Cabin Fever Chronicles – Getting Outdoors with Rod

It all started about 5,225 years ago. It was here before Buddha, before Angkor Wat, before Macchu Pichu, before Stonehenge. As the Ice Age ended, the once fertile Sahara dried up and humans converged on the Nile Valley. There, instead of hunting and gathering, they learned to grow crops. They realized the annual, reliable Nile flood nurtured the soil. And they learned about animal husbandry. No longer needing to roam to find sustenance, they settled down. And for the first time in human history, they had spare time. They had idle time to consider why. They asked questions and came up with explanations. The sun rose every day and set, east to west. The stars moved across the sky, and other bright objects amongst them – planets. Each, like the seasons, had its own rhythms and patterns. They noticed animals and plants occupied certain niches and worked in a kind of symphony – they seemed to have roles. And death. What happens after death? All these things they observed and thought about couldn’t be happening by sheer chance. Gods must have a hand in all this. Gods and goddesses must have their own duties and niches. Humans, too have their own society and roles, niches, and if everyone understood, did their part, everybody could benefit. Thus ancient Egypt came to be. In ancient Egypt, thousands of years before elsewhere on Planet Earth, religion and laws came to be, science began, architecture reached unimaginable proportions, and to the present day, many still live their lives in accordance with evolved versions of ancient Egyptian ways of life.

I’ve held a lifelong fascination with ancient Egypt. Even as a 12-year old, I knew how to write my name in hieroglyphics. I wore an ankh. My favorite deity remains the goddess Maat. I witnessed the Treasures of King Tutankhamen world tour in New York City in 1977. I’d also checked out ancient Egyptian collections in London, Paris, and Washington, DC. But I’d never been to Egypt. Sometimes, it’s not safe to travel there. Then, in 2021, I booked a trip only to postpone due to Covid restrictions on the Delta variant. Once it became safe and restrictions were lifted, I took my opportunity – in April 2023. I enjoyed a tour led by Intrepid Travel. We covered a lot of ground, from Alexandria to Abu Simbel. Our tour guide Ahmed was simply fantastic. He holds a degree in Egyptology and was voted best guide in Egypt, so we were well taken care of! I was the only American in my group – we were Swiss, English, Italian, Australian native, and Irish-become-Australians. The big takeaway for all of us was that there is simply no way to comprehend the enormity and complexity of ancient Egypt without going there in person. Day after day we were blown away! The trip itinerary exposes the guests to one World Heritage site after another, with ever increasing magnificence, finally culminating at the Karnak Temple Complex, which is by far the largest in the world. That region, which also sits on the river Nile, with its palm trees and cooling waters, and includes Luxor Temple and the Valley of the Kings, blows away every other archeological site on Planet Earth.

I learned that the weather on such a trip can be quite pleasant! This is because of the river Nile. We had sailings via felucca sailboats. Our trip included three nights on a Nile River Ship. The multi decked ship had spacious rooms, a dining room, and a shaded roof top deck. Once under way it’s very pleasant, even with the Sahara right next door. So if all this sounds intriguing, stay tuned because the next blog posts cover all this!

But first, the Pyramids. Almost everyone on Earth knows about the Giza Pyramids. It’s hard to imagine any more iconic sight than these. Like everything else about ancient Egypt one can’t understand the enormity unless you see them with your own eyes. So here they are. Right from the top of our hotel, and thousands of years old, they loom over Cairo.

The Giza Pyramids took about 30 years each to build and were completed between 2,500 BC and 2,600 BC. They were built with two main purposes. First, to house the earthly remains of the pharaohs Khufu, Kaafre, and Menkaure. Secondly, and even more importantly, the structure and shape was to enable the Pharaoh’s entry into the afterlife. Even the Valley of the Kings was selected because its primary mountain was believed to be pyramid shaped. They took the majority of the lives of tens of thousands of workers to build. Rather than slaves, these were paid workers. State budgets included funds for the construction. An entire city, complete with breweries, granaries, tailors, butchers and everything needed to support the effort grew up. Today, I witnessed the many fire pits still visible where the meals were cooked. For me, to glimpse the size of these structures and comprehend the absolute unquestioned belief in the gods and the afterlife and the effort it took is quite a lot to get into your head. Even the Romans who came to govern Egypt often became so overwhelmed that they, too, would often worship Egyptian deities. In fact the worship of the goddess Isis was widespread (even as far as England) and continued until about 400 AD.

The Giza Pyramid Complex consists of the three great pyramids, plus several smaller ones, the Sphinx, and a mix of other discoveries of interest. One is of an ancient barge “dock” where they buried a barge hundreds of feet long. Walking around the pyramids, myself and my roommate Lorenzo discovered giant polished rose-granite stones around the bases which clearly had been chiseled to interlock with one another. A guard told us these were literally mined in Sudan and barged 800 miles up the river to the site! A quick computation resulted in mind blowing realization that this all happened over 4,000 years ago! And all of these polished interlocking blocks, now at the base, covered the sides of each pyramid.

Lest my photos give you the impression there were only a few tourists, HA! This place gets mobbed. Here is a photo of my group on the plateau. But all around us there was probably 1,000 people! There are hawkers with souvenirs. Taunts offering camel rides. And yes, there were Lawrence of Arabianesque scenes of camel trains walking the dunes amongst the pyramids. But instead of ancients, these were tourists. It’s just part of the reality of Egypt. After all it is a tourist magnet. There are plans underway to change things. In the not too distant future, buses will be prohibited and instead some kind of shuttle system set up.

Next we went down to the Sphinx. It’s very interesting. And dedicated to Khafre. Our only access was via a walking system up the side. We weren’t allowed to actually touch it. Later, we went to the Egyptian Museum. It’s vast and for me, quite overwhelming. It has the complete sarcohpaguses of several Pharoahs, some of the most important early relics showing the birth of the Upper / Lower Egyptian kingdoms, a collection of mummified animals, and more.

There were a few items that really grabbed my attention. One is a seated statue of Khafre. His expression is of satisfaction. And then The Scribe. Look closely at his expression. He just seems so content! Then there is another favorite. It is a representation of a member of the royal family with a birth defect (dwarfism), and his wife, and children. The 4,000 year old expression of affection is so palpable! It seems these people were happy! The Scribe is so famous it is on the 200 pound Egyptian note.

Our time in Cairo was complete, but we’d return at the end of our trip for some more time checking out contemporary life in the Medina. Next, we’d head north to the Mediterranean coast – Alexandria.