When traveling abroad, especially in a place like Egypt, I never book a tour. I like to move at my pace and not be herded around like some sheep. I travel alone.
When in the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, where I spent 3 whole days, I was sitting on the floor, with my back against the wall, starring at a magnificent statue of Pharaoh Chephren, when a herd of tourists were ushered in for 2 minutes and then , just as quickly herded off. It gave me a chuckle. I went back to my studies, read a bit more about the statue, and continued to be mesmerized.
P.S. The statue of Pharaoh Chephren, sometimes called Khafre (room .#42) is made of diorite, the 2nd hardest substance known. Yet the statue is polished as smooth as glass. How did the Egyptians do it ?
Several years ago we went on a cruise round the western Med. Our visit to Rome was absolutely hopeless. We were dragged around the city with no time to look at anything properly. Lunch was a fracas. We were booked into some poorly organised restaurant and waited interminably for our meals with nothing productive to do, taking up valuable time that we would have spent looking at what WE would have liked to.
May I make a suggestion ? the next time you travel, 1st decide what you want to see and do. 2nd, Pull up a google map of the area and find a hotel that sits near the middle of that area. Go on the net and book your hotel (also a great way to compare prices). I always try to book âoff-seasonâ. It gives me the best prices but more importantly it allows me to avoid the huge crowds.
Upon arriving at your hotel make friends with the staff. They are an invaluable source of great info. Ask them about taxi prices to your destination. Always negotiate price BEFORE entering taxi.
Believe me, this is the best way to travel. You are totally in charge of where you go and how long you decide to stay. Also, you get to pick your own dining establishment.
Lastly, look for crowded restaurants that cater to locals. Locals know where the best food is.
You are probably correct. I thought about that. However, how did they remove the scratches left by the sand ? Perhaps a finer and finer grade of sand ? Thatâs as far as my thinking takes me.
As we are talking all things Egyptian, there is something I have never quite understood.
Twice a year at Abu Simbel, the sun aligns perfectly with the statue of Ramses ll, on his birthday and his coronation day. Every year thousands of people witness this event and we all marvel at how clever the ancient Egyptians were.
The problem is that Abu Simbel was moved stone by stone in the 1960âs so did that happen before it was moved and is the ingenuity of it really due to the ancient Egyptians or is it technically down to the people who moved it?
I am 100% positive that the original Abu Simbel site lined up perfectly on those two dates. Note that of the 4 statues deep inside, only Seth is always in darkness. Seth, âthe evil oneâ, never gets to have the sun shine on him. Pretty cool, huh ?
P.S. If UNESCO had not intervened, the Russians and the Egyptians would have flooded the Abu Simbel site due to the rising waters of the Aswan High Dam.
It was an international UNESCO team that saved Abu Simbel.
Unfortunately dozens of other sites are forever flooded and will never again be seen by man.
P.P.S. If traveling to Abu Simbel, be sure to go with a military escort. Thatâs Muslim bandit country.:shock:
But things may have changed since I was there in 2007.
Yes, have been but flew from Luxor, I think it took about an hour. We flew in an old propeller plane which I have to say was one of the smoothest flights I have ever had. We were even allowed to go and sit in the cockpit and chat with the pilots.
We did have an armed escort on another trip though and the convoy stops for nothing. Itâs only afterwards you realise how dangerous it was.
general notes for everyone thinking of traveling to Egypt
If going to either Aswan or Luxor (ancient Thebes), I recommend taking a the floating hotel ferries. Prices are dirt cheap, at least on the off season (March). And the food was surprisingly excellent.
It takes 2 1/2 days to go from Aswan to Luxor by ferry. You can sit in the shade on the top deck and watch the lonely grandeur of Egypt. They will stop at all significant Temples. But, for Godâs sake donât tarry when on shore The ferry will cruise off without you. When you get off the ferry get itâs name, and remember where they docked it. I almost missed my ferry at Kom Ombo. I literally had to jump on board as they were pulling away.
Did you happen to notice The Narmer Palette? Itâs a very small piece in the 1st floor atrium. Small, but arguably one of the most important pieces in the museum. It shows the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt from the 31st century B.C.
3100 B.C., just think of that. The Egyptians had an advanced civilization when our ancestors were wearing blue paint and animal skins.
No I didnât Iâm afraid or maybe I did but canât remember .i only had a day there and was awestruck at just about everything but especially the Tutankhamun exhibits and how incredibly close we were allowed to get to them ( then )
There is little doubt that Pharaoh Tutankhamunâs solid gold death mask is the most beautiful thing man has ever created.
But, for the study of Egyptian archeology, the rather plain looking Rosetta Stone is far more valuable.
The Rosetta Stone now resides in the British Museum.
In 1822, the Frenchman, Jean-Francois Champollion, the father of Egyptology, finally broke the code by using the Rosetta Stone as a guide. If he had not done so, all Egyptian hieroglyphics would still be a total mystery.
I watched a documentary recently , it stated that two still born baby girls were buried with tutankhamum and they showed these tiny babies saying they would have been tuts and his sisters children . Is this true , did you see any evidence baker man . This is news to me .
I donât immediately recall ever hearing that before. However, since Tutankhamun was married to his sister, it would not be surprising that any children would have been still-born.
Ankhesenamun, Tutâs wife and sister, wrote a letter to the King of Syria, (which we still have) practically begging for one of his sonâs to marry her. She was in a bad way, extreme danger surrounded her.
I have always suspected that Tutankhamun was murdered by AY. If AY murdered Tut and if he was putting pressure on Ankhesenamun to marry him, then she would not have survived long after marriage.
The story of that entire family is fascinating. The mother, Nefertitti was certainly one of the worlds most beautiful women. Tutâs putative father Pharaoh Akhenaten was one very strange looking fellow,( hips and breasts of a woman).
Pharaoh Akhenaten was the worldâs first mono-theist. He worshiped the Sun as the one and only true god. This, of course, seriously angered the thousands of priests who worshipped hundreds of different gods.
When Tutankhamun died, the priests once again came back into power.
All around a great story .
Bust of Nefertiti (name means, âBeauty has comeâ)
