AFVOA Newsletters of Year 2012

Page 74 of 80 see a small green round patch of grass surrounded by a maze of arterial roads being at the centre of the Egyptian Revolution. The next morning we went to see the Cairo Museum and spent a few hours there. We saw many mummies of ancient Pharaohs. Of interest was the one of Ramses II and Queen Hatshepsut, one of only six lady Pharaohs who ruled Egypt. The treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamun were simply awesome. His Solid Gold face mask which was found on his mummy is 11 kg. All the items meant for his after life were also displayed. They have however returned his Mummy to his tomb located in the Valley of the Kings. We had an easy time entering the museum and were able to see the exhibits at leisure. Once again a fall out of the revolution and its adverse impact on tourism. From 28 to 30 September we took a cruise on the River Nile arranged by “Abercrombie & Kent”. The Nile flows from South to North. We flew to Aswan by Egypt Air and were taken to the Boat “Sanctuary Nile Adventurer” and occupied a nice cabin. After a sumptuous lunch, we took a short motorboat ride across Aswan Dam and visited the Philae Temple on the island of Aqilka. We then proceeded to the Granite Quarries which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the granite stones used in pyramids and temples. The Egyptologist Guide tells you that whatever we see is all in BC!!!!. On 29 Sep morning we cruised towards the North. Enroute we visited Kom Ombo temple dedicated to the Crocodile God Sobek. We then cruised towards Edfu in the afternoon where we saw the temple of the legendary God Horus, symbolized by the Falcon who is the son of Isis and Osiris. Horus rules over the skies. The temple is one of the best preserved Pharaoic temples restored by the Greeks. An interesting fact about this temple is that on its walls the original Rx symbol for prescriptions used by doctors is inscribed. In the evening we were requested to wear Egyptian dress ‘Galabeya’ a loose garment and attend the dinner and dance. When our servant maid saw me in the dress in a photograph, she commented that Aiyya looks like a Padhiri !!!!). Overnight we stayed on board sailing towards Esna locks. We reached Luxor on the morning of 30 Sep and we were taken to the West bank of Luxor by a motor boat to visit first the Valley of the Kings and then the Valley of the Queens. Both are vast cities of the dead where magnificent tombs were carved into desert rocks, decorated richly, and filled with treasuries for the after life by generations of Pharaohs. We then visited the “Hatshepsut Temple” of Queen Hatshepsut (Ancient Egypt’s most famous woman Pharaoh) and the Colossi of Memnon. In the evening we were taken to Karnak Temple built for ‘God Amun Ra’. The great “Hypostyle Hall” is an incredible forest of giant pillars with a height of over 63 feet. We then visited the Luxor Temple. All the carvings are akin to each other in all the temples. We had a farewell dinner on board followed by a “Belly Dance” and a “Whirling Dervish show” known as Tanurah in Egypt .The Belly Dance was nice. It is an art and taught by special teachers in Cairo. The Whirling Dervish show (Egyptian/ Turkish) was fantastic, where an individual wearing layers of colourful ghagra type of dress, keeps rotating in a circle with open/closed eyes continuously for over 25 minutes – removing the layers one after another, even making one in the shape of a baby cradled in his arms .It was fascinating to see the Tanurah dancer whirling continuously and without any hint of giddiness or exhaustion!. On 1 Oct we flew back to Cairo.