Cairo Egypt

Egypt takes your breath away.  

Where do you begin? 

Few places on earth will grip you such as the Pyramids, temples, ancient tombs and the Nile of Egypt.  Man’s ingenuity and imagination thrived here while most of the world still lived in caves. 

The cradle of this civilization is in the midst of a revolution and you can’t visit Egypt in the midst of it and not comment. 

There is optimism that the elections in late November will be a new beginning but Mubarak’s puppet opposition over the past 25 years leaves the country with no obvious alternative - no clear leader or political party.  There is no specific vision of the future or a roadmap but even in its absence there is certainty that whatever lies ahead, it could not be worse than the past…..we’re not sure about that in the short term.   It’s definitely different than before as great change is always accompanied with controversy, conflict and significant challenges but just blocks away from the square, you would never know that there was a revolution underway.     

This revolution was not planned as such and has left the people unprepared and ill-equipped to deal with what was next.  The revolution began as a demonstration against the corruption in the police force on January 25^th, 2011, National Police Day.  Men, women and children marched peacefully to central city squares in Alexandria and Cairo to raise awareness in the government and the military of the police corruption across the country.  They were not expecting nor planning any violence.  And, the police opened fire.  Over the next five days, 800 Egyptians died mostly in Tahrir Square in Cairo.  By January 28^th, ten million Egyptians were in the streets and the government was overthrown. These are great people and they do deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.

  20,000,000 Egyptian's depend on a tourist industry that disappeared for the first three months of 2011 (the high season).  The crowds are still just a fraction of their original numbers and the industry and its 20 million are feeling the pain.  The police in charge of protecting Egypt’s treasures are present but appear to be more focused on corruption than ensuring tourists are not overwhelmed by hungry and desperate vendors. The venders who were once not allowed inside the monuments now roam free to harass you at just about every stage of your tour. 

You need to bring an extra layer of thick skin and some firm but polite phrases with you or you are at risk of having a terrible time.  These vendors are feeding large families and are dependent on the sale of trinkets and trash or a camel / horse / taxi ride for their existence.  With a significantly reduced supply of tourists, they try to induce a greater demand and it is not a pleasant experience.  The desperation is understandable but it will only get worse until tourists return to the pre-revolution numbers.

  We visited Tahrir Square to walk in the footsteps of the courageous that risked and some who lost their lives to improve their country for their children.  It was surreal.   We were told by a few locals that the burnt building of the Minister of the Interior would likely remain as a reminder to future generations of the corruption that once ruled Egypt.

Historically, Egypt has been one of the safest countries in the world.  With all that is happening there, we never once felt unsafe but we did feel as if the clearly marked tourist van and guide played a significant role in maintaining that safety. 

As we approached the Cairo airport, the boys spotted the pyramids through the fog / smog.  We were met at the airport by our Memphis Tour Company representative and driver who took us to our hotel (Meridian) across the street from the Pyramids.  Our room has a view of the Pyramids and we feel a bit like royalty.   We did not plan to, but we are benefiting from the reduced numbers of tourists and financial incentives for the few that travel to Egypt.

At the hotel, we were welcomed by 100s of Egyptians and traditional music which we quickly realized was not for us but for a lovely couple getting married at the hotel.  We had arrived in the midst of their ceremony so we watched the celebrations for 20 minutes before we made our way to our room.  It looked as if there was a great party to follow as all were dancing and celebrating. 

The following morning, we met the Smiths from Vancouver (fellow travellers we met by chance in Istanbul) and jumped in our van to visit the Pyramids.  It’s difficult to describe the feelings of seeing these wonders for the first time.  Calvin told the kids of his boyhood dream of once visiting the pyramids – inspired by National Geographic, and I wanted to become an archeologist when I was 10 after Mom gave me a book about ancient Egypt for Christmas. That interest has now passed to Devin because he decided he wanted to be an archeologist who is also a chef who cooks while on a dig.   

To think that there was a civilization that could produce such a structure over 4,500 years ago is simply staggering.  We visited the Pyramids of Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus. We did this on November 11th, 2011 (11/11/11) at 11 seconds of 11 minutes after 11:00am (11:11:11am of 11/11/11).  Not planned but kind of cool.

There were many Egyptians visiting from the countryside as it was the end of Eid and many were there for the spiritual celebration of the power of the pyramids on 11/11/11. Tanks, armed guards, etc. protected the pyramids from a planned demonstration by the spiritual few that flocked to Egypt for this important date.  Funny enough, the rural Egyptian is more interested in a picture with a western child than a pyramid.  The pyramids are bigger than I had imagined.  Blocks of stone the size of transport trucks (18 tons) formed the base with consecutively smaller blocks rising up to the sky followed.  The smallest stone blocks at the top were a mere 3 tons.  We were able to enter the third and smallest pyramid and see a real life burial tomb but with no mummy inside.  It was extremely cool.  

Under limestone blocks and plaster, a dismantled boat was located, with both the wood preserved and ropes for rigging and matting. The reassembly took more than 10 years and the funerary boat is exhibited in its entirety near the pyramid of Cheops (Khufu).   Khufu's solar boat is is one of the oldest, largest, and best-preserved ships from antiquity, built around 2500 B.C. and sealed in a pit next to the Great Pyramid. Made of cedar (from Lebanon) the boat was to be used in the afterlife.  The boat is 143 feet long and 19 1/2 feet wide.  Hundreds of pieces of shaped wood comprise the hull which was held together with rope. Since wet wood swells and rope shrinks, the boat would become water tight in water, making caulking unnecessary. The boat had six pairs of long oars, one pair by the stern post serving as rudder oars.

We then proceeded to visit the Great Sphinx, the head of a pharaoh with a lion's body, which dates back to the time of Chephren. We had a wonderful time especially with the guidance and expertise on Egyptology of our tour guide, Nazrene. The Sphinx was smaller than expected and a bit less impressive but after you visit the pyramids, everything seems insignificant.  
After the Sphinx, we travelled to the Pyramid of Djoser, the showpiece of the necropolis at Saqqara.  Built in the 27th Century BC by the first recorded architect, Imhotep, this is the prototype for all the pyramids subsequently built. 

There was also a temple on site and a great deal of excavation under way.  By that point, the wee ones had enough and were making pyramids in the sand.  Noah and Aidan were still into it but whenever something to climb appeared…they were gone.
Our next day in Cairo was spent visiting the incredible Egyptian Museum.  Our Egyptologist tour guide was obviously passionate about her work and country and her knowledge was admirable.  This famous museum built in 1902, houses the world’s largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts (more than 120,000 items on display) featuring the famous Tutankhamen collection with its beautiful gold death mask and sarcophagus.  If you ever get to visit, stand directly in front of King Tutankhamen's mask and take 30 seconds to stare eye to eye with King Tut's mask - you won't regret it.   11+ kilos of solid gold with an eerie gaze.
The museum also houses the royal Mummy room, which features eleven Pharaonic dignitaries including the great Pharaoh Ramses II.  The mummies were more than slightly gruesome!  Devin rated it very creepy and was done in 2 minutes while the rest of us were in awe of the extremely well preserved 4000 year old bodies.  You can still see facial features, eyelashes, hair and teeth as well as finger and toe nails.  The mummies are black which adds to the ‘creepy’ factor as the final application when mummifying a body is tar.