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Gulliver's Travels Egypt Part 3 - The Sinai

5/25/2020

The Sinai

The Sinai is a peninsula on the eastern edge of Egypt, with the Gulf of Aqaba (connected to the Red Sea) on its east and the Gulf of Suez on its west. It is a mountainous desert, and it was made famous in the biblical accounts of Moses. After spending 40 days on Mt. Horeb (renamed Mt. Sinai), Moses is to have received the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets from God at the "burning bush." (According to Monty Python, he received THREE with 15 commandments, but he dropped one and smashed it.) And Moses led the Israelites out of Eqypt through the Sinai, then escaping the pursuing army of Pharaoh Ramesses II by parting the Red Sea. I mainly went there to see those places, as I love to visit famous places I've read about (I like to name drop).

Mushroom Rock in White Canyon, which is 20 feet high

Hiking in White Canyon

Bedouin girls

St. Catharine's Monastery, founded in 527 A.D. on the reputed spot of the "burning bush" that Moses saw on Mt. Horeb (Sinai)

This bush is reputed to be the bush that Moses saw "burning".

Many camels wander about the desert.

The truck is carrying rolls of Styrofoam. A bit disconcerting to be following such a truck.

I would never carry cattle in MY truck.

Epilogue

Of the 50 Favorite Man-Made Places of mine, the pyramids sit at the top. And the temples along the Nile rank number fourteen. Both rank number 10 on a scale of 1-10. Thus, both need to be considered to visit before one dies.

Should you worry about terrorism, thieves, or whatever? Not much. I never saw so many police in my life! And I was constantly told by strangers how much they liked Americans. None scowled at me. So go!

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Gulliver's Travels -05/18/2020 Egypt Part 2 - Temples of the Nile

5/18/2020

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Temples of the Nile

The Nile River, at 6132 miles empties into the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria, Egypt. Without the Nile, there would be no Egypt, only the Sahara. But by irrigating with it, Egypt was to become one of the first civilizations over 5000 years ago. The numerous rulers of that civilization built countless temples, tombs, and other structures along the Nile century after century. So many are in still in such good shape that it would take years to visit them all. In two trips, I've only scratched the surface.

On the east side of the Nile, two huge temples, the Temple of Amun at Karnak (of Johnnie Carson fame in Karnak the Magnificent) and Luxor, are almost worth the price of a plane ticket themselves. But then on the west side of the Nile more are to be found. The biggest attraction there is the Valley of the Kings, where the tombs of 26 pharaohs (kings) are. All are deep underground in a valley amongst low, barren mountains. I entered four of them, including that of King Tutankhamun (Tut).

I started touring the temples on the Nile in southern Egypt at Abu Simbel. Then I traveled by car for 300 miles to the city of Luxor.

Great Temple of Abu Simbel: This 103-foot high temple of the 13th Century, B.C., was to be submerged in the 1960s by the rising waters behind the new Aswan Dam. It was cut apart and moved 213 feet higher and 688 feet back to a new location.

The left side of Abu Simbel

Inside Abu Simbel

The right side of Abu Simbel

The Temple of Amun at Karnak, city of Luxor, built from 2000 B.C. to 1100 B.C.

Luxor Temple, city of Luxor, built from 1550 B.C. to 1200 B.C

Luxor Temple at night

Medinet, Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III, 1153 B.C.

Medinet Temple

Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, 1503-1482 B.C.

Tomb of Ramose, visir (architect) of King Amenhotep III, at Deir Al-Medina

Valley of the Kings

Dale inside the tomb of King Tutankhamun (or King Tut), who reigned from 1336-1307 B.C., with his mummy

Typical farm transport vehicle

Next week's posting on Gulliver's Travels will cover my visit to the Sinai, a peninsula on the east side of Egypt.

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Gulliver's Travels 05/11/2020 Egypt (Part 1- The Pyramids)

5/11/2020

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Egypt - Part 1
The Pyramids

I primarily visited Egypt in January to continue my research on tombs. As I am now 77, it's time to select one that befits my stature. I've already seen the Taj Mahal and rejected it as ostentatious. And the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi in Xi'an, China, where he was buried with 7000 terra cotta soldiers and horses, creeped me out when I saw it and considered being buried the same way. In Egypt I visited King Tut's tomb and several pyramids, each a tomb for a pharaoh of what is called The Old Kingdom. Right now, I'm leaning towards a version of Tut's tomb, so now I must contact the director of the cemetery at St. Casimir's in Northeim, where three generations of Sieverts rest, to see what I can build there.

Seriously, Egypt simply stuns the senses. Over 5000 years ago they established a civilization before first the Persians, then the Greeks, and finally the Romans subdued them. So many of the structures they built, temples, tombs, and obelisks, still stand. Will any of our structures last three to five thousand years?

I first flew to Aswan in the south, a city on the Nile River. Then I took a taxi 200 miles north down the Nile to Luxor, site of numerous temples and tombs of kings. Next, I flew to the Sinai Desert, the land of Moses, in the eastern part of Egypt before flying to Cairo to see the nearby pyramids at Giza and Saqqara.

Dorothy and I visited Egypt in 2004, and it was her favorite place in the world she ever visited. She especially liked climbing inside the tallest pyramid, all the way to the burial chamber of King Khufu. Not for the claustrophobic, it was extremely narrow and steep--but thrilling to navigate.

The Pyramids

Just to the west of Cairo, and on the west bank of the Nile River, lie the sites of the ancient pyramids. The most famous are the three gigantic pyramids of three generations of pharaohs at Giza, built during the Old Kingdom (the early part of Eqyptian history). They were the last pyramids built. Earlier pyramids and other structures lie 20 miles south at Dahshur and Saqqara. They are smaller, but more varied in form, so they add great interest to the area. Luckily, the big tour group companies rarely visit there, so I encountered few people when I visited.

This is the Step Pyramid, considered to be the first pyramid. It was built for King Djoser in 2665 B.C.

King Snefru built two pyramids, and this one, the Red Pyramid, was built in 2600 B.C.

This is the shaft built into the Bent Pyramid that leads to the burial chamber. Quite a trip, as it twisted and turned for about 300 feet and finally climbed 60 up into the chamber. Not for claustrophobics! This part of the shaft is actually declining, so I had to walk backwards hunched over until it began to climb.

King Snefru's second pyramid is called the Bent Pyramid. The designers screwed up a bit, realizing halfway through that they better reduce the angle of pitch so the whole thing didn't collapse. Oops!

This was the view from the roof of my hotel at Giza, where I was having breakfast while gazing at all three pyramids. It was a new hotel, and it cost me $40 a night, including breakfast.

This is the Sphinx and the pyramid of King Khafre, the second highest pyramid at Giza.

This is the Solar Boat, built to carry King Khufu through his afterlife. It was discovered in 1954 and restored to rest right next to his pyramid.

The pyramid of King Khafre, the only pyramid to have some of the polished limestone facing remaining, was built in 2500 B.C.

The Sphinx is accompanied by the pyramid of King Khufu, built in 2560 B.C. It is the tallest pyramid at 481 feet high, built with two and a half million limestone blocks weighing over two tons each. It was somewhat taller before the Turks peeled off the polished limestone surfaces to construct mosques in Cairo in the 9th Century. It is also called the Cheops Pyramid.

Next week I will be highlighting some of the greatest temples and tombs of two areas several hundred miles south of Cairo, at Abu Simbel and Luxor. They were built one to two thousand years after the pyramids were built. Though younger, they are astonishingly beautiful and interesting. Hope you can wait to see the photos!

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Gulliver's Travels Egypt Part 3 - The Sinai

The Sinai

Gulliver's Travels -05/18/2020 Egypt Part 2 - Temples of the Nile

​​ Temples of the Nile​

Next week's posting on Gulliver's Travels will cover my visit to the Sinai, a peninsula on the east side of Egypt.​

Gulliver's Travels 05/11/2020 Egypt (Part 1- The Pyramids)

​ Egypt - Part 1 The Pyramids

Archives

Temples of the Nile

Next week's posting on Gulliver's Travels will cover my visit to the Sinai, a peninsula on the east side of Egypt.

Egypt - Part 1
The Pyramids