Egypt trip, Dec 2008 - A group outing in Luxor

After our trip to Karnak temple, we had free time for the rest of the day. Teefa, being the good tour leader he is, organised a group outing for us: a donkey ride and a dinner on the West Bank of the Nile.

Here is my donkey and me

Riding with my group. It was great fun

Of course, donkeys are used for day-to-day transport in Egypt too. Here is a little kid helping out in the farm.

After dinner, we went for a smoke of flavoured water-pipe.

On the way back, we walked past the Luxor temple. Accordingly to Teefa, we can see 80% of the temple by walking around the fence. And if you really desperate to see the inside, you can go to the third floor of the MacDonald's opposite the site :-P

Egypt trip, Dec 2008 - Karnak Temple

Our train from Cairo arrived in Luxor in the early morning. After a brief rest, we headed out to the Karnak temple.

Karnak is the home of the god Amun, who was an insignificant local god until the 12th dynasty when Thebes became the capital of Egypt.

What is special about Karnak is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Construction work began in the 16th Century BCE. Approximately 30 Pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere (Construction of temples started in the Middle Kingdom and continued through to Ptolemaic times.)

Teefa has put us on horse carriage for the short journey.

The weather was nice and the ride was very pleasant. It started off nice and steady. But then, it got a bit competitive between one of our tour member and Teefa and our carriages went into a race. Teefa eventually won, but I am sure some bribery was involved.

We entered the temple and found the criosphinxes (ram-headed sphinxes) waiting for us on the Processional Way and leading us to the first pylon.

Inside one of the chambers in the Shrine of Seti II

The Libyan pharaohs (935-730 BC) built a vast court of the Bubastites. This column was once part of the kiosk of Taharka where the processional barks were kept.

The second pylon leads into the Hypostyle hall which was built by Seti I and his son Ramses II (between 1294 and 1213 BC)

It consists of 134 sandstone columns in 16 rows to support the roof. The 12 columns of the central "nave" are almost 21 metres high and 3 metres in diameter. The columns along the sides are about 10 metres high. The architraves on top of these columns weigh an estimated 70 tons. The sandstone for this temple, including all the columns, was transported from Gebel Silsila 100 miles south on the Nile river.

The Hypostyle hall is enormous. According to some travel books, the whole of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris could fit within the walls of the hall!

Stone lattice "windows"

Each of the columns are decorated in raised relief, which were pained in brilliant colours

Relief depicting the Pharaoh making offerings to the god

There are two upright obelisks left at Karnak: one of four erected by Tuthmosis III and one of two erected by Hatshepsut. The obelisk to the latter (right) is, out of ancient obelisks, second in height only to the Lateran obelisk in Rome. It weights 328 tonnes and stands 29 meters tall. It was made of Aswan pink granite with the apex once said to be covered with an alloy of silver and gold.

Statue of Rameses II

Touristy photo! :-P

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak)

At the pre-trip briefing, Teefa talked us through the dress code for the trip. He said that singlets and Russian skirts were encouraged. We didn't know what Russian skirts were, but when we saw this Russian/ Eastern European couple, it has all become clear. This photo has become the highlight of the day. When we showed the photo to Teefa for validation, he said, "SP, you are a very good photographer, but a very bad man!" hahaha

Egypt trip, Dec 2008 - Get your numbers right

When you are in Egypt and Jordan, you will find that most of the prices are written in Arabic numbers. If you don't know how to read there, you are likely to be overcharged.

So here is a list of the numbers in Arabic.

(Source: http://smile93.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/numbers.jpg)

Funnily enough, our "Arabic numerals" are called "Indian/ Hindi numerals" in Egypt and the Middle East. This is because the positional decimal system was originally defined by Indian mathematicians. How did the numbers came to be called "Arabic numbers" in the West? Well, the Indian decimal system was adopted and modified by North African Arab mathematicians, who then introduced to Europe in the 10th Century

Egypt trip, Dec 2008 - "Training it", Egyptian tourist style.

Since the terrorist attacks in Egypt a few years ago, the Egyptian government has put restrictions on which trains foreigners may take between Cairo, Luxor and Aswan, allegedly so that the government can assure tourists' safety (The sleeping train is guarded by armed police). These days, foreigners are only allowed on the special sleeper train or 2-3 other ordinary train.

It is 9 hours trip so I am glad that we took the overnight sleeper train.

We arrived at the Giza (there is some engineering going on so the train is temporarily departing from Giza station, instead of the Ramese II station) station with plenty of time.

The tour leader, Teefa, has organised porters to carry the luggage for our group. These special trolleys can accommodate about 10 pieces of luggages at any one time.

Here we are, before boarding.

There are 13 sleeping carriages, each contains 10 double cabins. In addition, there is an exclusive "Club Car". In our cabin, there is a little sticker that invites us to the "Club Car" for a belly dancing competition. No wonder Teefa strongly recommended us NOT to go there ;-P

The cabin is set up with 2 seats during the day. There was a small sink with running water and a luggage compartment is on top of the doorway. There was a toilet at the end of each carriage, but the toilet was definitely not the nicest.

Our group had the entire carriage to ourselves, so the corridor has become the meeting place.

Not long after the departure, dinner was served in our cabin (dinner is included but drinks are extra). What is the quality of the food like? Well, to put it in Teefa's words, "If you like the food, you can have mine as well." We didn't eat the dinner on the way out. On the way back, I accepted a dinner tray and tasted some of the food. It is really not that great.

After dinner, we watched a couple episodes of Chinese TV and then, we went to sleep. The attendant (or Teefa!) folded out the beds, which is already covered with fresh linen.

We didn't sleep that well though. The journey were actually quite bumpy. There were a lot of stop-starts and some people were chatting in the corridor all night (you know who you are!!! hehe)

The next morning, the attendant came back to fold up the beds and bring in the breakfast tray. The breakfast tray is not much more exciting, as it only has "bread, bread and bread" (as Teefa put it)

We didn't peek out of the window that much so I don't have any photos to show. I wished I peek out more.


For more information:

http://www.sleepingtrains.com/

Egypt trip, Dec 2008 - Papyrus

Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant. The plant was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt.

Papyrus was very important to the ancient Egyptians. It helped transform Egyptian society in many ways. The first use of papyrus paper is believed to have been 4000 BCE. Once the technology of papyrus making was developed, its method of production was kept secret, allowing the Egyptians to have a monopoly on it.

The papyrus plant symbolised ancient lower Egypt.

Papyrus is made from the triangular stem of the plant.

The stem is cut into the desired length.

The outer rind is first stripped off, and the sticky fibrous inner pith was cut into thin strips

The strips are then pounded and soaked in water for 3 days until pliable. The strips are then cut to the length desired and laid horizontally on a cotton sheet overlapping about 1 millimeter. Other strips are laid vertically over the horizontal strips resulting in the criss-cross pattern in papyrus paper. Another cotton sheet is placed on top.

The sheet is then dried under pressure. After drying, the sheet of papyrus is polished with some rounded object, possibly a stone or seashell or round hard wood.

As you can tell from above, papyrus production is labour intensive. In comparison, the production of pulped paper was much cheaper and easier. However, in a dry climate like Egypt's, papyrus is more durable than pulped paper (humid conditions destroy the papyrus material).

(Source: http://www.egyptian-papyrus.co.uk/types_of_papyrus.htm)

Just like there are many different kinds and qualities of paper today, the same was true for papyrus. Each type was used for a different purpose. Very cheaply made coarse papyrus was used by merchants as wrapping papers. The finest and most expensive varieties were reserved for religious or literary works.

The quality of papyrus depended upon several factors: the area the papyrus plant was grown, it's age, the season it was harvested and, most importantly, which layer of the pith was used in manufacturing the paper. The finest papyrus was made using the innermost pith layers and was said to have come from the Delta region.

Papyrus paper also comes in differing colours.

Light papyrus is produced during the standard manufacturing process.

Dark papyrus is produced when the strips are left in water for longer than a week, and sometimes as long as a month. The strips are then pressed for as long as two months. This results in a sheet that takes on a dark brown solid colour, which to some, appears more aged.

Although the dark papyrus looks more authentic and aged, and that it has involved a more expensive production technique, the light coloured papyrus sheets are stronger and more durable. This is because by soaking of the papyrus strips for extensive periods, the strips lose some of the natural glue and the tissue that connects the veins weakens.

Egypt trip, Dec 2008 - The Giza Pyramids

The Giza Pyramid complex is located some 8 km inland into the desert from the old town of Giza on the Nile, approximately 25 km southwest of Cairo city centre.

The complex consists of 3 key pyramids: (1: ON THE LEFT) the Pyramid of Khufu (known as the Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Cheops), which is the sole survivor of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. ; (2: IN THE MIDDLE) The somewhat smaller Pyramid of Khafre (or Chephren) a few hundred meters to the south-west ; and (3: ON THE RIGHT) the relatively modest-size Pyramid of Menkaure a few hundred meters further south-west. There are also a number of smaller satellite edifices, known as "queens" pyramids, causeways and valley pyramids.

At first, the Pyramid of Khafre appears to be larger than that of Khufu's. However, as you approach the site, you will find that the Pyramid of Khafre seems taller because it stands on higher ground (10m higher) and its peak still retained part of the original limestone casing that once covered the entire structure.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the oldest pyramid in the Giza area and it is also the largest in Egypt. It stood 164.5m high when it was completed in around 2600 BCE.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu in the background. The Pyramid consists of more than 2.3 million limestone blocks. The Egyptians shipped the limestone blocks from quarries all along the Nile River. The stone was cut by hammering wedges into the stone. Then the wedges were soaked with water. The wedges expanded, causing the rock to crack. Once they were cut, they were carried by boat either up or down the Nile River to the pyramid. It is believed that this pyramid was constructed over a 20 year period.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu in the background. SP is sitting on the blocks of the Pyramid of Khafre. You can actually enter both pyramids. At the time of our visit, entry to the Great Pyramid costs LE 150 and entry to Khafre costs LE 30. SP and I went for the cheaper option! :-P

Camels in front of the pyramid

During the 18th dynasty, the "minister from the department of temple construction" robbed casing stone from Khafre to build a temple in Heliopolis on Rameses II’s orders. This photo shows what remains of it (at its apex).

Another famous sight at Giza is the Great Sphinx of Giza, which is a statue of a reclining lion with a human head. The Great Sphinx faces due east and houses a small temple between its paws. It is one of the largest monolith (carved from the bedrock) statue in the world, standing 73.5 m (241 ft) long, 6 m (20 ft) wide, and 20 m (65 ft) high. Most Egyptologists believe that the Great Sphinx was created by the Pharaoh Khafra and that the Sphinx therefore dates to his reign (2520-2494 BCE).

Recently, the Sphinx has undergone a major restoration effort. The top of the paw was purposely left unfinished, which demonstrates the difference between the original rock and the quality of the restoration.

The one-metre-wide nose on the face is missing and there are many stories about how it lost its nose, including one about how the nose was shot off by Napoleon's men. This story is unlikely to be true as 18th Century drawings already showed the nose as missing

If you got spare time on your hand, you might want to join other tourists in the sound-and-light show. These shows run at many ancient sites in Egypt and they seem to be quite popular. They ran in a variety of languages (though there is no Chinese version yet!) and they are about an hour long.

The best thing about these shows is that the lighting provides a good opportunity for night shots. Here are some examples:

Egypt trip, Dec 2008 - Cairo Citadel

We then head to the Cairo citadel, which is a fortress build by Saladin in 1176 to defend the city from the crusaders. The Citadel was also home to the royal family for over 700 years.

The entrance fee of 50LE is a bit steep for local standards but it doesn't stop the local people in arrive in large groups.

Within the walls, there are 3 different mosques and several palaces housing various museums. The most famous building being the 19th Century Mosque of Muhammad Ali, which was modelled on the Mosque of Sultanahmet in Istanbul:

Soaring domes which are finely decorated

Centre courtyard

You can't quite tell from the pictures but the mosque was finished rather crudely.

There were bus loads of school kids running around in the site and they loves taking photos of us. I guess we were kinda exotic to them (and also thanks to the friendly relationship between China and Egypt) :-P

The clock in the background was a gift from King Louis-Philippe of France, in exchange for one of the obelisks from the Temple of Luxor and that obelisk is now housed in the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

For most people, the best part of the visit is view from the terraces. On a clear day, you are supposed to be able to see the Giza Pyramids from here: