Travelogue 2018

Egypt started building 5,000 years ago and hasn’t stopped—malls, freeways, constant improvements, growing and extravagant suburbs, a new two-lane highway into the airport, which as all good Egyptians know, means at least four lanes as lines are merely suggestions. Vehicles participate in a horn-honk language and are respectful of donkey cart drivers, although the poor donkey must be wearing ear plugs as they never seem to flinch. A light double beep, “I want to get by.” A return light double beep, “Go ahead.” A light single beep, “Thank you.” An immediate light beep back, “You’re welcome.” A long honk, “WTF are you doing, you idiot?” Chaos, magnificent and infuriating, mingles with the muezzins’ loudspeaker-distorted calls to prayer. With 3½ million cars, Cairo is like Los Angeles—one does not measure in distance, only in time. And when you ask, “How long will it take?” the response is, “As long as it takes.” Cairo with nine million people, 22 million in greater Cairo, largest city in Africa, is always crowded. 20% of Egyptians live in Cairo. Two million commute in and out of the city each day. I learned to avoid bodily harm whilst crossing the street by pairing up with a young man, who I usually clung to, or a mother and child. I walked alone day and night; Cairo is a very safe city, despite all rumors to the contrary. And, I’m a walking target; my clothes and demeanor so scream “tourist” that I sometimes think I must have a neon tiara blinking “old lady tourist.” The Arab Republic of Egypt (MISR, Egypt in Franco-Arabic writing) bordered by Libya on the west, Sudan the south, Israel the northeast, has 630 miles of Mediterranean coastline (relatively undeveloped) in the north and 1,200 miles of eastern coastline on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba. The Nile runs 750 miles through Egypt, although its drainage basin covers eleven countries—Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of the Sudan and Egypt—and is the primary water source for Egypt and Sudan. The river Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile. The White Nile is

considered to be the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself. The Blue Nile, however, is the source of most of the water and silt (the water often looks black with silt and the words for black and blue are the same in Ethiopia where it originates). The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa with the most distant source still undetermined, but believed to be located in either Rwanda (watch Black Earth Rising on Netflix) or Burundi. It flows north through Tanzania, Lake Victoria/Nyanza, Uganda and South Sudan. The two rivers meet just north of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum (which I want to visit—Nile, ziggurats, Lawrence of Arabia, Gertrude Bell). The Nile runs 3,800 miles (or more depending upon source), 1,600 through

Egypt and Sudan. The Nile has no tributaries, and little or no rainfall. The annual inundation of ancient times and (dam-controlled today; the Aswan Reservoir contains enough water to withstand, theoretically, a 10-year drought) comes from the monsoon rains that feed the lakes where the Nile originates.

Hieroglyphs to emojis

The Western Desert (a branch of the Libyan Saharan Desert) is arid and without wadis—dry beds of seasonal rivers; the Eastern Desert is extensively dissected by wadis and fringed by rugged mountains in the east; the Sinai Peninsula is open country broken up by isolated hills and scored by wadis; the coastal regions are generally sparsely populated and under-developed with exceptions of a few large ports, Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, and Red Sea resorts. There are opportunities here for sea-view retirement communities on the Mediterranean. Egypt is 96% desert with 68% located in the Western Desert, and only 4% green and then, only along the Nile. Siwa, which I want to visit, is one of the five oases in the Western Desert, and where Alex the Great built a well before he headed to Babylon and died. He was mummified in the Egyptian manner and wanted to be buried in Egypt, which presumably his faithful buddy, Ptolemy, did after he highjacked the body on its way back to Greece. His tomb/mummy have yet to be discovered, although claims have been made. The Eastern Desert, the east side of the Nile to the Red Sea, is part of the Arabian Desert, formed at same time as the Red Sea, before Africa and Asia separated (Pangaea). They are still moving apart at the rate of one centimeter a year. The Sinai has two deserts, northern sandy desert and the southern rocky desert, where Moses got his tablets. 85% of Egyptians live on 15% of the land. Sandstone and limestone comprise the Western Desert as it was once under the Mediterranean. In an open air museum at Wadi El-Hitan skeletons of ancient whales (extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti) and sharks can be seen. These fossils represent one of the major stories of evolution: the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. This would be so cool to visit. Egypt is so much more than pyramids, which are beyond incredible. Cairo, known as the land of 1,000 minarets, is also called Umm Ad Dunya—Mother of the World, by Cairenes. Cairo is not a Pharaonic city, although the famous Pyramids of Giza would make one think so. At the time the pyramids were built, Memphis, 20 kilometers south, was the capital of Egypt. In 969 CE the Fatimid dynasty laid the foundations of Cairo, although the city’s history goes back much further when there was an important ancient religious center at On (modern day Heliopolis, a plush upper/upper-middle class neighborhood). The Romans built a fortress at the port of On, which they called Babylon, while Amr Ibn Al-As, the general, who conquered Egypt for Islam in 642, established the city of Fustat to the south. Fustat’s massive wealth was drawn from Egypt’s rich soil and the taxes imposed on Nile traffic. Tenth century travelers wrote about the beautiful public gardens, street lighting, and buildings up to 14 stories high, yet when the Fatimids marched from modern-day Tunisia near the end of the 900s, they spurned Fustat, and instead set about building a new city. Construction began on the new capital when the planet Mars (Al Qahir, “the Victorious”) was in ascendant—Al-Madina Al Qahira, “the City Victorious,” the pronunciation corrupted by Europeans to Cairo. I stayed at the Cairo Marriott as I had in 2002 (with requisite portrait of the Marriott boys, J. Willard and Bill, who never age, even in death), which is the former Al Gezirah Palace built by Khedive Ismail, ruler of Egypt in 1869, as a guest palace to accommodate Empress Eugénie and other European monarchs for the celebration of the Suez Canal inauguration. FYI: Verdi was commissioned to write an opera for the grand opening, but Aida did not make the deadline, so Rigoletto was performed (Aida two years later and P.S. the Statue of Liberty was originally intended to stand at the mouth of the Suez Canal, likely sans “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”). Besides being gilded, gloriously ceilinged—carved and painted, every room had an arrow on the dresser that indicated the direction of Mecca, in 2002; however, not in 2018, not even on the ceiling, which would have been smarter than on movable furniture. Maybe now every Muslim has a smart phone with a

WheresMecca App or there’s a halal section? The hotel is located on Zamelek Island; the bridge built by Eiffel, materials by US Steel. There is much to see and do in Cairo; put on your walking shoes: Islamic Cairo with ancient minarets and the Al Azhar Mosque, Medieval Cairo with bazaars in densely-packed neighborhoods, including the Khan al-Khalili, a maze of narrow alleys teeming with 12,000 small shops, a medieval mall built in the 14th century, where I stopped at a fez-maker, still making the felted wool fez with ancient equipment. Although, regrettably, many of the goods throughout had a cheap Chinese-import look. Midaq Alley, though, looks just like Naguib Mahfouz’s description in his books (must reads for a visit). The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, still a cluttered dusty dump inside, a corally pink on the outside on Tahir (Liberation) Square (site of Mubarak and Morsi demonstrations, 2011, 2013) laid out in the 1860s at the same time as the building of the Suez Canal, now with the massive Ritz Carlton (formerly the Nile Hilton) as the landmark, has good news to announce: in 2020 the GEM, Grand Egyptian Museum, will open on the Giza Plateau, and the pink museum will house paintings and papyrus art. Still I wandered around taking photographs, drooled over the beautiful art and jewelry wishing there were copies to buy, and dazzled by the ancientness. I cringed whenever I saw people touching the statues despite all the no-touch signs. I hope the GEM will still allow photographs and protect the statues from hands and selfie-takers. This visit I did not pay the extra fee to visit the mummy room as I had visited last time to reassure myself that Ramses the Great was indeed a redhead. His mummy was discovered in the Deir el Bahri cache; it remained in Cairo for a century, rehydrating and growing fungi. No one at the time thought a mummy needed conservation like other objects. It is the only pharaoh’s mummy ever to leave Egypt. Taken to Paris (with his own passport and visa) in 1976 for treatment, Ramses had 89 species of fungi growing on him. Gamma-ray irradiation was used to kill the growths and conservationists still are not sure whether the DNA was affected. Placed in a case of nitrogen “azote” made by the Getty Conservation Institute, Ramses was fully sterilized and given a clean bill of health before being returned to Cairo. Ramses apparently had arteriosclerosis, not to mention a hole (rotten teeth) in his mandible from an infection that may have killed him. The Ramses historical novels I’ve read (5) all talk about how hard it was for his aged self to eat or drink because of chronic pain. X-rays showed Ramses’ heart on the wrong side, sewn in with gold thread. The embalmers made a mistake; not supposed to remove the heart; discovering their error, repaired it with gold “eternal” thread. Until 1996 museum security was locking the door at night. When an enterprising thief stowed away overnight and helped himself to treasures, the museum installed alarms and detectors. During the 2011 revolution, the museum was broken into and a few artifacts went missing. To prevent further looting, activists formed a human chain around the building to guard its contents. To one side of the museum is a garden of Egyptological luminaries, including the tomb of August Mariette (which I can’t understand as he busily sent his finds to the Louvre even after Mohammed Ali banned the export of antiquities in 1835), busts of Jean-François Champollion, who cracked the code of the hieroglyphs, Gaston Maspero, Mariette’s successor as director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service and Amelia Peabody’s and Emerson’s (must read the Elizabeth Peters series) sometime friend, sometime nemesis, and Karl Lepsius, the 19th century German Egyptologist. In old Cairo I visited the Hanging Church, a 9th century stone structure housed in a Babylonian fortress, called hanging because it was suspended over the Water Gate of Roman Babylon, a Coptic church with a very Islamic feel with its ebony- and ivory-inlaid screens and geometric patterns. Nearby is the Ben Ezra Synagogue, a 9th century temple built inside a 4th century Christian church. The oldest

Jewish temple in Cairo, it’s theoretically where pharaoh’s daughter had found Moses floating in his basket among the reeds, where the prophet Jeremiah gathered the Jews in the 6th century after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Jerusalem temple, and where Mary drew water to wash Jesus. In the 12th century the synagogue was restored by Abraham Ben Ezra, rabbi of Jerusalem and in 1890 a cache of over 250,000 historic papers, the Geniza documents (see travelogue on Jerusalem), were uncovered, which told of the life of North African Jewish communities from the 11th to 13th centuries. One evening I attended a lecture by a lovely young woman, Alia, who spoke on the status of women in Egypt. Unsurprisingly, Egypt is a patriarchal society (FYI: Nubians are matrilineal) that likes to represent itself as conservative. The early 1900s saw the first school for girls; now it’s compulsory to attend elementary school—through grade nine, age 15. 68% of young women complete secondary school and 35% earn a Bachelor’s degree. Of the labor force, women are 32%, but there is a huge informal economy, e.g., beauticians come to your home, housekeepers, cooks, child care—a large all cash underground economy. In 14% of households, a woman is the primary breadwinner, although the income is often turned over to a man. When will they learn ? Ages 18-45 make up the majority of Egyptian society. Females comprise 49% of that society. In 1956 under the Nasser constitution, women were given equal rights, including the right to vote; today 14% of parliament elected and appointed, are women. Eight out of 35 ministers are women, e.g., tourism, immigration, social welfare, foreign investment, education. What stunned me is that 87% of Egyptian women had female genital mutilation (Sudan and Somalia, it’s 95+%). The tribal, African tradition of patriarchal insistence of virginity still reigns, and while parents do not practice female genital mutilation, called circumcision, which it so is not, an aunt may come along and see to it that her niece has the “operation” after school to ensure she remains a good traditional girl, despite her parent’s wishes. In 1994 when Egypt was hosting a UN group, CNN reported about the mutilations, very unpopular news for Egypt. The law punishes the man who orders the mutilation and the person doing it, but there is a lack of reporting because “my mom, me, why not my daughter?” You’d think with education, the pain and embarrassment would be enough for mothers to protect their daughters, but apparently not. Beyond my ken. With the higher socio-economic and educated, female mutilation is not an issue. Social media is helping with information, but the practice is a long way from being only among the rural uneducated. Fortunately, there are very few honor killings, and then only in the rural areas. Domestic violence, in the eyes of the law, is assault, but, again, women are not reporting. When a woman does report, there are shelters, but the pressure is to stay in the relationship, generally because of poverty; parents don’t want the added burden of a daughter returning with her children. Women are beginning to live independently, but it is still very difficult. Egypt also is seeing sexual harassment in the city, a relatively a new phenomenon in last 15 years. The BBC reported Cairo as the least safe city for women because of sexual harassment. That certainly wasn’t my experience, nor did I see it, and, you can be sure wherever I am, I watch and note how women are treated. In Pharaonic Egypt men and women were generally considered equal, albeit there were few female pharaohs, always an indication to me that real equality was absent. In many ways the invaders made little impact as Egyptians think of themselves as Egyptian, not Arab, not African. The inequality seemed to develop with the male-oriented mis-/self-centered-interpretations of religious doctrines in all three main religions. According to Alia, those who went to the Gulf countries for work, came back wearing the abaya. It became the fashion in the 70s and 80s. I can totally see this. I would have liked the Hawaiian muumuu to become the fashion, beyond Aloha Friday. The abaya, muumuu, caftan are my preferred garments all year long. Everything new and trendy starts in Cairo, so others began copying the

abaya fashion. As conservative Islam crept in, the modest dress became mandatory among the conservatives. Women I know who live and/or work in Arab countries like wearing the abaya because it’s easy and cool. Although personally, I’d rather wear a hat instead of a hijab or nequab to protect my face and head. Despite the ubiquitous vendors (I always buy something from the women), the Pyramids of Giza are, at the risk of being uber-American, AWESOME. Tip: You are totally pegged as American if you use that word. With the new entrance/visitors center and museum construction, the disgusting Pizza Hut/KFC (King Farouk Chicken) across the street now looks shabby and sad. In 2002 it was in my face. One day I’m going to find a time when there is no one else around and silently contemplate the ancient awesomeness of Giza. The Great Pyramid, built by Pharaoh Khufu, was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is by far the oldest of the Ancient Wonders (4,500 years old) and the only wonder still in existence. P.S. Egypt has two—The Lighthouse of Alexandria, somewhere in the Mediterranean with its stone blocks repurposed in other structures. The Pyramids of Giza required masses of labor, tens of thousands, and advanced social organization (quarrying the stone, transporting the blocks, feeding and housing the workers). The pyramids were not built by slaves, despite Hollywood’s repeated efforts to make us believe so. When their fields were flooded, people wanted to serve their Pharaoh, who was responsible for a good life, good economy, peaceful empire—Ma’at—divine order. They were paid working in three-month stints, while they waited for their fields to dry; another reason it took so long to build the pyramids. Flood waters made it easier to transport building stones to the site. When so many people cannot work their fields and support their families, what a concept for the central government to have a program to employ its people—no doubt where the Civilian Conservation Corps idea came from—Ancient Egypt. The Pyramid of Khafre looks larger than Khufu (aka Cheops); it’s not. Khafre is on higher ground. In the photo of the three pyramids, it is the largest-looking and still has the remains of its polished limestone casing at the top. Originally, all three pyramids were encased in smooth white stone. Over the centuries this casing had been stripped for use in palaces and mosques. The pyramid of Khufu is made up of 3.3 million stone blocks, weighing 2-1/2 to 15 tons each; enough to build a wall from London to Paris nine feet high and three feet thick. The Pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the trio, about one-tenth of Khufu, was unfinished as Menkaure died before it was completed. Once a pharaoh dies, all must be as completed within 70 days. That’s how long embalming takes; then the pharaoh must be placed in the tomb and the tomb sealed. Having climbed into the pyramids in 2002, my hot tourist tip: don’t bother. Nothing extraordinary to see, except well-fitted massive stones; it’s crowded, hot, damp, claustrophobic. The Khufu/Cheops Boat Museum is so-so. There are other tombs, Queen’s Pyramids for Khufu’s sister, mother, and wife, and structures on the Giza Plateau with on-going excavation. With the GEM opening, more structures will probably open up for viewing. I’d like a little tram option that would take me around to other tombs and structures. I totally pass on the camel and horse rides. The Sphinx is near Khafre’s temple, not tomb, at the base of the plateau, and is thought to be a portrait of Khafre. One enters through the temple, which has shapely pink granite columns and alabaster floors, to reach a viewing point for the Sphinx. Known in Arabic as Abu Hol, “Father of Terror,” the Greeks dubbed it Sphinx, because it resembled their mythical winged monster, who asked riddles and killed anyone unable to answer. A geological survey has shown that it was carved from a solid block of bedrock at the bottom of the causeway during Khafre’s reign. Part of the Sphinx’s beard was carted off

by 19th century adventurers and can be found in the British Museum. Today its problems are air pollution and rising groundwater; it’s generally in a constant state of repair. Day trips from Cairo means one needs at least a ten-day stay. More than 100 pyramids are scattered about, with more being discovered every few years. Fortunately for me, I saw a few of these on my 2002 trip. These sites were built when Memphis was the capital of the newly united Egypt, founded where the Nile Delta symbolically met the Nile Valley. Narmer/Menes founded a city filled with palaces, gardens, and temples, making it one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. Even in the 5th century BCE, Herodotus still described Memphis (from Men-nefer, “established and beautiful”), as “a prosperous city and cosmopolitan center.” Even when Luxor (Thebes) became the capital in the New Kingdom, Memphis prospered until the Arab invasion in the 7th century CE. However, with the Persians’ best destructive efforts, centuries of builders quarrying and repurposing stone, Nile inundations, and greedy antiquity hunters, Memphis has almost completely vanished. The village of Mit Rahina has little to show, but its necropolis still has interesting remnants. Saqqara in the Western Desert is Egypt’s largest archaeological site, a burial ground for 3500 years. The Step Pyramid of Djoser/Zoser was one of a few that wasn’t buried in sand when Mariette uncovered the Serapeum, dedicated to the Apis Bull, in the mid-19th century, and was Imhotep’s first effort (similar to the much later ziggurats of the ancient Mesopotamian city states). Further south in Dahshur are the Bent Pyramid and Red Pyramid, the first true pyramid. Sneferu built the Bent pyramid, bent because it started out at a 54° angle, however the corners were built on unstable ground, so changes were needed. Cedar (from Lebanon) beams were used to brace the collapsing walls. Then the builders changed the angle to complete the pyramid. Pyramids have a 51° incline; the Bent pyramid partially 53°, then 51°. Ramps built were at a 21° angle, same as the earth axis tilt as Ancient Egyptians (not aliens) determined this angle lessened the impact of gravity and made it easier to move stones up the ramps. The Red Pyramid, red tone from the weathered limestone (the better quality white limestone casing was removed), used the same 43° angle as the Bent Pyramid’s upper section, also built by Sneferu, Khufu’s dad. This OAT visit flew the group to Luxor, whereas in 2002, Terry, Dorothy, and I with Noha, guide and Egyptologist, cruised to Luxor. Both times I stayed at the Winter Palace Hotel—old world luxurious and interesting to explore. Luxor, 422 miles south of Cairo on the east bank (cities built on east side with rising sun symbolizing life and tombs on west side with setting sun symbolizing death), was the capital (called Thebes by Greeks) during the Middle and New Kingdoms 2000-1000 BCE. Traffic lights in Luxor display a timer and message that tells you the amount of the fine if you violate—500 L£. A good reminder I’d like implemented in the US, and include stop signs with cameras, all solar powered. Luxor needs at least four days, not the two generally given in tours to the ancient city of Waset. The temples of Karnak and Luxor are connected by a causeway, Avenue of the Ram-headed Sphinxes, a project begun by Pharaoh Hatshepsut. This road was found since my 2002 visit, and is in the excavation and restoration stage. Hopefully, they will have little electric sphinx carts to take me from one temple to the other when I return. Karnak, the Vatican of Ancient Egypt, built over 1,300 years by successive kings and queens, and Luxor Temple, are equal in stunning grandeur to the Giza pyramids and not to be missed. The Karnak Temple Complex (from Arabic Khurnak meaning “fortified village”) is a massive 62-acre open air museum—multiple temples, sacred lake, shrines, pylons. The Great Hypostyle Hall, one of the greatest religious monuments ever built—5,500 square meters (50,000 square feet), space enough to contain both St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Construction at Karnak began with Senusret I in the Middle Kingdom and continued through the Ptolemys. There is much more restoration needed as only the area of Amun-Ra is open, though it’s massive. Approximately thirty pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity, and diversity not seen elsewhere (You can imagine Julius and Marc gobsmacked when Cleo was tour guiding; Rome didn’t even have the Pantheon until 125 CE). Few of the individual features of Karnak are unique, but the size and shear number of features overwhelm. If all were restored, it could take two days with requisite café stops, just to wander it all. The deities represented, range from some of the earliest worshiped to those worshiped much later in the history of the Ancient Egyptian culture, primarily Amun-Ra, adopted in the Middle Kingdom as the king of kings in Waset, with Mut, the mother goddess and consort, and their son, Khonsu, the moon god. Amun-Ra became the state god during the New Kingdom. At the height of their power, the Amun-Ra temple priests owned 421,000 head of cattle, 65 cities, 83 ships, and 276,000 hectares (682,000 acres) of agricultural land, and had 81,000 people working for them. Though sacked by the Assyrians and Persians, Karnak is still grand, beautiful, and inspiring, even though left unfinished as the Persians stopped the work when they conquered Egypt. Akhenaten built a temple, which was quickly destroyed after his death. Can’t have a monotheistic heretic in Karnak. Hatshepsut built her temple on the same axis as Karnak and on a clear day can be seen on the far off hills, which it was not when I was there, although, with binoculars I could get a hazy view. Hatshepsut had two obelisks at Karnak; however, one crashed in a first century earthquake. Her son Tuthmosis II enclosed her obelisks so no one could read her name, since, of course, he couldn’t cover the part referencing the gods at the top, so the obelisk is still standing. The three chapels built by Hatshepsut outside of the temple, Ramses III enlarged and enclosed. His enlargement threw her precise axis out of alignment, and, of course, he erased her name. Pylons are the two towers forming an entrance. There are ten pylons at the massive Amun-Ra temple at Karnak, typically 45 feet thick and 120 feet high, and generally with Ramses standing guard. Ramses standing with feet together, arms folded in the mummy pose indicates he’s dead. Statues with left leg forward, indicates he’s alive as a god. Why left leg? Maybe because most people are right-handed and the weight on left leg is more stable. Most statues have the left forward, very few with the right forward. Three obelisks remain at Karnak, and two at the Luxor Temple. Obelisks have religious origins. Obelisk comes from Greek for “meat skewer.” Its precursor, the benben stone, is the top stone of a pyramid. Every obelisk had a pyramidion on top. Hatshepsut was very proud of her obelisks, which she claimed were completed in only seven months. Ramses II had two at Luxor and had his son tied on top of one as it was erected. Wonder what that childhood lesson that was? All obelisks come from the same Aswan pink granite quarries. The Unfinished Obelisk still in the quarry is the largest ever attempted. It weighs 1,000 tons—equal to two jumbo jets. Chipped out of the quarry with dolorite (hardest stone after diamond) tools, it shows no chisel marks. Caverns were created underneath obelisks until they could be freed. They were then pulled on rollers to the Nile. A canal was dug under the obelisk, and a barge was placed underneath it. When the obelisk was in place, it was pivoted lengthwise onto the barge. The barge was then towed with the current to the final site, all transported from Aswan by papyrus boats. There are several theories about how obelisks were erected. It was likely done with ramps, then ropes. Forget the whole alien thing; humans can be amazingly ingenious. Roman fascination led to many obelisks being taken to Italy. Two were moved in 10 BCE by Augustus from Heliopolis to Alexandria. Thirteen were moved to Rome for circuses and other events. Although, the technique for erecting them had been lost, the obelisks were erected using human-

powered winches. The Alexandria obelisks had been given to France by Mohamed Ali, but Champollion wanted the Luxor obelisk for France. London’s obelisk (1877) fell at Alexandria in the 1301 earthquake. Wayman Dixon built a caisson, and an obelisk was towed from Egypt to England. The caisson in which the obelisk was being towed, floated away in a storm. It was salvaged and eventually got to England, where it was erected on the Thames. The New York obelisk was the last one removed in 1880. Navy lieutenant Henry H. Gorringe was paid by William H. Vanderbilt (before he had to pay income tax) to remove the standing Alexandria obelisk. The steamer Desoug, without valid registration papers, carried the obelisk, sailed by an alcoholic Yugoslav crew. It was brought first to Staten Island, then to the east side of New York, and finally landed at 96th Street on the Hudson River in 1881. It took 112 days to transport it south to 82nd Street and into Central Park where it now stands. Obelisks always come in pairs. The second one of Ramses II was given to Paris in 1833, and now marks the Place d’Concorde. As his final exam in hieroglyphics, my guide, Sherif, had to translate the Ramses II obelisk in Luxor. Egypt now only has five remaining obelisks—3 in Karnak, 2 in Luxor with 16 others around the world. Rome has 11, all taken/stolen. They were transported in pieces, yet the true obelisk is one solid block. Hieroglyphs are written both horizontally and vertically. So how do you read them? Which way do the faces look? That’s the reference point indicating where to start.

Unlike the other temples in Luxor, Luxor Temple is not dedicated to a cult god or a deified version of a king in death. Instead, it’s dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship; it may have been where many of the kings of Egypt were crowned in reality or conceptually (as in the case of Alexander the Great, who claimed he was crowned at Luxor, but probably never traveled south of Memphis). To the rear of the temple are chapels built by Amenhotep III of the 18th Dynasty, who began the building with the interior, and Ramses II, who concentrated on the pylons and exterior structures. Then many other pharaohs, including Tutankhamun, Alexander the Great, and a number of Ptolemys added to the temple complex. During the Roman era, the temple and its surroundings did duty as a legionnaire fortress and home of the Roman government in the area. Luxor temple was built with sandstone from the Gebel el-Silsila area, located in southwestern Egypt, and referred to as Nubian Sandstone. Luxor Temple became a refuge for early Christians in the 3rd century CE, who, stupidly defaced many of the amazing engravings and paintings in their fear and ignorance. A church was built on top of a temple, upon which Muslims later built a mosque. Religious structures certainly seem to like the same places. In one area, Sherif showed us brown stains, which we assumed was old blood from Christian sacrifices. However, this temple had been a sanctuary for bats; bats are mammals; bats give live birth to their young; the stains were menstruation blood. Who knew? Luxor has a sound and light show with the latest high-tech equipment (I still like the cheesy ones at Giza and Karnak), which I enjoyed as the seating was on Lake Nasser with projections across three massive structures. Modern-day Luxor is now a city and govenorate (similar to province) that includes another city, Esna, and 123 villages with approximately 1.3 million people, half of which live in Luxor. Travelers prior to 1997 had to ferry across the Nile to visit the Valley of the Kings and Queens. Fortunately, there’s a lovely bridge that takes one to the tombs.

The Valley of the Kings, a secluded locale in the Theban Hills, where many great pharaohs were buried in rock-cut tombs with all the necessities for a rollicking afterlife, allows one to explore only

three tombs per ticket. To see more, one must buy another ticket for three more. With over 60 tombs, that’s a lot of going back to the entrance to purchase; and they check at all the tombs—definitely no sneak peeks. Almost all the burial chambers were plundered over the millennia, with the exception of an obscure young ruler discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. The history of the Valley of the Kings is fascinating; the plundering began shortly after tomb guards disappeared. Napoleon Bonaparte’s staff recorded 16 tombs visible, 11 of them open. They discovered the tomb of Amenhotep III and made the first accurate map of the Valley. Giovanni Belzoni was the first “systematic” searcher. He discovered the tomb of Seti I with its sarcophagus and later held an exhibition in London. At Deir el Bahri, a cache of royal mummies found in 1881, provided many missing pharaohs from the Valley, but no Tutankhamen. The tomb of Amenhotep II in 1898 yielded more kings—but still no Tutankhamen. In fact, Cleopatra wouldn’t even have heard of the obscure Tut. The search for Tutankhamen contains a large cast of characters, but Howard Carter, artist-cum-archaeologist, is the central character in the story. Lady Amherst, a collector of antiquities, sent Carter to Egypt, where he worked for Petrie at Amarna. Carter trained as an artist at Beni Hassan under Percy Newberry and was hired as Chief Inspector of Upper Egypt at age 26. He installed iron gates and lights in several tombs and investigated the robbery of the tomb of Amenhotep II (1901), tracking down the robbers. Theodore Davis, a wealthy American, hired Carter to supervise excavations. One of their finds was the tomb of Tuthmosis IV. After Carter was fired over a political incident in 1904, Davis hired Edward Ayrton as his replacement. Ayrton discovered a faience cup under a rock with Tut’s name. This connected Tutankhamen with the Valley. Davis also discovered a small pit (1907) with animal bones, wine jars, bandages with Tutankhamen’s name, and a small mummy mask. When Davis found a small tomb containing gold foil with Tut’s name, he declared in a book: “I fear the Valley is now exhausted.” Whiny and wrong, tomb 55, found in 1907, contained a gilded wooden shrine of Queen Tiye and a coffin with the cartouche hacked out, plus a fragile mummy—could it be Tut? Lord Carnarvon (of Downton Abbey fame) hired the unemployed Howard Carter. Convinced that Davis hadn’t found Tutankhamen in 1917, they obtained the concession for the Valley of the Kings. Carter looked for over 30 years, then asked Carnarvon for one more season to excavate. He found Tut’s tomb just before his extended deadline. They found the first step to the tomb in November 1922; the next day, the door, and finally a sealed door was uncovered. The burial chamber contained four gilded shrines enclosing the yellow quartzite sarcophagus with a cracked pink granite lid. After committing what his Egyptian hosts regarded as a political gaffe, Carter was locked out. When Carter returned to work in October 1925, the coffins were opened. The outer one had four silver handles. The third was made of 250 pounds of gold. The mummy was there, but no records in the tomb told of his family. Tomb objects included chariots and thrones, but no crown. The tomb of Tutankhamen, one of the least impressive, bearing all the signs of a rather hasty completion and inglorious burial, is interesting because his tomb did not have carvings (not enough time). The pictures were drawn on plaster, not carved into rock as in the other tombs. The tomb has a wall of baboons. Baboons were considered sacred and shown with hands up as they seem to do to greet the morning sun. When the nearby tomb of Ramses V was being excavated, the debris was dumped over the unknown Tut tomb, hiding it, which had made it more difficult to find. Pharaohs’ tombs were begun when a new pharaoh was crowned. All the drawings were religious scenes done under the direction of a high priest, who typically inserted himself the high priest with an instrument for the opening of the mouth ceremony, which allowed the person to see, speak, hear, breathe, and to imbibe in the next life. The “leopard skin” of the high priest in Ay’s (a Tut successor) tomb is actually from a gepard (Acinonyx jubatus), a species of cheetah, but faster—120 kmp/74 mph,

zero to 62 mph/100 kmp in 3 seconds, can chase up to five minutes as far as 1,600 feet/500 meters, and jump 27 feet/9 meters. Cheetahs are the only big cat that doesn’t retract its claws. Apropos, as the high priest is the fastest messenger and protector of the gods. Egyptians knew about the sub-Saharan gepard 5,000 years ago. Tombs were typically closed with two large blocks or stones with the Royal “do not enter” mark aka “rob-me-good-stuff-inside,” then covered with debris to disguise the entrance and make it look like part of the hill. Many had a deep shaft in front of the tomb room to deter or kill robbers. Since no bones were ever found, this shaft idea obviously did not work and there were certainly no elaborate ala Hollywood traps. In 1903 the not-yet-famous Carter discovered the tomb of Merneptah, son of Ramses II and Queen Isetnofret. Carter discovered several large alabaster jars nearby with inscriptions indicating they had held the sacred oils used in the mummification of Merneptah. Merneptah’s tomb (KV 8), is next to Dad Ramses (KV 7); his mummy was buried in three nested sarcophagi of pink Aswan granite. Ramses lived so long that 12 of his sons died before he did. Number 13, Merneptah, likely co-regented when Ramses was in his 80s, and finally became pharaoh in his late 60s, early 70s (There’s hope, Prince Charles). The sarcophagi and walls of his tomb were decorated with religious texts from the Book of Gates, directions to navigate the afterlife. The tomb of Ramses the Great had acres of beautifully painted and colorful carvings. Because of its location, it was damaged over time because of flooding. Other Ramses’ tombs are more spectacular. Ramses IV’s (KV 2) tomb has an amazing pillared hallway with a magnificent goddess Nut filling the ceiling. It’s the only tomb with the text of the Book of Nut with a description of the path taken by the sun every day. His mummy is in Cairo and soon to be in the GEM. Since his tomb was close to the entrance of the valley and nearer the Nile than others, it was often inhabited; there is Greek, Roman, and Coptic graffiti. It was even used as a hotel by many 18th and 19th century visitors. I could have easily done at least six more tombs. According to Lonely Planet, I didn’t even visit those on their best list, so I will have to return on my own, and not be confined by a group and tour schedule. The Colossi of Memnon on the west bank actually represent Pharaoh Amenhotep III, 18 meters tall, at the entrance to his funerary temple, but you know those Greeks, gotta put their own names on everything (as the legendary African king, Memnon, killed by Achilles in the Trojan War). Each was carved from a single block of stone weighing some 1,000 tons. Amenhotep’s funerary temple, the largest in Egypt, is currently being excavated. The statue of Amenhotep and Queen Tiye will soon be in the GEM. The Valley of the Queens is the only place left to mark the greatness of Pharaoh Hatshepsut—her memorial temple. The most contemporary-looking temple of which Howard Roarke (Remember, The Fountainhead?) would approve as it blends into the limestone cliffs. It had a grand sphinx-lined causeway, now only one left, and looked due east to the Temple of Amun at Karnak, where the causeway was to end. The temple has been carefully reconstructed as her son, Tuthmosis III removed her name wherever he could; Akhenaten removed all references to Amun; and the early Christians turned it into a monastery, Deir Al Bahri, and defaced the “pagan” reliefs. The temple is still being restored by a Polish-Egyptian team. An absolute must-see in the Valley of the Queens is the tomb of Nefertari, Great Wife of Ramses the Great. Since I had to choose between the balloon ride or going on my own to see the tomb, which

I’d seen in 2002, I missed Neferatri in 2018. Next visit, the tomb. The colors are stunning and the starred ceiling is not to be missed. On the way to Esna, we stopped to briefly visit Howard Carter’s house. He built in Egyptian style which I liked, though it looked very English inside. It’s a sweet, cozy little place. I could see myself living there with significant modern upgrades and staff. I’m always dazzled when original color remains on the antiquities. As it turns out, a local professor has invented a magic sauce that removes dust, dirt, accumulated smoke and leaves the color when restoring walls and buildings. This is brand new and they are still watching and testing to see what happens after several years. I had never heard of this. What a boon this could be for other sites around the world. Greece and Mexico get ready. Esna, an hour south of Luxor with a population of 400,000, was once an important stop on the camel-caravan route between Sudan and Cairo. With its 19th century houses and elaborate mashrabiyyas, wooden lattice screens, it was an interesting little town to amble through. The Temple of Khnum, another where the magic sauce is being tested, is 9 meters below the current street level, an impact of the Nile inundation depositing silt over 15 centuries. Khnum, one of the earliest Egyptian deities, was considered the god source of the Nile, and the god who made humans out of clay at his potter’s wheel, and placed in mothers’ wombs. The temple built during Greek and Roman times featured columns with capitals of Egyptian native plants. Stone blocks from Tuthmosis III’s temple, were used for Khnum, which was begun by Ptolemy IV Philometor. The Romans added a hypostyle hall. Most of the temple complex is still covered by the town of Esna. The crocodile god, Sobek, was worshipped there at one point. Esna is derived from Ta Senet, land of two sisters, which through a generational invader language game of telephone, became Esna. In Esna I boarded a dahabeya, an old fashioned Nile river boat. A wonderful way to cruise the Nile with only 8 or so cabins, a gentler and a more gracious-Amelia-style of travel: hearing the calls to prayer even if no minaret was visible, watching the fluttering-in-place Pied kingfisher prepping to dive, seeing Hoopoes, Wood storks, kites and hawks, swallows, Little green bee-eaters, Willie wagtails, terns, Red-legged stilts, egrets, herons and flocks of flying black ibis along Nile, which flows at a speed of 3.5 to 7 mph. We didn’t exactly silently glide as we headed upstream, and were towed by a motorized tender. The sails went up when the tender had to go shore for petrol. However, it meant that we could moor in secluded locales and spend peaceful evenings drinking wine, listening to the wine-abstaining muezzin calls, and gazing on the river. On the 2002 trip the larger boats all moored at the same places stacked next to each other, so we had to walk across several other ships getting on and off. The dahabeya was much more civilized and the crew delightful. They certainly treated me like Amelia and Cleopatra rolled into one. Up the Nile to Edfu (Behdet in ancient times), 70 miles south of Aswan, the Temple of Horus (photo right) was built on a rise, escaping the destruction of Nile floods, is the most completely preserved temple. Built during Ptolemaic times (begun by Ptolemy III and completed by Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos, Cleopatra VII’s father), the temple filled with sand when “pagan cults” were banned, so it has an intact roof. The home and center of worship for the falcon god, Horus, who as you remember, is the avenging son of Isis and Osiris. The temple is an excellent example of traditional Egyptian elements with Greek influences. Inside the Mamisi, birth house, are carvings telling the origin story of Horus: Aten, who came from an egg, was the first god (therefore white an important color in temple paintings). Aten then created Nut, the sky god, and Geb, the earth, who married and produced four children: Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nepthys. Osiris married sister, Isis. Osiris, as the eldest became the king of Egypt and all was good

if one overlooks the incest. However, Set with a major case of sibling rivalry, killed Osiris; cut him up in little pieces and distributed the bits throughout the length and breadth of Egypt. Set became king of Egypt, with sister, Nepthys, his wife. Nepthys sympathized with sister Isis, who was bereft, but fortunately had great magical powers. She decided to find her husband and bring him back to life long enough to begat Horus, which she did. With Osiris dead, when Horus comes of age, he wants his legacy—to rule over the world as the rightful heir. The gods are unsure as what to do. For eighty years Set and Horus battled for control of Egypt. Set turned himself into a hippopotamus, just as Horus was about to harpoon him; Set cries to Isis sister, “Save me;” she saves him. Horus is furious and cuts off Isis’ head (it gets restored, but still, she was his mother and Set did kill his father, after all). Horus ends up winning; Set is given the desert. Good triumphs over evil—all pictured on the Edfu temple. Pharaoh would have enacted this story every year according to the ritual on the walls. The most striking feature of the Temple of Horus is the gigantic pylon (photo previous page) that stands at the entrance to the temple. At 118 feet high, they are decorated with battle scenes of King Ptolemy VIII defeating his enemies for Horus. The temple pylon entrance was, of course, built upon earlier temples. Re-used blocks from Ramses II and Tuthmosis III were found. As the tallest of the surviving Egyptian temples, the pylons also contain four large grooves that would have been used to anchor flags. Shown on the temple is, the stretching of the cord, i.e., the laying of the foundation stone—at the four corners of the temple were pits filled with clean white sand with little magical objects inserted (foundation deposits) to ensure a good building. Engravings show Pharaoh putting in objects for Edfu temple and the Goddess Sheshat of writing and engineering gets a shout out on the walls as well. When the Egyptians were building the temple, they placed blank cartouches on the walls and columns. They told the Romans that these were for upcoming kings, when actually it was for the hoped-for Egyptian Jesus they expected to return Egypt to its glory. Up river, the fertile, irrigated sugar-cane fields around Kom Ombo, support the original community of peasant farmers, as well as the Nubians displaced from their lands by the creation of Lake Nasser. In ancient times Kom Ombo was known as Pa-Sobek, Land of Sobek. The temple, 30 miles south of Aswan, is dedicated to Sobek, crocodile god and Horus, the winged god of victory, which the ancient Egyptians believed was also a doctor. Originally called Nubt, meaning City of Gold (Ombos Greek for “gold;” Kom Arabic for “heap”), it was a garrison town under every dynasty of Egypt as well as the Ptolemaic kingdom and Roman Egypt, known for the magnificence of its temples. It became a Greek settlement during the Greco-Roman period. The town’s location on the Nile, gave it some control over trade routes from Nubia to the Nile Valley, which included bringing African elephants from Ethiopia, which the Ptolemys needed to fight the Indian elephants of their long-time rivals, the Seleucids. Kom Ombo’s main rise to prominence came with the erection of the Temple of Kom Ombo in the 2nd century BCE. Sprinkles of gold (or pyrite) can be seen in the really black ooky mud along the bank. I wear washable shoes. Kom Ombo is one of the more unusual temples in Egypt. Due to the conflict between Horus and Sobek, as allies of Set (Seth/Sutekh/Seteh) they made their escape by changing into crocodiles, thereby infuriating Horus, bent on avenging his dad, the ancient Egyptians felt it necessary to separate their temple spaces within one large temple. The Kom Ombo temple has two entrances, two courts, two colonnades, two hypostyle halls and two sanctuaries, one for each. Tuthmosis III built the section honoring Sobek. Because the temples date from the Ptolemaic dynasty (built same time as Edfu by Ptolemy VI Philometer through Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos), some brilliant colors remain and I went gaga. The ceiling in the first Hypostyle hall is decorated with astronomical scenes, including scenes of Nut, goddess of the sky and the universe. On the ceiling I viewed Nekhbet, royal protection goddess and

sister to Wadjet, the cobra. Many columns in the temple boast reliefs of the pharaoh paying homage to many different gods. The Kom Ombo temple was known for its healing powers and people made pilgrimages there to be healed. On the back wall of the temple exists the first known representations of precise surgical tools: bone saws, suction cups, scalpels, and prescriptions. Blue-bee wax on wounds acts like penicillin, honey for hemorrhoids, could identify fetus gender with urine on barley or wheat, barley girl, wheat boy. A fertility test—put garlic in the vagina and if the smell is in the mouth, not fertile. If no smell in mouth, then fertile. No hieroglyphs noting accuracy. Nearby, in the area of Qurta, Canadian archaeologists in the 60s thought they had discovered extremely old petroglyphs. Paleolithic? Ridiculous. Then in 2005 a team of archaeologists from Belgium rediscovered other petroglyphs. These were recently dated to the Pleistocene period of rock art, making them at least 15,000 years old, therefore, both chronologically and stylistically, from the same period as Lascaux, France. OMG—have to go back to see this. As would be the case, the Coptic Church took over Kom Ombo and converted it into their own place of worship, and, of course, defaced and removed many of the ancient reliefs. However, it is still a magnificent site. Next to Kom Ombo is the mummified crocodile museum. More than 300 crocodile mummies were found at the site. Apparently a huge number of crocodiles once roamed the area inside and around the Kom Ombo temple. With the dramatic lighting, I had to use my iPhone light to see where I was stepping. Only worth a quick run through, then to the gift shop, which definitely needs to up its game. At Gebel Silsila the Nile narrows considerably between the sandstone cliffs; it’s cluttered with ancient rock stele and graffiti. These sandstone quarries were worked during the New Kingdom, when workers hacked out huge blocks that were floated downstream to Luxor to be used in the temple complexes of Karnak, the Ramesseum, and Medinet Habu. Gebel Silsila became an important cult center and each year at the beginning of the inundation season, offerings and sacrifices were made to the gods associated with the Nile to ensure the country’s well-being for the coming year. The gorge here marks the change in the bedrock of Egypt from limestone to sandstone. There are shrines built by Merneptah, Ramses II, and Seti I. Seti I left an inscribed Hymn to the Nile. In Pharaonic times the river here was known as Khennui, the “place of rowing.” On the West bank there is a tall column of rock which has been dubbed “The Capstan” because of a local legend, which claims there was once a chain (Silsila in Arabic) that ran from the East to the West Bank. Smaller shrines were cut by Tuthmose I, Hatshepsut and Tuthmose III, before Horemheb constructed his large rock-cut temple. The final stop of my dahabeya cruise was Aswan, then an overland bus ride to a magnificent temple complex built at the second cataract of the Nile. I thoroughly enjoyed staying overnight in Abu Simbel, as last time it was a morning tourist flight down, afternoon flight back to Luxor. Seeing Abu Simbel, carved into living rock, it’s hard to realize it had been moved, mountain and all, further up the cliff to avoid the rising waters created by the Aswan High Dam. Almost a million people had to be relocated. A couple of us watched a film by National Geographic on the moving of the 13th century BCE Abu Simbel complex—what a gigantic effort with the technology and equipment of the 1960s. The entire complex was cut into 1,035 blocks of 11 tons each (or over 2,000 blocks weighing 10-40 tons each, depending on source), with 25,000 workers over three years, moving the complex 200 feet higher up the cliff. The initiative was spearheaded by UNESCO, with a multi-national team of archaeologists, at a cost of over $40 million. Our donation got us the Temple of Dendur for the Met, which I visit every time; Madrid has a little one placed in a park, and two more were given away to helpful countries. Some temples were covered by the rising waters (wouldn’t that be fun to dive); 14 were rescued.

As the sun rises above the horizon, a single shaft of light penetrates through the temple doors and beyond, and beams laser-straight through the interior hypostyle hall into the inner sanctuary to light up the gods of the living world, while Ptah, the god of the underworld on the far left remains in shadow. The alignment of sacred structures with the rising or setting sun, or with the position of the sun at the solstices, was common throughout the ancient world (New Grange in Ireland, Maeshowe in Scotland, Stonehenge in Britain), but the sanctuary of Ramses’ Great Temple differs from these other sites in that the statue of the god Ptah, who sits among the others, is carefully positioned, so that it is never illuminated at any time. As Ptah was associated with the Egyptian underworld, his image was kept in perpetual darkness. Poor god—no head, no light. The temples are also aligned with the east so that, twice a year, on 21 February and 21 October, the sun shines directly into the sanctuary of The Great Temple to illuminate the statues of Ramses and Amun. The dates are thought to correspond to Ramses’ birthday and coronation. With the reconstruction move, the alignment is bit off as the phenomenon now occurs a day later. So much for modern technology. The temples are dedicated to the gods 1. Ra-Horakty (“Horus of the two horizons,” his additional god duties were the rising and setting of the sun), 2. Ptah, a creator god, who brought all things into being by thinking of them with his mind and saying their names with his tongue, and additionally, the god of skilled craftsmen and architects, spouse of Sekhmet, the lioness-headed goddess, and 3. the deified Ramses II. If Ramses II wasn’t a narcissist, he certainly liked to have his oversized image all over Egypt (apparently size has always mattered). In Abu Simbel he is deified, which he couldn’t do in Karnak because the priesthood was too powerful. To anticipate Henry II, “Will no one rid me of these turbulent priests,” I’m sure Ramses muttered more than once. Allegedly, the Swiss explorer Burckhardt was led to the site by a boy named Abu Simbel in 1813 and the site was then named after him. Burckhardt, however, was unable to uncover the site, which was buried in sand up to the necks of the grand colossi. He later mentioned this experience to friend and fellow explorer, Giovanni Belzoni. It was Belzoni who uncovered and first excavated (or looted) Abu Simbel in 1817. It is considered likely that it was he, not Burckhardt, who was led to the site by the young boy and named the complex after him. Quién sabé? The location of the site was sacred to Hathor long before the temples were built there. Ramses probably chose the site for this very reason. In both temples, Ramses is recognized as a god among other gods and his choice of an already sacred locale would have strengthened this impression among the people. The imposing Ramses’ Great Temple, built on the west bank, stood as an intimidating reminder as to whom was running the show here. The statues stand 98 feet (30 meters) high. The four seated colossi flanking the entrance, two on each side, depicting Ramses II on his throne; each one 65 feet (20 meters) tall. Beneath these giant figures are smaller statues (still larger than life-sized) depicting Ramses’ conquered enemies, the Nubians, Libyans, and Hittites. Other statues represent his family members and various protecting gods and symbols of power. Passing between the colossi, through the central entrance, the interior of the temple is decorated with engravings showing Ramses and Nefertari paying homage to the gods. Ramses’ great victory at Kadesh (more of a draw than an Egyptian triumph) is also depicted in detail across the north wall of the Hypostyle Hall. The smaller temple, Temple of Hathor, stands nearby at a height of 40 feet (12 meters) and 92 feet (28 meters) long. This temple is also adorned by colossi across the front facade, three on either side of the doorway, depicting Ramses and his queen Nefertari (four statues of Ramses and two of Nefertari as Hathor) at a height of 32 feet (10 meters) with some of their many children by their sides. The prestige of the queen is apparent in that, usually, a female is represented on a much smaller scale than

the Pharaoh, generally knee-high, while at Abu Simbel, Nefertari is presented the same size as Ramses. Inside the six pillars of the hypostyle hall are crowned with capitals of Hathor, the goddess who personified joy, music, feminine love, and motherhood. Her symbols are the cow, lioness, falcon, cobra, hippopotamus, sistrum (a rattle that somehow makes cows happy, so it became a symbol of Hathor), musical instruments, drums, pregnant women, mirrors and cosmetics. Several wall engravings show Nefertari honoring her husband. The art here is softer and more graceful. This is the second time in ancient Egyptian history (so far) that a ruler dedicated a temple to his wife (the first time being, you remember, the Pharaoh Akhenaton, who dedicated a temple to his queen, Nefertiti). The walls of this temple are dedicated to images of Ramses and Nefertari making offerings to the gods and to depictions of the goddess Hathor. Abu Simbel’s sound and light was delightful. Wine, while waiting would have been better. There I was with the sun setting on Lake Nasser and a full moon rising. Magical. Sherif introduced me to a new app—SkyView. I watched as the stars came out during the sound and light show, where interior reliefs were projected on the temples telling the story of Ramses and Egypt with Lake Nasser gently lapping in the background. If only the henna tattoo ladies were there. I spent a month in Egypt and walked away without any henna tattoos. Last time Terry, Dorothy, and I all had henna drawings on our feet and legs. Who knew that Terry was allergic. She blew up like a blow fish and could barely walk. Tip: Don’t get the black henna. Henna is naturally reddish brown. The black has the toxic hair dye PPD in it. We stayed at the Eskaleh Eco Lodge in Abu Simbel, where Fikry Kasif created this charming enclave beside the lake with the idea of sharing the Nubian experience with interested foreigners. That would be I. The buildings and rooms are constructed in traditional Nubian style and the meals were exceptional. Eskaleh means “waterwheel” in Nubian, an idea from Rome that kept their fields watered when the Nile receded. Then along came the British in 1899, who divided the land of the Nubians into Egypt and Sudan. Nubians had occupied this area for thousands of years. Nubia, the area between Luxor and Khartoum, was where Egypt’s gold was mined. The pharaohs worked to keep tribal Nubia under their control. In 1902 Egypt built the lower dam and Nubian villages were flooded; they lost their homes, their palm trees, banana farms. When in the 60s the Aswan High Dam began at the first cataract, where a granite formation on the bed of Nile constricted the waters, it was clear this would pretty much be the end of the Nubians. The Nubians wanted to stay, so the Egyptian government in its unwisdom, built multi-story cement houses for the Nubians in a barren desert patch miles away from their cherished Nile. Nubian mud brick homes have domes to allow hot air to rise; homes cool down by the circulating air. Concrete brings and holds the heat inside. People had to move or drown. They appealed to UNESCO for help to preserve the Nubian culture. The traditional Nubian house is colorfully decorated. With the high dam there would be no more mud to build Nubian houses; they would have to transport mud from Aswan. I love this: the Nubians protested by not decorating their houses. In their culture everything related to the Nile; homes faced the Nile, were one-story. Newlyweds visited the Nile before going to their new home. The cement suburb sits uglily empty by the highway to Aswan. However, Plan B is to use the gray uglies for workers of a massive desert reclamation project. The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 gave new momentum to the young Nubian activists who are demanding that they be granted the right to return to the area around their ancestral lands. For many Nubians, living away from the Nile is like not living at all. Since Arabic is taught in schools, one teacher began teaching both Arabic and Nubian, so they could retain their language. Nubian is the dominant

language in Sudan and is written with Greek letters. NGOs now help to revive the Nubian language; children can attend after school. The Temple of Isis on the island of Philae, was a pilgrim site for thousands of years and one of the last “pagan” temples to operate after the advent of Christianity. The cult of Isis at Philae goes back at least to the 7th century BCE. By Roman times Isis had become the most popular of the Egyptian gods and worshipped across the Roman Empire even as far as Britain. Isis was still worshipped at Philae even after the Romans embraced Christianity, and, of course, the Christies put in a chapel and defaced the beautiful reliefs. A few centuries later, the Muslims added their vandalism. Much like the temples at Abu Simbel, the Philae temple was also at risk from the rising water levels, but thanks to UNESCO’s insightful rescue project, they moved the temple from Philae Island to its modern home on nearby Agilika Island, block by massive block. Even the great King Ramses himself would be impressed. When the old Aswan dam was built in 1902, the temple was flooded six months of the year and visitors rowed among the temples and galleries. Flood lines remain on temple walls. Built to honor the goddess Isis, and where the heart of Osiris is buried, this was the last temple built in the Egyptian classical style. Construction began around 600 BCE and was one of the last outposts where the goddess was worshipped. The boat to the island dropped me off at the Kiosk of Nectanebo, the oldest part and I walked to the first pylon with the famous reliefs of Ptolemy XII Neo Dionysos smiting his enemies. Ptolemy VI was the only ruler who wore a cathedral on his head. The last priest disappears in the 4th century CE, reduced from its nadir of 1,000 priests tending the faithful. Lake Nasser is surrounded by desert hills and very peaceful looking. I asked why the Chinese hadn’t bought it up for one of their massive all-inclusive resorts, like the one on Inle Lake in Myanmar. Apparently the lake hippos and crocs are pesky and will come up on shore. The Nile crocodile has the strongest bite of any animal, 2,400 pounds; blue whale is 1200 pounds of bite. And, it eats five kilos of fish or small children a day. On next-door Bega Island, is the Solaih Restaurant with its beautiful location and fabulous food. The tajin fish was delicious. One afternoon we visited the 7th century fortress-like Monastery of Saint Simeon on Elephantine Island. Dedicated to the local saint Anba Hedra, who renounced the world on his wedding day. Rebuilt in the 10th century, it was dedicated to St. Simeon. Monks traveled here to convert the Nubians. Saladin pretty much destroyed the monastery in the 12th century. Interestingly, the day I visited was Simeon’s birthday and there was a huge mass being held, singing in Coptic, a form of ancient Egyptian, and they gave out special prayed-over bread. Although I couldn’t visit the frescoes in the basilica because of the faithful, it was fun to see Egyptians from far and wide, dressed in their best bib and tucker, holding picnic baskets, going for a holiday outing. The young people were checking each other out; the young women with excessive makeup and their luxurious dark hair and eyes, were exotic and stunning. Returning to the Old Cataract Hotel, built in 1899 by Thomas Cook, I had a steam and massage, while the group went to a spice market, which I normally love to do, but a steam, a massage….I stayed in the new Sofitel annex, but took a tour of the old hotel, where I’d rather have stayed and saw Agatha Christie’s room (8,000 €) where she wrote, Death on the Nile. The Winston Churchill suite goes for 10,000 € a night. In 1973 Henry Kissinger and his aides stayed in the Cataract Hotel during the negotiations to end the Yom Kippur War. I spent time hanging out on my balcony watching the Nile action around Elephantine Island as it slowed with the setting sun. Although Christmas is 7 January on the Egyptian calendar, our group had lovely a Christmas Eve dinner at U Bistro back in Cairo (Zamalek). A few opted for the stuffed turkey. I had foie gras with

plum chutney, Asian-infused beef tartare, and grilled salmon. The desert a raspberry-glazed, white chocolate ganache thing, I skipped and just ate the cookie as I finished an excellent red. Cheers! In the morning I went to Alexandria. Egypt’s second largest city with a population of over 4 million was founded in 332 BCE by Alex the Great, who spent very little time there as he was always running off to conquer something, then up and died. However, recent radiocarbon dating showed significant human activity at the location for two millennia preceding Alex. Along the coast are sprawling summer resorts for Egyptians and Europeans. The city of Alexandria actually runs for 20 miles along the coast and is highly vulnerable to rising sea levels, so thank goodness there is no global warming (says President #45) and sea levels aren’t rising or we would have to worry about all its natural gas and oil pipelines from the Suez polluting the sea. Alexandria became an important center of Hellenistic civilization and remained the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt and Roman and Byzantine Egypt for almost 1,000 years, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641 CE, when the new capital became Fustat, later absorbed by Cairo. Hellenistic Alexandria was best known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), its great library, the largest in the ancient world and the Necropolis (catacombs of Kom ash-Shuqqafa, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages). Alexandria was not only a center of Hellenism, but was also home to the largest urban Jewish community in the world. The Septuagint, a Greek version of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), was produced there. The early Ptolemys kept order and fostered the development of its museum into the leading Hellenistic center of learning, but were careful to maintain the distinction between its population’s three largest ethnicities: Greek, Jewish, and Egyptian. By the time of Augustus, the city walls encompassed an area of 1,300 acres, with a total population in Roman times of 500-600,000. The ancient Egyptian city of Rhakotis continued to exist as the Egyptian quarter of the city. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbor, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria, both before the arrival of Alex, when the city, Rhakotis, existed, and artifacts of the Ptolemaic dynasty. And, although my scuba-diving days are over, I’m sure Egypt will accommodate me at some point with a mini-sub, so I can have a look. It was believed the ancient city of Heracleion (Thonis in Egyptian) was lost under the sea for good. 1200 years later, this ancient city has finally been discovered. The city dates back to the 6th century BCE and holds some of the most beautiful artifacts: grand statues of gods and goddesses standing well over 15 feet tall and carved out of red granite, treasures of gold and rare stones, elaborate temples and enormous tablets. The statues are assembled and cleaned before being brought to the surface. This find is extraordinary in the historical preservation community and has been commissioned by museums around the world. The port of Thonis-Heracleion had numerous large basins and functioned as a hub of international trade. The intense activity in the port made for a prosperous city. More than 700 ancient anchors of various forms and over 70 wrecks dating from the 6th to the 2nd century BCE are testimony to the volume of maritime activity here. The city extended all around the temple and a network of canals in and around the city probably gave it a lake-dwelling appearance. On the islands and islets dwellings and secondary sanctuaries were located. Venice copied Ancient Egypt! Excavations have revealed beautiful artifacts, such as bronze statuettes and ceramics. On the north side of the temple of Herakles (where supposedly he first set foot in Egypt), a grand canal flowed through the city from east to west and connected the port basins with a lake in the west. In Alexandria I stayed at the Cecil Hotel (now part of the Steigenberger chain), said to have been built in 1929 by the French-Egyptian Jewish Metzger family on the very spot where Cleopatra took her life with the asp and ended 2,500 years of pharaonic rule. The hotel on Saad Zaghloul square is where

Cleopatra’s needles (obelisks) had been in front of the Corniche. The British Secret Service maintained a suite in the hotel for their nefarious operations. Josephine Baker, Henry Moore, Agatha Christie, Somerset Maugham, Noël Coward, Al Capone, and Winston Churchill all stayed there. The hotel appeared in The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell and the novel, Miramar by Naguib Mahfuz, neither of which I have read yet. Seized by the Egyptian government in 1952, when Nasser expelled the Jews, and after lengthy court battles, the hotel was returned to the Metzgers, who subsequently sold it to the Egyptian government. A lovely hotel with mega ambience, and nearby a Drinkies, where I made stop and took my libation on the balcony to watch the sea and people and traffic on the Corniche. Ah, life is good. Alex’s chief architect for the city building project was Dinocrates, where tradition says that they laid out the city streets on a grid to take advantage of Mediterranean breezes. Alexandria was intended to supersede Naucratis (an ancient Egypt Greek city on the Canopic branch of the Nile; the first, and for much of its history, the only permanent Greek colony in Egypt, where today several villages cover the archaeological site), as a Hellenistic center in Egypt, and to be the link between Greece and the rich Nile Valley. Alexandria was the intellectual and cultural center of the ancient world for some time. The city and its library attracted many of the world’s greatest scholars, including Greeks, Jews, and Syrians. Inheriting the trade of a ruined Tyre, Alexandria became the new center of commerce between Europe and the Arabian and Indian East; the city grew in less than a generation to be larger than Carthage. In a century Alexandria had become the largest city in the world, and for some centuries more, was second only to Rome. According to Philo of Alexandria (Jewish philosopher actually living there, unlike others who wrote based on hear-say), in 38 CE, disturbances erupted between Jews and Greek citizens of Alexandria during a visit paid by the Jewish king, Agrippa I, to Alexandria, principally over the respect paid/unpaid by the Jewish nation to the Roman emperor, which quickly escalated to violence between the two ethnic groups and the desecration of Alexandrian synagogues. The violence was quelled after Caligula intervened and had the Roman governor, Flaccus, removed from the city. In 115 CE, large parts of Alexandria were destroyed during the Kitos War (Jewish-Roman wars 66-136, in Hebrew “rebellion of the diaspora”), which gave Hadrian and his architect, Decriannus, an opportunity to rebuild. In 215, the emperor Caracalla visited the city and, because of some insulting satires that the inhabitants had directed at him, abruptly commanded his troops to put to death all youths capable of bearing arms. Ah, ’twas ever thus. In 365, Alexandria was devastated by a tsunami (365 Crete earthquake). Alexandria in the Fatimid period saw great progress and improvement, large numbers of buildings, civil, military and religious—mosques, mausoleums, market places. The Fatimids paid particular attention to walls and city gates, conserving and renewing old fortifications. In the Ayyubid period, Saladin and his successors maintained the city and restored walls. As the population increased, buildings were constructed outside walls, and walls were added beyond the old ones for added protection. Alexandria in the Mamluk period, the golden age of the city, became the focus of the world, and sultans increased the numbers of forts and defenses, towers in the walls were restored and rebuilt, manned and provisioned with arms; the water system was cleared, cleaned and dug again. The status of Alexandria reached its peak under Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qaitbey. Funding for the Mamluks’ great buildings came from trade in the 14th-15th centuries. The clever Mamluks worked with the voracious Venetians to control east-west trade and both grew fabulously rich from it. Alas, Vasco de Gama’s discovery of the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope, freed European merchants from the heavy taxes charged by Egypt and the Ottoman Turks, and emerged as the mighty new force looking to

unify the Muslim world. The Mamluks were defeated at Aleppo and Ottoman rule began and headed for Alexandria. Mamluks, you will remember from previous writings, were slaves purchased by previous Arab dynasties from the Turkic and Kurdish people. The men were freed upon arrival in Egypt and formed into a warrior class, which came to rule Egypt. No hereditary rights here; rule was by the strongest. Sultan Qaitbey (ruled 1468-1496), bought as a slave boy, clawed his way to the top. As Sultan he rapaciously taxed all his subjects and dealt out vicious punishments with his own hands, once tearing out the eyes and tongue of a court chemist, who failed to transform lead into gold. Qaitbey marked his ruthless reign with some of Cairo’s most beautiful monuments and the famous fort in Alexandria. The Fort of Qaitbey, built on site of an ancient lighthouse in 1477 CE was a typical Mamluk defensive fortification—inner walls for ammunition storage and soldiers’ quarters, outer walls with a main gate. There’s a plaque with a decree from Sultan el-Ghouri forbidding the smuggling of arms out of the fort, threatening thieves with hanging. In 1517 Alexandria was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and remained under Ottoman rule until 1798. Under the Ottomans, Alexandria suffered decline, unrest, disorder, and eventually became a backwater town with the discovery of the sea route via the Cape, plus losing much of its former commercial importance to the port city of Rosetta, and only regained its former prominence with the construction of the 45-mile Mahmoudiyah Canal in 1807. Alexandria figured prominently in the military operations of Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt in 1798. Professing he wanted to revive Egypt’s glory, free it from the yoke of tyranny, and educate its masses, not to mention the perk of striking a blow at Britain by taking control of the quickest route between Europe and Britain’s fast-growing empire in the East. Napoleon’s declaration freeing Egypt was the first western document written in Arabic. Napoleon’s forces easily defeated those of the ruling Mamluks in the Battle of the Pyramids (not fought at the pyramids, but in a melon field a few miles away), killing 1000 Mamluks, losing only 29 of his men, all in 45 minutes. Bonie Nap established a French-style of government, revamped the tax system, brought in Africa’s first printing press, implemented public works projects, introduced new crops and a new system of weights and measures. It was he who developed a street numbering system with even on one side and odd numbers on the opposite. Napoleon, something of a scholar and culture vulture, requisitioned art works in places he conquered. Egypt had always been on his list. He came prepared bringing artists, scholars, scientists, naturalists, mathematicians, 150 all stars, including Vivant Denon, first director of Louvre (previously the Museum Napoleon). He commissioned his dream team to make a complete study of Egypt’s monuments, crafts, arts, flora and fauna, and of its society and people. The resulting work was published as the 24-volume Description de l’Egypt, which did much to stimulate Egyptology. Alexandria remained in the hands of the French troops until the arrival of a British expedition in 1801. Since the late 18th century, Alexandria had became a major center of international shipping and one of the most important trading centers in the world, both because it profited from the easy overland connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and the lucrative trade in Egyptian cotton (Yeah, well, just try and find today the beautiful Egyptian cotton clothes I found in 2002), England had seriously coveted. When English Admiral Nelson showed up, he destroyed Napoleon’s fleet ousting the French. The treaty with England ensured that all antiquities from Egypt became the property of England. The scientists said they would go with their collections. To which the English responded, “Okay, you can keep your plants and birds, but we’re keeping the stones and carvings, including the soon-to-be famous

Rosetta Stone (the French kept a printed copy and as we all know, the French deciphered and translated it). The British were victorious over the French at the Battle of Alexandria, after which they besieged the city, which fell to them a few months later. Muhammad Ali (1769–1849, ethnically Albanian born in Macedonia), filled the vacuum after the French left. The English were initially only concerned with securing the Suez, not really wanting to rule Egypt as a colony. Ali stepped in and ruled Egypt, ostensibly as an Ottoman governor. He realized the weak ruler in Constantinople couldn’t really stop him. When in 1807 the British invaded Alexandria, and sent 1,600 to invade Rosetta, protected by a force of only 300 Egyptians. The Rosetta governor moved his men into the homes in a residential area (moving all the boats to the opposite bank, so his defenders couldn’t change their minds and flee), forcing the Brits into narrow streets, where they were shot from rooftops and doorways, when a prearranged fake call to prayer was sounded. The Brits retreated. When the British again attacked Alexandria and Rosetta, they were repelled by the Pasha’s force of 5,000 crack Albanian troops. In 1811 as Muhammad Ali continued to consolidate his power. He invited 500 Mamluk beys to the Citadel for a feast celebrating his son’s imminent departure for Mecca. Then the feasting was over, the Mamluks mounted their lavishly decorated horses and were led in procession down the narrow, high-sided passage to the entrance, whence Ali slammed the gate shut and gunfire rained down from above. After the marvelous massacre, Ali’s soldiers waded in with swords and axes to finish the job—one must be sure. Look what happened to Set when Khufu grew up. This ended Mamluk influence in Egypt, and began Muhammad Ali’s founding of a modern Egypt. Establishing the foundations of modern Egyptian statehood, Ali modernized the army, built a navy, constructed roads, cut a new canal linking Alexandria with the Nile, improved irrigation. Muhammad Ali modernized education, ordering the translation of European books on a large scale, vaccinated children against smallpox and offered them medical care, conducted censuses, and undertook huge public works projects that established cotton as a key Egyptian cash crop, which it remains today. He also introduced sugar cane from South America. Early in his career he curbed the spread of the fundamentalist Wahhabi Islam from the Arabian Peninsula (18th century Muslim theologian, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, from Najd, Saudi Arabia, advocated purging Islam of what he considered to be impurities and innovations. Wahhabism is the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia). Muhammad Ali’s heirs continued his work, rebuilding and redeveloping and returned Alexandria to something akin to its former glory. However, once the Brits got hold of the Suez, the real power was concentrated in the hands of the British Agent, Sir Evelyn Baring, who operated a “veiled protectorate,” colonization by another name. Helpfully lending money to Ali’s grandson, Egypt had taken on more debt that its economy could sustain. Grandson Ali was forced to sell his controlling share in the Suez Canal to the British government only six years after the opening (built by Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French engineer, later of Panama Canal fame). Alexandria’s and Egypt’s revival was further cut short in the 1950s when President Nasser began nationalizing as part of a wave of anti-colonial, pro-Arab sentiment that swept General Nasser into power. The wealthy cosmopolitan communities, who didn’t flee in the wake of King Farouk’s yacht, found themselves sol (American slang: shit out of luck) a few years later with the Suez Crisis, when Nasser confiscated foreign properties and nationalized foreign-owned businesses. In the 1940s 40% of Alexandria was made up of foreigners; today most residents are native Egyptians. In the past few years Syrian refugees have settled in Alexandria. The new Alexandria Library (Bibliotheca Alexandrina) was designed by Snohetta, the Norwegian firm that designed the new addition of MOMA in San Francisco. Inaugurated in 2002 its eleven floors all look out onto an oval-shaped open reading room, where I swear, each of the 2500 seats

was taken by students; no room to spread out as I remember doing. Specially designed windows allow sunlight to flood in, but keep out the damaging rays. The Aswan granite exterior walls are carved with letters, pictograms, hieroglyphs, and symbols from more than 120 human scripts. The library currently has 2.3 million books, some date from the 11-12th centuries, and is built to accommodate eight million volumes. There are 400,000 digitized books, mostly Arabic, but accessible to everyone online. There are several specialized libraries (children, teens, maps, rare books), three museums, research centers, special library for the blind, internet archive, audio visual, galleries for art exhibitions. I visited the Anwar Sadat Museum in the library, which contained many personal items and told his story. A much more amazing man than I was aware. He was Nubian. The peace treaty with Israel was a primary factor in his 1981 assassination by fundamentalist army officers. There was a fascinating exhibit, the “World of Shadi Abdel Salam,” a film director, screenwriter, and costume and set designer born in Alexandria. He’s probably most famous in the US for his designs for Cleopatra starring Elizabeth Taylor. Abdel Salam directed his first and only full-length feature, The Mummy (el moumya) also known as The Night of the Counting of the Years. The exhibit had many of his drawings/sketches for sets and costumes, as well as scenes from movies with which he was associated. He loved history and made many short films on Egyptian history. He wrote a script for a movie about Akhenaten, Akhenaton, The Tragedy of the Great House, which I would love to see made. The Friends of Shadi Abdel Salam Association are still trying to bring his deferred dream of his Akhenaten film to light. This library and its museums are magnificent. I could easily spend a month in Alexandria working on a research project, going to the library every day. Anyone can access the library’s resources online, even from the US. One morning we rode an old world fancy tram to the “area of palaces.” Comfy seats with little tables, gold thread embroidered doilies with a vase of fake flowers sprinkled with sad glitter, and red velveteen curtains, yet there was no tea service—outrageous. Still, it was great fun to travel through the city and view the action. Real people got on and off. The Royal Jewelry Museum in Alexandria occupies the former palace of Princess Fatma Al-Zahra (daughter of Zeinab Fahmy and Prince Ali Heidar Shannassi, who was a great-great-great grandchild of Muhammad Ali Pasha through his son Ibrahim Pasha) and contains a collection of jewels and jewelry from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, rulers from 1805 until the 1952 Egyptian Revolution. The princess’ palace was built in 1919 and its walls and ceilings are adorned with oil paintings; its windows decorated with lead-inlaid artwork looking very European Rennaisancy. Personally, I would have made the interior a homage to ancient Egypt, not Europe, but probably keep the fabulous bathroom. And, while I admit to coveting a couple of gaudy earrings and tiaras, I mostly thought about what the money could do for people who live without clean water, don’t have enough food, and little access to education and healthcare. I would be such a good rich person, giving away instead of adorning myself. Adjacent to the palace is a new building selling apartments of 300 square meters (3200 square feet) for 6 million E£. New houses/apartments are sold with roof and outside walls and windows, but without electrical wiring, painting, appliances. Sherif says Egyptians want to ensure wiring, pipes, etc. are up to snuff. We visited Rosetta (Ar Rashid, Arabic from Latin for “beautiful flower”) on a rainy, windy day. Located on the western branch of the Nile, it had its heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was Egypt’s most significant port. British tourists flocked to the town in the 1800s to see its charming Ottoman mansions and stroll through the citrus groves. When Alexandria regained its trading prowess,

Rashid/Rosetta became a backwater. Its unpaved streets are packed with donkeys pulling overloaded carts and the souqs have a yesteryear ambience. Rosetta’s Ottoman houses are in a traditional delta style with small flat bricks painted alternately, with ornate mashrabiyya (lattice) windows and repurposed granite columns. Founded in 3200 BCE, time of Sneferu/Menes, at the mouth of the Nile, Rosetta/Rashid is now the city of a million date palms (saw signs in museums spelled “plams”). The best dates come from Rosetta and Siwa; Egypt is now the number one exporter since Iraq has been bombed and burned out of the game. It takes 7-12 years from seed to producing dates, and each tree can produce up to 100 years; then the palm produces revenue through the sale of its fronds to the crate-maker, its bark for burning to the brick-maker, and the palm core to the farmer for fertilizer. Even diseased trees will get burned producing some revenue and saving the rest of the palms from pestilence. Rosetta is known for brick-making and building yachts and fishing boats. The bricks are darker red because palm bark is used for the fire. Brick-making was introduced by the Romans. The Citadel of Qaitbey, like the one in Alexandria, had, at the time another fort on the opposite bank of Nile with a metal chain connecting the two that could be raised as a defense should anyone try to move up or down river. This is where the Rosetta Stone, a large black basalt rock stele used as foundation support for a wall in the citadel, was found by a French soldier. Egyptian stones with hieroglyphs were repurposed, as were old Roman granite columns. The vaulted cross-arch ceilings, a design from the Crusaders was “discovered” again by a French soldier. The ancient site which had disappeared gets “discovered.” Jean-Françios Champillion, whose name is linked with the Rosetta Stone, never saw the original; he just figured out at age 19, that the stone’s message was translated from Greek to hieroglyphics, not the other way around as the experts thought. Now a crowd-pulling exhibit at the British Museum, the Rosetta Stone is probably the most significant find in Egyptian history. The Brits made 20 copies and sent them all over the world. The Rachid Museum is in the old Mayor’s house (now a monument; once something is 100 years or older, Egypt declares it a monument) and was opened in 1959 with its British copy of the Rosetta Stone. The lakes in this area of Egypt are all salt water. Lake Idku, the largest, was a major slum in the 1990s, with concomitant hash and heroin trafficking. Bad guys would hide their stash sealed in tin containers under water among the bamboo and reeds. Of course, they had to retrieve said stash before the salt water ate away the tin. To solve the slum and trafficking problem, the government re-located the people. Discovered accidentally in 1900 when a donkey disappeared into a hole, the catacombs of Kom ash-Shuqqafa, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages (Stonehenge, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Roman Coliseum, Hagia Sophia, the Great Wall—what about the Taj Mahal?), makes up the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt. Demonstrating Alexandria’s fusion of Pharaonic and Greek styles in the Roman period (from the 2nd century to the 4th century), Kom ash-Shuqqafa means “Mound of Shards,” because the area used to contain huge mounds of terra cotta shards (ostrach), mostly consisting of jars and objects made of clay. These objects were left by those visiting the tombs, who would bring food and wine to consume during the visit. There’s even a banquet hall in the catacombs. However, they did not wish to carry these empty containers home, so they would break ’em and toss ’em on the pile. In the low/low middle income neighborhood surrounding, someone digging to build a house found the Tigran Tomb, the largest in the area of the catacombs, and above ground. Once the pottery shards were cleared, stunning frescoes and carved stone were found. The catacombs have two more levels to excavate; they are currently working on lowering water table which is flooding them.

The Alexandria National Museum containing treasures excavated in and around the city, does a fine job relating the city’s history from antiquity to modern times. The basement covers Pharaonic times with beautiful and interesting pieces. The ground floor is dedicated to Greco-Roman times with objects found in underwater excavations, and my faves, Roman mosaics. The museum is a former grand home with exhibits worthy of the GEM, well-displayed and not overwhelming. In 1954 the US bought the house for a consulate for $54,000. In1996 we sold it for $12 million to the Antiquities ministry. Trying to get some of that foreign aid back. After Alexandria I flew to Hurghada 235 miles south of Suez on the Red Sea, which was, no doubt, lovely in its undiscovered days. This is why I prefer tours as I tend not to do much research. I read that one could walk from the shore to reefs full of beautiful coral and fish. I packed my mask and snorkel, found a lovely Airbnb with ocean view, which turned out to have no heat, had to stand on balcony and lean to see the sea, owned by a Russian slum lord in the leased section of an all-inclusive resort that catered to Slavs. Half of Ukraine’s yuppies were there, many on Grandma’s dime. The close-in reefs are completely destroyed. The shore is a concrete jungle of over-the-top resorts, with many abandoned concrete shells and little landscaping. The Red Sea has beautiful blue-green waters, but you wouldn’t know it because you can’t see it. The all-inclusive resorts appeal to Russians, Ukrainians, Indians, Chinese, all laying out by the pool in weather I thought too cold. It was New Year’s weekend and the offshore snorkeling place I wanted, wasn’t running that weekend, so I settled for a highly touristy yellow submarine with all the babushkas and ill-mannered grandchildren. The so-called pristine reefs, were so not. As we passed over the dead gray ones, the cheery yellow submarine guy said it was the natural color. I looked at him askance and gave him a quiet, “nah uh.” You may safely cross Hurghada off your bucket list. I did have lovely massage and steam, so it wasn’t a total loss.

Modern Egypt Although no one is definitively sure which of the amazing ancient civilizations had it’s golden-age-peak first, Egypt, Mesopotamia, or China, I’m going with Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians were closest to the source of human development in Africa; the Nile and desert provided a constant reliable food source; they invented agriculture; their buildings were superior in design and accuracy. Of course, I haven’t had an opportunity to explore the Tigris-Euphrates Valley and its antiquities because we seem to be bombing the area on a regular basis. The Mesopotamians are credited with inventing the wheel (3500 BCE according to the Smithsonian). The New York Met has a few stone sculptures from 2700 BCE indicating an advanced civilization in Mesopotamia. Alas, there are few tours to the Mesopotamia area, and I keep looking. I may try an archaeological dig, if they need someone to sift sand. Cairo has really upped its game in the intervening 16 years from my first visit. The roads are excellent, in the last few years Egypt built 1600 kilometers of new roads, but traffic is as bad as I remember, chronic and constant. There are lots of Uber ads and they’ve launched the first Uber Bus for daily commuters in Egypt. Fortunately, they have a local competitor, Careem, which is based in Dubai (in 2017, the company announced a program to extend maternity leave and hire more women—we’ll see, and one can request a female driver; wish I could do that here on Lyft). Of course, the taxi drivers are not happy; the same argument as here in the US. The taxis in Alexandria are the old Russian Ladas. The tuk-tuks cause traffic problems; many are not licensed; some are driven by kids, and tuk-tuk drivers can be arrested if driven on major streets, have their tuk-tuk confiscated (they’re not cheap, a tuk-tuk costs 40,000 E£ or about $2,300 US).

Egy-Tech Engineering company has unveiled an Egyptian-made mini-vehicle, which they hope will replace the tuk-tuk. Made in cooperation with the state-owned military organization, the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI), the car has been dubbed the “smart tuk-tuk.” The smart tuk-tuk boasts an engine with power of up to 250cc, making it appropriate for short journeys rather than any long-distance travels. The car can carry four thin people, uses only four liters of fuel per 100 km (62 miles per galloon), has electric windows. Two different models have been made. The first, with an engine power of 150 cc comes at a price of E£ 17,490 ($950), the second, with a 250cc engine power, costs E£ 30,000 ($2,200). I so want one. I’d even go the high-end super-charged model! But I wish it were electric. Currently, Egyptians prefer Asian cars, although they pay a 40-100% import customs tax depending upon the size of the car. Gas and energy are presently subsidized by the government (imported oil from Saudi Arabia). A liter of petrol is 10 E£ (60 cents/$2.50 per gallon). However, subsidies are to be eliminated by 2020—a very volatile issue. A former leader tried to do it and caved to the protestations and uproar. With subsidies going away and salaries not necessarily going up, it’s the young people (20-40), who will be paying the bill. A by-product of the massive commuting business is a booming auto-parts industry from the concomitant accidents. One can buy half a car, roof-tops, doors. etc. instead of going to the over-priced dealer for a replacement part. I liked the Lada with a Toyota hood. These small businesses are everywhere. Although there is no Egyptian auto brand, they do make the London double decker, MCV brand busses. MCV (Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles) established in 1994, became the general agent for Daimler in Egypt. In 1995 MCV started assembling trucks from both Germany and Brazil. In 1998 MCV established its own bus factory. Cairo is the Hollywood of the Arab world—all Arabic speakers understand the Cairo dialect as it is the dialect of movies, television, and famous singers. There is even a Franco-Arabic—Arabic writing using English letters instead of the beautiful Arabic script. Although, since vowels are not used, it’s still difficult for me to decipher. I still would like to attend classes to learn Arabic in Cairo, maybe in exchange for CORRECT ENGLISH lessons. Egypt is planning to be the king of natural gas in the Middle East since finding a large deposit (120 miles off the coast at depth of 5,000 feet—is this an international finder’s keepers law?). They are building the largest facility for liquifying natural gas, in order for other countries to send their natural gas to Egypt for processing. In 2019 Egypt will begin tapping the large deposit with Italian Eni doing the extracting. By 2020 Egypt will be self-sufficient using natural gas to produce their electricity and by 2022, every home will have natural gas. Siemans built three steam plants to produce energy for 40 million people, the largest plants ever built. And they are building a new nuclear plant to produce electricity. No coal will be used to pollute or produce electricity, unlike the retro MAGA plan of tRump. Looking forward, Egypt plans to be part of the G-20 by 2030. Ambitious. News to me: Egypt has the ninth largest army in world according to Sherif, but not according to lists I found via the internet, which probably measured more than just people numbers. Military service is compulsory for males and a military year is 13 months. Service is immediately compulsory for those who don’t go on to college, unless one is an only son, or an only son with sisters, or an only son up until age 30 unless the father dies—a complicated military service system based on the family situation. Can’t have a household without a man. Tourism is Egypt’s main industry, then farming. Major exports include mangoes, cucumbers, oranges, tangerines, cane and sugar beets, bananas, dates (20 million date palms, three kinds— yellow from the Western Desert and Sinai, red from along Nile, and black, which is merely a red date ripened

longer). 25% of Egypt’s labor force works in agriculture. There are talks about eliminating sugar cane, rice, and flax/linen because of the excessive water required. Egypt needs the water to reclaim the desert, but first they have to retrain the population to conserve. People are still hosing off sidewalks and patios to cool off, still washing their cars, all the things we did (and some jerks still do, like the guy down the street washing his car). I suggested a revised education plan: each school have a cash prize given to the top ten children whose households conserve the most water and report unsanctioned excess water use. It was the US kids who timed their parents’ showers and worked on them to stop smoking. The little buggers are a powerful force. The National Bank of Egypt is the largest, but their internet banking leaves much to be desired. Eighty percent of their customers don’t use the internet; they come into bank. NBE has the largest array of ATMs, but people don’t use them (I did and learned that I had to keep inserting my card multiple times until I had the amount I wanted; an upgrade needed). As in the US, they have to wait for the old generation to die off and the younger set become more consumer- and convenience-driven. Egypt’s 30% illiteracy is mostly among the elderly population. To encourage banking, the government even offered internet service, but people prefer to “Save money under the ceramic tile” or “I have my money between my arms”—local equivalents of “under the mattress.” Again, get the kids involved. Give them each a smart phone and their parents and grandparents will have to learn how to use Facebook, et.al. and text to ever have contact with their kids and grandkids. Then it’s just as an easy step to online banking. I mean, why don’t countries hire me? I have great ideas. At the very least I could correct all their translated literature and signs. Although there are many more job opportunities in Alexandria, you wouldn’t know it by the way they are building self-contained commuter suburbs outside of Cairo with no mass transit plan. In Alexandria only 500,000 commute into Alexandria for work. On the outskirts of the city there are jobs: the salt lakes have salt-making operations; there are many factories (30% of Egypt’s industry is in Alexandria); the largest military harbor creates lots of civilian jobs; 80% of trade comes through Alexandria; head offices of petrol companies are in Alexandria; brick making is big business. With its fertile land, some reclaimed, as it used to be part of the Nile Delta when there were five major sections, under-developed Alexandria has a lot going for it. A large part of Alexandra had been renovated almost 20 years ago. There was a 3-4 year period where the government did nothing, so businesses made a deal whereby they could do what they wanted in a speedy, expedient way. This idea from the governor of Alexandria—get quick confirmation of project, little or no quality check or code enforcement—he got businesses to pay for (questionable) improvements. Did I mention human rights standards were better in Ancient Egypt; they worked three months a year with 20 days on, 10 days off. Today’s construction workers have 45 days on, 10 days off (but, should you get in trouble, a criminal sentence year is 11 months and a lifetime jail sentence is 25 years with good behavior). The Graftenor of Alexandria became Minister of Planning under Mubarak. ’Twas ever thus.

During Egypt’s modern history, some, like the Ottomans, had foolishly tried to make Egypt conform and/or morph. While the Ottomans occupied for 400 years repressing local culture and language, at least the Greeks and Romans before went for a blend. Even the Arabs, who left some mosques and language, didn’t totally replace Egyptian culture. Goodness knows, the British and French used force and domination not caring. With a more united culture as opposed to extremely tribal as in other parts of Africa, Egypt held its identity, but the rest of the world developed, while Egypt stayed a kingdom and knew very little about the outside world until 1952.

Although called in retrospect a revolution, it seemed more of a coup to me. The Egyptian army’s failures became evident after the Arab-Israeli War in 1948 with many of the serving officers accusing King Farouk of abandoning them. They wanted to abolish the monarchy allied with the British Empire and end the Muhammad Ali dynasty of Egypt and Sudan, also known as a gigantic gap between the rich and poor. The Free Officers Movement, a group of army officers led by Mohammed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser initially just wanted Farouk gone. Former Prime Minister Ali Mahir was asked to lead the civilian government of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), but Mahir resigned a few months later—irreconcilable differences with the Free Officers. Egypt was declared a republic in June 1953, after the RCC was dissolved. Muhammad Naguib became Egypt’s first president and commander-in-chief. The revolutionary government was driven by a nationalism influenced by pan-Arabism and anti-imperialist agendas. Vehemently opposed by western imperial powers, such as the United Kingdom, which had occupied Egypt since 1882 and had promised to decrease its presence, yet did not. Plus, the imperialists created Israel out of a multi-claimed territory and part of Egypt became Sudan. The early success of the revolution had a domino effect for nationalist movements across the Arab world and Africa, such as in Algeria and Kenya, where anti-colonial struggles against European occupation had been taking place. The revolution also inspired people to topple existing pro-Western monarchies and governments in the region. Some observers felt that the term coup is more accurate, that Nasser’s revolution was not all encompassing. Within six months all civilian political parties were banned and replaced by the Liberation Rally government party, which would operate with “transitional authoritarianism.” Maybe they meant “traditional.” On the plus side, the Muslim Brotherhood was outlawed in early 1954, despite the help they had given Nasser in 1952. By late 1954 President Naguib “resigned” and was jailed (he was accused of supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood). Replaced by Nasser, first as prime minister, then as president, a position he held until his death in 1970, Nasser became a symbol of freedom in Africa; Egypt helped other African countries with money and advisors. Egypt, as part of its pan-Arabism tendencies, sided with the Palestinians in the ongoing Israeli war, resenting the western imperialist presence. Nasser began using his presidential powers. In 1956 he expelled the Jews, nationalized the Suez Canal, which led to an invasion by Britain, France, and Israel. Despite hideous military losses, Egypt had a political victory and uncontested control over the Suez Canal for the first time since 1875. Wholesale agrarian reform, and huge industrialization programs were initiated in the first decade and half of the coup, leading to a period of infrastructure building and urbanization. Official fear of a Western-sponsored counter-revolution, domestic religious extremism, potential communist infiltration, and the conflict with Israel were all cited as reasons compelling severe and long-standing restrictions on political opposition and prohibition of a multi-party system. These restrictions remained in place until the presidency of Anwar Sadat from 1970 onwards, during which many of the policies of the revolution were scaled back or reversed. Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, as vice president succeeded Nasser upon his death, as Egypt’s third president. Thought to be an interim figure, Sadat outmaneuvered rivals for power, calling his victory the “Corrective Revolution,” then launched the surprise attack October/Yom Kippur War in 1973. Heinously sneaky as that was, it did lead to an undefeated (the US abandoned its neutrality and resupplied Israel with a massive airlift of military supplies) Israel to negotiate on more favorable terms. Sadat had announced a year earlier, that nearly all Soviet military advisers would leave Egypt (partly because the Soviets had refused to sell offensive weapons to the Arab countries). Sadat could claim an Egyptian victory and seek peace, despite Syria getting perturbed about it. With Jimmy Carter, Sadat and Begin came to an agreement, the Camp David Accords. In 1978 Sadat shared the Nobel

Peace Prize with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and under their leadership Egypt and Israel made peace in 1979 (9 years to solve one of the major problems he inherited from Nasser), while Jimmy Carter was crushed over American hostages in Iran. Sadat linked his peace initiative to the task of economic reconstruction, and proclaimed an open-door policy (Infitāḥ), hoping that a liberalized Egyptian economy would be revitalized by the inflow of Western and Arab capital. The peace process did produce economic benefits, notably a vast U.S. aid program, begun in 1975, that exceeded $1 billion annually by 1981. The Sadat peace with Israel was not without its costs, however. As the narrowness of the Israeli interpretation of Palestinian autonomy under the Camp David agreement (status of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza territories and the issue of Palestinian autonomy were to be “negotiated”—not resolved? Needed some MBO here with clear results, not activity, determined) became clear, Sadat could not convince the Arab world that the accords would ensure legitimate Palestinian rights. Egypt lost the financial support of the Arab states and, shortly after signing the peace treaty, was expelled from the Arab League. Egypt’s 1971 new constitution significantly increased the power of individual citizens to participate in the political process, and new laws permitted the creation of political parties. However, the democratization of political life did not prove to be an acceptable substitute for economic revitalization. In 1977, demonstrations provoked by economic hardship broke out in Egypt’s major cities. Nearly 100 people were killed, and several thousand were either injured or jailed. As Egypt entered the 1980s, the failure to resolve the Palestinian issue and to relieve mass economic hardships, particularly the widening class gaps, undermined Sadat’s support. The West failed to notice this until, in September 1981, Sadat arrested some 1,500 of Egypt’s political elite. Under Nasser, the Muslim Brotherhood had been firmly squelched. Leader Sayyid Quṭb had been executed in 1966 for treason, but large numbers of Muslim activists—many of them radicalized by imprisonment and by Quṭb’s writings on jihad and the apostasy of modern Muslim culture—went underground. Under Sadat, groups of Muslim activists were given wide latitude to proselytize, particularly on Egypt’s university campuses (goodness knows how gullible we are at that age; Dorothy Healey in 1966 had me wondering why I wasn’t a communist), and members of the Muslim Brotherhood were released from prison and allowed to operate with relative freedom. Yet during that time there was a growing rise in religious violence, particularly directed against the country’s Coptic community, and also, with growing frequency, against the government. With Sadat’s assassination in1981 by militant soldiers associated with Islamic Jihad, Egyptians brought Hosni Mubarak, Sadat’s vice president, to power with a mandate for cautious change. As an air force general and hero of the Yom Kippur War, Mubarak had worked closely with Sadat since 1973. He started out okay, that is, he did not trash the Israel peace agreement nor tell the US to take a hike (tough to turn down an annual Billion), and the return of the Sinai went as promised. He announced the end of the reign of the privileged minority that had dominated the private sector during the Sadat years. He also released Sadat’s political prisoners, while prosecuting vigorously the Islamic militants who had plotted the late president’s assassination. Unfortunately, Egypt’s worsening economic problems could not be solved quickly. Then five weeks after Israel withdraws from the Sinai, it invaded Lebanon, which Egypt saw as an attempt to destroy Palestinian nationalism. Official relations with Israel were severely strained until Israel’s partial withdrawal in 1985. However, Mubarak’s cautious policies did enable Egypt to repair its relationships with most of the moderate Arab states. At an Arab League summit in 1987, each government was authorized to restore diplomatic relations with Egypt as it saw fit; Iraq, which had been

a leading critic of Sadat’s peace with Israel, by then was in a protracted war with Iran, took that opportunity to befriend Egypt and purchase military supplies. Egypt resumed membership in the league two years later. The 80s were tough on Egypt’s economy; the government continued to rely heavily on foreign aid. It didn’t help when terrorists shot the tourists at Hatshepsut’s temple. In 1991 Egypt signed an economic reform agreement with the IMF (not Dr. Briggs or Mr. Phelps) and World Bank. The Egyptian pound was devalued several times, interest rates raised, and subsidies lowered. Of course, this is toughest on the poor, who turned to Muslim extremists who helped them. Politics continued to follow authoritarian patterns, as Mubarak was reelected without opposition in 1987, 1993, and 1999. The Muslim Brotherhood, unofficially allowed to revive under Sadat, but never authorized to become a political party, threw its popular support to the new Wafd party in one election and to the Liberal Socialists in another. It was widely believed that voting results were rigged to ensure that Mubarak’s supporters would win. Mubarak introduced a law in 1995 that would imprison journalists or party leaders, who published news injurious to a government official (eventually ruled unconstitutional). Mubarak’s younger son started to become politically active in the National Democratic Party. In 1996 the attempted assassination of Mubarak by suspected Muslim extremists failed. All was not going as hoped. In its struggle against Islamist terrorism, Mubarak’s regime resorted to “preventive detention” (how’s that for spin and word-smithing). Despite government initiatives to control the problem, domestic terrorism remained a threat to Egypt’s stability. Though Egypt was becoming ever more sophisticated economically, it did so at a high price. Its independence was being curtailed by interference from international lenders, such as the IMF, and a growing disparity in income and access to resources. The more internal tensions grew, the more Mubarak continued to suppress the opposition. By the 2010 election, the legislature basically belonged to Mubarak’s party. Days after Tunisia’s Arab Spring in January, protests began against Mubarak—the usual: corruption, political repression (we call it redistricting as gerrymandering is against the law), and poverty. The protests and revolt were organized via Facebook and social media. Sherif said he knew about it in December and how to use vinegar and cola to survive tear gas. Mubarak declared a curfew, cut off the internet and phone service in many locations. He asked his cabinet to resign, but he planned to stay pledging social reforms. No one believed him and protests continued. Much of the military sided with the protestors and later announced it would not use force against protestors as it had been directed to do. Thousands of protestors continued to occupy Tahrir Square, erecting tents to provide food and medical services. Finally, Mubarak and family went to his home in Sharm al-Shaikh, the Sinai resort; from there he announced he stepped down. His hand-picked vice president was the director of their CIA equivalent. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), led by Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s minister of defense, formally imposed martial law, suspending the constitution and dissolving the People’s Assembly and the Consultative Assembly. Mubarak’s cabinet was retained as a transitional body. As SCAF worked to restore order, new demonstrations and strikes began calling for better pay and working conditions. Even the police demanded higher wages. Protests continued with different focuses as time went on—human rights, freedom of the press, Mubarak’s henchmen still holding office. New tensions emerged between Egyptian pro-democracy activists and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Elections were finally held in 2012 with Mohammed Morsi (theoretically a “former” high-ranking Muslim Brotherhood member and supported by Qatar, fans of the Brotherhood) as the winner of the country’s first multi-candidate election with 89% of the vote, but with only a 23% turnout.

A new constitution to be written was a battle between the Islamists and the opposition of liberal, secular, Christian factions. No one was happy and clearly the Islamists were in charge. The Muslim Brotherhood won 88 seats in the 444-seat parliament (six times the number they previously held), making the Brotherhood a major political player, despite its officially illegal status. Worsening economic conditions, deteriorating public services, and a string of sectarian incidents exacerbated political polarization in mid-2013. Calls for Morsi’s resignation increased (he had issued a temporary constitutional declaration that, in effect, granted him unlimited powers and the power to legislate without judicial oversight or review of his acts), led by a loose coalition including liberals, religious minorities, and Egyptians angered by high rates of unemployment and inflation. Massive anti-Morsi protests were held around the country a year after his inauguration. On the brink of a major crisis, the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, declared that the military was ready to intervene to prevent chaos in the country if the two sides would not resolve their differences within 48 hours. Morsi responded to the protests by offering negotiations with the opposition, but refused to step down. Protests continued, and on day two the military made good its ultimatum, temporarily suspending the constitution, removing Morsi from office, and creating a new interim administration led by the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Adly Mansour. Mansour was tasked with implementing the military’s transition road map, although it was clear that he ultimately answered to Sisi. The interim government also cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood as an organization. A number of the Muslim Brotherhood’s leaders, including Morsi, had been placed under arrest as early as Morsi’s ouster, and television stations affiliated with the organization were shut down. The Muslim Brotherhood was formally dissolved. Meanwhile, accused Muslim Brotherhood activists and supporters were rounded up and convicted in mass trials for a variety of crimes allegedly committed during the protests following Morsi’s removal. Death sentences were passed against hundreds of accused members of the Muslim Brotherhood, including many who had been convicted in absentia in the spring of 2014. FYI: The Muslim Brotherhood began in 1927 to encourage good religion, like being a “good Christian.” As its membership increased, they had a wide base and began nonprofits and providing services, gifts and food, funded by wealthy “good Muslims.” One of the pillars of Islam is giving alms. The Brotherhood worked with people and expanded to Muslim countries around Egypt. Late 30s-early 40s they began to get political under Prime Minister Mustafa Nahas, leader of the Wafd party. He was prime minister five times and dismissed by Fuad and Farouk several times, but as the world was changing, so did the Brotherhood and they began to side with the people and PM against the king. Although, officially outlawed and illegal to be a member, no doubt they are lurking in the background while their leadership is in another Arab country. Back in September 2013 the interim government set out to return to a constitutional government. It appointed a committee to amend the 2012 constitution written by the Islamist-dominated Constituent Assembly. Intended to represent a cross-section of Egyptian society, the committee’s 50 members were drawn from a variety of Egyptian institutions and groups. The Muslim Brotherhood was unrepresented. Unsurprisingly, the committee removed or weakened many of the provisions favored by Islamists in the 2012 constitution and bolstered language enshrining the military and the police as autonomous institutions shielded from civilian oversight. The amended text passed with more than 98 percent of the vote in a referendum in January 2014. The new constitution allowed elections to be held in May 2014. Sisi had repeatedly denied having any ambition to run for president; in March he changed his mind and announced that he would resign from the military to run for president. The overwhelming favorite, Sisi campaigned on promises

to reduce poverty through a variety of development programs and to maintain national security, which included a continued crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. As expected, the election in May 2014 produced an easy victory for Sisi. Sisi’s ascent to the presidency marked a return to the Mubarak era’s autocratic style of government and a defeat for the democratic aspirations that had helped drive the uprising in 2011. Under Sisi’s leadership, the Egyptian security services cracked down on all forms of dissent, detaining and torturing perceived political opponents by the thousands. A new House of Representatives was elected in 2015 in elections that many observers saw as flawed by low turnout and government interference in favor of pro-Sisi candidates. Seated in 2016, the new body passed dozens of laws restricting political activity and formalizing the government’s control over protests, the media, and NGOs. Big surprise here, Sisi struggled to keep his promises of economic stability and security. Large-scale infrastructure projects, such as an $8 billion expansion of the Suez Canal completed in 2015, which I understand hasn’t added much to the coffers, and did little to improve living standards. That same year Sisi announced a project to build a new capital just east of Cairo to house the government and ease the overpopulation and congestion of Cairo. In January 2019 he inaugurated both the largest cathedral in the Middle East and the largest mosque in Egypt in the tentatively named New Administrative Capital (NAC); it was announced that same month that some 50,000 government employees would be moved to the new city by 2020. A three-year $12 billion loan package from the IMF in 2016, helped Egypt close its budget deficits, but included austerity measures, such as new taxes and cuts to consumer subsidies that many Egyptians rely on for basic goods. Lucy no happy. Meanwhile, the Egyptian military continued to battle Islamist insurgents around the country. Fighting was especially fierce in the Sinai Peninsula, where attacks by a local extremist group increased in frequency and brutality, after the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in 2014, and where it’s fairly easy to sneak back into Jordan or Saudi Arabia. In March 2018 Sisi ran for another term as president in, yet again, a lopsided election that served more as an affirmation of Sisi’s status as an all-powerful president than as a genuine democratic contest. In the months leading up to the election, several credible candidates were arrested or disqualified for procedural reasons, leaving Sisi to face only token opposition in the form of Mousa Mostafa Mousa, a little-known figure, who had endorsed Sisi before entering the race himself. As expected, Sisi won an overwhelming victory, taking more than 97% of the vote. Although there have been some grand gestures, vast expenditures (Toshka Project—building system of canals to carry water from Lake Nasser to irrigate a million acres of the Western Desert and grow wheat, where agricultural and industrial communities would develop; build three tunnels under the Red Sea to connect the Sinai), and grander rhetoric, the mass poverty, poor education and healthcare, growing sectarian conflict and economic turmoil are still there, festering and pretty much all is interconnected. While Egypt’s goal is to be part of the G20 in ten years, there hasn’t been stated objectives and plans to resolve the poverty and other equally pressing issues. Once home to the all-powerful pharaohs, Egypt has largely been reduced to dependency on the US, Gulf states, the EU, and IMF, and has massive human rights and pollution issues to solve. I agree with my guide, Sherif, Egypt needs a clear plan. And the Muslim Brotherhood is still a political power, buying currency from workers abroad at a higher rate than the government, trying to defeat the government, even as they are condemned as a terrorist organization and made a crime to belong.

Coptic Church

Coptic tradition says that Christianity arrived in Egypt in 45 CE with St. Mark, when he was in Alexandria and his sandal broke. Taking his shoe to the cobbler, Ananias, who hurt his hand while repairing the sandal and exclaimed, “Oh One God,” Mark saw his first convert to his new religion. However, Alexandria’s history is scarred by fights between the faithful of different religions. St. Mark, in his enthusiasm, spoke out against the city’s pagan worship of Serapis, and was executed. Many decrees from Rome were unpleasant for Christians. Emperor Diocletian was particularly persecutiously persecutory. Then Diocletian found himself sharing power with Constantine and we all know what happened from there—the famous split. Egypt’s early Christian religion absorbed much both in form and in content of ancient pagan religions. Under Alex the Great and the Ptolemys, Greeks and Jews were encouraged to bring their gods to the new city. Alexandria became a center for multiculturalism, where people of many different beliefs and religions lived and worshipped side by side. What an interesting concept—co-existence. The rise of the cult of Mary was likely influenced by the popularity of Isis; both were conceived through divine intervention. Often Coptic liturgy echoes ancient Egypt’s rituals. Even the physical structure of the Coptic church repeats the layout of pagan temples in the use of three different sacred spaces, the innermost one containing the altar reserved for priests, like the iconostasis hiding the sacred space from the congregation, and the holy of holies. St. Paul, born in Alexandria in 228 CE, was the first to flee to the desert to escape persecution. He inspired St. Anthony, who created monasticism. Son of a wealthy landowner, orphaned at an early age, he later sold his inheritance, gave the proceeds to the poor and retreated to the Eastern Desert near St. Paul. Others soon followed and St. Anthony moved further into the mountains to be a hermit, leaving his followers to a life of collective retreat, aka the first monastery. St. Anthony is credited with creating this new way of living—salvation through retreat. It was left to St. Pachomius to order the life of these hermits into monasteries. Egyptian Christians played a decisive role in the evolution of the young religion. Meeting with Christians from across the empire, Copts argued over the nature of divinity, the duties of a Christian, the correct way to pray, etc., etc., etc. The 325 Council of Nicea, in essence, agreed with Alexandria, the Father and Son are one. When Emperor Theodosius issued his edict banning people from visiting pagan temples, even looking at pagan statues, Alexandria’s patriarch took it to heart and incited the faithful to topple the Temple of Serapis in the city center, drag the golden statue through the streets, and burn it. The patriarch then built a church over the ruins. After Constantine moved to Byzantium, changed its name to Constantinople, Alexandria became even more powerful. A little more than a century later, the Council of Chalcedon reversed the Council of Nicea declaring Jesus one person with two natures. Since the Egyptian Christians saw this as a revival of polytheism, they split with the rest of Christianity, their patriarch was excommunicated, and Alexandria sacked. Yet they were still ruled by the Byzantine Empire creating ongoing tension. When Alexandrians stoned Emperor Justinian’s governor, he sent his army to show who was boss. Then in 629 a messenger from Arabia traveled to the emperor of Byzantium, Heraclius, who had just made Greek the official language of the empire. The messenger had been sent by a man named Mohammed to reveal a new religion, Islam. The messenger was murdered and ten years later Arab armies invaded Egypt. The Arab invader, Amr Ibn Al As, didn’t force Egyptians to convert, but did levy a tax on non-believers and showed preference to those who did convert. Economic incentive. Slowly the population turned. Eventually, some monasteries emptied and Coptic writing and language, the last version of the language of the pharaohs, stopped being spoken in public. Christian communities remained strongest in

Cairo and in the valley south. Monastic communities hid behind high walls, preserving the old language, old traditions, and libraries. The decline continued into the 20th century, when only 10% of Egyptians were Christians. Modernizing influences sparked a cultural renewal, which led to reviving the long-defunct tradition of icon painting. Islamist violence aimed at the Copts in the 80s and 90s had the effect of increasing the number of monks. The election of a Muslim Brotherhood-led government in 2010, saw the Copts targeted with impunity. Wealthy Copts emigrated. The popular Coptic Pope Shenouda II died and was succeeded by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, the 118th patriarch of Alexandria. The Copts supported Sisi in overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood government, but are still facing ongoing persecution and a lack of security.

Arabs and Islam About 628 CE Mohammed, the leader of a newly united Arab force, wrote to some of the most powerful men in the world, inviting them to convert to his new religion. Heraclius declined; he regarded the people of Arabia as a mild irritant on the edge of his mighty empire. By the time of Heraclius’s death in 641, Arab armies had conquered much of the Byzantine Empire, including Syria and most of Egypt, and were camped outside the walls of Alexandria. Egyptians were used to foreign invaders, but never before had one come with both religious and political intentions. After Alexandria fell, Arab general Amr wrote to his leader, Caliph Omar, that he had captured a city of 4,000 palaces, 4,000 baths, 400 theaters, and 12,000 sellers of green vegetables. Omar, perhaps sensing danger with this level of sophistication, ordered his army to create a new Muslim capital. Fustat was built beside the Roman fort of Babylon (BTW the real Babylon was in Mesopotamia, Iraq). It was a key city until eventually eclipsed by Cairo in the 10th century. The shift of Egypt’s capitals was matched by instability in the Arab empire, whose power moved from Mecca to Damascus to Baghdad, also reflecting the shifting nature of the caliphate, the leadership of Islam divided into Sunni and Shiite factions. Cairo’s Al Azhar mosque, created by the 10th century Fatimids, who were Shiite, was the main authority on religious matters. However, when Saladin (Salah Ad Din) showed up in the 12th century and created the Ayyubid dynasty, all was Sunni. From then on the sheikhs of Al Azar have taught Sunni orthodoxy and the majority of Egyptians today are Sunni. The Arabs brought religion and Arabic. Islam is basically merged with the Arabic language. All prayers are in Arabic. The Quran verses cannot be translated, only their meaning. As one prays in Arabic, one may know the meaning, but not a direct word for word translation. Arabic is a very rich language; context, time of the year and situation can change the meaning of a word or phrase. Islam comes as package with the language. When the Quran is used to justify motives and behaviors, it is usually taken out of context.

• “Kill them when you see them” when they are coming to kill you. • “Don’t pray” when you are drunk. • “Don’t kill a woman. Don’t kill old men” in a war when they are attacked.

Worship is between the individual and god (Allah) without interference from anyone. The Quran talks about relationships and how to deal with each other. Killing unbelievers is unacceptable because there is no relationship and one cannot know what is in the other’s heart. It is Allah’s job to know. The Quran teaches that a good Muslim follows the pillars of Islam; the pillars are the religious duties. If one does not follow the rules, even though s/he gets his/her relationships right, then one will not go to heaven. If one does bad acts, e.g., lie, refuse to help, steal, these bad acts subtract from one’s good relationship with Allah and worship. “If you kill one person in vain, it’s as if you killed all people.”

A good Muslim believes in all the prophets, including Jesus. There are whole chapters in the Quran on Mary and Joseph. In Islam all people are equal (Tell that to the Saudi women). Islam means peace and comes from the Arabic “salam,” peace, which is why my telephone greeting says, “Al salamo alikom,” Peace be upon you. Shari’a means “law” in Arabic, dos and don’ts. Shari’a law is redundant. Shi’a means “parties” in Arabic. All follow the five pillars of Islam. Sunni means “following Mohammed” in Arabic. There are no sunni mosques or shi’a mosques, all are Islamic mosques. A temple is a temple, not reformed or orthodox. Is a church a Christian church or is the church only defined by its sect? Schools of Islamic thought (madhabib) are the paths people follow to the Noble Quran and Prophet Muhammed. These schools of thought were founded considerably after the death of the Prophet; in fact, they never took shape until the time of the Umayyid Caliphate. Sects like Wahabi, a 20th century invention, is not a school of thought. I find the study of different religions, schools of thought, traditions interesting and fascinating. My only complaint is why make everything so hard to understand (except the 10 commandments, which are pretty clear, but even then people come up why it’s okay to kill, etc.). Or indeed, if god did create the human race, why make us so stupid we can’t directly understand? Just sayin.’ According to Sherif, five years after the revolution, people are beginning to trust the government after Morsi was ousted. As an example: there wasn’t enough money left from the IMF loan to complete the second canal at the Suez; Sisi asked the Egyptian people to help out. The government offered Suez bonds at 9% interest for three years. In five days 63 billion pounds were raised. Only 20% came from financial institutions; 80% from “under the tile.” So the middle and upper class have money. I’d be interested to know what percentage of Egyptian families contributed. I doubt the poor could afford to. One of the problems is that the bureaucracy didn’t change after revolution and corruption is still around. Some people were sent to jail, but I suspect many more are lurking and becoming more cautious. The modern age is quickly encroaching: the roadside Dandy Mall has a Carrefour and an Ace Hardware; petrol stations have Circle Ks, Chill Out, and ATMs; at the Smart Village I saw Oracle, Microsoft, Orange, and the Ministry of Communication. Yum! Brands, Inc., formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, is there in force—KFC, Pizza Hut, but I’ve yet to see Yum! Brands Taco Bell or WingStreet; maybe they’re in the testing stage. I saw several “rental gowns” shops. The West has invaded. Many are quite revealing. Egyptian women rent engagement and wedding gowns. The more modest of the young women will wear one of the sexy numbers and have a matching thin tee-shirt made to wear underneath. Orthodox Copts don’t grant divorces; they will grant an annulment, based on impotence or infidelity. Wonder what kind of proof is required? Muslims have a marriage contract (nikah nama), a legal prenupt outlining the rights and responsibilities of the bride and groom or other parties involved in the marriage proceedings. One important purpose of the contract is that which makes sexual intercourse legal. From the Hadith: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The stipulations (in the marriage contract) most entitled to be abided by are those with which you are given the right to enjoy the (woman’s) private parts.” Okay, then. Despite modern problems, Egypt is eternal and worth a long visit, especially since tourism is down and the huge crowds aren’t there (sorry for the people in the industry and thrilled for me). The revolutions of 2011 and 2013 caused a major downturn in tourism. Most travelers now are from Europe, especially the Germans and French, lots from Russia, but they are mostly resort people; the Chinese are

big Nile cruisers and even I was appalled by an overweight Chinese man in tight swim shorts and zories with his belly hanging over, wandering the tombs and pyramids having his picture taken. The Americans haven’t returned in droves as in former days. I thought this was interesting: at any sign of trouble the Japanese are first to leave and last to return; they are very fearful. I thought Americans held that medal. Revenues are increasing from $4.4 billion in 2016 to $9.5 billion in 2017. It was $13 billion in 2018. Like Cubans, I found Egyptians friendly and inviting, resilient in the face of harsh realities, and have an ability to laugh and improvise. People were friendly and interested that I from America. I felt safer in Egypt than in many US cities.

Egypt’s Legacy The Greeks get credit for Democracy—significant, of course. Mesopotamia is credited with the invention of the wheel (important as we use it daily to bomb their modern civilization and ancient sites). The oldest known wheel dates to around 3500 BCE, the Bronze Age, which is relatively late in human development as we were already planting crops, herding domesticated animals, and had some form of social hierarchy. Egypt gave us many firsts:

• First magnificent civilization • The calendar comes from Egyptian calendar

Egypt had three seasons—1-Inundation, 2-emergence (plant and grow), 3-dry. Each season had four months, each month had three weeks of 10 days per week= 360 days The problem with 360 days, every year was five days off, every ten, 50 days off, so Egyptians to synch with the solar year added five days—five days of partying dedicated to gods, not a bad idea.

• Monothesism even though the Egyptian priests won out and mostly deleted Akhenaten from history (although with all the saints people pray to, there must be a genetic human need for polytheism)

• Holy Trinity: the major Egyptian gods came in trinities • Resurrection of gods and an afterlife of riches and delight • Centrality of incense to ritual; they burned much in their offerings • Agriculture

Next Visit with a private guide, who will take us where we want to go and spend as little or more time as we like.

• Wadi El-Hitan—skeletons of ancient whales • Al Fayoum and Tanis • Medinet Habu • Valley of the Queens, Nefertari’s tomb • Siwa Oasis • Qurta petroglyphs • Ras Mohammed National Park, Sinai (near Sharm El Sheikh resort, so boon companions can sun

and I’ll explore) • Dendera, 60 miles north of Luxor, Hathor temple complex

• Mahalla for fabric, Mahalla, city of cotton, world’s cotton capital, El Mahalla El Kubra is a large industrial and agricultural city in Egypt, located in the middle of the Nile Delta on the western bank of the Damietta Branch tributary

• Saqqara: Imhotep Museum, Pyramid Texts in the Pyramid of Unas, Serapeum, Mastaba of Ti, the Ramesseum

• Abydos, 90 miles south of Luxor on west bank, ten miles inland, the tomb of Seti I

The ancient Egyptians believed that the universe was ordered and rational. The rising and setting of the sun, the flooding of the Nile, and the predicable course of the stars in the sky, reassured them that there was permanence to existence, which was central to the nature of all things. However, the forces of chaos were always present threatening the balance of Ma´at. Each person was duty bound to preserve and defend Ma´at and the Pharaoh was perceived as the guardian of Ma´at. Without Ma´at, Nun would reclaim the universe and chaos would reign supreme. The name Ma´at is generally translated as “that which is straight” or “truth,” but also implies “order,” “balance,” and “justice.” Thus Ma´at personified perfect order and harmony. She came into being when Ra rose from the waters of Nun (Chaos), thus she was often described as a daughter of Ra. She was sometimes considered to be the wife of Thoth because he was a god of wisdom. The Egyptians also had a strong sense of morality and justice. They felt that the good should prosper, and that the guilty should be punished. They praised those who defended the weak and the poor and placed a high value on loyalty, especially to one’s family. However, they also understood that it was not possible to be perfect, just balanced. Ma´at transcended specific ethical rules (which differed according to different times and different peoples), and instead focused on the natural order of things. That being said, certain actions (greed) were clearly against Ma´at as they increased the effect of chaos and had a purely negative effect on the world (unregulated capitalism). Each Egyptian’s soul was judged in the Hall of Ma´at (depicted in the Book of the Dead and book five of the Book of Gates) when they died. Their heart (conscience) was weighed against the feather of Ma´at (an ostrich feather) on scales, which represented balance and justice. If one’s heart was heavier than the feather because the person had failed to live a balanced life by the principles of Ma´at, his/her heart was either thrown into a lake of fire or devoured by a fearsome deity known as Ammit. If, however, the heart balanced with the feather of Ma´at, the person would pass the test and gain eternal life. None of this easy out by saying you’re sorry, ask for forgiveness, and all is okay. At certain times it was Osiris, who sat as judge in the ritual, and many other deities were involved in the ceremony, but the scales always represented Ma´at. The Pharaoh was responsible for Ma´at throughout the kingdom. If only our leaders were responsible for peace and harmony.