"Are
we at the temple yet?" A common question we seem to ask ourselves
during our daily temple finding missions. In Egypt there doesn't seem
to be great sign-age for major attractions. We leave our hotel at 6:00
a.m. to catch Karnak at sunrise, hoping to get some great light for
photos. Our taxi driver drops us off in a big open space, more like a
dirt lot. We look around, and see a guard stand behind a typically
fashioned bullet-proof plank, where security guys sit, and see a couple
of guys drinking what looks like tea, chatting away, big guns dangling
by their sides. Our driver quickly speeds out of the lot, and leaves
us standing there, middle of nowhere. Aside from the guards, there's
no one else in sight, and knowing how touristy this area is, we wonder
if we're even at the temple. We walk up to the guard, and they point
us toward a big empty lot beyond them, with a couple of make shift
buildings. As we get closer, we see a small ticket window and the
grand structure and entryway of this temple.
Karnak
is supposedly the largest temple complex in the world, we're told,
covering over 100 hectares, and built as an original temple of Amun.
As successive pharaohs came onto the scene, each built upon the
original structure, bigger and better structures, to outdo what their
predecessors had done before them. It took nearly 2300 years to
construct, and some say that the oldest part of the structure dates
back to the 18th - 20th Dynasties, around 1550-1070 B.C.
Entering
the temple at sunrise is breathtaking. The sun seeps in through the
gigantic pillars, illuminating them in hues of reds, oranges and pinks.
We spend hours walking through chambers and staring up at the towering
remains of this amazing work of art. Inside the chambers, men in robes
convince us to follow them through the temple to off-limit areas where
they share stories and history of the rarely seen sections. Of course,
they do this, all in hopes of getting a little "baksheesh," or a couple
of Euros from us to earn some money to help put food on the table. I
find them very interesting to talk to, and it's quite intriguing to
learn about their lives, families, and dreams. Definitely worth the
1-2 Euros baksheesh for each guy, although we need to be careful, as
the visit could get extremely expensive very quickly.
We
head from Karnak to the boat docks at the Nile where Abdullah meets us
and takes us on the ferry, across the Nile to the West Bank. Here he
introduces us to Mohammed, our driver for the day, who is ready to take
us around the Valley of the Kings. It's brutally hot, the mercury
hitting near 50 degrees celsius, and it's only 10:00 a.m. Great choice
for us to be heading out to the desert for the hottest period of the
day.
Mohammed
tells us we can either have him drive us, or climb over the hill from
the Valley to our next site (Hatsheput Temple), after having seen the
tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It would be a 30 minute hike,
although in the heat it may take longer. He said sometimes there's
trouble, and tourists are not allowed to go overland, but today we peer
out from the parking lot and see a couple of people trekking u-p the
mountainside, so we tell him we'll make the hike. He tells us to meet
him in the parking lot at the next temple after we arrive. We take a
digital picture of him so we'll know him from the other identical blue
and white taxis when we meet him later.
Inside
the Valley of the Kings we pay our pricey admission fee, then get hit
up immediately after for a couple o' bucks each, to take the mini-train
to the entrance. It's so hot out, and thinking a walk to the entrance
must be a far distance (given the excessive charge for the train), we
buy the tickets. The train hauls five mini-cars of tourists no more
than 100 meters, and tells us all to get out. We think they've got to
be joking; we've just paid for a ride that would have taken us a minute
to walk. Wow, we got taken. So we then walk 5 minutes into the
Valley, where glistening white rocks and powdery sand surround every
inch of earth. All the tombs are buried deep into this hard substance,
down long narrow, claustrophobic alleyways descending into an eventual
burial chamber with a sarcophagus (ornately inscribed and designed
casket) in the center of the small chamber, hieroglyphics depicting
stories covering the walls. Not all of the tombs are open and
available for public viewing. We went into three chambers; Tutmes
III, Merenptah, and Ramses I. The last one we entered, Tutmes, was
pretty cool, especially because we were not with a large group of
tourists. The chamber guard, in long flowy robe, comes over to us and
tells us we can take pictures (totally prohibited in all tombs). We
hang around long enough to snap some photos, and listen to his stories.
These tombs are amazing works of art... Implausible to even think
about people actually building such intricate and deep structures that
have resulted in well preserved bodies within each burial chamber. The
pharaohs had everything packed into their tombs that they would need
for their journey into the after-world. They worked all their lives
planning this pinnacle of life - death. They had all their hard earned
savings set aside for purchasing clothing, jewelry, and other items of
adornment and consumption that they would need in their next life...
They worked hard and prepared well for death. We exit the temple and
give our guide some baksheesh to thank him for the history and cultural
insight he provides us about this tomb and the special stories
inscripted in hieroglyphics.
So,
three tombs were enough for us to venture down into. The tiny, narrow
alleys of descent are extremely claustrophobic, and rather than
descending down into what we had hoped would be a cool wine cellar
temperature, it got progressively hotter and more humid, and seemingly
much more difficult to breathe. By time we descended into the chamber,
we were soaked in sweat and the hot arid outdoors seems paradoxically,
like a cool, refreshing environment. Looking around, it was difficult
to know where we needed to ascend for our climb over the big hill, to
get to our next temple visit. The only area, which we though might be
the trail, was in back of a big sign that said, "No Climbing the
Mountain." We walk up to the tourist police who were chilling in the
shade with their big guns, and one was standing on top of a narrow
picnic bench doing his mid day prayers, and asked the chill'in ones
where the trail is to climb the mountain. They point us to the area we
also thought was the path. We ask about the "No Climbing" sign, and
they motion to us that it's ok to climb. So off we go, figuring that
if guys with guns say it's ok, at least they won't shoot us for
trespassing. Not more than 50M up, we hear all sorts of yelling and
shouting from below... Apparently we're not supposed to climb the
mountain... Go figure.
So
by now, we assume our dear driver Mohammed is long gone, and waiting
for us at the other temple. We're screwed... There are no random taxis
out here - just tour busses, and it's probably a 10K walk around the
mountain in the brutal heat to reach our driver. I attempt to
negotiate with some small souvenir stand owners on our way out, to use
their phone to call Abdullah, transportation organizer, well knowing
that Mohamad has no phone. With no luck, we head out to the parking
lot, hoping to find a random taxi. A local security guard waves us
over, and I speak to him with limited English, trying to say we need a
taxi... And he busts out the line, "Have I seen you before... must have
been in my dreams." Frustrated, I look to the parking lot, and I see
Mohamad running toward us... Ah, he waited! The security guy say
something to him and he bursts our laughing. I ask what's being said,
and Mohamad tells us the guy is looking for an American wife. Mohammad
teaches me the Arabic words for "sorry, I'm taken," which I retort back
to him, and point to Darrin. He then asks Mohamad if Darrin would be
interested to have an Egyptian wife and they could wife swap... We
quickly pile into the taxi, Mohamad laughing along with us, and whiz
away from the Valley of the Kings. En route, Mohamad takes us to the
obligatory "alabaster shop stop" that his "good friend" owns. We're
getting used to these types of commission detours. We politely oblige,
its another opportunity to chat with locals and pick their brains about
local history and life in Egypt. We learn from Mohammad that many
Egyptians, including himself, have been lured to Saudi Arabia for what
they are told, are well paying jobs. We learn further that once they
arrive, their employer strips them of their passport and gives them a
Saudi Arabian identity card. They are no longer allowed to leave the
country, unless their employer allows them to. The conditions under
which they live and work are poor, and once on the job, they are told
they must work the same expectations for less than half the promised
salary. At this point, they're stuck; they've given up their jobs at
home, they have not enough money to return, and they no longer have a
passport or rights. They feel like indentured servants. All they can
do now is work hard, please their boss, and hope they'll be allowed to
return home in a few years time to be reunited with their families.
Luckily for Mohammed's experience, it wasn't so bad- he had a decent
work experience. However, the stories he told of some of his friends,
and then going back to rescue some of his friends were quite
disturbing.
We
fail to escape the alabaster shop without purchasing. We find a nice
statue of the God of Fun and Music, and a mask for our wall-of-masks
collection at home. We negotiate them down from 900 to only 200
Egyptian Pounds. Feeling successful, we depart the shop, and I'm sure
Mohamad is happy that he's made a little extra from commission on the
deal. We head back to the East Bank after several more temple
sightings and picture taking opportunities. It's been a long day, now
nearly 5:30 p.m., and we need a cool plunge in the pool. We bail out
on a felucca ride, despite the wind having picked up, and it probably
being the best conditions for a ride... We're exhausted, so it's off to
scrub ourselves down in the hotel bathroom to clean up for dinner, a
quick bite to eat at the Oasis Cafe, and then taxi to the airport for
our midnight flight back to Cairo.
