Egypt Tour in January 2023

PART II

ALEXANDRIA AND CAIRO

Alexandria

On 23rd January Morning, after taking Breakfast at the Hotel in Cairo, I left for Alexandria trip.  The drive from Cairo to Alexandria takes about 3 Hrs and the distance is 280 kms.  The road was good and we reached around 11.15 am.    The city of Alexandria was originally established by Alexander the Great, the most famous Greek King and army leader, in 332 B.C.  

Ancient Alexandria was located to the west of the west branch of the Nile, near the ancient Egyptian village of Rakotis and the thin strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and the lagoon of the vast area, which is now called Lake Mariut. The new city of Alexandria, in the 4th century BC was built by Deinokrates (was a Rhodian architect who served as technical advisor to Alexander the Great) and was featured for the fact that the Greek and the Pharaonic cultures lived side by side and even mingled together in some areas like the Catacombs of Kom El Shuqafa in particular.   

The city, nicknamed the Athens of Africa, greatly flourished during the Ptolemaic period, named after its founder Ptolemy I, who took control of Alexandria and many other cities after the death of Alexander the Great at the beginning of the 4th century B.C.   Alexandria retained its position and remained as the capital of Egypt until the death of Cleopatra VII. Shortly afterward the Romans took control of the city, and of Egypt in general, to add the country to their already large and expanding empire.   

The guide who accompanied was Mr. Jimmy and the first place to see was the Catacombs in Kom El Shoqafa of Alexandria.  The catacombs are essentially the burial site and here there were provisions for both burial and to keep urns after cremation too.  The various chambers allocated by their size indicate this.   Dating back to the 2nd century AD, this necropolis was dug inside the rock to a depth of 35 meters (115 feet).   It was found by chance in September 1900, when a donkey fell into the main hole of the cemetery, and while searching for the donkey, this was found.

It consists of three levels, all located under the ground level.  (It is said the area was affected by Tsunami in the year 365.  On July 21, 365, a powerful earthquake off the coast of Greece caused a tsunami that devastated the city of Alexandria, Egypt.)   A winding staircase leads to the catacombs and the tombs are arranged on three levels.   The vestibule leads to a circular hall called the "rotunda".  To the left of the rotunda is a vestibule which leads to a chamber. The chamber was also cut into the rock and its ceiling is supported by 4 pillars. It contains 3 benches, again cut in the rock, and takes the shape of the letter U. This chamber was called the "Triclinium".  2 composite columns, containing a mixture of Egyptian and Greco-Roman elements, support the façade of this hall.  The reliefs decorating its walls depict scenes from the myth of Osiris, god of the underworld. A mummified body is lying on an Egyptian funeral bed, which is guarded by Isis, the wife of Osiris, and his sister Nephthys. Other decorated chambers are located north of the rotunda.  The walls of the room have scenes representing the Roman Emperor wearing his crown and presenting his offerings to the goddess Isis, who is protecting the deceased with her wings.

God Anubis with a Human body

Immediately after entering the main compound of catacombs, there is a board explaining the layout of the catacombs and in the nearby open space, there is a Sun Dial too.  Both are shown here.

                                                             Pompey's Pillar

Afterwards, the next place to visit was the Pompey's Pillar, which is just a km away from the catacombs.  This is a column of monolithic pillar and is attributed by some to General Gaius Pompey who was involved in a civil war and a rival to Julius Caesar who was murdered by a Ptolemic Pharaoh in the year 48 BC, when he fled to Alexandria.  But the people at that time admired him for his help in overcoming famine.  Some other historians differ to this theory.  This column of around 100 Metres of Red Granite from Aswan was erected in a his burial site according to these Historians.  The Pillar also is of 2.7 metres breadth at its base.   Some other historian felt that the pillar was instead a triumphal monument erected around 300 AD for the Roman Emperor Diocletian, but the true significance of this archeological site is what stood here before the pillar.  However many feel this site owes its importance because it had a temple in this site for Serapis even before the Pillar was erected there.  The Serapeum, dedicated to Alexandria’s patron god, Serapis, was a symbol of this ancient tradition, which conflicted with the increasingly popular ideas of Christianity.   In 391 AD, patriarch Theophilus, leader of the Church of Alexandria, led a Christian mob to destroy the Serapeum and other symbols of paganism in the city. Some accounts even blame this mob for the destruction of the Great Library of Alexandria, although this is disputed.   A life-size black basalt bull from the temple, Apis and a golden plaque marking the foundation of the Serapis are on display in the Greco-Roman Museum.   
Apart from a Pillar with lions on both side of Pillar, a lot of destruction could be seen here.   Also an underground tunnel type ways are found here, which is attributed to the temple of Serapis.
                                                                   SERAPIS

Photos taken in Serapium

Standing at Apis Bull, Serapium

Serapium  is dedicated to the god Serapis, a syncretic god combining aspects of Osiris and Apis, and was popular among the Hellenized Egyptians of Alexandria.   From here, I went to the Roman theatre nearby.

The place is also known as Kom El-Dikka.  Kom el-Dikka, which literally means a 'pile of rubble,' was a slum until 1959 when a team of Poles excavated the site in search of the tomb of Alexander the Great.  When the workers went to remove a pile of dust and sand in 1960 to clear the land for the construction of a governmental building, they found some solid iron columns, indicating that something may be buried underneath.  Immediately afterward, the excavation work began in the location of Kom El Dikka and it was carried out by the Greco Roman Museum and the Polish Excavation Mission in Egypt sponsored by the University of Warsaw.  The excavation led to the amphitheatre of Roman Period and is preserved today as a monument.

It was lunch time, when I completed the rounds around this part of Alexandria and thus I had my Vegetarian lunch (Ordered earlier by my guide) at Athenios Restaurant along the beach road.  The surprise element was the dish named as Indian Vegetable and it was a wonderful Sambar with all vegetables.  (later on different places served this Indian vegetable but not like this).   I was given a nice table with the seashore view and took a few photographs from within the restaurant as well as from the Beach road.

Library, Alexandria

After Lunch, we headed towards the new Library at Alexandria but only had the opportunity to see from outside as the time was nearing 4 pm and the guide wanted to return to Cairo at least by 7 pm, so as to have dinner and rest for the next day programme at Cairo.

CAIRO

The plan was to start after the breakfast and around 8 am on 24th Jan 2023, and we started as per Plan but this day, it was very foggy.  Though we had reached Giza pyramids area by 8.45 am, the weather was such that only 9.30 am Sun came out.  There is a ticket to see things around Giza and a separate ticket for entering into the main pyramid in Giza.  The main Pyramid in Giza is the tomb of the King and Queen Khufu of the 4th Dynasty.   The other two pyramids are for his son and grandson and are known by their name as - Khafru and Menkaure. The three pyramids are of height 145, 136 and 66 Metres respectively.   The steps to ascend within the pyramid for the initial distance is to crawl holding the rails provided on either side and the last 1/3 rd of the distance you can walk upright, to reach the chamber of the tomb of King Khufu and his wife.   The upper chamber is around 15 ft by 15 ft.  Photography is allowed throughout the area.   Camelwallahs are ready to take you around for a fee and also provide you with the headgear for purpose of photos.   

                                                Tomb of King Khufu and the Queen

The guide Mr. Jimmy was the reason for myself not giving up in the middle as he encouraged me that I can do by completing all the steps and finally entering the chamber the where tomb was.  A few more photographs as a collage.

Helipad made to help Mr. Obama former POTUS

The sphinx is at a distance of around 1.5 kms within the Pyramids complex of Giza and the ticket for the area includes this too.   This is the reverse of the Egyptian ancient gods with body of man and animal face and Sphinx has the face of a man and body of a Lion.   Most scholars date the Great Sphinx to the 4th dynasty and affix ownership to Khafre. However, some believe that it was built by Khafre's elder brother Redjedef (Djedefre) to commemorate their father, Khufu, whose pyramid at Giza is known as the Great Pyramid.  In Egyptian myth, the Sphinx was more of a symbol than an individual entity. It was a guardian figure, the protector of the pyramids, and the scourge of the enemies of Re, the sun god. It also represented the pharaoh and the pharaoh's divine power.  it has been carved out of a single stone.  In 1378 CE, Egyptian peasants made offerings to the Great Sphinx in the hope of controlling the flood cycle, which would result in a successful harvest. Outraged by this blatant show of devotion, Sa'im al-Dahr destroyed the nose and was later executed for vandalism.

yrus sh

The time taken to go around Pyramids and Sphinx was about 4 1/2 hours and we left for going round the Cairo city.   In this period, I was taken to the so called Papyrus Institute of Egypt, Cairo Museum, Khalil Bazaar (Roadside selling with bargain) and finally I was taken to the Cairo Railway Station to board the train to Aswan.  

Papyrus, Egypt
It is a speciality to Egypt and ancient Egyptian had the knowledge to make wonderful paintings on Papyrus Sheets, which would last for many centuries and this they were following from the BC era.  The place where I was taken to, had the facilities to show how a Papyrus Sheet is being prepared and also how drawings are made on them.  Stems of Papyrus plants are cut and taken to the press, to drive out the water and to get completely dry and the long strips of these are arranged to overlap with one another to make a sheet.  The place also sells the Paintings.  Bargaining is very common here.  Painting of Isis with Nephtees, her sister.

                                                              Papyrus Plant

Perfumes
Adjacent to the Papyrus sale shop is the Perfume Shop and they sell again with bargain.
They were telling me, they have their own farm for the flowers and the perfumes have been made from the flowers and genuine.  The quality of the perfume was good as told by my family.

Museum, Cairo.

This is one place, one cannot miss to go with complete information available on  dynasties from the various artefacts taken out during excavations.  Photographs are allowed and we can spend at least 2 hours here.  The exhibits have been arranged both in Ground and First floor.  In addition to 38 items “found or acquired” by Howard Carter of Tutankhamun fame, it holds more than 45,000 other artifacts from ancient Egypt — of which fewer than 2,000 are on display. Spaces have been provided for the future excavation findings for some of the dynasties for which information is so for not available.  A few photographs from the Museum is arranged as a collage and given here.

Narmer Palette showing Narmer with Lower Egypt crown with Papyrus on crown, it has another side at the rear not shown here, and to it right is Pharoahs and then is the High Priest Rehotep with hand in his chest with his wife Nofret and a veiw of the central hall of the Museum in the first row.  The second row has the treasures of Tutankamen, Drawings on Stone, Seated Scribe from a tomb in Saqqara, Wooden Statue of Sheik el-beled- Chief lector Priest and Hieroglyphs.   The third row has a mummification pit with all the inscriptions, Detail from Narmer Palette with Narmer shown as bull and killing a foe, the golden shield of Mummy of Tutankamen inlaid with precious stones and board in Musueum asking not to take photographs of the valuables which were kept in the room along with mummy of Tutankamen.

Rear side of the Tutankhamun Shield

From the Museum, we went to Khalil Bazaar and I purchased some souvenirs here on the roadside bazaar.  

A few photographs of Cairo taken from the cab, as I proceeded to various tourist sites and in a collage.

Had some French fries from eatery around Khalil Bazaar and proceeded to Cairo Railway Station and reached there at 07.30 pm and the train to Aswan arrived at 8.10 pm.

It is a complete AC coach train and night dinner and morning breakfast were served and reached Aswan, next morning at 09.30 am, that is on 25th January.