The Travels of 4 Couch Potatoes: Wonderful Things - The Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum

During the 19th century, the field of Egyptology really rook off. Led by European scholars and archaeologists, hieroglyphs were deciphered using the Rosetta Stone, enormous temples like Abu Simbel were reclaimed from the desert, and several new tombs were discovered in the Valley of the Kings. However, the quintessential find, an unperturbed royal tomb, had remained elusive. That all changed in 1922 when Howard Carter, with the backing of Lord Canarvon, discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen, a previously obscure pharaoh. When Canarvon asked him what he saw as he peered inside a small hole into Tutankhamen's tomb, Carter replied, "Wonderful things". In our first day of sightseeing in Egypt, The Wife and I were hopeful to be amazed just like Howard Carter was a century ago.

At 8 AM we met with Sam (Sameh), our tour guide for the next three days in Cairo. The first stop of the day was a visit to The Great Pyramids at Giza. The area has been notorious for the aggressive touts and scams that are employed to extricate tourists from their money. We had read on Internet forums that with the recent decrease in tourism, the harassment to buy cheap trinkets or hire a camel or horse would be much worse. Sam even gave us a pep talk right before about how to handle these hawkers, so we approached the Pyramids with our game face on.

Surprisingly, the vendors were not bad at all. In fact, most of them were actually quite polite. They usually approached Sam, recognizing that he is the tour guide, and had him inquire whether we wanted to buy anything. Others who spoke to us directly in English made small talk first, almost always guessing that we were from Japan. Konichiwa. More than half the time, they left us alone after one simple 'la shukran' or 'no thank you'. Nobody was following us around the whole site incessantly badgering us or getting in our face--experiences we have had in other countries. Maybe the presence of a tour guide helps. Or maybe the harassment factor is over-exaggerated. Either way, it's not like these sellers had easy pickings--there was no more than 100 tourists in our general vicinity. Compared to the thousands that we had to jostle with when we had visited Machu Picchu or the Taj Mahal, this was a small pittance. Although hurtful to the local economy, the tourism drought was our boon.

After taking the obligatory pictures of the pyramids, we went inside the tomb of Menkaure (a ticket was LE 50). It was small, featureless, and looked like there was a cave-in. Not very exciting. After we climbed out, Sam told us that all of the pyramid tombs are pretty much the same. Once you see one, you'll never have to enter another.

A wooden pole shows how high the pyramid used to be.

It's a long way to the top of Khufu's Pyramid.

Rubble from structures that crumbled centuries ago lies near the pyramids.

Giza also has many smaller tombs for the pharaohs' wives.

Huge blocks were brought here from a quarry miles away to build the Great Pyramids.

The outside used to covered with white limestone "casing" blocks. Most of these were
destroyed by an earthquake or later scavenged to construct 14th century mosques and forts.

The pyramid of Khafre, Khufu's son. The tomb is smaller that that of his father's, but it is built
on higher ground giving it the illusion that it is taller. Some "casing" blocks still cover the top.

The smallest of the tombs belongs to Menkaure. The base is actually built
with harder granite blocks that were transported down the Nile from Aswan.

The Great Pyramids of Giza, with Cairo in the distance.

We then headed over to the Sphinx. It is much smaller than we had expected. Sam told us that many tourists have that same thought. Nevertheless, it is still an impressive work since it was carved out of a single piece of rock.

The pyramid complex of Khafre houses the Sphinx.

Sam, our guide, and I pose in front of the Sphinx.

We then drove back into Cairo to visit the Egyptian Museum which is located in Tahir Square. A year after the revolution, the place looks like any other busy plaza in any other metropolitan city. The exception are the small number of tents in the center lawn. Sam told us that those aren't revolutionaries but instead, just people capitalizing on the publicity by selling drinks and souvenirs. The real protesters have to go back to work and support their families.

An effigy still dangled from a rope in the square. A tent with multinational flags served as a sign of solidarity for other Middle Eastern countries undergoing political change. But the most blatant reminder of the revolution is the burned-out husk of the National Democratic Party Headquarters. During the protests, this building was torched because it belonged to Mubarak's political party. There was no obvious police or military presence in the area. Sam says that the cops do not dare come near Tahir Square. They have to much blood on their hands from the first couple days of the revolution.

There has been no decision on what to do with this building yet. Sam
hopes that it will remain as a reminder to people of the revolution.

Only a few tents and squatters remain in Tahir Square.

Vendors capitalize on the revolution.

Protests hang from a street light including a flag with the Star of David.

Our van dropped us off at the entrance to the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities which has stood here for a century. All of our tour books from the past 2-3 years state that a new Egyptian museum should be ready to open in 2012. Sam replied, "This is Egypt. They haven't even broken ground yet. Give them six or seven more years".

Although the Egyptian Museum is adjacent to the destroyed political headquarters
building, both sides made efforts to protect the the building and its precious contents.

Many stone statues are displayed in the courtyard of the Egyptian Museum.

Sam then took us on a three hour tour of the museum, hitting the highlights. No cameras were allowed. We wandered over to a display of papyri found in the tomb of the pharaoh Huni. Sam meticulously explained the images of this Book of the Dead and its role in assisting a person in the Afterlife. We visited a room filled with mummified animals. The preserved dogs, cats, monkeys, and Ibises were interesting, but the the giant Nile perch and huge crocodile were downright bizarre. While we viewed the artifacts in the museum, Sam taught us how to read several of the cartouches including those of Tutankhamen, Menkaure, and other important pharaohs.

Sam was happy that we asked to see the Narmer Palette, one of the oldest documents in human history. He explained the different scenes that depicted the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by the first pharaoh. He showed us the evolution of the cartouche from square to oval in the Old Kingdom, the statue of Zoser (the only pharaoh who had facial hair--an Errol Flynn mustache), and Egypt's copy of the Rosetta stone. The tablet is actually a proclamation that was placed in several temples throughout the land by Ptolemy V. Three such copies have been discovered, but the original one that was crucial to the translation of hieroglyphs remains in the British Museum in London.

For an additional LE 100 per person, we entered the mummy room. The remains of famous pharaohs including Ramses II and Hatshepsut are stored here. I gotta say that it is a bit macabre. I thought that the most interesting one is the body of Seqenenre Tao II. He was a Theban king who lived during Egypt's Second Intermediate Period. He led a failed revolt against the Hyksos, Asiatic people who controlled the country during this time. His mummy has prominent ax wounds to his head, likely the cause of his death in battle. His son, Ahmose I, eventually expelled the Hyksos and founded Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty.

Much of the museum's second floor contains artifacts found when Howard Carter opened Tutankhamen's tomb. There were golden thrones, large chariots, symbolic solar boats, beds, game boards, bow and arrows, jars still filled with essence (more on that later), and his alabaster canoptic jars. The pharaoh would need all these items in the afterlife. Normally Tutankhamen's jewelry room would be packed full of huge tour groups with a long queue waiting outside. When we were there, only two or three other people were inside. We had all the time we wanted to examine the intricate craftsmanship of his famous death mask and coffin both constructed of pure gold.

I could have spent days marveling at all the artifacts crammed into the Egyptian Museum. The Wife not so much. Eventually we had to leave as we had other stops on our itinerary. Next we headed over to the docks for a felucca ride. These simple sail boats had been used since ancient time.

Men fish along the banks of the river.

Motorized boats docked on the Nile.

A few decades ago, this used to be the largest fountain in the world.

There was almost no wind, so little rowboats sped past us. It was still very relaxing though. Eventually a motorboat ended up towing our boat and another one too to give it a more 'authentic' experience.

This lady left our slow felucca in the dust.

A motorboat tows a felucca.

We latched on to form a small train.

After our felucca ride, we headed back to Giza. A person once told me that I MUST visit an essence (perfume) shop while I was in Egypt. Maybe that was just some friendly advice. Or maybe it was a thinly veiled remark that I have bad body odor. Sam took us to the Flowers Temple Essences, a shop where he buys them for his wife. It is run by an older man named Adel whose family has been producing these fragrances for several generations. These perfumes are made in the same fashion to the methods used during the time of the pharaohs. Several bushels of aromatic flowers are placed into cheesecloth-like material and pressed to extract the juices. This liquid would then be buried in pots into the desert sand. Eventually, the water would evaporate through the porous ceramics leaving the fragrant juice and some solids like sugar. This thin layer of impurities floating at the top can then be scooped off leaving the aromatic essences remaining.

As is the custom in most Middle Eastern countries, Adel's staff was hospitable and brought us some mint tea. It was good but neither of us noticed the layer of sludge at the bottom and got a mouthful of tea grinds (we are used to tea bags or solid tea leaves). Sam had called ahead, and the staff brought us some koshary--essentially the national snack/meal of Egypt. It is a mixture of macaroni and linguine noodles, white rice, legumes, fried onions, tomatoes, and spices. It is simple but nutritious, delicious, and inexpensive enough for any person to afford. Surprisingly, koshary has not found any popularity outside of Egypt.

Koshary may not look like much, but it sure satisfies a carb craving.

Adel then explained the differences between Egyptian essences and the name-brand perfumes from Europe. Those large fashion houses take these same essences and add impurities such as alcohol, water, and other chemicals and then charge consumers much more. The Egyptian stuff is pure and just as fragrant. The Wife was happy because she usually gets a headache from the odor of all the additives in most perfumes.

Adel then personally had us smell samples of his different essences. He had fragrances composed of just the same flower as well as combinations of up to ten different ones. He said that when King Tut's tomb was excavated in 1922, several papyri were found which gave the recipes for different fragrance combinations. We tried almost everything. Most of them were amazing. There were names such as 'Scent of the Desert' and 'Arabian Nights' (he promised that this would ensure that you score that night). Sadly, he didn't have any 'Sex Panther.' *Roar* For the ladies, the combinations went by their name-brand titles such as CK and Ralph Lauren. We pretty much disliked anything Chanel (sorry mom).

Adel's shop is pretty large with several benches for people to try the different fragrances. Hanging on the walls were letters and photographs from previous customers (mainly from Commonwealth countries) complimenting him on his essences. We were the only two tourists for the one or two hours we spent there. As Sam remarked, we bought the house--12 fragrances total (buy 5 and get 1 free) with a couple of delicate glass perfume bottles too. Adel even gave us a bottle of The Wife's 'favorite' fruit aroma. Since she's not too keen on smelling like a watermelon, peach, or lemon, she picked orange blossoms.

Adel and his essence shop.

Many delicate and colorful perfume bottles are sold throughout Egypt.

Some perfume bottles capitalize on the fame of Egypt's pyramids. Yes, we did buy one of them.

Back at the hotel, we dined at the Mughal Room considered the best Indian restaurant in all of Egypt. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure it is also the most expensive Indian restaurant in all of Egypt too.