SJEDS Travels to Egypt

We just received an e-mail from Jose and Omar. They are floating down the Nile on their cruise ship and are about to get off in Kom Ombo. He was wondering where we were? Could we meet at the famous temple of Kom Ombo? In front of the mummified crocodiles? He was going to wait as long as he could.

Mrs. Menger and I are trying to get to Kom Ombo as fast as we can. Hopefully Jose and Omar will still be there.

Jose also attached some photos from Omar and him on the cruise boat. Check them out.

Hi everyone at San Jose.

This is Jose and Omar. We have a fun puzzle for you to solve. We are riding down the Nile river on a really beautiful cruise ship. What is even better than the boat is the people we are meeting.They are from all over the world. I love listening to all the different languages they speak and accents they have. Omar and I especially liked to play with one girl who is here on boat with her parents. If you want to find out her name you need to solve the following puzzle.

Answer each question and use the first letter of each answer. Put all the letters together in the same order as the questions and you will learn our new friends name. Comment back to this post with her name.and I will let you know if you got it right.

1. Material that mummies were wrapped in.
2. Name of goddess worshiped at the Temple of Philae
3. Name of region in the South that was mostly submerged when High Dam was built.
4. Where are the four impressive statues of Ramses II located?
5. What does Misr stand for?

Can’t wait to hear from you and find out who figured the name of our friend out.

It is very hard to describe the feeling when you approach a market or bazaar street. Especially one in for tourists. The closest we are able to describe it is with the German word “Spiessrutenlauf” (Can you pronounce this?) That word describes a custom in history where someone who had to run down a path were soldiers were poking long spears at them from both sides. There was no turning back or escaping from the punishment.

That is how we feel when we are getting of a tour bus and have to go through the lined up vendors on both sides.
Watch a little video clip of Mrs. Menger walking towards our boat in Edfou.

When you watch the video, keep in mind the we had been going through markets already for days in different places. After being polite and with smiling faces all day, it was getting very hard.

• Watch “At the Market”

Thank you Mrs. Hall for alerting us that we are in the Jacksonville Newspaper.

Click here to read the article “When teachers travel to Egypt, students will follow online”.

Jose’s travels have also been featured on Channel 4 News. You can watch the video clip on their website.

Mrs. Tolisano and Mrs Menger,

I have missed you again! I hope you found my note. Omar and i had an amazing time at the Temple of Philae. We also drove by the Aswan Dam.
I wanted to share some pictures with you and hope you had a good time too.

Getting caught up in the shopping on our boat, the sight of the Temple of Isis on Philae caught us by surprise.

The Temple of Isis, like the Ramses II statues of Abu Simbel, had been saved from destruction by being moved. With the construction of the old Aswan Dam, the Temple of Isis was underwater for six months out of the year. Travelers would move in and around partially submerged columns in row boats, and peer through the green haze of the water to the eerie ruins below. The building of the High Aswan Dam made moving the temple necessary, as the temple was destined to being submerged year round and the ancient sight would have been lost forever. The moving of the temple took eight years and it was moved from Philae Island to nearby Agilkia Island. The old site is very close and can be easily seen from the new location.

Our guide explained that all temples have the same basic architecture. He took a rock and scratched out a diagram on the stone floor of the temple. At first we were shocked that no one stopped him from doing this. It seemed a defacement of national treasure. The floor showed evidence that this was common practice, with numerous scratched and chalk drawn diagrams.

When we spotted the familiar pink note in the corner, we knew immediately that Jose and Omar had been here before us.

The note said, that he was doing great with Omar’s family. They will send us an e-mail as soon , so he can to let us know, where to meet him next. We could not believe that we missed him again!

Temples are created on a grid that mimic the shape of a pyramid, which the ancients believed helped them ascend to heaven to the gods. There are five main areas with the width of each one narrowing, so if looking down from the sky the shape would be triangular. Temples vary in location, which god they are dedicated to, and building materials, but they all possess the following elements. The entrance begins with the temple gates and there are always two towers on either side of the entrance. These towers are the widest and highest of the temple. The next opening goes in to the open courtyard. Continuing through takes you to the hypostyle hall, consisting of outer and inner halls adjoined. Next is the offering chamber, where offerings of fruits, animals, and grains were brought. These items were stored in rooms built off of the offering chamber. The final destination was the inner sanctuary and only few were allowed here, usually just the priests. Temple gates always have two towers and are the widest and highest of the temple. The height of each part decreases leading to the sanctuary, additionally each area is shorter in height an architectural design to imitate the shape of a pyramid. The hypostyle hall held quite a surprise. Early Christians transformed the hypostyle hall into a chapel, complete with an altar, and a hewn-out recess to hold the bread and wine. When pagan worship ceased and Christian worship began new churches were not erected, rather old temples were changed. When this happened usually quite a bit of defacement occurred as the early Christians attempted to eradicate many of the carvings of the pagan gods from the premises.

It was back to the boat for lunch. Next stop Kom Ombo.

Bright and early in the morning we were greeted by a tour guide and headed out for four stops: the Aswan High Dam and the Aswan Dam, the quarry of the unfinished obelisk, an alabaster factory, and to the island of Philae and the Temple of Isis. We were keeping our fingers crossed that we would finally meet up with Jose and Omar. Armed with our bottled water, camera, sunscreen, and sunglasses we headed out for the tour.

First on the agenda was to view the Aswan and Aswan High dam. It is a little confusing, but there are actually two dams, the old Aswan and the Aswan High dam. The old Aswan dam was built in 1902 and even though quite old, it is still in use today. In 1960, construction of the Aswan High dam, which is located just south of the old Aswan dam, was started. The Egyptians call this their fourth great pyramid as the structure far surpasses the Great Pyramid in size and amount of building materials used. Construction of the High Aswan Dam took 35,000 workers to complete the job. When in Cairo, we had dinner with Summer’s aunt, she told us that Summer’s grandfather had been one of the chief engineers involved in the design and construction of the dam. The Aswan High Dam was one of the greatest engineering feats in all of Egypt. The High Aswan dam was built to solve some serious problems the Egyptians were facing. There was a shortage of power and of fresh drinking water. The High Aswan dam today provides 40 % of Egypt’s electricity so there is currently no power shortage. When the dam was built, the area above the dam became flooded and a lake formed, Lake Nasser. Before the High Aswan dam was built crocodiles existed all along the banks of the Nile. Now there are no crocodiles left north of the High Aswan dam, all the way to Alexandria. All the crocodiles on this stretch were killed and the animals are unable to cross from Lake Nasser through the High Aswan dam to the Nile. The crocodiles that live in Lake Nasser are known for their ferociousness and they are feared by the Egyptian people. More people are killed by crocodiles in Africa, than by any other animal. I have to admit, I was really happy to find out that the portion of the Nile that the cruise boat was on did not have any crocodiles.

Although the High Aswan dam helped solve many problems for the Egyptian people, just like any other intervention by man, some new problems were created. Because of the dam construction, the Nile River no longer annually floods its banks. The silt that was deposited during the flooding created some of the most arable farmland in the world. Silt is thick, muddy nutrient rich topsoil. This posed a problem for farmers, as the land was no longer benefiting from the deposit of the rich silt anymore. Today farmers must use commercially made fertilizers and pesticides to grow crops. The result has been toxins leaking in to the Nile River. When the Nile would flood, the small canals that branched off the Nile would receive fresh water. Now the canals are becoming incubators for microorganisms that are harmful to people and animals. People living in the rural villages rely on the water in these canals for drinking water. This is posing some serious health problems for many Egyptians and rates of cancer and sickness from water borne bacteria is increasing. There must be adequate energy and fresh water and many Egyptians are working very hard to solve these problems.

While in route to our next stop we were able to see the first cataract of the Nile River. A cataract is an area of swiftly flowing water along the Nile and is due to underwater rocks and changes in elevation that cause the current to become choppy and fast. There are a total of six cataracts along the Nile. Only two are located on the portion of the Nile that runs through Egypt. Egypt is the country most often associated with the Nile River, yet this giver of life flows through many countries. The life-sustaining Nile also flows through Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

Leaving the road along the Nile River, we left behind lush green plant life and came to an area all beige, white, and sandy where there was nothing but stone and sand for miles around. When we were in Cairo and visiting the Egyptian Museum, we were amazed at the huge statues that had been carved out of single blocks of limestone and granite. Our destination was a quarry, where an unfinished obelisk was left, giving us a better picture of how the ancient Egyptians were able to accomplish these impressive structures. An obelisk is a tall thin monument. An example we have in the United States is the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.. Mrs. Tolisano reminded me that there is also a famous “Obelisco” in downtown Buenos Aires, which comes as no surprise… In the quarry a huge obelisk, almost completed, was left behind because prior to completion as it cracked and could not be used. The Egyptians went to the site where the granite or rock was found and carved out their huge statues, obelisks, and monuments.

A stop at an alabaster factory was a natural one after leaving the quarry. In the alabaster factory skilled craftsmen took hunks of alabaster, granite, basalt, and other rock and transformed them into vases, carvings of animals, and candle holders. Starting with a hunk of earthy looking rock, these artists turned the chunks in to beautiful items. You can see some of them below.

We were ready to get back to the water and the scenery along its banks so taking a boat ride to get to the Temple of Isis was quite nice. In Egypt you never have to worry about rain, and the forecast always includes cloudless blue skies and sunny weather. Our tour guide told us that the only rain they get comes about once a year and lasts for about 30 minutes. The blue color of the sky is remarkably clear and bright and presents the perfect backdrop for ancient temples and statues. Every job, no matter how menial, seems to require at a minimum two people, sometimes three or four. The old line of jokes about how many people does it take to change a light bulb came to mind, and the variations on the joke in Egypt would be endless. Our small boat designed to hold about twenty tourists had four workers on board.

We soon realized why, as our tour guide introduced the workers as Nubians with handmade Nubian goods for sale. Quickly their wares were laid out and included items such as camel bone necklaces and letter openers, hematite necklaces, tourist books with the gods and goddesses, and books on hieroglyphic writing, and traditional Nubian hats.

From the harried city of Cairo, and the small tourist towns that dot the banks of the Nile, sitting aboard the deck of our cruise boat we saw yet another side to this fascinating and diverse country. Relaxing on the deck, and writing blog posts, the world that glided by was almost surreal.

The banks of the Nile are even more alive and green than can be imagined, and there exists a sharp contrast with the barren, sandy desert hugging the strip of the lush, fertile land along the Nile. The colors of the deep blue Nile, grass green fertile area, beige and white desert, and azure crystal clear sky are so sharp in contrast, it looks like a painting. Mile after mile of beautiful fields of crops go by, small rectangles which yield carrots, cabbage, figs, rice, sugar cane, sesame and much more. In the respite of the early morning, farmers and their children can be seen tending to their land, with only an occasional one noticing the tourists that lounge on the decks of their cruise boats.

There are more than 300 boats that cruise the Nile making tourists a common site, even in these remote areas. Occasionally small mud, adobe houses, and lean to shelters for the animals are seen. Water buffaloes drink from the river and small donkeys laden with crops walk along the paths near the Nile. Men can be seen washing their galabiyas in the river. Glabiyas are the traditional worn cotton dress-like garment that almost looks like a large nightgown to us.

When it is prayer time, the Nile is used to wash the face, hands, and feet which must be done before praying. Wherever the farmer happens to be when it is time to pray (which is five times a day for Muslims), he goes to his knees, facing Mecca, and touches his forehead to the ground to pray.

 
Near small villages, groups of boys play about in the Nile, screaming and splashing each other, to cool off from the intense heat. The small villages and towns encountered, always boast a mosque and when the call to prayer rings out, the melody is the perfect background music for the scenery of the Nile. It is a constant reminder of how intertwined faith is with daily life and all that happens in Egypt. It was a strange site, when we were passing a medium size town, to actually see a lighted cross atop a Coptic Christian church, a rare site amongst the many mosques.

The skylines of the small towns are horizontal as the homes all seem to have flat roofs, an architectural element that is not a problem where there is usually only one rain per year. A large majority of the homes appear to be unfinished, with the top floor having only support columns and what looks like rebar spiking up out of the columns. It is an odd site and appears that they Egyptians are in a constant state of construction. We learned that there is a custom that when a house is built, the top floor is left unfinished, and will be finished and used by the children when they become adults. Apparently as each child becomes ready to establish their own home they build on top of their parent’s house.

On the small islands that hug the coastline, goats and donkeys are seen grazing and dozens of white, heron-like birds are happily eating. In the waters around the small islands and along the banks, rowboats move around where fishermen are making their catch for the day. The occasional felucca that sails past makes the dream-like scenery even more enchanting. In the rural areas the sighting of a woman near the river was rare. It appeared that the men were doing the farming and the fishing and the women stayed near to the houses. On several occasions we witnessed men lean down to the Nile and using their hands as cups, drink directly from the Nile. Being from the U.S. and ever conscious of microbes and water borne diseases we would never consider drinking from the St. Johns river. Yet for thousands of years the Nile has been the source of drinking water for the majority of its rural inhabitants. A concept we cannot fathom. One of our tour guides offered us a drink from the Nile and told us this is traditional and will guarantee a return visit to Egypt. We politely declined thinking we would rather avoid a visit to the doctor.

While watching life along the Nile, I thought of the St. Johns and the many similarities and differences. One of the main differences on the Nile is that pleasure crafts are non- existent. No power boats, wave runners, bass boats, pontoon boats. Only people trying to grow crops, raise animals, and fish the waters of the Nile to be able to provide for their families. How different our lives are, just by mere virtue of where we are born and how much we take for granted. Although life along the Nile appeared peaceful and romantic, the day to day struggle for existence was evident. One appreciates their struggle and at the same time can only be thankful for the blessings we have.

Dear Mrs. Menger and Mrs. Tolisano

I have boarded a Nile Cruise Ship with Omar and his family. I am sending you some pictures we took at Abu Simbel. We even met some girls from Spain. They took a picture with us. We had a great time. Enjoy the photos and hope to see you soon.

Love Jose

Saturday, September 29, 2007

It is hard to believe that today started 21 hours ago for us with a wake-up call at 1:15 a.m. in our hotel. We were very anxious to get on a plane to fly after Jose and Omar, but it was not going to be that easy.

We were met by Waleed, our tour guide, to be taken to the Cairo airport at 2 A.M. in the morning. When we left the hotel, very tired and groggy, we were amazed to find the city alive and celebrating from the night before. The streets were filled with people full of energy and the cars continued to honk as much as they had during the daytime. We left the vibrant and buzzing city of Cairo behind us, as we approached the airport, eager to get to the plane for take-off.

Being first in line we assumed we would be first on the plane, but this was not to be our fate. There turned out to be some problem with our tickets. Waleed was arguing fiercely with the ticket agent on our behalf in Arabic. We asked him what the problem was, and he informed us there was a problem with Egypt Air’s computer system. Our luggage was taken off the belt and the agent started to attend to ALL the other travelers who came after us. Waleed continued to scurry around nervously, while disappearing and appearing several times from our view. We started to get nervous by the time when all passengers had already boarded the plane and it was only a few minutes before the schedule take off time. Miraculously the “problem” got solved and we were told to grab our bags and we had to make a mad run to the bus, which would take us across the dark and empty runway toward our plane. People were yelling at us in Arabic, motioning to run up the stairs into the plane. Other helpers threw our suitcases in the cargo hold and we disappeared into the plane, with the door closing behind us. As soon as our seat belts were buckled, the plane started to taxi for take-off.

What an eventful and exciting morning (and it was not even 4:30 am yet)! We had a short stop in Aswan and the plane took off once more to fly an additional half hour to Abu Simbel. Upon arrival in Abu Simbel all the other passengers of the plane were herded onto a bus that took us to a giant parking lot, where Mrs. Menger somehow managed to step into the only mud puddle in the entire Sahara desert.

We then walked along a brick curvy pathway along Lake Nasser, when suddenly around the corner we saw the amazing heads of two Ramses II statues towering above the hillside. As they came fully into view, the sight was startling and breathtaking at the same time. Four gigantic statues of Ramses II stood guarding the temple.

from Wikipedia

Abu Simbel (Arabic أبو سنبل or أبو سمبل) is an archaeological site comprising two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of Lake Nasser about 290 km southwest of Aswan. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the “Nubian Monuments”, which run from Abu Simbel downriver to Philae (near Aswan).

The twin temples were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II in the 13th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, to commemorate his alleged victory at the Battle of Kadesh, and to intimidate his Nubian neighbors. However, the complex was relocated in its entirety in the 1960s, on an artificial hill made from a domed structure, high above the Aswan dam reservoir. The relocation of the temples was necessary to avoid being submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan dam on the Nile River. Abu Simbel remains one of Egypt’s top tourist attractions.

We stood in awe, staring at the imposing statues, when suddenly we spied a bright pink, familiar note.

It was from Jose. We almost dared not read it, in fear of having missed him and Omar once again.

The note said:

Mrs. Tolisano and Mrs. Menger,

Once again we have missed you! I hope you are having as much fun as we are. Don’t worry we are very safe and are getting to do a lot of sight-seeing.

 

We are now on our way to board a Nile cruise boat. We will be on a boat called the Marquis. Tomorrow we will be going to a temple. I don’t know the name of it, but it was once in a different location and when the High Aswan Dam was built the temple area was flooded. Believe it or not the entire temple was moved to higher ground to save it from being lost forever under water. Early Christians at one point turned this temple into a chapel and held worship services. Come and meet us there. In the mean time enjoy the sites. They are amazing! Everything almost seems unreal!

Love,

Jose and Omar

Arghhhhhhh! Can you believe it? We missed Jose and Omar again! At least we know they are doing fine. Where in the world are they going? Here we are in the middle of Egypt and no way to do any research. We really need some help. If anyone reading this knows where they might be headed please reply to us and let us know so we can meet them.

Thanks,

Mrs. Tolisano and Mrs. Menger