The Nile - Egyptology

While on SS Sudan we had daily trips to see a few of the many ancient sites. A map and some recent engineering history should help to set the scene. We sailed from Aswan to Luxor.

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.