A Dream Fulfilled

Sometimes, dreams do come true.

I recently returned from a trip to Egypt and the fulfillment of a dream I have had since I was in high school. I have always wanted to visit the pyramids of Egypt, see the Sphinx and visit the Valley of the Kings. My fascination with the ancient world began when I studied Latin (for 4 years) in high school. Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were subjects that really appealed to me. I haven't yet made it to Rome or Greece, but both places are on my list of places to visit. But when I saw that Road Scholar offered a trip called 'The Best of Egypt," I knew I had to go.  

The first morning in Cairo, I opened the drapes in my hotel room and gazed out at two of the pyramids in Giza. What an exciting sight that was! My group spent that day walking around the three pyramids, and then going to see the Sphinx. Although the pyramids are no longer at a distance from the urban area, and the presence of incredibly persistent vendors hawking wares to tourists was annoying, just standing there gazing at structures that were built more than 4,500 years ago was awe-inspiring. 

We walked around some of the earliest pyramids ever built, the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid. It was obvious from the appearance of the Bent Pyramid that the ancient Egyptians were still perfecting the design and construction of pyramids when the Bent Pyramid was built. 

We were able to enter three tombs in the Valley of the Kings (or, more exactly, enter the burial chamber of three tombs.) The tombs of pharaohs were far underground and very expansive, so only the burial chambers are open to the public. Included on the tour was the burial chamber of the boy-king, Tutankhamun. The Valley of the Queens was a bust, as only one queen is known to have been buried there. The bombs of the other ancient queens have not yet been located. I paid 300 Egyptian pounds (just more than $17) at each site to be allowed to take photographs inside the tombs. For me, as a photographer, it was worth the cost.

We spent some time at the temple of Queen Hatshepsut, viewed the temples of Rameses II at Abu Simbel, and marveled at how they had been raised some 200 feet and moved inland 600 feet to save them from the waters of the artificial Lake Nasser. We ended the trip with a visit to the Egyptian Museum, where we saw ancient statues, as well as the gold mask and other items taken from the tomb of Tutankhamen.

Egypt cannot be called a beautiful country. It doesn't have much natural beauty. Some 75 percent of the land is desert, with nearly all the people living in the Nile valley, which provides the country's only source of fresh water. The Cairo area is home to 24 million people, which means a lot of traffic, poverty and trash.There was no beauty to be found there, aside from the lovely garden at one of our hotels.

Throughout the trip, I was saddened by a couple of facets of contemporary Egyptian society. One if the unimaginable amount of trash in the streets, in irrigation canals and just about

everywhere I looked. The other thing, which I unfortunately expected to see, were the large numbers of dogs and cats wandering the streets. I also noted the huge number of horse-drawn carriages offering rides to tourists and locals alike. That in itself isn't so bad, but these carriages were on extremely busy, noisy, crowded roads in cities such as Cairo. I also saw some donkeys being ridden by adults, who weigh too much for a donkey to safely and comfortably carry. These animals truly are beasts of burden, carrying everything from bundles of alfalfa to saddle bags filled with who knows what.

The Egyptian people really seemed to appreciate foreign visitors. As one of the speakers who addressed our group pointed out, since the 'Arab spring' revolution in 2011, Egypt's income from tourists has dropped from $14.4 billion/year to around $6 billion per year. The country is struggling economically. Long known for its quality cotton production, owners of most of the cotton processing factories fled the country in the aftermath of the 'revolution' of 2011 that saw the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak. We heard a local perspective on the Muslim Brotherhood and its 1-year reign in Egypt (it was not well thought of).

We stayed in some wonderful hotels. In addition to the one with views of the pyramids, we stayed in a hotel that used to be a palace and has beautiful gardens. We stayed in a resort on Elephantine Island, just a 2-minute boat ride across the Nile from Aswan. The final hotel, in downtown Cairo, was beautiful but too modern and urban for my taste.

I had some memorable experiences with locals:

• On the short flight from Luxor to Aswan, I sat next to an Egyptian man who is a tour guide for French-speaking tourists. We chatted for several minutes, and he explained the design of the ring I had bought in Luxor. He recounted his visit to the US and said that when his 9-year-old twins learn English (this year they are learning German), he wants to take them to the US. He then asked about my Kindle, having never seen, or even heard, of an e-reader before. 
• An experience of a totally different kind occurred in the Aswan airport. Airport security is burdensome at best, but on that day I felt totally violated. I went through the metal detector with no issues, and my backpack passed through the x-ray machine. I put my shoes on and picked up my bag, and was told to wait. A brusque woman who spoke almost no English then proceeded to removed everything from my backpack as I tried to explain to her what each item was (there was nothing dangerous or forbidden in the pack). The bag was then x-rayed again, leaving me to reassemble the items from the bin in which she had tossed them. People in my group reported that I looked ashen during the process. I have gone through airport security all over the world, and never have I felt so upset and violated.
• As I was sitting on a bench in Cairo, waiting for the rest of the group to shop in a large, crowded market, I was approached by two girls. One asked whether I speak English, and I replied that I do. She then asked if she could have her photo taken with me. I said that was fine. I should have asked to take a picture of Noor and her friend, but by the time I thought about it, they were gone. 
• A shopkeeper in one of the shops at our hotel, when I told him I had no money with me, told me to take the leather passport cover I wanted to buy, and bring him the money when our group returned from the day's outing. I paid him before we left for the day.
• A shopkeeper in a shop at another hotel fixed me a cup of tea (I watched him open the bag that held the tea bag, and the pot to boil the water was in plain view in the shop). Then he started getting creepy, calling me 'my queen' and telling me how women who marry Egyptian men are very happy. This guy was probably 25 years younger than me. The next day I was looking for a coffee cup to buy. Unknown to me, he ran the shop that sells coffee cups as well. After I unsuccessfully negotiated the price with him, he asked me out for a drink. I declined.

 I was fortunate that the other 15 people on this trip (one Canadian and 14 Americans) all were delightful people and experienced travelers. Having easy-going, like-minded traveling companions made a world of difference. We enjoyed several evening presentations by local experts on such subjects as Islam and contemporary Egyptian society. We had a brief ride on the Nile in a felucca, a traditional sail boat. 

This is one travel dream that I can check off my list. It was well worth the many hours of air travel it took to get to Cairo. I learned a lot about this ancient land that has fascinated me for several decades. And I encourage anyone interested in learning about ancient Egypt to give serious consideration to visiting. The country is as safe as is anyplace in the world. The people are friendly and eager to welcome visitors.

Where else can you stand in the presence of structures than are more than 4,500 years old, ride a camel and cruise down the Nile?