4 Oct           An Introduction to Egypt

The mania and allure of Ancient Egypt has captured the world’s attention from the Greeks who revered them, to Napoleon who had a dinner service with Egyptian scenes made for his wife, to the modern day frenzy that accompanied the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922.  It was the most advanced civilization in its time.  Even the Greeks modeled their temples after the Egyptians.  There is something within its history that seems to attract most people.  And on our journey through the world of the pharaohs, we hope to come away with a better understanding and appreciation of these Ancient Egyptians.

 This will be our third trip to Egypt but our first land tour – the other two trips were just day excursions to Cairo and Alexandria from a cruise ship.  The main reason for the trip is to visit the Valley of the Kings as, although our one cruise ships had scheduled a stop there, it was unable to make the port call because of its schedule for entering the Suez Canal.

 Our Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) tour of Egypt begins in Cairo, after which we fly to Luxor where we board our ship for a six-day cruise down the Nile to Aswan.  We then return to Cairo for a few more days before flying home.  During our stay in Cairo we will be at the InterContinental Cairo Semiramis Hotel and on the Nile, the ship Nefertiti will be our home.

 Before we begin our OAT tour, we have set up four one day tours with an Egyptian tour company called Real Egypt.  It is owned by Samir Abbass who we had used when our cruise ship docked in Alexandria.  He used to be a member of the Egyptian National Basketball team and is a very good tour guide.  We will be visiting Saqqara, an ancient necropolis or cemetery for Memphis, once the capital of Ancient Egypt, and also Dahshur.  There are several pyramids located there that OAT does not take us to see.  We will also travel to El Alamein where British Commander Montgomery defeated German Field Marshal Rommel to mark the culmination of the North African campaign in WWII.   Bill has really wanted to see this so we will spend a day there.  We are also scheduled to visit the Grand Egyptian Museum (opening in late 2021) and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, the new home for Egyptian mummies.

Egypt is a republic and about the size of Texas and California combined.  It has 1800 miles of coastline (Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea) and is bordered by Libya (west), Gaza Strip and Israel (east), and Sudan (south).  Egypt is primarily a desert region with only 4% of its land cultivated and permanently settled.  The population centers are around the Nile River and Delta and the Sinai Peninsula around Sharm el Sheik.  Sunni Muslims account for 90% of the population with the Coptic Christians about 9%.

Egypt has a long and varied history.  This is just a short synapsis of their history.  Ancient Egypt (which most of our tour is about) started around 3150 BCE with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. (Lower Egypt was the land where the Nile flowed into the Mediterranean and is known as the Delta Region.  Upper Egypt was the land to the south of the Delta to what is now the border with Sudan).  This was the time of the pharaohs and pyramids.  Many of the pharaohs were depicted wearing a double crown that was adorned with the cobra (symbol of Lower Egypt) and the falcon (the symbol of Upper Egypt).  While most people today believe that Egypt has the most pyramids, that honor actually belongs to Sudan, with 220 pyramids, twice the number Egypt has.  Although, it should also be noted that the Nubian area of Egypt where most of the pyramids are found was once part of the Egyptian empire.

In 332 BCE, Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great and thus began the Hellenistic Ptolemaic era.  This era ended with the death of Cleopatra and the beginning of the Roman rule from 30 BCE to 641 AD.  Egypt was then conquered by the Muslims who ruled until 1517 when the Ottoman sultan Selim captured Cairo, making Egypt part of the Ottoman Empire. 

Rosetta Stone

For a very short period (1798-1801), Egypt fell under French control when Napoleon captured Egypt from the Ottomans.  Napoleon was unique in his Egyptian conquest as he brought many scientists with him, and it is through their notes and drawings, that the world gained much of its knowledge of the Ancient Egyptians – this was basically the beginning of Egyptology (the study of Ancient Egypt).  During that time many scientific expeditions were made documenting archaeological and flora discoveries, but the most important aspect of his expeditions was the discovery of the Rosetta Stone by one of his lieutenants in July 1799.  The stone, carved in 196 BCE, was inscribed with a decree about the pharaoh Ptolemy in three languages –  the top two were in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphics in the top version and Demotic scripts in the middle, while the bottom version was in Ancient Greek.  This became the key to being able to decipher the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics (with its 700 pictural symbols) and texts that had been found in many of the tombs and pyramids.  It is ironic that the stone was not discovered by archeologists, but by soldiers who were reinforcing an old fort before a battle with the Ottoman Empire.  Today, the Rosetta Stone lies in the British Museum in London.  In 1801, Napoleon was forced to flee Egypt and it once again fell under Ottoman rule. 

Egypt remained part of the Ottoman Empire until 1882.  It then fell under British rule after the Anglo-Egyptian War.  Following WWI and the Egyptian revolution of 1919, the Kingdom of Egypt was established.  The British still maintained control over Egypt’s foreign affairs and defenses until 1954 when Egypt became the modern Republic of Egypt with the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian agreement of 1954.  Following the British withdrawal from the Suez Canal in 1954, Egypt finally became a fully independent country, ruled by native Egyptians, for the first time in 2500 years.

Cairo (which means Triumphant City) is the country’s capital and largest city in the Arab world with a population of over 20 million people.  It is a blend of today’s modern life and Egypt’s ancient history.  As with other large cities, Cairo has its share of traffic and noise problems.  Today modern skyscrapers mix with the artifacts of Ancient Egypt.  The Giza Pyramids, which in pictures look to be out in the middle of the desert, are in fact now bordering on the outskirts of Cairo.  Most of the historical sites in Cairo are found in the area that was once a medieval city founded by the Fatimid Dynasty

"Vertical" Forest

Today, pollution and urban congestion is a huge problem in Cairo.  However, Cairo in the last few years has begun to tackle these problems.  One of their unique solutions is the building of a new forest within and on top of the city.  They have hired an architect to build a “vertical” forest, projected to be finished in 2022.  This will include building three buildings, each with a 98’ x 98’ footprint, rising seven stories, spanning an area of over 38,000 square feet.  Two will be apartment buildings while the third is a hotel.  Between and on these three buildings, the city will plant 350 trees and 14,000 shrubs.  Each individual housing unit will have a balcony containing plant species native to the North African climate, resulting in the entire perimeter of the buildings being surrounded by green plants and trees.  And the irrigation system needed to water this vegetation will come from solar-powered-drive groundwater pumps.  It is believed that this Vertical Forest area will absorb 7 tons of carbon dioxide per year and produce 8 tons of oxygen, in an effort to counteract the pollution and effects of climate change.  In addition to this project, Cairo hopes to convert thousands of flat roofs into green energy producers.

In an attempt to escape the congestion and chaos of Cairo, the current president Sisi has embarked on an ambitious plan of building a new capital city, to be known as the New Administrative Capital.  It will be located in the desert 27 miles east Cairo and the Nile River, with the first phase already in progress.  The transfer of government workers to their new facilities started this August.  The actual opening of the new city is planned for the end of 2021.  This flagship project by President Sisi is estimated to cost 45 billion dollars. 

As planned, the first phase is the construction of the center of the new city which will include an avenue of government buildings that reflect the architecture of the ancient Egyptian temples, two domed parliament buildings, and a large presidential compound – all of which will be connected by a monorail system.  Just outside the center will be a 6-mile park that connects to a large mosque.  Phases 2 and 3, which have not yet been started, will consist of mostly residential buildings that will house up to 6 million people.  The new city will also include universities and leisure facilities  This new capital is designed as a high-tech model for future Egyptian development and will operate with smart technology.  Security will be monitored from control centers and each building will have solar panels on their roofs.  According to the plans, each inhabitant of this new city will be allocated 161 square feet of green space.  It is estimated that completion of this entire complex is still decades away. 

I have put together a few blogs which I will post now that give you a little insight into what I will be talking about in the days to come.  Most of it is centered around Ancient Egypt.  It can be very confusing trying not only to keep the pharaohs and early kingdoms and dynasties straight in your mind, but also trying to remember all their gods and goddesses.  I have also found some interesting facts about inventions and discoveries by the Ancient Egyptians plus a short description of the mummification process which played a large role in the lives of the Ancient Egyptians.

We are flying to Cairo today, and beginning Tuesday we will be visiting the ancient Egyptian sites that I have mentioned above.  So, join us as we travel back in history to the time of the pharaohs and pyramids.