Thursday 21st March
During the night we sailed down the Nile and awake early the next morning
to find ourselves anchored near the temple of Edfu. Medhat, our guide, explains
that the temple was built in honour of the ancient Egyptian god Horus.
Horus, the falcon god was the protector of the kings and their power, he
was also god of the sky. The Pharaohs claimed support for their authority
and chose Horus as their divine protector. We spent two hours walking through
the massive columns and archways and Medhat explained that these ruins had
been lost for generations under meters of Nile mud that had accumulated over
the centuries. Whilst in Edfu we also visited houses from the Byzantine period
that were in amazingly good condition. There is very little humidity in Egypt
and maybe this is why things are so well preserved.
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By 10.30am we are back on the boat and sailing on our way towards the locks
at Esna. On the topmost deck we relax in the lap of luxury, sipping our cool
drinks and watching abject poverty drift by. Donkeys, cows, chickens and
camels all live with their owners within the same confines: huts made of
straw and mud. The locals pay no attention to the large vessels passing by
and only the small children show any interest running down to the banks and
waving to the passing tourists. By 3pm our boat reaches Esna and takes its
place in line to pass through the locks. The boat will leave this position
in one hour so we take the opportunity to go through the town in an Egyptian
horse and buggy.
We ask our driver Mustafa to show us the market place in Esna and setting
off at a trot he does just that. Mustafa is an amiable fellow and most eager
to please. He seems to instinctively know what we want. We are taken through
a whirlwind drive of meat and vegetable markets where the air is thick with
the smell of fresh produce and herbs of all kinds. The 20th century is far
behind. This is the real Egypt. The sounds of the market place are deafening,
men wave and smile and shout hello! School children surround our buggy in
droves. The teacher has lost all control and when Brian steps down onto the
street he is surrounded by eager young faces all trying out what English
they know. The street is little more than a cart track so every time we ask
Mustafa to stop we cause a traffic jam but nobody seems to mind.
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This is the Egypt that we had hoped to see. Our enjoyment is contagious,
the people in the streets are coming out of their shops waving live chickens
and produce under our noses. Mustafa is keen to continue but our hour is
coming to a close and we regretfully tell him to head for the moored hoat
We are so pleased with Mustafa's efforts that we double his fee but we overlook
the shrewd Egyptian mind. Mustafa suggests that since he had done such a
good job that his little horse had also excelled, especially as she is in
foal. So we wind up giving a tip for Mustafa's pregnant horse.
Friday 22nd March
Arrived Luxor. After breakfast we cross over the Nile to the West bank, first
visiting the magnificent mortuary temple of Hatshepsut. On the way we pass
the famed Colossi of Memnon that guard the way to the temple. Hatshepsut,
who reined from 1473-1458 BC was the only Egyptian born Pharaoh queen of
ancient Egypt. (Cleopatra was a Ptolemy from Greece.) All statues and paintings
of this queen show her as a man complete with the royal beard. Even then
chauvinism was alive and well ! Depicting her in male form was the way of
selling her to the masses. The Egyptian economy flourished under Hatshepsut's
rule.
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From here we are driven to the entrance of the Valley of Kings where most
of the Egyptian royalty is buried. The temperature in this hilly valley is
around 30 degrees and shade is hard to find. We first visit KV 16 the tomb
of Rameses I who ruled for two years 1292-1290BC. This tomb has a relatively
simple access, a long downward sloping corridor of about 150 metres into
the hillside with the burial chamber at the far end. All along this corridor
scenes depict the Pharaoh's life and battles of conquest throughout his short
reign, painted in colours that still look amazingly fresh after three thousand
three hundred years. At the time this tomb was built the Israelites were
still enslaved in Egypt and the Hebrew nation not yet formed.
Following our guide's advice the next tomb we visit is at the other end of
the valley. KV34 is the tomb of Tuthmosis 111, the greatest of all Pharaohs,
the "Napoleon of ancient Egypt" and the successor to Queen Hatshepsut. This
is an arduous climb of about two hundred steps followed by an equally arduous
descent into a labyrinth of narrow passageways and galleries. The temperature
inside is not cool as we had expected but quite warm and the air stale and
overpowering. But we eventually make it to the innermost burial chamber where
Tuthmosis once lay. The hollowed out chamber has many supporting columns
highly decorated with scenes of the Pharaoh's life. As with all the tombs
we have visited the ceiling is painted black with stars depicting the night
sky. There are thirty-four tombs of Pharaohs and it would take days to see
them all. We leave to be back on the boat for lunch at noon.
Continued ... in part three we continue
Friday's adventure when we visit the largest temples of all at Karnak and
Luxor, then onto Sharm El Sheikh and the Sinai.
Part 1 | Part 3
| Part 4 | Part
5 | Behind the camera
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