Ancient temples in Egypt, February 2023
A 9-day tour account to Cairo and the Nile
(Travel Story Series @ Hon Too Fang, April 2023)
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First some notes about the country to help us understand what we will be seeing.
Economy
The main sectors of economy are agriculture, oil & gas, manufacturing and tourism, supplemented with revenue from the Suez Canal and remittance from about 3 million Egyptians working aboard. The leading non-petroleum manufacturing industry is textile. Of the workforce, about 47% work in the service industry, 29% in agriculture and 24% in manufacturing. The nominal per capita GDP estimated for 2022 is US$ 4,200 and the ppp version is US$ 14,200 (Malaysia: US$ 13,300/US$ 32,900)
Geography and Weather
It is a very arid region and most of its land is desert. South of Cairo there is less than 1 cm of rain in a year. The population is concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta. About 99% of the people use about 5.5% of the total area in the country. The Nile, 6,650 km long, is the main north-flowing river in north-east Africa, flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. The drainage basins cover 11 countries. It supports agriculture and fishing.
Government
In politics Egypt is a semi-presidential republic where it has an elected president alongside a prime minister and a cabinet with the latter two responsible to the legislature of the nation. Overall the President is more powerful. The President and the Prime Minister could be from opposing camps. The current president is Abdel Fatah El-Sisi since 8 June 2014. Administratively the country is divided into 27 Governorates.
History
Ancient Egyptian history could be summarized into several blooming periods:
the Old Kingdom (3150 BC - 2181 BC), the Middle Kingdom (2055 BC – 1650 BC) and the New Kingdom (1550 BC – 1070 BC). In between the nation fell into chaos and conflict.
Then came the Late Period (664 BC – 332 BC) when it was ruled periodically by foreign powers and Hellenistic Egypt (332 BC – 30 BC) when it was ruled by the Greeks. The Romans took over in 30 BC and by 70 AD, when Christianity arrived, the ancient Egyptian religion and culture came to an end. The Muslim dynasties ruled the region from 642 to 1882. It became a British Protectorate from 1882 to 1952, and a republic since 1952.
Ancient Egyptian religion
The religion of ancient Egypt that lasted for more than 3,000 years was polytheistic. Religious practices were deeply embedded in the lives of Egyptians, as they attempted to provide for their gods and win their favour. The gods existed in different manifestations and had multiple mythological roles. The most important myth was of Osiris and Isis. The divine ruler Osiris was murdered by Set (god of chaos), then resurrected by his sister and wife Isis to conceive an heir, Horus. Horus eventually became the new ruler and Osiris the ruler of the dead. Formal religious practice centred on the pharaoh, who were believed to be divine, and acted as intermediary between the people and the gods. The pharaoh, upon death, would be fully deified.
Day 1 -- Flying
Day 1 of the tour is about flying: from Kuala Lumpur to Cairo with transit at Dubai, with Emirates of course.
Day 2 - Cairo to Aswan
Had an early morning local flight to Aswan, 680 km to the south, Egypt Air.
Info on Aswan
Aswan, with a population of 380.000, is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. It is located on the east bank of the Nile and about 1,200 km south of the river estuary. The width of the Nile around Aswan is about 650 m. Currently it is a market town and a tourist center. In ancient times it was famous for its stone quarries.
Aswan High Dam
There is annual flooding of the Nile. The flood brings high water and natural nutrients to enrich the soil in the floodplain and the delta. Unfortunately the extent of flooding varies: too high a level destroys crops and too low a level could cause famine. The flow has to be regulated. A dam was constructed near Aswan in 1902 for the purpose, later called the Low Dam. Soon it became inadequate, so a much bigger dam was constructed, from 1960 to 1970, later called the High Dam.
The High Dam is one of the largest embankment dams in the World, 4 km long, 960 m at the base, 40 m at the crest and 111 m high. With the raised water level, 22 archaeological complexes were re-located to higher ground, including the famous Abu Simbel Temples.
Philae Temples
Philae is a small island near Aswan. Monuments of various eras occupy nearly the whole island. With the rising water of the High Dam, UNESCO initiated a project to re-locate the temples, work completed from 1977 to 1980. Every building was dismantled into small units, totaling 40,000, and then transported and re-assembled on higher ground on the Island of Aqilkia, about 500 m away. The Philae temples are accorded UNESCO World Heritage sites as part of a group called “Nubian Monuments”, meaning monuments built in the region inhabited by the Nubians, the indigenous group in southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
Starting our tour
Now we start our tour. First a simple map to show places to be visited.
Touring Aswan
First our bus took us to the embankment of the High Dam to have a view of the lake created by the dam, called Lake Nasser, named after the president at the time of the building of the dam. Nothing spectacular at ground level of course. Had a distant view of the 72-m high lotus flower memorial to commemorate the cooperation between the Soviet Union and Egypt in the implementation of the project.
The lake is supporting a robust tourism industry in Aswan. See the number of boats available and the jetty with many people and souvenir vendors. We later boarded a boat to cruise along the shoreline. Shown the Nubian houses.
The Philae Temple
This temple is famous for having monuments of various eras, extending from the Pharaohs to the Romans. The main buildings are dedicated to Isis, the mother goddess. These were built around 380-362 BC making them the oldest structures here. At the forecourt are 2 rows of colonnades, with the First Pylon on the background of the eastern colonnade, 2nd photo. Shown details of 2 different column capitals: the papyrus capital and a composite capital.
Then we have the giant First Pylon, the monumental gate of an Egyptian temple. And giant hieroglyphs on the outer walls. After the pylon is the small temple called mammisi or birth house, a relatively new addition in the Ptolemaic period. Shown a decorated wall in the 3rd photo. The 4th photo shows a Christian altar on the wall of the 1st hypostyle hall. The temple was converted into a church complex in the late 6th century.
After the hypostyle hall is the sanctuary of Isis. Shown the hieroglyphs on the walls. Goddess Isis is represented in the 1st photo.
One of the newest structures, though not fully completed, is the Trajan’s Kiosk dated to around 100 AD. The 2nd photo shows the visitors’ rest area near the entrance of this temple, showing the interesting pattern of shadow on the ground.
Later we had lunch at a Nubian restaurant. The main dish was chicken tajine but we didn’t see the cone-shaped cover associated with such tajine cooking style. The roof of the restaurant is made of tree branches loosely spaced out. The strong sunlight casts long shadow lines on the walls and us. A very unique sight. You may wonder how this kind of roof could cope with rain. Well, there is little rain in this part (and most parts) of Egypt. Rainfall less than 1 cm a year.
Soon we checked into our cruise ship named Alyssa, with 61 cabins, rather small in the world of cruises. The reason is the Nile River is only about 8 m deep so all the cruises are small.
Info on Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is a historic site in the Aswan Governorate near to the Sudan border. The small modern village here retains the same name of Abu Simbel, 230 km south of Aswan.
The most important monument here comprises twin temples originally carved out from the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II, the most famous, most celebrated and most powerful pharaoh in history. There are two temples, the Great Temple, dedicated to Ramses II himself, and the Small Temple, dedicated to his chief wife Queen Nefertari. They were constructed around 1264 to 1244 BC. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site under the grouping of “Nubian Monuments”.
As in the case of the Philae Temple, the Abu Simbel Temple was also relocated to the present site to prevent submergence due to the rising water of the High Dam. Between 1964 and 1968, the entire temple site was carefully cut into large blocks (averaging 20 tons), dismantled, lifted and reassembled in a new location 65 m higher and 200 m away from the river, in one of the greatest challenges of archaeological engineering in history.
Day 3 - Touring Abu Simbel
Had an early coach departure to Abu Simbel. Mostly desert but near Abu Simbel the desert has been transformed into farms, result of a massive irrigation plan. The Toshka project uses water in Lake Nasser to irrigate a region as big as 2,280 sq km (nearly 8 times the size of Penang Island) to finally settle 5 million people. Still in the initial stage.
The Great Temple
The Great Temple was dedicated to the gods Amun-Re, Ra-Horakhty, Ptah and the deified Ramses II himself. The façade is 33 m high and 38 m wide. The single entrance is flanked by 4 numbers of 20-m high statues of Ramses II. There are many smaller knee-high statues of his wives and children. On top of the doorway is a statue of Ra-Horakhty, last photo.
Ra Horakhty is a falcon-headed god. At the base of the facade are rows of falcons.
At the top of the facade, 2nd photo, is a frieze depicting 22 baboons worshiping the rising sun with raised arms. In ancient Egyptian cosmology, the baboon is a manifestation of the moon god Thoth.
The two sides of the entrance walls are full of bas-relief, 1st photo. After the entrance is a hypostyle hall with 8 statues of Ramses II in the deified form of the God Osiris, one shown.
The hall leads to several chambers, all quite dark. The walls are full of relief, all featuring Ramses II, in war scenes as well as his offering to various gods, like to the falcon-headed Ra Horakhty in the 2nd photo. At the back of the temple is the small dark sanctuary featuring the 3 gods and the deified Ramses II, 2nd from left.
The Small Temple
The Small Temple, about 100 m from the Great Temple, is dedicated to the Goddess Hathor and Queen Nefertari. The rock-cut façade has six 10-m high statues, 4 for the king and 2 for the queen. Remarkably, this is one of very few instances in Egyptian culture where the statues of the king and his consort have equal size.
Inside is a big hypostyle room with 6 pillars, each adorned with a bust of goddess Hathor.
The hieroglyphics and bas-relief tell the stories of the king and the queen, the 3rd photo shows 2 gods blessing Ramses II. The 2nd photo illustrates a unique Egyptian cultural feature: the cartouche, like the modern name plate. It is an oval with the hieroglyphs of the name and the title enclosed in it. At one end is a line tangent to it, indicating it is a royal name. There are 2 cartouches shown.
Feluucca cruise
Back to Aswan in the late afternoon. Went to the busy jetty and boarded a feluucca, a kind of ancient Egyptian sail boat, for a 1-hour river cruise. The boatman sang and danced trying to sell some souvenirs.
Day 4 -- Temple of Kom Omba
Temple of Kom Omba, 50 km north of Aswan, was built during the Ptolemaic period, with the main temple around 180-47 BC. It is a very unusual double temple with identical parts joined together at the center-line to honour 2 gods: crocodile god Sobek and falcon god Horus. What we saw were mostly re-constructed versions as the original were badly damaged by earthquakes and suffered pilferage throughout the years. Shown columns and different types of column capitals. Note the size of the columns.
Many panels of hieroglyphs and relief to showcase the stories of the kings and the gods.
The most significant carved panel is found on a wall at the back of the complex. A kind of medical book. Surgical tools depicted include scalpels, forceps, medicine bottles, scissors and prescriptions. The image is completed with two goddesses sitting on birthing chairs. Also shown a photo of 4 pretty ladies at the front court.
Nearby is a small Crocodile Museum where crocodile mummies are displayed. The other photo shows a votive offering with images of 2 crocodiles made to the crocodile god Sobek dated to 1410 - 1370 BC.
Temple of Horus at Edfu
The Temple of Horus at Edfu, 85 m north of Kom Omba, was also built during the Ptolemaic period, mostly between 237 and 57 BC to honour god Horus. The site was some distance away from the jetty where we have disembarked, so we took horse carts galloping through the congested town to go to the temple site. Shown the parking lot at the temple.
The first building located left of the main entrance is the well-kept mammisi or birth house. Then come the gigantic entrance pylons, decorated with battle scenes of the Ptolemaic kings. At 36 m they are the tallest of the surviving Egyptian temples. Behind the pylons is a courtyard with 2 black granite status of Horus in the form of a falcon. The standing one is a popular photo shoot. The next building is the Festival Hall with giant columns.
This temple is famous for having many informative inscriptions of unique scenes. The 3rd photo shows the king paying homage to the falcon-headed Horus. The difference in colour of the 3rd photo to the other 2 is due purely to lighting condition. The wall is not gilded. The last photo shows the black granite shrine dedicated to the last native ruler of ancient Egypt.
Galabeya party
We had a galabeya party in the evening on the cruise ship. Galabeya is the loose fitting garment commonly worn by the Egyptians, men and women alike. Popular in all of Middle East and even in India and Pakistan. Attendance was not very encouraging though.
(photo credit: Derek)
Info on Luxor/Thebes
Our cruise ship reached Luxor, a modern city on the Nile in Upper Egypt, with a population of some 420,000. It is the capital of the Luxor Governorate, and one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It has been nicked named “World’s greatest open-air museum”.
Thebes was an ancient Egyptian city near the modern city of Luxor. It was the Egyptian capital for long periods during the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom eras. On the eastern bank stands the Temple of Luxor and Temple of Karnak, and on the west, a necropolis of large cemeteries and funerary complexes, including those royal tombs at the Valley of the Kings. The monuments of ancient Thebes are grouped as a UNESCO World Heritage site under “Ancient Thebes and its Necropolis”.
Day 5 -- Touring Luxor
First looked at the Colossi of Memnon, a pair of giant 18-m high sandstone statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III. About 3,400 years old. Each weighs 700 tons.
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
The huge Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut was built by the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut (1507-1458 BC). It has been neglected over the centuries. What are seen on site now are mostly re-construction. And re-construction work is still on going.
Shown the huge 3-level temple in front of the high cliff and a newly re-constructed wing of the middle terrace. There are 28 columns in the upper terrace each decorated with a statue of the female pharaoh. The 5th photo shows columns with Hathor capitals and the 6th shows the best-maintained mural in the temple: the god Osiris being offered wine by a pharaoh.
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings is a burial ground for kings and queens for 500 years, from 16th to 11th century BC. A total of 63 tombs have been excavated. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage site for Thebes. These are essentially empty tombs. The sarcophagus, mummified bodies and accompanying burial treasures have been looted or moved to various museums.
We went into 3 tombs here, all more than 3,100 years old: Tombs of Ramses III, Ramses IV and Ramses IX. Typically a long sloping corridor to reach the burial chamber, with side walls and ceilings decorated with murals or carved inscriptions. Cameras are not allowed inside. The photos here are taken by the mobile phones.
Ramses III (reign: 1186 - 1155 BC) was one of the last great pharaohs of the New Kingdom. This tomb was first dug by his father but later abandoned. He just took over. The 1st photo shows the entrance passage while the 2nd shows part of the ceiling. Others are shots of the carvings and inscriptions on the walls. The 5th photos depicts the underworld or afterlife.
Ramses IV (reign:1155 - 1149 BC) was a son of Ramses III and had a very short reign of only 6+ years. The last photo shows the empty sarcophagus.
Another tomb visited was that of Ramses IX (reign: 1129 - 1111 BC) who was likely the grandson of Ramses III.
Info on Karnak Temple
The Karnak Temple is located about 2.5 km north of the city of Luxor. It is dedicated to several gods, the main one being Amun-Re. During the New Kingdom era, god Amun-Re had a cult following in the capital Thebes (now Luxor).
It is famous for 2 reasons. Firstly it was built over many centuries from around 2000 BC to 30 BC, involving 30 pharaohs. Secondly it is huge, about 2.0 km by 0.5 km. The part that is open to the public is the Precinct of Amun-Re, only about 25% of the site.
Touring the Karnak Temple
The west entrance starts with the Avenue of Sphinxes before the First Pylon which is 113 m wide. These sphinxes are not the normal human-headed type, but the rare ram-headed versions. Between their paws stands a small statue of Ramses II. After the First Pylon is the ruins of the Great Forecourt, with more ram-headed sphinxes, columns and walls in ruin and statues of Ramses II, one shown.
After the forecourt is the most famous part of the temple: the Great Hypostyle Hall, almost 5,000 sq m in area. It has 134 columns, 12 of them 21 m tall, with a diameter over 3 m. The columns are well decorated. The column capitals are of the papyrus umbel style.
Another famous building still in a reasonable state is the Festival Temple of Thutmose III further away from the Great Hypostyle Hall. The roof is supported by 32 square columns. The king called it the “Most Splendid of Monuments”. There were 2 statues of the king at the entrance, one still standing.
There are a few obelisks still standing in this temple. The Obelisk of Thutmose I is 22 m tall, the right one in the 1st photo. The one built by Hatshepsut is 30 m tall, 2nd photo. It is Egypt’s tallest obelisk.
There were many more pylons, courts and temple buildings on the ground, most in ruins.
Met some Malaysian students visiting the temple. There were over 8,000 Malaysians studying in Egyptian universities in pre-Covid 2020, nearly all self-sponsored. And there were more than 2,000 Egyptians studying in Malaysia in the same period.
(photo credit: Tan LH)
Shopping
Shopping is always part of organised tours. One place visited was an alabaster shop. Alabaster is a kind of soft rock, often used for carving and processed as plaster powder. It includes gypsum and calcite. A most colourful photo - travel mates listening to explanation on how these alabaster products are made.
Day 6 -- Back to Cairo
Took an early morning local flight back to Cairo, 250 km north, 1 hour 10 min. An advertisement board at the Luxor airport says Luxor is beyond history. Agree fully.
Info on Cairo
Cairo is the capital and largest city in Egypt, with a population of 10 million. It has an area of 453 sq km, almost double that of Kuala Lumpur. The greater metropolitan area (Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia) has a population of about 22 million. The original settlement called Fustat was founded in 640 while the adjacent new settlement of Cairo was founded in 969. It soon outgrew the old Fustat to become the urban centre. Cairo’s nickname is “the city with a thousand minarets”. The historic city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Museum of Egyptian Antiquities
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, aka the Egyptian Museum, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. The present building is dated to 1902. The beautiful building has 2 floors, shown the facade.
The museum houses 120,000 items of artefact. First a few famous life-size or bigger than life-size statues:
diorite statue of King Khufre (26th century BC),
Niankhre, wife and son, a health inspector (25th century BC),
granite statue of Queen Nofret II (19th century BC) and
colossal limestone statue of King Amenohopet II (15th century BC) and wife and 3 daughters. This is the largest sculpture carved from a single piece of rock in the World.
Now smaller items:
the life-size mannequin or effigy of King Tutankhamun (14th century BC), made of wood, plastered over and painted,
the bust of King Tuya (14th century BC),
granite bust of King Amenemhet III (19th century BC) in priestly costume, and
the ivory statue of King Khufu (26th century BC). This statuette is only 7.5 cm high.
Lastly some non-human items:
panel of tiles below the Step Pyramid at Djoser (26th century BC),
gilded wooden throne of King Tutankhamun (14th century BC),
gilded wooden shrine for canopic vases (14th century BC),
Papyrus of Yuya, 19 m long, 30 sheets (14th century BC),
granodiorite statue of the Sphinx of King Thutmose III (15th century BC) and
the siltstone Narmer Palette for King Narmer (31st century, BC). It features some of the earliest hieroglyphics found in Egypt.
Khan el-Khalili Bazaar
The iconic Khan el-Khalili bazaar, founded in the 12th century, is the oldest bazaar in the Middle East. It was massively rebuilt in the 16th century in the caravanserai style, such style called khan, by one minister named Jaharkas el-Khalili. Hence the name of the place: Khan el-Khalili. It is a huge place. We were dropped at a section more for the tourists, as could be seen from the goods sold. The 1st photo shows the old structure dated to the 16th century.
Info on Giza Pyramid Complex
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry burial monuments. There are some 118 identified "Egyptian" pyramids still standing, about 80 of them located in the country of Sudan. Of those located in modern Egypt, most were built as tombs for the country's pharaohs and their consorts during the Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom periods.
At the Giza Plateau there are 3 main pyramids for pharaohs and several smaller ones for the queens. It is located 25 km south of Cairo. The 3 big ones are the Great Pyramid of Khufu, Pyramid of Khafre and Pyramid of Menkaure. Khafre and Menkaure are the son and grandson of Khufu respectively. Around the pyramids are funerary buildings and tombs for the relatives and court officials. The complex, combining with monuments in Memphis, is a UNESCO World Heritage site listed under “Memphis and its Necropolis”.
Day 7 -- visiting Giza
Relative locations
The Pyramid of Khafre is about 450-500 m to the south-west of the Pyramid of Khufu, and the Pyramid of Menkaure is another 400-450 m away, roughly along the same direction. Shown the 3 pyramids viewed from the west, with the smallest Pyramid of Menkaure on the right. The 2nd photo shows the relative location of the bigger 2, viewed from the south, with the biggest Pyramid of Khufu on the left.
Pyramid of Khufu
The Pyramid of Khufu aka the Great Pyramid of Giza was built by Pharaoh Khufu some 4,600 years ago, over a period of 27 years. The base is 230 m square. The height is now 139 m, about 8 m shorter than the original as the smooth limestone covering slabs were removed or pilfered for use elsewhere. In all 2.3 million blocks of stone were used, weighing 6 million tons in total. It is the largest of the Egyptian pyramids. This pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact.
Shown at the north-east corner, the eastern face and a close-up view to show the size and shape of the blocks. There are a few chambers in the interior. There is only one entry point for tourists to go into the interior and it is called Robber’s Tunnel at the north side. The last photo shows the crowd and tourists going up the rock face to enter the Robber’s Tunnel, about 6 m high from the base.
Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx
This pyramid is slight lower, at 136 m. About half a kilometer east of the pyramid is the Great Sphinx of Giza, a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. Its shape was cut from the bedrock. It measures
73 m from head to paw and 20 m high. The face appears to represent Khafre. The 1st photo shows the location of the 2 larger pyramids and the sphinx. The area around the sphinx has been fenced up. The last photo is a scanned copy of the photo taken here in 1995 when our family visited the same place. The photo has faded and we have aged.
Near the sphinx is the Valley Temple, part of the complex of Khafre’s Pyramid. The external structure in limestone have been severely weathered, 1st photo, but the internal structures built with red granite are still in great shape, 2nd photo.
The tourist crowd
We visited the pyramids on a Friday, a public holiday in Egypt. Huge crowd of local tourists everywhere. A popular activity for the tourists is camel rides. We did not take the ride as we have taken such rides in other places several times before but all our travel mates did.
Info on Memphis
Memphis was the old Egyptian capital from around 3100 to 2200 BC, located near the present town of Mit Rahina, 20 km south of Cairo. It occupied the strategic position at the mouth of the Nile Delta and remained an important city throughout the history of ancient Egypt until the Roman times. The ancient buildings are now in ruins of course. The ruins at Memphis, together with the pyramids of Giza, form a UNESCO World Heritage site listed under “Memphis and its Necropolis”.
Touring Memphis
Memphis now enjoys an “open air museum” status. The biggest attraction is the 10 m tall limestone statue of Ramses II placed inside a building. See the smooth carved surface of the face. In the open air, there is another smaller granite statue of Ramses II standing among the ruins, and an alabaster sphinx statue. The last photo shows the wall tiles at the public washrooms, reminding us this is ancient Egypt.
Info on Saqqara and the Step Pyramid
Saqqara is a village 30 km south of Cairo. It was the necropolis (burial ground) for the people in the ancient capital Memphis and has some Mastaba tombs. Mastaba tombs are flat-roofed rectangular tombs built of mud-bricks, a precursor to the pyramids. It also has many pyramids too. The most famous monument in Saqqara is the Step Pyramid of Djoser, built around 2670 – 2650 BC for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser. The limestone pyramid is the central feature of a large funerary complex consisting of temples, courtyards, shrines, and living quarters for the priests. It is considered to be the earliest Egyptian pyramid.
Touring the Step Pyramid
It is a 6-tier, 4-sided structure in a huge courtyard. The height is 62.5 m, with a base of 109 m by 121 m, clad in polished white limestone. The complex was re-opened in 2020 for visitors after a 14-year restoration work. Shown the pyramid glowing in the setting sun, part of the ruins, re-constructed part of the enclosure wall with the entrance opening, the entrance colonnade and the beautiful columns.
Info on the Citadel of Saladin
The Citadel of Saladin is a medieval fort near the centre of Cairo, built by Sultan Saladin, first ruler of the Ayyubid Dynasty, in the 12th century. It was further developed by subsequent Egyptian rulers, as the seat of government and palace from the 13th to the 19th century. What we see today is the re-development by Muhammad Ali Pasha in the early 19th century. Today it is a preserved historic centre, with non-functioning mosques and museums. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, listed under “Islamic Cairo”.
Day 8 -- Touring the Citadel of Saladin
Not many useful structures remain. In fact during the Ottoman rule from the 16th to the 18th centuries, many old buildings were dismantled and the stones shipped to Istanbul for re-use. Shown parts of walls still standing, the impressive Burj al-Muqattam round tower built in 1525, a huge old copper tooling image at the entrance of the Police Museum and with Dato’ Kian, 80+, the most senior in our group. And a view of the city from the high ground.
Info on the Mosque of Muhammad Ali
The Ottoman-style Mosque of Muhammad Ali is the iconic centrepiece of the citadel. The mosque was built from 1830 to 1848, in the Turkish imperial style with two soaring 82-m minarets. This spectacular mosque was built to rival the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. The mosque’s interior is lavish with intricate alabaster walls, low-hanging chandeliers, red carpets, and plenty of gold. It can hold up to 6,500 people. It has a high, ornate domed ceiling with a central dome surrounded by four smaller semi-circular domes.
Mosque of Muhammad Ali
The land size is 82 m by 52 m. The 1st two photos show the facades from different directions. The 3rd photo shows part of the covered arcade of the courtyard and the 4th a typical decorated false door of the arcade. The next 2 photos show the beautiful octagonal Turkish baroque ablution fountain (for ritual cleaning) at the centre of the courtyard, one showing the underside of its domed canopy.
The mosque is on a square plan, 41 m by 41 m. The main material is limestone but alabaster is used for much of the walls of the arcades in the courtyard and up to 3 storey high in the mosque itself. The central dome is 21 m in diameter, surrounded by 4 semi-domes and another 4 smaller domes at the 4 corners. Shown a general view of the dark interior, a decorated panel, the main dome, and one of the semi-domes.
Next, 2 types of chandeliers. Also shown one of the 6 giant medallions displacing the name of God, the Prophet or the 1st 4 Caliphs. We had to go bare-foot into the mosque or had a plastic cover over the undersides of the shoes. All of us chose the latter. The ladies put up their best foot forward with the plastic cover to produce a colourful fascinating photo.
(photo credit: Louisa)
National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization is a new museum opened in Cairo in 2021. Shown some structures in front of the huge space outside the modern building, and a corner of the main exhibition hall.
The Royal Mummy Hall is the jewel of the crown with 20 royal mummies and many of their masks on display. Unfortunately no photography is allowed inside. The following are selected exhibits from the main hall, from the oldest to the most recent..
31000 BC - skeleton of a young man from Nazlet Kheter,
1100 BC - Maat, the daughter of a god,
150 BC - a piece of mosaic, one of the earliest found in Egypt.
100 BC - the coffin of Nedjemankh, a priest, (*)
700 AD - part of the dome of a Byzantine church,
1500 AD - a box for the Holy Koran.
(*) There is a story for the coffin. It was purchased by the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2017 for 3.5 million Euro. Later it was found that the coffin was a loot in 2011 during a time of unrest in Egypt. The art dealer used forged document to sell the antique. It was subsequently returned by the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Egyptian government in 2019.
Day 9 -- Travelling day
Flying with Emirates: Cairo - transit in Dubai – Kuala Lumpur
The tour is ended. Everybody arrived home safely.
Tour operator, etc
The tour is marketed by GTT or Golden Tourworld Travel (gtt.com.my). The tour leader is Samantha, and the local guide is Ayman. Thank you, Samantha and Ayman for taking care of us in this tour to a fascinating world of old civilization. And thanks to our travel mates for the physical company. We are a party of 20+1. A few are Australian residents.
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