Egypt revisited

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Arriving in Egypt was a first for this journey; a first in that it wasn't a first for us. Hard to believe it has been almost seven years since we were here before. But Egypt is an amazingly powerful place, able to create memories as timeless as its many monuments. The benefit of experience, knowing a little about the place, recalling what we particularly enjoyed the last time and remembering those things we didn't do but wished we would have, made the planning stage very easy. Too easy, in fact. With the limited amount of time we had before meeting friends in Athens, there is just too much to do here. Of all of our ambitions, though, only one was inviolate: kebab at Abou Shakra. After all this time I could almost taste the succulent lamb and chicken, grilled to perfection over coals with a magical blend of spices I have never been able to recreate. This is where I had my final meal just before leaving Cairo seven years ago. An excellent recommendation by an Egyptian Neurosurgeon who I had been working with for the month before travelling to Egypt the first time: 'You MUST eat at Abou Shakra, the best kebab in Cairo.' He was most certainly right. While I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of my time in Egypt--the Pyramids, the Museum, sailing the Nile, Karnak, the Valley of Kings, diving the Red Sea--for the past seven years I have always maintained--most of you probably thought I was joking--that I would return to Cairo just for the kebab at Abou Shakra. And I have! The first order of buisness after checking into our hotel--no, not the Great Pyramids, they could wait--was dinner plans. The only dilemma? Choosing which location--Abou Shakra has two. Was it as good as I remember? Oh, yeaaaaah!

The following morning, yes, we did go visit the Pyramids. Just as powerful the second time. Strange how such a simple geometric construction can be so compelling, but just wandering around on the Giza plateau you can't help but marvel at the immensity of these monuments. Even after serving as a rock quary for others' construction for over 4000 years, they are still magnificent. More impressive, still, is their timelessness. It is hard to put their antiquity in any kind of context that our minds can comprehend. Any conceivable event in recorded history--not only were the Pyramids around, they were already ancient.

Having fulfilled our two most important obligations, decisions had to be made. 'To dive, or not to dive. That is the question.' So close to the Red Sea, Jacques Cousteau would certainly roll-over if we didn't go diving. On the other hand, do we offend Ramses by not revisiting the history of Upper Egypt? Finally we opted for the later, figuring next month would be spent island-hopping, plenty of opportunity to get wet.

While we had taken in most of the sites of Upper Egypt previously, somehow we missed Abu Simbel, and this was placed at the top of our new agenda. We were collected from our hotel in Aswan by a minibus at 4am, much too early. I was a little puzzled when our bus joined a queue of vehicles, parking alongside the main road out of Aswan, waiting for others to assemble. It wasn't until a collection of police vehicles arrived at 4:30am that we--or anyone else--actually set off for Abu Simbel. This police convoy was new, not something I experienced in Egypt seven years ago. Come to think of it, the metal detectors and armed guards at the Pyramids were a new addition since my last visit also.

Repercussions of the 1997 massacre at Deir al-Bahri that left 65 tourists dead. I learned that for a couple of years afterwards, tourists were not even allowed on the long, isolated road to Abu Simbel, the police unsure if they could guarantee their safety. Road travel is now possible, but only in designated police convoys. After 3 1/2 hours in a cramped minivan we--along with a couple of hundred others--arrived at Abu Simbel. Fascinating to walk through the visitors center and follow the sequence of events as the great monument was completely dismantled and then reassembled along with a new mountain to house it, out of the reach of the rising waters of Lake Nasser.

The great temple of Ramses II is awesome to behold with the four seated statues, each over 65 feet tall, hewn out of a sheer rock face. The temple chambers, with rows of intricately carved columns and uninteruppted reliefs on the walls and ceiling, would have been an impressive piece of construction, but is even more awe-inspiring when you realize that it is actually an excavation. Then, after admiring the skill involved in its construction by the ancient Egyptians over 3000 years ago, you have to reexamine the monument--searching for the almost invisible seams--and marvel at the brilliance of the modern engineers who were able to carve up, disassemble, move, and then reassemble this monumental edifice.

On to Luxor. For me, a visit to Egypt wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Temple of Karnak. In retrospect, probably one of the chief reasons we are not diving Ras Mohammed right now. The Pyramids have come to symbolize Egypt, and most who have never been to Egypt--or at least studied its history--mistakenly assume that ancient Egyptian culture and history revolved around Giza. Anyone who has ever been here knows that the center of Egypt was Thebes--now Luxor. Recalling my first visit, memories of the Pyramids and every other monument I saw pale in comparison to those of the Temple of Karnak. It is just as well that the Pyramids get top billing; they are probably more photogenic. You really have to walk among the forest of columns in Karnak's Great Hypostyle Hall to appreciate it. While I had been there before, it was just as breathtaking. Even more amazing, more than half of my time in Karnak was spent wandering through temples and enclosures I had not seen before. The place is huge. Similarly, while the next day was spent on the West Bank of the Nile at the famed Necropolis, the only monuments which were repeated from my previous visit were Deir al-Bahri (the Funerary Temple of Hatshepsut) and the Colossi of Memnon. We chose to visit the Valley of Queens instead of its more famous counterpart. Here, the Tomb of Nefertari had been opened to the public since my last visit. As entrance is limited to 150 people per day, we had to be at the ticket office waiting in line at 6am to get a ticket (100 Egyptian Pounds for her tomb alone) but it was well worth it. The preservation of the paintings in her tomb are incredible. The colors are still brilliant, even the whites have no trace of dinge after more than 3000 years. Finally, the Funerary Temple of Ramses III. While very impressive, relatively few people have the opportunity to visit. Given the density of monuments here, it is usually overshadowed by other, more famous temples.

If you are wondering why I haven't mentioned the Museum, just saving that for tomorrow. Can't thing of a better way to spend the time before our late-afternoon flight. We haven't yet left, already can't wait to return to Egypt. Have to run now, Abou Shakra calls. One more kebab . . .

JB