To the Land of Sand and Pyramids!
- May 5, 2019
- 6 min read
ARRIVAL: After the Dead Sea soak, we got on our plane for a 3.5 hour flight from Jordan to Cairo. My associate Fr. Gerard complained about a rash he had developed over night. I told him to just relax and that it was probably nerves. (He tends to be a hypochondriac.) Here are some shots from the plane as we were readying for landing (1-3, in the "gallery" above). Doesn't it look like the Egypt you imagined?
We made it quick through customs. And so our guide "Reda" took us to visit some of the Christian sites in Cairo, Egypt. While driving around, I took photos of this tomb (that looks like a Mosque) (4) and of our first view of the Nile River (5). This first place was a church dedicated to Mary (6), I believe (my memory is a bit fuzzy on the first day as we departed Jordan at like 5 am). Afterwards we visited a Coptic church built over a cavern where the Holy Family supposedly stayed (7-9). This map shows the supposed route, though how they would know is beyond me (10). Here are some Byzantine Icons that lined the walls of the church (11-14), the main entrance (15), the altar built over the Holy Family's home (16) and a well that supplied water for them (17). Then we visited an old Jewish Synagogue (18-19) before going to our hotel. This last image is the view outside my hotel room—yes, those are a couple of the famous Pyramids of Giza (20). Isn't it a lovely scene colored by the setting sun? God is good!
DAY 2: The following day, Father Gerard again complained of itchiness and being unable to sleep well the night before. The rash had spread and looked worse so our first stop was a "chemist" (what we'd call a pharmacy). The pharmacist said that sometimes Dead Sea swims produce such a reaction. He supplied a cream for the itch and some antihistemine medication. Then off we went touring Egyptian sites!
First we visited a museum with some very old Egyptian artifacts! The scale of all the objects are always impressive. This sphinx is small compared to the real one (3-4). The guide explained what a sphinx symbolized: the head of a man (or woman) meant the represented person was wise like a human being; the body of a lion meant the person was strong like a lion. Makes sense! Look at this toppled colossas (5-8). Finally, I loved this stone baboon (9). Well made, indeed!
SAQQARA: We returned to the bus and proceeded to visit our first pyramid at Saqqara or Saccara or Sakkara, depending on how you translate it. This first shot was taken from the bus as we approached the site (1). The entrance to the pyramid is a long ancient colonnade (2); amazing how perfectly aligned the collumns are! We took a selfie as we awaited our guide (3). The Saqqara Step Pyramid is just what you might imagine it to be based on the name! At the site, a camel fell in love with me (6-9)! It was such a sweet thing, posing for pictures. This shot is a selfie with the nine of us who came from Jordan (the other pilgrims returned back to Sydney). Saqqara is more than a step pyramid as you can see from this panoramic overview of the site (12).
PYRAMIDS OF GIZA: Seeing the pyramids in person has always been a dream. I really never expected to be able to do this. And they are awesome! The largest of the three stands 481 feet tall. For those who have been to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, you know it stands 630 feet tall. So that can give you a perspective to the scale. Photo four shows the entrance to the site, where you pay for the ticket to get into the necropolis (or city of the dead). This is a close up of the stones, whose weight keeps them in place. Originally the pyramids were covered in smooth sand stone like at the top of the largest pyramid (10) but sand storms and wind have blown it all away. Our guide asked us to ty to imagine what that must have looked like all smooth and gleaming in the sun.
I saw a fun fact on the internet: Cleopatra lived closer to our time than to the time when these pyramids were made! (Is that mind blowing?) The pyramids are tombs. You can see the entrance to the tomb in photo 12 with a detail of that entrance in 13. All around us people were trying to make money selling junky trinkets and offering to take photos with one's camera and then asking for money for doing something for which you didn't even ask (or want for that matter)! They were pretty aggressive too, which made me and the group feel a bit uncomfortable as our guide let us wander and stayed on the bus.
There are a total of 50 or so pyramids in and around Cairo (like Saqqara). But there are only three pyramids at Giza. The first and largest was built by the Pharoah Khufu as a tomb for himself. His son built the second, but as a son he could not built it as tall or taller as that would be an offense. Instead he built a slightly smaller pyramid on a higher hill! So it actually is shorter, but built on higher ground! the third and smallest pyramid was built by Khufu's grandson. And he covered his pyramid with a better stone! So much for reverencing one's elders!
So we then went to see the world famous Sphinx. This is the shot taken from the bus. Our guide told us that this would be the best photo we could get and was ready to drive off after we took pictures. I complained that I had come all this way and wanted to see it closer, so he made the bus driver stop and we got out. This is the seating area where they do shows, like Aida, outdoors (2). And here are closer shots of the world beauty. I'm glad we stopped!
Upon arrival to the hotel, Fr. Gerard wasn't getting any better! So we called a doctor. The hotel had one on call for the many tourists. He came right away, took Father's temperature (it was high) and his pulse (also high) and blood pressure (very low) and told us it was a good thing we called or he'd be in the hospital with symptoms to a severe alergic reaction to the Dead Sea! He said the meds and cream were good but to weak to do anything. So the doctor put him on an IV drip with medication in the evening (15) and again in the morning; by morning he was feeling much better and was able to sleep at night with the meds that made him drowsy. with him feeling better, I pretended to give him Last Rites (16)!
THE MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES: The last day we visited this wonderful museum. Just for your information, this museum is being rebuilt at a different site to be able to showcase all of the many treasures that have been discovered. I was told this is a paltry few of the objects as they have no room in this old museum to show everything. We passed the new museum building on the way and it looked as big as an airport terminal!
I enjoyed this museum very much. I really liked the building itself (1-5). I'll let you peruse through the photos as I don't know enough about what I photographed to be able to explain. It's really old stuff! Let me comment on what caught my eye: 10 is an alabaster box used to store the organs of a pharoah for burial. Our guide explained about hieroglyphics and how to read them (12-13). They run either left or right or from top down. Look for the lines. if they are horizontal, read across, verticle, reads down. But which way to read the horizontal images? He said look for the direction the figures face. If they face to the right, read from right to left; if they face to the left, read from left to right.
They had a separate room on King Tut (18-25). Here is a drawing of how the tomb appeared with all that was in it when it was discovered (18). I didn't realize that the sarcophagus that held the body was placed inside four different nesting chambers, all covered in gold (this [19] is one of them, though all four were there)! This is the famous face mask that covered the body (21-22) (you weren't supposed to take pictures, but I stood in a corner and had a great shot (21) until this nut stood in front and took a picture right in front of a guard!) This is the chair belonging to Tut (25).
Animals were also mummified (26). But what I found most impressive was the last room we visited that had huge statues (27-29). Finally we had a short 3 hour cruise onthe Nile with a glorious sunset (30-31). The next day was spent flying back starting with a 3.30 am wake up call! Needless to say, I slept most of the trip home!
I hope you enjoyed seeing shots of the pilgrimage. Everyone was so complimentary and I was very happy with the travel agency. They did wonderful. When we got back, folks were asking where we were going next! I am currently planning a trip in late May 2022 for Greece, Turkey, and Rome with an Assisi extension in the footsteps of St. Paul! Save your pennies!
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