The Nile used to flood regularly
(some 14 metres at Aswan, 12 metres at Luxor and 7.5 metres at Cairo) and a dam
was the solution. The first was started
in 1892 and was subsequently raised twice. Once that was overtopped the High
Aswan dam was built (1960). In addition to controlling flooding, irrigation and
hydroelectricity were also drivers. Before the dams, many of the temples and
other structures were buried in silt over previous centuries. This helped their
preservation, along with a reluctance by locals to excavate the many sites, largely due to a fear of spirits and the like. Excavations started in earnest
when Western archaeologists became interested.
Our group were joined by a couple
(Billie and Andrew) who really added to the dynamics, not least because Andrew
had a real interest and knowledge of Egyptology. This, together with my desire to
understand how things were constructed, resulted in our 5-day guide laughingly proposing
to limit our questions.
Our first stop was Kom Ombo, where
Sobek the crocodile god, was worshipped. In the museum, the mummified remains of
some were on display. A deity where presumably fear played a part.
In the afternoon, a short boat
trip upstream of the first Aswan dam delivered us to Philae (island) temple. This
temple was submerged by the High dam and its some 40,000 blocks relocated 500
metres away to higher ground (1970 – 80).
Throughout our visits, it was extraordinary how many of
the carvings have been deliberately defaced by different deities, both in
ancient times and more recently by competing religions (Christians and
Muslims). Other carvings (graffiti?) were also occasionally spotted. The
following was a remarkable coincidence as it lists the names of some soldiers
who were lost in 1884-5 that were in Andrew’s old regiment. Not only a
surprise but a pretty moving experience for our whole group. (Zooming in helps legibility.)
The number of huge carvings of
various deities was overwhelming so I will stick to a few items that were
headlines for me. The “key of life” or Ankh. The vertical represents the Nile
with the circle above its Delta, while the 90° lines represent the banks. 85% of Egypt is
desert so the key of life is very appropriate. It appears in the hands of many
deities and other hieroglyphics.
Some
of the carvings were quite detailed, albeit scary. In the centre of this shot are
surgical instruments and to the right, various medicines. On the far right, the
Ankh is being held by the goddess Isis. I’m not sure how well the key of life
aligns with those instruments!
Construction was a little
different to the pyramids. Here, dovetails were cut into each end of a stone, enabling
them to be locked into one another with a suitably shaped piece of wood. Our guide was
even more excited about this than me!
Although there were clearly
thousands of manhours building these temples, there was time for festivities.
The holiday calendar was quite detailed.
Here is an explanation. A well-structured calendar set
around the seasons.
Some of the paintings, despite the
intervening years, were detailed and colourful, particularly if they were out of
the sun and too hard to reach by defacers. The question remains – were these
painted insitu or painted and then lifted into place?
The next day we visited Karnak, which
is the second most visited site in Egypt after the pyramids. It is dedicated to
Amon (the god of air). The entry with its line of sphynx ensures visitors sense
they are about to enter somewhere special.
There are three standouts. The first is the “Hall of columns” which was started in 1290 BC. The hall covers an area similar to Notre Dame in Paris (some 5000 m²). It has over 130 massive columns, which are 24 metres high and a colossal 3.5 metres in diameter. I suspect many children would view this as the perfect place for a game of hide and seek – it would have gone on for hours.
Second these are the granite obelisks. Only three remain of the original 17, with two taken by Emperor Constantine to Rome and the others broken up—mainly for reuse in building other structures. (Paris, London, and New York have also taken their share of other obelisks.) These two (left to right) are Hatasou (1479-1458 BCE) 33
metres high and Thutmose (1520-1492 BCE) 29 metres high.
Finally, there was the sacred
lake used by the priest for purification rituals. The ritual continues today
with royalty (see the previous Nile – SS Sudan blog).
Just down the road - well, to be
more precise along the 2.7 kms long Avenue of Sphinxes is Luxor temple.
Luxor was clearly occupied by the
Romans. Some of the walls were plastered over to enable painting. This one was
painted around 300 AD during Emperor Diocletian’s reign. (Again, zooming helps - look at the right side of the corner.)
Our
last trip before heading back to Cairo was to the Valley of the Kings. An early
start enabled a quick stop to view the Colossi of Memnon. These two
massive stone statues are of Pharaoh
Amenhotep III and date back to 1350 BC. They
stand 18 metres high and weigh in at some 720 Tons.
The
antiquity was counter-balanced by a drift of over 30 hot air balloons. A spectacular
sight.
There was a remarkable model in the entry building. The clear
plastic replicated the topography of the valley and underneath were the shafts,
location and shape of the various tombs. A designer with a very imaginative
mind.
We visited four of the 63 tombs
and chambers. There is an expectation that more will be discovered. Some tombs were
shallow with easy access, while others were deeper and very hot and humid. The colours
and details were remarkable. I have picked one of the ten photos taken in the tomb
of Rameses IV. Add that to the other three tombs followed by a visit to the
artists and craftsman tombs in the next valley and you will appreciate this
area could have been a blog on its own!
And with that we disembarked the
SS Sudan and headed to our Luxor hotel for a night before flying back to Cairo.
The morning gave rise to a spectacular view over the Nile to the Valley of
Kings once more being viewed aloft by several hundred visitors. A spectacular end
to what was a very fabulous six day cruise.
