The Egypt experience

Egypt is truly a gift of the Nile, blue under the cloudless skies, and in its present day form, of width comparable more with the Thames than with the Hooghly. In the delta region, there are cotton fields and urban settlements. Additionally, spread only along the east bank of the Nile is a strip of width averaging no more than a couple of kilometres containing habitation and cultivation, principally of sugar cane. The bank where the sun sets was for the dead - the Sahara begins almost where the Nile ends. Only on special days of the year ancient folks went on pilgrimage to all the mortuary temples, tombs and pyramids which dot the west bank.

The earliest experimental pyramids date back to more than 2700 BCE at Saqqara and Dashur. The three famed pyramids of Khufu, Khefren and Menkuare at Giza, the west bank at Cairo, were built within the next two centuries. The inscrutable sphinx, with its nose lost to target practice by foreign soldiers, is dwarfed by the sheer scale of the pyramids. But the city has grown to engulf the area defined for the pyramids. It is rather disconcerting to find the view of the pyramids interrupted by flyovers and cantilever cranes not to mention KFCs and Macdonalds cheek by jowl with pyramids.

By the end of the Old Kingdom in 2100 BCE, grave robbers had made pyramids untenable as resting places of the departed pharaohs. The tomb of Tutankhamun. of the fourteenth century before Christ, had escaped looting. It was the twentieth century discovery of its phenomenal riches that resulted in the worldwide fame of this boy king who ruled for a mere nine insignificant years. He belonged to the eighteenth dynasty in the New Kingdom of rulers of this ancient land. While in Egypt, it is so easy to slip into a mindset which displaces Alexander’s conquest into a commonplace modern day occurrence.

The Middle Kingdom began around 2000 BCE and the New Kingdom from 1500 BCE. By the time of the middle kingdom, burials took place in the valley of kings across the Nile from Luxor. Digging began in the stark limestone hills on the west bank as soon as a king ascended the throne. The longer he ruled the deeper and more decorated was the narrow passage burrowing into these hills. The burial chamber was hewn out and decorated in preparation for the tomb during the period of forty odd days of anointing the body.

In the area of limestone hills there are also a valley of queens, a valley of nobles and a valley of workers. This last valley not having been worth looting, still  stands forlorn and roofless  with its derelict mud brick houses but it contains a few tombs whose wall paintings are astoundingly fresh and unchanged by the passage of time.

Built during the middle kingdom and the new kingdom are the  more spectacular temples of, Esna, Edfu, Hathor, Dendera, Abydos, Medinat Habu, Hatshepsut, Abu Simbel, Philae, Luxor, Karnak and more. Some are mortuary temples specifically constructed to make a statement about the greatness of the king. Some are meant for prayer. Some are rock cut temples and others are vast open temple complexes with colossal pillars separating enormous courtyards. Many are intricately carved. Some are painted in vegetable dyes and some are carved as well as painted. Some commemorate acts of valour or the hour of judgement of the Pharaoh. Others tell of divine blessings conveyed upon the king or of his passage across the Nile to his place of eternal rest. All are unfailingly impressive and in totality they tell a tale of a settled life of contentment and security all brought about by the presence of the Nile.

It is common knowledge that before the construction of the Aswan dam, the Nile flooded annually. But of greater importance is the fact that this was not a sudden unexpected breaching of embankments causing devastation all around. It was rather a time bound and predictably steady rise of water level embracing a predictable swathe of riverbank on either side repeated year on year. All the monuments including the pyramids border the edge of the flood plain of the Nile. There are large boat pits dug all around the pyramids at Giza. The stone quarries are near Aswan 600 kilometres upstream of the delta. There must have been a periodic supply of surplus manpower during the flooding season of zero cultivation. But all this information collectively is only one part of the story of the famed ancient monuments. The ancient Egyptian obsession with the afterlife is perhaps its main driving force behind the construction work. The quality of detailing in the intricate work speaks also of this being a labour of love, perhaps even of service to god. This conveys volumes on Egyptian society of the time.

The present day population is proud of its heritage notwithstanding the presence of multiple gods with animal faces. Systems are now in place to preserve these treasures from damage from pollution and from flash bulbs. Entry into any temple complex is through scanner gates manned by sentries. At closing time the tourism police hands over charge to the antiquities police who are on guard through the night.  

There is special care taken to ensure safety of tourists. Entry into any railway station involves mandatory baggage scan. Police check posts exist at strategic points on all roads checking the number and nationality of tourists and their destination. This information is forwarded to the next relevant check post. Travel to difficult destinations is permitted only in convoys escorted by armed guards. On one occasion when we had veered off from the beaten path to take a short cut, the police tracked us down, fined the driver and escorted us back to safety. The tourism police are never in your face but are alert to every interaction between the tourist and the local tradesman. They appear from nowhere at the merest suggestion of harassment of any tourist.

Travelling is easy in Egypt. Roads are excellent and well maintained cars are readily available on hire. Trains are clean, comfortable and well appointed. All temple complexes are equipped with washrooms. Most importantly, the man on the road is welcoming and happy to help whenever possible. Random persons have come forward to help put our luggage into trains. Of course one has to bargain over every purchase but that is a part of the Egyptian culture and is meant to be enjoyed in the right spirit with much dramatic talk of hailing from a poor country and even of hearts broken with disappointment. It is all part of the ceremony.   Even with those persons devoid of English, the merest exchange of Nehru – Nasser or Amitabh Bacchhan – Omar Sharif establishes a common wavelength bringing on broad smiles and much shaking of hands.

Egypt stands out as an experience to savour and cherish what with its desert sunsets, its felucca rides, and its drives through the Sahara shimmering in watery reflections of palm groves, its temple complexes with layouts clearly indicative of a separation by caste, and above all the Nile flowing serenely through.osiris.abydos2016@gmail.comosiris.abydos2016@gmail.com