Cairo, Egypt
January 9, 2020
“What I hate is ignorance, smallness of imagination, the eye that sees no farther than its own lashes. All things are possible… Who you are is limited only by who you think you are.” – Egyptian Book of The Dead
It is amazing how a week can feel like months when traveling. With every sense stimulated with a new experience, you are launched into an entirely new reality where time seems to disappear. Understanding this new world takes communication, patience, acceptance, compassion, and openness in embracing the unknown. It also requires a relinquishing of preconceived notions of how you think it should be, which allows you to truly see others and their foreign land. The most beautiful experiences came from this mindset in Egypt. It also helped me let go of some uncomfortable moments so that I could continue on the trip without letting the old situations dictate the new ones.
Egypt is an Arab country populated with over 100 million people and in Cairo alone there are over 20 million. The city is busy! Cars, people, markets, diverse architecture, new smells, sounds, and so much history to see. Egyptian Arabic is the most commonly spoken language, which has a foundation in traditional Arabic language, but includes influence from Turkish, Coptic, French, and English (https://egyptianarabic.com/, 2016). Egyptians are kind, hospitable, friendly, and certainly ready to bargain. I honestly don’t even know where to start with everything I encountered in my short 7 days in Cairo, but I will focus on my tour of the pyramids Saqqara, Memphis, and Giza.
I set up a tour through Airbnb and it turned out famously! I had an incredibly knowledgable tour guide Mohamed, and we had a blast!
Our tour started at Saqqara, a name thought to have originated from the Memphite god of the dead, Sokar, and is the burial ground of the first capital city in Egypt, Memphis. Pharaohs were buried within the eleven major pyramids and hundreds of smaller tombs were also built for their family members. The pyramid shown below is The Step Pyramid and one of the first attempts in building the pyramids. King Djoser lays to rest in the first pyramid built of stone in Egypt (Aguizy,2020).
Memphis is the first capital of Egypt and located on Giza Plateau at the entrance of the Nile River. It was founded by the King Menes who united the two separated lands of Egypt into one. The name Memphis was translated by the Greeks into ‘Memphis’ but was originally Men-nefer which means “the enduring and beautiful” (Mark, 2016). Pictured below is a statue of King Ramses II in the open-air portion of the Memphis site.
Pictured above is the Alabaster Sphinx in Memphis. Sphinx were carved to honor pharaohs, though it is unknown who this sphinx is in honor of. The sphinx is carved with the body of a lion and head of royalty that depicts the headdress of kings during a given period (touregypt.net, 2020).
As the last of the Seven Wonders of the World, The Great Pyramid of Giza is the most widely known of the pyramids in Egypt. It was built over twenty years while Giza was ruled by King Khufu of the 4th Dynasty, 2589-2566 BCE (Mark, 2016). The pyramid is one of the tallest structures built by human hands in history and its advanced construction remains a mystery to archeologists. Due to the intricacy of the design, there has been talk of extraterrestrial forces in the building, however, more evidence leans towards the work of skilled and paid laborer’s completing the work (Mark,2016).
Pictured below is The Great Sphinx of Giza that was (most likely) carved during the reign of King Khafre during the period of the Old Kingdom in ancient Egypt, 2613-2181 BCE (Mark,2016).
The history of ancient Egypt is vast and full of puzzle pieces that scholars have been working to put together for hundreds of years. There is a lot of theory and conflicting views on the placement of these pieces, but perhaps the mystery of it all is what makes it so enticing.
More photos from the tour:
Carpet making village outside of Saqqara.
Learning the skill of carpet making. This man was truly an artist! He made me a bracelet out of left over thread from the his weaving.
Our tour driver and stop for lunch to enjoy a traditonal Egyptian dish, Koshari. It is includes rice, macaroni, lentils, and is topped with a spicy tomato, garlic sauce, chick peas, and cispy onions. YUM!
Sources:
Aguizy, Ola el. Saqqara. (n.d.). Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.arce.org/resource/saqqara
Alabaster Sphinx at Memphis, Egypt. (1996-2020). Retrieved January 9, 2020, from http://www.touregypt.net/alabasph.htm
Egyptian Arabic - essential facts and features | العربي المصري. (n.d.) Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://egyptianarabic.com/
Mark, Joshua, J. Great Pyramid of Giza. (2016). Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.ancient.eu/Great_Pyramid_of_Giza/
Mark, Joshua, J. The Great Sphinx of Giza. (2016). Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.ancient.eu/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza/
Mark, Joshua, J. Memphis (Ancient Egypt). (2016). Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.ancient.eu/Memphis_(Ancient_Egypt)/
