Cairo Chronicle, Issue # 6, December 6, 1999
Call us crazy, but we decided to see ANOTHER set of pyramids. I mean, what
else are we gonna do in Egypt, right? Our travels Thanksgiving weekend,
while most of you were probably watching the Macy's parade or groaning because
you ate too much pumpkin pie, led us to the ruins of Saqqara. For those
of you (like us until recently) who have no clue about Saqqara, it is a
small desert plain to the west of the Nile and south of the Giza plateau.
It was at Saqqara that the first real pyramid was built by King Djoser.
He lived about 4,800 years ago. Most Egyptologists believe Saqqara to be
the intermediate architectural design between the mastaba and the Giza pyramids.
Hoping to glimpse its insides, we were disappointed to discover it closed.
The temple of Djoser -- a 3rd Dynasty ruin just outside the pyramid grounds
-- was, however, open and we unwittingly (and *ahem* stupidly?) followed
a make-shift tour-guide wannabe around. Unlike the US, where one gets to
sign up for a tour or pay for one ahead of time, the ruins here have myriad
"tour guides." Some are reliable and others are just there to
make some quick foreign money while hurriedly shuffling you through all
of the sights :-) We were shown all the special sites, and got to peer into
and gaze at set upon set of paintings and hieroglyphic carvings from well
more than 4,000 years ago! The most interesting for Todd were the tombs
of King Unas and his family. This Egyptian ruler was the last 5th Dynasty
ruler, and his family tombs are grand affairs. Inside are painted stories
of his great wealth and riches, some of his laws, etc. Interestingly enough,
though the paint on the walls is faded, details of its former glory can
be seen when one looks closely at it.
The hieroglyphics here are elaborate by any stretch of the imagination;
details within the alphabetic carvings pop out at you. Each alphabetic symbol
is about as deeply cut into the rocks as a man's fingernail is long. In
some places, the depth is thicker. Inside the cuts, one can see immaculate
detailing -- feathers on birds, webbed feet on the ducks, lines on the staff,
feathers and hands symbols. All of this just made Todd's jaw drop. One of
the tombs Todd went into (not Barbara), showed a painted and carved scene
of fishermen working in the Nile. The colors and details of a small portion
of it were as vivid to him as any modern painting. The Egyptians' brownish
skin color was, in the picture, contrasted with the white/tannish color
of their loincloths, similarly contrasted with the blue-green color of the
river. Needless to say, it was breathtaking stuff in a place where it's
already difficult to breathe.
We left Saqqara behind to drive several kilometers to Memphis. There is
nothing about Elvis Presley here, so don't get your hopes up! In fact, there's
nothing much in Memphis at all, except for a museum (though, I understand
the Tennessee city has much the same. Graceland it ain't). We went into
the museum and saw a conglomeration of statues, artifacts and sarcophaguses
(Sarcophagi?) which could only make the modern visitor shrug and wish there
were something more interesting. The irony of this is, of course, that Memphis
is where Egypt began! Inside the museum is a large statue (or chunk-o-statue)
of King Ramses, lying on his back. Todd had never before noticed that the
Ramses statue has a dagger. The small sword has its hilt above the waistline,
and the blade/scabbard below the waistline -- held in place by a sash-belt.
We knew that the Pharaohs of old also had fake beards, but we were never
able to reconcile how they wore them. The statue showed us a possible answer;
the beard seemed to be attached to the headdress and crown, acting as a
strap to hold the crown in place. While other relics are to be seen, the
stray cats and dogs on the site were just as interesting to us. Three, or
maybe four, of these animals came to sniff us as we walked past souvenir
vendors' stalls.
As we left the museum and drove around, we noticed a lot of greenery and
solitude. Memphis, it has turned out, is a green and quiet place. One turns
a corner, and there is a small humble (yet modern) residential section.
Turn another corner and it's green again. The area is not so majestic, as
it is peaceful and humbled by time and culture. Strange that this is what
should become of the birthplace of the Great Egyptian Civilization. It is
widely held that King Menes was the founder of Memphis. He chose the site
because it was closer to Lower Egypt than his own city of Thinis. The crowning
glory of Memphis now is its lush agriculture and its museum.
Our pyramid experience concluded with a trip to a remote set of pyramids
at Dahshur. This site, far away from the tourist trappings of Giza and Saqqara,
was a lonesome pair of pyramids about 3 kilometers (1.5 miles) distant (and
they look like they're right next door). The pyramids were built by Pharaoh
Snefru during the Fourth Dynasty and form a straight line with both the
Saqqara and Giza pyramids. Snefru's pyramids are considered the "father"
or "Baba" of the Giza pyramids. We were up to the challenge of
walking into one of the pyramids at Dahshur, despite the long steep flight
of stairs that led to the pyramid's entrance. The climb was not only
taxing on our breath (we were out of it quite a bit while we walked), but
also on our legs, which were becoming increasingly sore. At the entrance
to the pyramid, one of the Egyptian guards posted there told Barbara to
sit down. While Todd understood the guard's suggestion as one for her to
rest, Barbara took it as a signal that we had to wait for another tour group
inside to finish. So she sat and waited and waited. In the end, however,
the guard wondered if we were ever going to go inside. He must have seen
that Todd was getting antsy to get inside the pyramid -- and that in some
ways, so was Barbara, though her sore legs and her breath had not yet fully
recovered from the climb. The first glance inside the entrance to the pyramid,
however, made our hearts stop momentarily -- the sloping ramp into the pyramid
was at least twice that of the climb itself. Like an iceberg, this pyramid
was only showing its top portion! Down we went, pausing every hundred yards
of so to catch our breath in stiflingly stale air. It was a moderately
cool day, and the pyramid was little relief. After what seemed an eternity,
we finally reached the bottom, and looked up. The pyramid inside had been
constructed like a step pyramid, with a vaulted-stepwise ceiling. The stone
area inside was hollow and spacious. Though not spectacular in itself, the
pyramid's design was much more elaborate than Giza's. More climbing on wooden
steps brought us to the actual chamber where the sarcophagus had rested.
Stone blocks that seemed larger than Todd littered the room -- a sure sign
of grave robbers or natural forces from times gone by. The vaulted ceiling
of the other room was not to be seen here. After walking up the wooden stairs,
we realized that we had to trudge back DOWN the stairs. Each step was agonizing,
as our legs kept telling us in no uncertain terms that they were sore. Hoping
to rest them, and not finding any convenient way to do so, we walked down
the stairs only to remember -- oh yeah! We have to also climb up the L-O-N-G
ramp to the outside. Each step along the way proved painfully slow. Each
ten or twenty yards up the ramp, we stopped to catch our breath, and rest
our weary legs (to no avail). Up we went, and the going up was probably
worse than going down. As we entered into the bright daylight outside, we
could see the Saqqara and Unas pyramids in the distance. It was beautiful,
and our legs HURT BADLY! And we still had to climb down the steps that led
up to the pyramid's entrance! All we could do at this point was look at
each other. Luckily, there was a set of rocks where we rested for about
5 minutes (it might have been longer) before walking (almost drunkenly it
must have seemed) down the steps to our waiting taxi driver, Mohammed. Our
soreness was eased at a local restaurant, of which Mohammed knew. Three
people, at a sit-down restaurant with two appetizers and main courses of
shish kebab, were able to eat for less than $10 each. That was a treat,
and the food was just right.
Those of you who have met our beloved little (or some would say big!) cat,
Nigel, would not recognize him now! He used to be terrified of strangers,
noises, ceiling fans, knocks on the door, etc. We think he was abused
as a kitten. There were only a few people he would warm up to, other
than us. Since he got used to his new home, Nigel has been very friendly!
He loves our bawwab, Mohammed, and our cleaner, Hufaz. He stands next
to the door all afternoon waiting for us to come home. We have to
open it slowly to avoid hitting him. He frequently tries to explore
the hallway outside our apartment, and even tried to climb up on the railing
of the balcony (a heart-stopping experience - we're four floors up)!
His favorite evening pastime is to climb into your lap and knead your thighs,
stomach, legs for almost a half hour (if you let him). It has gotten
so "bad" that Barbara and Todd have "Nigel Bruises"
on their thighs. And when Barbara lays down on the couch to read, Nigel
will almost always stand on her stomach and knead it painfully! So
we're learning to adjust to a new personality - it's amazing how adaptable
animals can be!
It's the Christmas season for everyone, but here in Egypt, we're about to
start Ramadan. On either the 8th or 9th of December (depending on
the phase of the moon) all Muslims will start a month of fasting during
the day and feasting all night. We will tell you more about it in
our next letter when we've experienced it!
We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!
Todd and Barbara Thomas
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