Upper Egypt - the South

The Nile flows North, so "Upper Egypt" was in the South. Upper and Lower Egypt (present-day Cairo and Alexandria) were united under Ramses II. Surely one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs, he left contributions from Memphis in the North to Abu Simbel in the South.

The flight to Luxor covered hundreds of miles of desert. When we fly over the U.S., everything is green. Here, everything is brown. There are dry riverbeds, and even canyons cut by water, but that was 30 million years ago. Today, everything is sand and rock.
The heat and sand are the major reasons some of these temples are so well-preserved: a massive sandstorm once in ten years would have completely buried a temple in 100 years.

And these buildings are 3,000 years old. Inscriptions carved by the French explorers who discovered the Karnak Temple are only 3 meters below the ceiling. They had no clue what was buried 40 meters beneath their feet.




We visited the temples built by Ramses III, which has magnificent carvings and paintings still in pristine condition; and the temple built by his grandfather, Ramses II, which has not survived as well.






An early-morning balloon flight was breathtaking.







We flew over both these temples, the Valley of the Queens, and the temples in the city of Luxor, at some 2,800 feet. We landed at a small community on the west side of the Nile, and kids emerged from everywhere, even at 7:00 a.m.



The Karnak Temple was probably large enough to contain the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The (solid rock) ceiling was supported by 134 columns, most 41 meters high. There are statues of pharaohs and dozens of sphinxes, and exhaustive histories and odes to gods carved on every surface throughout the temple. The Temple of Luxor, which is magnificent, paled in comparison. They are still excavating the Avenue of the Sphinxes, which apparently covers the entire 3 kilometers between the two temples, and which contains hundreds of statues.

Finally, we visited the Valley of the Kings, and actually explored the tombs of Ramses IX, Ramses III, and Ramses I. They were dug here, into solid rock, to minimize the chances of being plundered, as were the pyramids in Giza.

No such luck. Of 62 tombs discovered so far in the Valley of the Kings, the only one found that was not empty was Tutankhamen's. The treasure his tomb contained, and the age at which he died (18), are the main reasons he is now so famous.

The tombs are astounding. (Unfortunately, there is no photography inside the tombs.) I cannot fathom the work required to dig these chambers in solid limestone. The tomb of Ramses I goes straight down, perhaps 50 meters, to a chamber that still contains his massive sarcophagus. The tomb of Ramses IX goes through a long passageway to an empty burial chamber. The tomb of Ramses III passes through half a dozen chambers, takes a detour where it intersected with another tomb already carved into that part of the mountain, then continues on through more chambers. There are several more chambers left untouched. It must encompass thousands of square feet.

The tomb of his grandfather, Ramses II is not open to the public, but must be vastly more impressive. He had 68 wives and more than 200 children, and his tomb contains burial chambers for more than 40 of his sons. Literally dozens of rooms.

Almost every inch of these tombs is covered with carvings and paintings, containing histories and descriptions of relationships with gods. Where exposure to light has been minimal, the colors are still clear and vibrant, even 3,500 years later. (The colors were pulverized rock - ocher for red, for example - which were then mixed with honey and egg-white, and then painted on the walls. And they have survived extremely well.) The experience of walking into a hole in a mountain, and seeing the fruits of millions of man-hours of labor, performed so very long ago, is overwhelming. Each tomb surely seems like a holy place.


Finally, after some serious shopping, we moved onto the boat and headed upriver to Aswan.




The Rihana Dahabiya (our boat) was a fabulous experience. Unlike most cruise ships on the Nile, this ship has only ten cabins.

Our cruise had only a delightful couple from the U.K., a couple from Italy, and a family from Switzerland with two small boys, and accompanying guides. I listened as the conversation flowed easily from English to Italian to German to Polish, sometimes even between sentences.

We disappeared from the grid, no phones, no TV, no papers, no internet, no communication with the outside world at all for four days. And what a trip! This was special beyond any description, an absolutely fabulous experience. The boat is gorgeous, with spacious cabins and baths (real showers!), and a nice upper deck with a jacuzzi. It's a sailboat, with two huge sails, but no wind meant we were escorted by a tug the entire trip. The service and food were worthy of any five-star hotel.

The last night they stopped at an island, set up tables with linens and crystal, and served us a surf and turf dinner on the sand dunes.

 

Then a local musical troupe appeared, and they provided music and dancing well into the evening. Patrizia, our friend from the U.K., is a most accomplished musician, both voice and on several instruments. She picked up a brand new instrument, and was a regular member of the orchestra within minutes.

 In Aswan we visited the new High Dam across the Nile, a temple, and the city bazaar. Then a camel trip into the desert to visit the old St. Simeon Christian monastery, and a Felucca (sailboat) ride on the Nile back to the hotel. The hotel had a restaurant and bar at the top of a tower, and we enjoyed sunsets and views of the lights of the city both nights.

 The next day we took an early flight to Abu Simbel to see the temple with the four copies of Ramses II, and the adjacent temple he built to his favorite wife, Nefertiti. They are magnificent.

Built into the mountain, more like tombs, they are better preserved than any of the "outside" temples. The new lake behind the high dam would have submerged them, so UNESCO and a U.S. team completely dismantled both temples and moved them 70 meters higher; then recreated the mountains to complete the reconstruction.

The carvings are generally well-preserved, and the insides of the temples (protected from the sun and wind) contain markings and paintings that are in amazingly good condition after 3,500 years. We have seen most of the hieroglyphics before, but each temple tells different stories, and highlights again the importance they gave to their gods.

Egypt has been an amazing experience. We knew some of the history, and about the pharaohs and how they worshiped, but we had no idea that so many temples and tombs were so well preserved. And the boat trip on the Nile was a highlight rivaling the best of any of our trips. We are very lucky.