My visit to Cairo: Tip of the iceberg experience of a rich civilization

Print Edition

User Rating: / 21
PoorBest 

Aviation & Tourism

Friday, 03 February 2012

Author / Source : Nasrin pervin

After almost 150 steps, I stopped. The narrow tunnel sloped deep down the pyramid and the rows of electric tubes on both sides — a touch of modern civilization — gave out a mysterious dim light. But modern or otherwise, it created just the right ambience and setting for a dead king/queen’s mummy. As one climbs down the steep corridor and heads towards the tomb at its heart, it is difficult to comprehend how the ancient Egyptians were able to construct these amazing structures. When I put my first step on the stair, made out of very thin wooden beams, a dark atmosphere enveloped me. As I struggled down the steps apprehensively, I felt as if a black hole was dragging me into its belly. My heart pounded heavily against my chest as I plodded through the steep passage and suddenly I felt I had difficulty breathing. I thought about going back a thousand times, but something inside me whispered a mystery was about to open up like magic in front of my eyes. It was uncannily compulsive — perhaps the effect of mummies! Finally, I put my foot on the wooden floor. A stinky atmosphere surrounded me. From here, one can see the false chamber of the king that was built deliberately to mislead the robbers who would come to plunder the riches that were placed around the royal dead bodies (mummies) as part of the rituals. The real chamber entrance was hidden, but for the tourists a wooden stair has been built to lead to that beautifully decorated chamber. One can see the tombs, the offerings, hieroglyphic scripts, the chamber to keep the mummified body, but not the mummy of the king. Ancient belief was, once when the hieroglyphic scripts would be deciphered the spirit of the kings would come alive along with all the offerings in the other world, for they held that the real life for them rested there. I took some photographs of the tomb and the chamber. I expected the pyramids to be cool inside, but they were not. It is really difficult walking and climbing crouched over, struggling and all the while breathing in a hot stuffy atmosphere. But the cavernous interiors are worth seeing. Like spelunking without getting muddy. I was horrified and shaking out of fear. Finally I arrived at the enigmatic burial chamber of the Great Khufu (Cheops) himself. Built before the age of decorated tombs, this place spoke with its quietness. I felt I could actually sense those countless tons of stone pressing down above me.
It felt strange how the Egyptian people in 3500 BC built these pyramids. Anyway, it took another 20 minutes to come out from the death chamber, and I was almost out of breath. I had to take a break of 15 minutes to pull myself together from the traumatic journey down the pyramid as well as the awesome experience of seeing the royal chamber made for the dead royalties.  I couldn’t walk properly for a while even after I got out of the tunnel.
Next I made to the Egyptian Museum to see the mummies. I'm glad I went in to see the mummies. There are only a few of the royal families and they don't exactly do anything scary!  I'm very much into the Egyptian history so they could never be "just a bunch of dusty mummies" to me. I gazed at them in absolute wonder and awe, imagining the life they led, what stories they had to tell us... I was surprised by how small they were, not that I was expecting them to be giants! Ramses II is the one that I was mostly interested in.
His head still has quite a bit of hair on it—they say they were false. Some of them also had eyeballs made of stones—one had onions too—fixed in their eye-cavities. They can be seen just as a bunch of mummies but if you are really interested in the history of Egypt I would say they are worth a look. Some of them look as though they are about to sit up, shake hand with you and speak. To me they were both creepy and astounding.
You simply cannot visit Cairo without experiencing the Sphinx of Giza, one of the greatest wonders of the ancient world. The Great Sphinx is one of the largest and oldest statues of the world, yet basic facts about it, such as the real-life model for the face, when it was built, and by whom, are fully pontificated about, with all the different sides having some hidden agenda that has nothing to do with the debate.
The ancient belief behind building Sphinx was to protect the four pyramids that were erected behind it. Thus it combines the head of a Pharaoh with the body of a lion, making it a powerful symbol of  divine strength. The Great Sphinx stands as a guardian of the Giza Plateau, where it faces the rising sun.
As I passed the Sphinx I was told that I was being taken to a papyrus museum. A lady there showed me how ancient Egyptians made paper from Papyrus tree. Surprisingly they even practiced the process of recycling these papers! If you ever be in Cairo and like to buy some real hand painted Egyptian pictures on real papyrus I recommend Queen of Egypt Papyrus. They have a large collection of paintings and they also hold demonstrations on how to manufacture paper from the papyrus trees that are grown in plenty by the side of the Nile. You will find this shop at Abu El Houl St. Nazlet El Samman. I'm the one with a white-blue printed dress and black cap in the photo listening carefully to the description of the process of making papyrus—the etymology of the word paper. I have three beautiful paintings on my wall at home bought from this shop and I don't regret I had to pay exorbitantly for them.
We then visited the “Egyptian Perfume Palace” of Cairo. In typical Egyptian sales pitch fashion, I had a presenter who gave me a canned presentation (twice) while I sipped a “hospitality drink” and was handed out an order sheet. The owner became a little intimidating as well as intimate in his verbosity and I was made to feel compulsive to buy before leaving the shop. But the rewarding thing was to know how almost 4000 years back Egyptians extracted perfumes for both men and women from flowers and plants without adding any preservatives. I chose the Lotus and Five Secrets for me and an aftershave and lavender for my husband and got free gifts of some beautiful bottles to go with them.
Those I tipped for us and for the loved ones. The bottles were wrapped and packaged so well that they survived the trip in my suitcase without leakage.
Camel rides around the Giza pyramids are great fun and taking one after 2 pm when the pyramids are closed allows you to take great panoramic photos of them with no crowds around.
Riding the camel was smooth at the slow pace with the Bedouin walking in front. The Bedouin was free to take the camel outside the areas where tourists are restricted, and the view walking around and close to the pyramid steps was great.
Once you are comfortable your guide will escort you across the beautiful sandy plains of the Sinai Desert. Please remember your cameras, as you will not want to miss these photo opportunities! Camel riding, though initially a bit scary when the camel stands up with you on its back, is a tranquil and fulfilling experience. At the end you will have profuse appreciation for traditional Egyptian life.
After the camel trip when we got back the stable manager was quick to point out we should give some tips to the camel driver. These camel ride operators are notorious for this kind of caper and something should be done about this but it seems that the tourist police get their backhanders from these operators too. In spite of my irritating flights I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Cairo.  On my own I had been to other places too—for example, Al-Azhar University, Cairo University, American University, the recently famous Tahrir Square, the never ending Al-Khalili market, saw the first pyramid built about 20 kilometers away from Cairo in Sakara, visited Memphis, the first capital of Egypt and had a river cruise on the Nile—but those can remain for my possible future travelogue. I just wanted to document my feelings about the ancientness and richness of the Egyptian civilization after the trip which—I am well-aware—is only a tip of the iceberg experience. 

The writer is a lecturer, Enligh Language Teaching, English Department,
North South University