Ancient Egypt and the Nile River

Table of Contents Section Name Page Introduction 1 Some Statistics to Provide Perspective 3 Map of Egypt 4 Cairo, Egypt 4 Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel 5 Cairo Tower 11 Cairo Museum 18 Discussion of Women’s Rights 38 Former Palace of Prince Mohamed Ali Tawfik 39 Some Photos on the Road 45 Memphis 48 More Street Scenes 54 Saqqara 55 Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan 60 Al-Rifai Mosque 62 Kahn El-Khalili Bazaar 65 Home Visit 70 Dancing on the Water 70 Our Accommodations 73 Bird Watching 76 The Larger Great Temple of Ramses II 80 The Small Temple for Nefertari 88 Birthday Surprise 92 Philae Temple 94 Shopping Area Near Kom Ombo (Two Temples) 102 Kom Ombo (Two Temples) 106 On the Way to Edfu’s Temple of Horu are to 114 The Philae Temple 117 Sailing Back to Aswan 125 Hot Air Balloon Ride 130 Visit to a Farm 137 Faces of The Village 147 Valley of the Kings 158 Tomb of Tutankhamun (King Tut) 159 Tomb of Rameses VI 163 Tomb of Rameses III 167 Tomb of Rameses IV 171 Temple of Queen Hatshepsut 174 Avenue of the Sphinxes 178 Schoolgirls at Luxor Temple 180 Luxor Temple 182 The Karnak Temple 190 The Giza Pyramids 196 The Sphinx 201 Papyrus 203 The Hanging Church 207 National Museum of Egyptian Civilization 214 Alexandria 215 Life on the Water’s Edge 221 Fresh Fish on the Dock 222 People on the Streets of the City 223 Helnon Palestine Hotel 224 Cemetery for World Wars 1 and 2 227 Alexandria National Museum 230 Mohamed Ahmed Restaurant 235 A Nice Story About an Egyption One Pound Note 237 The Catacombs 244 The Alexandria Eliahu HaNavi Synzagoque 251 Bibliotheca Alexandria (a very modern library) 257 Royal Jewelry Museum 266 St. Bishoy Monastery 273 Security in Egypt 280 Travel Home 281 Final Comments 281 Appendix A: Major Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Egypt 282 Appendix B: Profiles for Six Important Pharaohs 287 Appendix C: Covering Used by Muslim Women 293 Appendix D: Battle of Kadesh 296 Tour with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) “Ancient Egypt & the Nile River” 2 November – 22 November 2022 Introduction I have traveled to quite a few countries over the years both for business and pleasure, but had never been to Egypt until this trip. I had wanted to visit this country for some time and decided in 2019 that if I was serious about it, I better find a touring company that would take me there. I asked Lois Boyer if she had any interest in visiting Egypt and if she did would she like to go with me. She said she did and she would. We found a tour on Ancient Egypt and cruising on the Nile River run by Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). We signed up for the trip scheduled for October 2020. However, well before that date arrived the pandemic of Covid 19 hit the United States and the rest of the world. It seemed clear to us that this pandemic was not going to end soon so we rebooked for the same tour scheduled one year later, in October 2021. Covid continued to be persistent, and we postponed once again to the same tour leaving in October 2022. About a week before we were due to leave on that tour we received a call from OAT telling us the tour was overbooked and would we be willing to move from the October tour to the November tour? They offered to pay us $850 to make the change. We had been tracking the weather in Egypt and found that we would be facing temperatures in the high 90s and 100+ degrees in October and that the temperature was forecasted to be in the 80s during November. We accepted their offer. In making the final commitment to come on this tour, Lois and I were concerned about two issues, Covid and terrorism. We postponed the trip twice because of Covid and decided to go in spite of our concern about security. This was the right decision. We did feel safe while in Egypt. There was an armed security man accompanying us at all times. There was also an escort car in front or in back of the bus with three armed security men for much, if not all, of the time we traveled in a bus. They were not always obvious. In Alexandria they were obvious with lights and sometimes sirens to clear traffic for the bus. We decided to leave one day early to give us some time for our bodies to start the task of operating eight time zones ahead of the time zone for Davenport, Iowa. With this slight alteration the trip began on 2 November and ended on 22 November 2022. A great deal has been learned about the major individuals and ordinary citizens who formed the history of ancient Egypt. This knowledge began with the discovery and excavation of temples, tombs, pyramids, monuments, statues, etc. Simultaneously, experts studied all that had been found in and around these excavated sites, The result has been an understanding of the hieroglyphics (the formal writing system of ancient Egypt), and stories depicted by pictures chiseled into the stones inside and outside of these structures along with objects discovered within burial sites. The purpose of the tour was to show us ancient Egypt through the 1 understanding Egyptologists have gained through this study. We visited many of the sites. I took approximately 3,000 photos, made notes from what our tour leader told us, read the various books for sale at each of the ancient sites and studied information and articles gained from computer searches. The objective of this Journal is to present a summary from a selection of the photos I took and my commentary, supplemented by outside sources, resulting from this multi faceted experience. Some of you may be interested in the camera I used to take all of these photos. It is a Nikon D850 with a 28 to 300 mm, F/3.5-6.3 Tamron zoom lens. Most action shots, of birds in flight for example, were taken at 2000th to 3000th of a second using continuous bursts. Static subjects of ancient drawing on walls, for example, were taken in Program Mode. ISO was set at auto using varying maximums. What we saw and learned is really prologue to today’s Egypt. I would have enjoyed discussions about the situation in the recent past, up to current day. There appeared to be some reluctance on the part of the leaders to get into this type of discussion. There certainly does appear to be unrest with the way the country is being run among the younger population. The tour had a total of about 60 people divided into three smaller groups of about 20 each. Each group was lead by a professional leader. Our group was the “Red Group” and was lead by Nesrine Mahfouz. She sent us a letter telling a little about herself. I quote from her letter, “I live in Cairo and have been leading groups since 1990. I am a single mother of a 29 year old boy called Omar and a 22 year old girl named Assil.” She is an Egyptologist. This requires four years of education on the subject of Egypt, concentrating on ancient Egypt. A refresher courses, including testing, is required every five years to ensure those with this title are up-to-date on their knowledge. This is a vital profession in Egypt. Tourism is extremely important to Egypt’s economy and employment status and the government is intent that its representatives know what they are talking about in presenting Egypt’s antiquity to tourists. Nesrine was extremely helpful to us individually as well as with our entire group. She is a great tour leader with a wonderful personality. The tour included seven days on a boat on the Nile River. This is the longest river in the world. Our travel on it took us from Aswan to Luxor to Edfu and back again. I found this the most relaxing part of the tour, especially the opportunity to sit on the balcony of our state room on the top deck observing wildlife in the water, in the air, and on the banks as we cruised. The literature describing the tour indicated it would be moderately strenuous. I found in practice this was an understatement. Quite a bit of walking was involved and most of that was over uneven, rocky ground punctuated by places where you could easily trip and other places where good balance was important. For example, we were scheduled to take a small boat across the river to visit a farm. The boat we were to take was moored to another boat that was tied up to the peer. We had to walk across a plank absent of any railings or other handholds 2 3 set across the beam of the first boat in order to get to our boat. In cases like this we were given valuable assistance by crewmembers and others employed by OAT. My balancing ability has gradually deteriorated with age so, I was grateful for their help in keeping me up bright in situations like this. In the pages that follow, I will attempt to give you a summary of what we saw and what we learned by presenting photographs and commentary for each day in chronological order. I intend to make the pages large enough so that the detail in the photographs can be seen. I will endeavor to make the commentaries succinct. However, the stories and profiles individuals of interest require some detail. Some Statistics to Provide Perspective The map below shows Egypt’s location in Africa relative to neighboring countries in the Middle East. It also shows the Nile River. The Nile River is the longest river in the world measuring 4,258 miles. For comparison, the Mississippi is 2,320 miles long. Egypt has 384,343 square miles of land and 2,317 square miles of water for a total mass of 386,660 square miles. It is primarily desert. The vast majority of the population lives on 5% of Egypt’s land mass. This is along the Nile River and the Mediterranean Sea. We visited the four major cities in the table below. City Location Population Cairo Lower Egypt on the Nile River. See map below 9,000,000 Greater Cairo Cairo and adjacent population 18,500,000 Aswan Upper Egypt, 137 miles south of Luxor and 563 miles south of Cairo on the Nile River 351332 Luxor Upper Egypt 426 miles south of Cairo on the Nile River 487,896 Alexandria On the Mediterranean Sea. See map below 5,200,000 Country of Egypt Middle East. See map below 110,990,103 These population figures are estimates for July 2022. Cairo is by far the larges of the 191 cities in Egypt. Cairo is in the northern part of Egypt and Aswan and Luxor are in the southern part. The Nile River runs from south to north and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The northern part of Egypt is known as Lower Egypt and the southern part is known as Upper Egypt as related to the flow of the river, not the geographical location. Map of Egypt Wednesday,11- 2-2022 and Thursday, 11-3-2022 Ron and Vicky Quick took us to the Moline airport to catch our first flight. Our travels took us from Moline to Chicago’s O’Hare to London’s Heathrow to Cairo International Airport. Cairo, Egypt We arrived on time after crossing 8 time zones in about 14 hours flying time and 28 hours portal to portal. We were met by OAT representatives who were instrumental in getting us the required visas and through passport control, customs, getting our bags and driving through Cairo to the hotel. This was rush-hour in Cairo and our first look at the city’s traffic. Traffic was dense and drivers forced their way into position. People crossed busy streets and expected traffic to stop or drive around them. Cars, trucks, two and three wheeled vehicles, animals pulling carts and carriages, and pedestrians all fighting for the same space at the same time. 4 Driving lanes are laid out but it seemed to me they were just a suggestion and not seriously meant to be observed. We were traveling in one of three lanes but there were six vehicles all using the same three lanes side by side from the far left to the far right lane. We found the same situation each time we were driven in a city street in Egypt. All of the vehicles, animal drawn carts and pedestrians come within precious inches of one another as their drivers maneuver through this extremely packed space. Many of the streets and roads have speed bumps that are placed very close together, in some cases a mile or less apart. That does slow the traffic. We learned later that vehicles leaving one city to go to another city go through a check point where a count of passengers is recorded. The number is check when entering the next city. Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel We arrived at 5:30 PM at the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel. This is a five-stare hotel located near downtown Cairo overlooking the Nile River. It was an excellent time for us to arrive to start our acclamation to a time zone eight hours ahead of the time in Davenport. We were very pleasantly surprised when we stepped on to the balcony of our eighth-floor room to see the scenes on the Nile River below. 5 We enjoyed a delicious dinner of Seabass in the hotel’s Italian restaurant. The cost for two orders was about US$57, including a bottle of wine and the desert. Photo to the restaurant. 6 Friday, 11-4-2022 This is the same scene from our balcony the next morning. As you can see the quality of the air is not good, but the river is used 7 Action on the river at dusk 8 People on the tour were due to arrive later that day, so we had most of the day to investigate the city. We met another couple who also came a day early, Mark and Bonnie Walker pictured below with Lois. We arranged to take a taxi to the downtown area and then the plan was to walk back to the hotel, seeing the sights along the way. The hotel staff picked out a reliable taxi driver. What we found was a very roughly used smallish car. The window in the rear door on the driver’s side was being held in place by a screwdriver jammed between the glass and the door frame. We decided to take the taxi anyway. The driver drove us to what he said was downtown, but we saw nothing of interest. It was a holiday so most of the businesses were closed. We decided to have him return us to the hotel, which he did. I took photos along the way as an example of a part of Cairo. They depict a scene of a county struggling to modernize. Later in the tour we saw nicer sections, but the modern structures were set next to buildings that were scheduled for demolition. We learned two things about buildings in Egypt later in the tour.  Many buildings were scheduled to be demolished and replaced by more modern ones. This would require relocating thousands of people.  There were taxes on unfinished buildings, but they were much less than when construction was complete, so we saw buildings that were being used but had the metal rods for connecting the next floor sticking out of columns above the roof indicating they were still under construction. However, the owner did not intend to do further construction. 9 10 We paid the taxi driver for the round trip and decided to brave the streets of Cairo to walk to the Cairo Tower a couple of miles away. Such a walk can be intense. The terrain underfoot was rough in spots and uneven even though we were in the city. The traffic required constant attention. Cairo Tower Cairo Tower 11 12 On the way we passed an unusual tree and Mark took a photo of us. We took the elevator to the top of the tower and took more photos through the haze caused by pollution. It cost an additional 350 Egyptian Pounds (about US $15) for me to take my camera. 13 If you look hard you can see the three pyramids in Giza from the Tower 14 15 On the way back to the hotel we stopped to catch our breath at the bridge. Lois and Bonnie had a conversation about what to do next. We met a local family who allowed me to take their picture. 16 OAT issued each one on the tour a booklet titled, “Your Final Documents Booklet.” This gives an explanation of what each day would bring. They are good summaries, so, I will quote applicable excerpts from those passages to begin the narrative each day where it would be helpful rather than writing the same information with my own language and style. Saturday, 11-5-2022 Jet lag is real and after 8 time zones of travel I found I was unable to sleep much past three o'clock, so finally at about 3:45 AM, I got up. I knew it could take the first week to be used to Egypt time. I took a shower and otherwise got ready for the day and then took the computer out on the balcony to work on the photos I had taken the day before. At about 6:30 AM Lois woke up, dressed and we headed down for breakfast at the Night and Day restaurant on the first floor of the hotel. There was a variety of choices for breakfast basically covering both American taste and those of the Egyptians. At 9:00 AM we went down to a conference room on the mezzanine floor for a briefing of the day’s events and general rules about what to expect on the rest of the tour. At 10:30 AM we went to the parking area where all of the tour buses parked to load their passengers for the day's events. As mentioned above, our touring party is actually composed of three separate groups, the blue, green, and we are in the red group. We will be doing most of the touring as separate parties each consisting of about 20 people but there will be times, such as the touring we will be doing on the boat on the Nile, when all three parties will form one. Each of our three groups boarded separate buses for transport to the Cairo Museum. This museum houses a fantastic collection from the many, many tombs and temples that have been excavated over the years. These are some of the best preserved examples of ancient Egypt. This includes and exhibit of Tutankamon (King Tut). We were all given receivers with earbuds that were tuned in exclusively to our tour leader and she explained the various exhibits. We used these devices for the rest of the trip. These were useful devices but the wire from the receiver to the ear bud kept getting tangled up with my camera strap and ribbon holding my name tag. I usually let others go in front of me so I was in the back of the group. I could hear what was said about an object but could not always see it. There was far too much information given in a relatively short period of time at this and every other site we visited for me to remember all of what was said about each of the exhibits. I purchased books with photos of many of the exhibits I photographed. I used the books along with my memory and the internet to identify many of the photos that I have included in this Journal. I have identified the sources and identified the quotes, if used, by presenting them in blue print and smaller type. This photo below of the front of the Cairo Museum was taken from “A Visual Tour of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo” It is a more inclusive photo than the one I took. 17 18 Cairo Museum Nesrine corralling her Red Group in front of the Cairo Museum Left: A Lector Priest named Ka-aper who transcribed religious text. He also recited hymns in the temple. He has white quartz and resin eyes from the Fifth Dynasty. Right: a plaque describing the one on the right. 19 A grandmother with her granddaughter. The grandmother wanted me to take her granddaughter’s picture, so I did. Then I took them together. It made her happy. 20 A granite sphinx of Hatshepsut painted in limestone. Originally stood at her mortuary temple. She ruled Egypt as co-regent for her nephew/stepson Thutmose lll and then one of the few female pharaohs. Quote from plaque under the sarcophagus, “Uninscribed sarcophagus with palace façade decoration and lid with panther skin decoration The palace façade pattern consists of a rectangular frame with a section of recessed niche walling down at the bottom, is already present during early Egyptian history and represents a decorative motif that imitates the alternating bays and buttresses of early mudbrick palaces.” 21 This is from the tomb of Tutankhamun. It depicts the king in the form of the god Anubis. 22 Rahotep (left) and his wife Nofret (right), 4 th Dynasty Statue of Ramesses II 23 Statue of Ti. Text from Wikipedia: Ti, who was known as Tiy in some records, was an official during the 5th Dynasty, and served in the reign of Kakai (2446-2426 B.C.). Ti's tomb has become one of the most famous sites in Egypt because of its inscriptions and reliefs which are elaborate depictions of daily life and mortuary legends. 24 Amenhotep, son of Hapu (early-mid 14th century BC) was an ancient Egyptian architect, a priest, a scribe, and a public official, who held a number of offices under Amenhotep III of the 18th Dynasty . 25 26 Sarcophagus with well-preserved etchings Quote from the plaque under the statue, “Painted limestone head from Osiride statue of Queen Hatshepsut, from her temple at El-Deir el-Bahari (Thebes) Well preserved interior wall of a tomb 27 Text from Wikipedia: “Ivory Sculpture of Cheops. Cheops’s reign is dated c. 2589-2566 BC. This tiny statue depicts the king wearing the crown of Lower Egypt. This artifact was discovered by Flinders Petrie in the Osiris temple at Abydos in 1903. “In a curious inverse ratio we find that the smallest statue represents the builder of the greatest pyramid, while some of the finest multiple statues extant from the Old Kingdom represent the builder of the smallest of the Giza pyramids, Menkaure (fifth ruler of the 4th Dynasty)” (Chronicles, Clayton, p. 49. Cheops’s Great Pyramid is located on the Giza plateau. Originally reaching 481 feet, it was the tallest building in the world until the 19th century AD, an architectural record that stood for 4 1/2 thousand years. There are said to be 2,300,000 building blocks averaging about 2 1/2 tons.” 28 Khafre enthroned, Gizeh, Egypt Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities: “This statue depicts King Khafre (Khefren to the Greeks), the builder of the second largest pyramid at Giza. It was found in the valley temple of his pyramid complex. The king is majestically seated on a throne with all the confidence of a man who built a mountain. The two sides of his throne are decorated with the sema-tawy, symbol of the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt, signifying his rule over the two halves of the country. Perched on the back of the throne, behind the king's head, the god Horus in the form of a falcon spreads his wings around the king's head in a gesture of protection.” The following from Google Image: “The portrait from his pyramid complex depicts Khafre as an enthroned divine ruler with a perfect body. The rigidity of the pose creates an aura of eternal stillness, appropriate for the timeless afterlife. The stone is diorite, an exceptionally hard dark stone brought some 400 miles down the Nile from royal quarries in the south. Khafre wears a simple kilt and sits rigidly upright on a throne formed of two stylized lions’ bodies. Intertwined lotus and papyrus plants– symbolic of the United Egypt appear between the throne’s legs.” 29 Copper statue of Pepi from the temple of Hierakonpolis. Text from Google Image: “Pepi I had a lengthy reign of about 50 years (c. 2283-2287 BC). His reign is in Dynasty 6, Old Kingdom. Numerous inscriptions record his influence and wealth. It is from Pepi’s funerary monument that the modern name of Memphis derives. His pyramid was called Mn-nfr, ‘[Pepi is] established and good'” (Clayton, Chronicles of the Pharaohs, p. 66). To keep things interesting, Pepi married two daughters of a provincial prince of Abydos who both had the same name, Ankhnesmerire. Pepi’s pyramid is at South Saqqara, and is badly smashed.” 30 This is the oldest life-size Egyptian statue and represent King Djoser. It was found in 1925 in a sealed chamber attached to the northern face of the Step Pyramid. Wikipedia: “Under King Djoser, the first king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, the royal capital of Egypt was moved to Memphis, where Djoser established his court. A new era of building was initiated at Saqqara under his reign. King Djoser's architect, Imhotep, is credited with the development of building with stone and with the conception of the new architectural form, the step pyramid.[7] The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known for a large number of pyramids constructed at this time as burial places for Egypt's kings. In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynasty, such as King Sneferu, who perfected the art of pyramid-building, and the kings Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, who constructed the pyramids at Giza.[3] Egypt attained its first sustained peak of civilization during the Old Kingdom, the first of three so-called 31 "Kingdom" periods (followed by the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom), which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley.” We should note that many have the mistaken notion that the Israelites were used as slave labor to build the pyramids. The pyramids were built some centuries before Israel came into being. They were built prior to the time of Abraham!” Tutankhamun Layout of King Tut’s tomb 32 Gilded sarcophagus of Kha, New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII (1428-1351 BCE) King Tuts throne/chair 33 Pictures telling a story on a wall. 34 Pharaoh Menkaure of the Fourth Dynasty, accompanied by the goddesses Bat and Hathor 35 From Wikipedia: “Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural forces and phenomena.” From Wikipedia: “Ancient Egyptian deities were an integral part of ancient Egyptian religion and were worshipped for millennia. Many of them ruled over natural and social phenomena, as well as abstract concepts.[1] These gods and goddesses appear in virtually every aspect of ancient Egyptian civilization, and more than 1,500 of them are known by name. Many Egyptian texts mention deities' names without indicating their character or role, while other texts refer to specific deities without even stating their name, so a complete list of them is difficult to assemble.” As we left the Museum, I was struck by the fact that we had just viewed the best preserved examples of ancient Egypt. At about 1:00 o'clock we reboarded the bus and went to a boat that was actually a restaurant. We sat at a long table with all three groups present and were served by a great number the mostly young men moving quickly to get our food on the table, clear, and then present the next course. I had a glass of wine that was billed as local wine and enjoyed it. On the way out of the restaurant I asked if I could purchase two bottles of the wine to take with me. I thought we might like a glass in our room before dinner. 36 After a fair amount of discussion and translation of my request, several people did different things to make it happen. Since they knew that the bus would soon be boarding the restaurant staff moved as quickly as they could. They accepted my credit card, but then found I had to come up with a pin number. Well, that credit card doesn't have a pin number, so it was rejected. I pulled out a debit card that I had requested from U.S. bank just before leaving on this trip. I was interested to find that it was accepted without a request for a pin. I decided the best course of action was to not question it. With this delay we were the last ones on the bus. However, there were some administrative issues that had to be resolved so the bus didn't leave for another 10 minutes anyway. We returned to the hotel where Lois took advantage of the very nice pool, as she had the previous afternoon, and I set out to edit the many photos I had taken of the exhibits in the museum. At 6:30 that evening there was a welcoming dinner in the hotel. That was an opportunity for us to meet more people who were joining us on this tour. Saturday, 11-6-2022 Excerpt from Your Final Document Booklet : “Today’s discoveries feature the controversial topic of women’s rights in Egyptian society and a walk-through Saqqara lasting approximately two hours over sandy terrain, and a walk-through Memphis lasting 30 minutes over a paved surface. Morning: We will board the bus for a one hour drive to Saqqara, a sprawling complex of temples, pyramids, and funerary monuments that was not explored by archaeologists until the mid-19th century, long after the pyramids of Giza had been extensively catalogued. Though it’s monuments span every period of Egyptian history, it is best known as the primary necropolis for the pharaohs and their families during the time of the Old Kingdom. The largest of these monuments is the step pyramid of King Zoser, built in the 27th century BC, possibly the first pyramid constructed in Egypt. More than 200 feet tall, it is the oldest stone structure of its size in the world. The tombs at this site house murals that provide insights into everyday life in ancient Egypt. Afternoon: We will drive approximately 15 minutes in the bus to Memphis. Here we will visit the statue of Ramses II, an eleven meter high likeness of the third pharaoh that was created 3200 years ago. In the afternoon after returning to the hotel we will join a female speakers to discuss the controversial topic of women’s rights in Egyptian society. From ancient times to modern day, the role of women in Egyptian society has gradually evolved, and our conversation today will explore the extent of this evolution. To contextualize this complex issue, we will glean insight from the personal experiences of either a working wife and mother or a single, working woman. The speaker grew up in Cairo but her parents hail from rural villages-often leading to cultural rifts between the generations. As such, she offers wide-ranging perspective which is sure to cast a personal light on the delicate subject matter. Egypt is divided on the push for gender equality-the northern part of the country being progressive and the southern part less so. This contrast is, of course, most stark between rural and urban areas. However, in recent years, advocates and Egypt-based organizations like the Egyptian Feminist Union have helped to increase awareness around women’s issues, such as lack of educational opportunities and equal representation in the workplace. And it seems that these efforts 37 are having an impact: the number of women in the Egyptian parliament increased from 2% in 2005 to 25% the following elections alone, the literacy rate for women above 50 years old increased from 58% in 2006 to 65% in 2017, and the percentage of college educated women (at the undergraduate level) increase from 8% in 2006 to 11% in 2017. Perhaps the biggest stride, though, was the passing of new legislation granting women the right to divorce their husbands, a law which only passed in 2000.” Discussion of Women’s Rights Later that afternoon we met in separate groups to hear a woman speak on women’s rights. She covered three topics: The practice of women covering themselves in varying degrees, selection of a marriage partner and living arrangements after marriage. Covering: The general practice is that a young woman would make a decision on whether or not to cover, and if so, to what extent at the point of getting her first period. If a girl is going to cover it would normally start with just the hair, but over time can progress to covering every part of the body except the eyes and they may be covered with a veil. However, this is a decision that is usually made in conjunction with the parents. In some families the parents are extremely strict in observing what they consider to be the proper practice in accordance with their interpretation of the Koran, the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. In other cases the wishes of the daughter are respected by the parents, in which case the daughter may decide to cover in one degree or another, or not at all. During our travels with our group to various sites and in the streets along the way we spoke to groups of school-age girls, usually in the uniform of their school. In some cases one or more girls in the group spoke English and in other cases the conversation was carried on with Nesrine acting as interpreter. We found that some girls in a group were covered and others not. Most of the girls were very straightforward in stating whether their parents had given them the freedom to make their own choice, some were and some weren’t. In the young girls we talked to there seemed to be no discrimination between those who elected to be covered and those who did not. Although this impression may be deceiving since this is a very sensitive period in a young girl’s life and there are bound to be discussions among those where the decision has been made for her to be covered and those where the decision has been the opposite. This difference in the status of a girl who covers at the point of her first period and a girl who has yet to have a period and does not cover could affect the relationship. This decision appears to be evolving toward allowing young girls to make their own decision in this regard. This evolution may continue for some time and will come more slowly in the South than the North and more slowly in rural areas than in metropolitan areas. 38 Women who cover only do it outside their home. When at home most women opt for casual wear such as jeans and don’t cover. The issue may arise if the woman is home alone and has to answer the door. She either doesn’t answer or covers and then answers. See Appendix C for more information on the types of cover. Opinions on covering are split in two ways. On the necessity to cover, the majority interpret the Koran as requiring a woman to cover. Others interpret the Koran as not requiring cover. The Koran states that Muhammad’s wife covered but the Koran also states that she is held to a higher standard. Another split opinion is that some see covering as identifying with the Muslim faith and others see it as oppression of women. These opinions are evolving in Egypt. Selecting a marriage mate: She also discussed practices of the selection of a marriage mate. The practice among Muslim families has been for the parents of the young man to select a young woman to be his marriage partner in conjunction with the young woman’s parents. There may be a dowry involved. However, this practice is also evolving toward the young men and women meeting and selecting their own mates. Living arrangements after marriage: There is a second practice that the woman will move into the house, or in the case of an apartment building, into another apartment in the same building as the husband’s parents. In some cases, when the parents are in the process of building, or otherwise acquiring their own home, there may be provisions made to add on to the home to provide accommodation for living quarter for a son, his new wife and then family. This is the case with a son, regardless of how many sons there may be. We visited a couple in their apartment who had two daughters. Before they were married he lived in Cairo and she lived a few miles away in Giza. After the marriage she, with her new husband, moved into an apartment in the same apartment building where her new husband’s parents lived. Subsequently, his brother and his new bride also moved into a separate apartment in the same building. We have observed that there are many buildings that appear to be still under construction by the evidence of rerod protruding from columns reaching above the roof. In many cases this is to avoid paying the taxes that would be due on the completed building. In other cases it is in preparation for adding an additional floor to accommodate a son and his new bride. This was an extremely interesting and informative discussion. Our speaker was articulate, candid, and personal in her presentation and in her response to questions from our group. Former Palace of Prince Mohamed Ali Tawfik We visited the Former Palace of Prince Mohamed Ali Tawfik. This was not on the tour’s agenda. He was next in line to be king twice but others cut in front of him both 39 40 times. This plaque tells part of the story. The palace he designed and lived in is sumptuous as the photos below will show. They need no commentary. 41 42 43 44 This is a favorite place for weddings. This is one ready to start. Back on the bus to Memphis Some Photos on the Road A cell phone and a donkey and cart and a motorcycle A family in the street 45 46 A senior on a bike and a sneering on-looker 47 48 Memphis This is a limestone giant of a statue of King Ramesses II in the Open Air Museum in Memphis, 12 miles south of Giza. His reign was 1279-1213 BC. It is 33 feet long and he is on his back because the legs are missing. 49 50 51 An upright rather large statue of Ramesses II in Memphis with Lois showing the comparative height. 52 Alabaster Sphinx of King Amenemhat II From Wikipedia: “Nubkaure Amenemhat II, also known as Amenemhet II, was the third pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Although he ruled for at least 35 years, his reign is rather obscure, as well as his family relationships. The identity of Amenemhat's queen consort is unknown. Many royal women were buried within his pyramid complex, but their relationships with the king are unclear: a queen Keminub must be dated to the later 13th Dynasty, and three "king's daughters" named Ita, Itaweret, 53 and Khenmet may have been Amenemhat's daughters, although a definitive proof is still lacking.[3] His successor Senusret II was likely his son, although this is never explicitly stated anywhere.” More Street Scenes 54 Saqqara Seqqara is the place where the use of pyramids began around 2650 BC. The step pyramids are an important beginning of pyramids having religious functions. The ancient Egyptians were polytheistic, worshiping as many as 2000 gods each one responsible for a different segment of a person’s life. The gods and goddesses were an important part of everyday life in ancient Egypt. More on them in Appendix A at the end of this Journal. Ancient Egyptians believed that death was merely a transition to another life that would be similar to their life on earth only free from strife and worry. Saqqara has the first step pyramid, as we will visit below, and many other structures above and below ground used for religious and burial purposes. The building and use of pyramids and other funereal structures were first used by the pharaohs with the belief that at death they would be transferred to this renewed life. To prepare for this transition, the tombs contained not only the owner but also all of the objects he used in his life on earth that he would need in the new life, such as chariots, instruments of war, animals, and furniture. 55 The rooms contained statues and coffins. The walls of these structures were covered with reliefs and paintings. The main categories that come to mind:  Those depicting the owner, his queen, his children, military and administrative individuals various gods.  Reliefs and paintings that told the story depicting segments of the life of the owner. This could be showing the Pharaoh victorious over enemies, the Pharaoh receiving gifts, the Pharaoh traveling by boat or other means, the Pharaoh building for the future.  Pictograms and hieroglyphics that told a story in the written language of ancient Egypt. As time went on, other official individuals and wealthy people not in the hierarchy of the government or royal family built funereal structures and similarly filled them with personal items important to their lives on earth. These structure’s walls and ceilings also had reliefs and painting and artifact for the owner living in the next world. The photos below are examples: 56 57 It is astonishing how well these are preserved, especially the paintings. 58 Step Pyramid The following excerpts are from The Treasures of Saqqara, a booklet I purchased in Saqqara. “Djoser was the first king of the third Dynasty, which was the first golden age of ancient Egyptian history. There was political and economic stability during the third Dynasty which was reflected not only in great strides made in architecture, but also in the active exploration of Egypt’s mineral resources and increased commercial exchange with neighboring countries. Few monuments hold a place in human history as significant as that of the step pyramid in Saqqara. The pyramid composes Dozier’s complex tomb. It can be said without exaggeration that this complex pyramid constitutes a milestone in the evolution of the monumental stone architecture in Egypt and in the world as a whole. Here limestone was first used on a large scale as a construction material and here the idea of a monumental royal tomb in the form of a pyramid was first realized in the 19 Dynasty inscription found in South Saqqara. The ancient Egyptians were already describing Dozier’s as the opener of stone which we can interpret as meaning the inventor of stone architecture. With the third Dynasty, the tomb also became a symbol of the divinity of the Pharaoh, of his survival in the eternal life, of celestial power that went beyond death and could be used to benefit the entire country. In order to express these new ideas mastabas (an ancient Egyptian rectangular tomb with sloping walls and flat roof with underground burial chamber and rooms above.) were designed for the King which he later decided to elevate with a series of super imposed mastabas, thus, the step pyramid of Saqqara was born, which symbolizes a stairway reaching up toward heaven to permit the heavenly ascent of the Pharaoh.” 59 These two photos give perspective to the depth of this construction and how well it has survived. Monday, 11-7-2022 In the morning we visited two mosques. Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan (A madrasa is any type educational structure) 60 This mosque was constructed between 1356 and 1363 by Sultan Hassan and is one of the largest and architecturally exquisite mosques in Egypt. We took off our shoes, as is customary to keep the floor clean for worshippers to kneel on. Parts of the mosque were under construction. Below is the washing area for cleansing before entering the main worship area. Sanctuary 61 Steps to the speaker’s platform Engraved Mihrab (A niche in the mosque closest to Mecca) Al-Rifai Mosque This massive mosque is one of the largest ones in Cairo and faces The Sultan Hassan Mosque. It houses the tombs of many members of Egypt’s royal family, including Egypt’s last monarch, King Farouk-whose sister, Fawzia, was briefly married to the Shaw of Iran, raining as Queen of Iran from 1941 to 1948 . Inlaid wood that matches the Mihrab 62 Huge worship area 63 Mihrab, (A niche in the mosque closest to Mecca) 64 Kahn El-Khalili Bazaar In the afternoon we walked through the Kahn El-Khalili Bazaar.. Below are a few photos of the many opportunities to buy a very wide selection of goods. 65 66 We had a free flowing discussion with these school girls. As I recall they were Christian so were not covered. 67 68 A shoeshine man laughing with the tourists An artist at work in front of his shop on the street 69 Home Visit Late that afternoon a small group of us visited a family home consisting of the husband, wife and two daughters. We learned that their marriage was not arranged by their parents. However, they did follow the practice of the bride moving into a separate apartment but in the same apartment building as his parents. As I recall the apartment was on the fourth or fifth floor. The building was serviced by a very small elevator. They all spoke very good English and we discovered that at least one reason for that was that they hosted English-speaking tourists about once a week. Dancing on the Water We returned to the hotel around 8:00 P.M. and took advantage of the opportunity to go on one of the cruise boats that motored up and down the river playing mostly fast Egyptian music. Lois and I joined others in dancing to the quick beat of the Egyptian music, and enjoyed ourselves in this aerobic endeavor. It was a beautiful full moon lit night and the tour was further punctuated with a fountain that apparently was timed to go off at a specific time, shooting bursts of water high into the sky along with multicolored lights. 70 71 72 In the morning we left the hotel after breakfast, drove to the airport, and flew to Aswan. On the way to the riverboat, Nefertiti, where we spent the next seven nights, we stopped at the new High Aswan Dam for a very short visit. The following explanation is quoted from Your Final Document Booklet: “The dam was built in 1960 and forever change the agricultural rhythms of Egypt. Once subject to devastating Nile floods, Egyptian farmers look to the Aswan High Dam as a way of improving their ability to control their crops. However, the large reservoir it created displaced nearly 10,000 of the indigenous Nubian people who lived in the region and created Egypt’s own lost city of Atlantis, as the water swallowed up both homes and priceless archaeological ruins.” From the dam we proceeded to the 75 passenger Nefertiti and took much of the afternoon to settle in. Our Accommodation Our accommodations while unpacking 73 My workspace to work on photos and charge all those device that require it. A relaxed Lois after unpacking 74 The above two areas were immediately accessible from our stateroom 75 Bird Watching Later that afternoon we boarded a small boat with an experienced guide in spotting the many and varied species of bird life along the islands in this part of the river. I took many pictures of birds standing or settled into the water or flying from one roost to another. It was a photographers’ challenge to capture these magnificent birds in flight. The following are just a few of those photos. 76 77 78 Wednesday, 11-9-2022 Today we got up early for a four-hour bus trip to visit Abu Simbel. On the way we passed through Egypt’s Nubia region. This is an example of the area and of the makeup of the vast majority of Egypt’s landmass. It is desert of sand and very little else. This photo was taken from the bus window while traveling to the region.  The following is an excerpt from Your Final Document Booklet: “The Nubian people are an indigenous group of African descent. Nubians have long maintained the language and culture distinct from those of other Arab neighbors. With the construction of the Aswan High and Low Dams, thousands of Nubian people and monuments were displaced by flooding. Including Abu Simbel.  Abu Simbel consists of two temples built by Egypt’s great Pharaoh Ramses II (Egypt’s longest-ruling king) as a tribute to the deities and his favorite wife Nefertari. Originally carved into a mountainside, the temples feature richly detailed stone monuments-including four 65-foot tall statues of Ramses II that Flank the entrance to the Great Temple. Unlike other Egyptian temples, which typically feature a linear structure, Abu Simbel’s design includes myriad side chambers. The whole interior is packed with bas-reliefs depicting battle scenes, as well as pillars and monuments to the gods.  In an epic feet of modern engineering, the massive temples of Abu Simbel were moved to the present location when construction of the Aswan High Dam in 1960 created Lake Nasser and flooded their original location. This extraordinary operation to save one of the world’s greatest treasures took years, and the efforts of an international team of engineers and archaeologists. The temple is now backed by an artificial mountain built to resemble its original setting.” 79 The Larger Great Temple of Ramses II Ramses II, also spelled Ramesses II, and commonly known as Ramesses the Great, lived approximately 90 years from1303-1213 BC). He was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom This was the most powerful period of Ancient Egypt. A long view of the temples Side view 80 81 Front entrance of the Great Temple with four massive statues of Ramses II 82 Our “Red Group” in front of Ramses’ Temple Excerpts from BBC Travel: “Deep within the interior of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, carved into a mountainside in southern Egypt's ancient Nubian Valley, lies a vast, wondrous world. Pillars adorned with intricate military artworks support a ceiling painted with winged vultures. Floor-to-ceiling hieroglyphics depicting the victorious battles of Pharaoh Ramses II, the same man responsible for constructing this enormous temple, decorate the walls. Outside, four colossal statues of the pharaoh face east toward the rising sun, looking out over a crystal-clear lake.” The god Horus between the four statues at the front entrance 83 Statue of Nefertari, favorite wife of Ramses II 84 Interior chambers 85 The Abu-Simbel temple's entrance was designed more than 3,000 years ago so that twice a year, on October 22 and February 22 for about 20-25 minutes, the first rays of the sun would shine a beam down the length of the temple cave into the inner sanctuary, illuminating three statues - Ra-Horakhty, the deified Ramses II, and god Amun Ra - leaving the god of the underworld Ptah in darkness. Below are examples of the reliefs carved into the temple walls to tell the story of Pharaoh Ramses II This could be prisoners tied together at the neck or men hauling something heavy. 86 Ramses II as Pharaoh and god and Hathor in the small temple 87 The battle of Kadesh between forces of the New Kingdom under Ramses II and the Hittite Empire at Kadesh in 1274 BC. See appendix D for a description of the battle. This was major for Ramses II. The Small Temple for Nefertari When we finished our tour of the Temple of Ramses II we went to the smaller temple built by Ramses II in Abu Simbel in honor of his favorite queen, Nefertari. In some literature I have seen this referred to as the Temple of Nefertari and Hathor. The entrance to the Termple Another side of the temple. For a small temple this seems pretty big 88 89 The following photos are of the interior of the smaller temple 90 Hathor was a major goddess who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god Ra, both of whom were connected with kingship, and thus she was the symbolic mother of their earthly representatives, the pharaohs. Her beneficent side represented music, dance, joy, love, sexuality, and maternal care, and she acted as the consort of several male deities and the mother of their sons. 91 Birthday Surprise When we finished visiting the wonders of the smaller temple we road the four hour road trip to the boat. This day was my birthday, but I hadn’t thought about that fact during the time we were traveling and tourings so, I was totawlly surprised when I opened the door to our stateroom and found the follwing as depiced in the next two photos. This was a three-layered birthday cake with a candle on top fashioned out of towels. The bed and cake were covered with flower pebbles and blinking, sparkling lights. All of this was done by our cabin attendant while we were gone. When I backed out of the room, I found SaFwat lingering in the passageway. He was waiting to see my reaction. He got one of surprise and joy and my expression of many thanks for his skillful rendition of a cake. After the main course at dinner, I was surprised once again by a large birthday cake being presented to me along with the leaders and crew singing happy birthday to me in Egyptian. I have never had a birthday quite like this one. 92 93 Thursday, 11-10-2022, Today we visited Philae Temple and Kom Ombo Explanatory section from Your Final Document Booklet: “At around 8:30 AM, will set off to visit Philae Temple, which is dedicated to Isis, an enchantress known as the giver of life, the protector of kings, and the mother of God. Originally located along the upper Nile, Philae Temple was relocated downstream to Agilika Island in 1970 to protected from the flooding caused by the construction of the Aswan Lower Dam. The temple complex dates from the 26th of life Dynasty, with additions through the Roman period. It was one of the last temples built in the classical Egyptian style, as well as one of the last tribute to a goddess. Pilgrims would come from all right the Mediterranean to worship Isis here. This temple’s towering silhouette has left a lasting impression on visitors for centuries, and it’s unique architecture makes for a fascinating journey through its jigsaw-like halls.” From www.luxorandaswan.com/Egypt/wiki/Philae-Temple: “Philae rose to prominence during the Ptolomaic Dynasty as the center of the cult of the goddess Isis. This complex was actually one of the last remaining places where the ancient religion survived after the arrival of Christianity in Egypt, officially closing only in 550 AD. Early Christians then used the main temple on the island as a church.” Philae Temple of Isis Temple and surroundings as we approach the island 94 95 The Temple by water Photos of the Exterior of the Temple 96 Bas relief image of Isis Columns with faces of goddess Hathor in the forecourt of Temple of Isis 97 Inside the Temple Coptic symbol of the cross. Christians built churches, monasteries, and saints’ shrines to redefine Egypt’s sacred lands. The chapel dedicated to Osiris turned into a dedication to Christ. Philae Temple itself saw its conversion to a church honoring the Virgin Mary. But despite all this, pagan worship continued at Philae Temple well into the sixth century. 98 99 Bringing Isis gifts. There were many images of gifts given to this goddess. 100 101 Shopping Area Near Kom Ombo (Two Temples) We return to the boat and begin sailing to Kom Ombo. We disembark around 5:30 to walk to the temple. On the way we passed through a shopping area and met the schoolgirls in the photos below. You will notice that are they all covered except for one. She explained that at the point of making a decision on whether to be covered or not, she had a conversation with her parents, explaining that she did not want to be covered. She said she wanted to wait until she was more mature to make this important decision. Her parents acquiesced. We ask her what her mother wore. She said her mother wore a burqa. So, in her house there are two different views coexisting about the practice of being covered. It appears that the trend in Egypt is to allow the girls of the country to make their own personal decision about being covered. I suspect it will take quite a while for this trend to fully mature, however, I also suspect that it will continue if there is not a fundamentalist action to retarded it. This was a very active shopping area: 102 103 104 105 You get the feeling that if it exists you can find it here. Kom Ombo (Two Temples) Excerpt from Your Final Document Booklet: “On a hill overlooking a bend in the river, the Greco-Roman style temple of Kom Ombo (actually two temples) is unique, as it is Egypt’s only double temple-dedicated to both Sobek, the crocodile God, and Horus, the great, winged solar disk. Everything here is doubled and perfectly symmetrical along a central axis-twin entrances, twin courts, and twin colonnades.” 106 After sunset we saw the exterior of the temple by installed electric lights. We saw the interior by Nesrine’s cell phone light. The entrance at dusk 107 108 Horus, the Winged Disk 109 God of Earth 110 Relief on outside wall. Note how deeply this relief is cut into the rock Jumping Lion. A depiction of a pharoah defeating his enemies The back was lit for the nightly showing. It is very impressive at night 111 After dinner there was a party on board featuring dancing and traditional Egyptian dress. Lois and I dance many of the fast Egyptian songs. It was an aerobic exercise. 112 113 It was a great party. We had fun. Friday, 11-11-2022 This morning we passed through the Esna locks on the way to Edfu’s temple. Excepts from Your Final Documentation Booklet: Arrive at Edfu early this morning. At around 9 AM, disembark for a visit to Edfu’s Temple of Horus, Egypt’s best-preserved temple, by horse and carriage, arriving in about 15 minutes. Dedicated to Horus, the god of the sun and planets, the falcon (Horus’s symbol) is prominent in the vivid hieroglyphs and bas-reliefs of the temple. Thirty-eight columns surround the court, and a fine statue of Horus stands guard over the entry. Every available surface is carved with hieroglyphs describing offerings to the god. The large, sunny courtyard is a chapel of the new year. Paintings on the ceiling depict a solar barque sailing through the 12 hours of the day. Each day during the festival of the new year, the statue of Horus would be carried from here to the terrace on the roof to be recharged by the sun. We will return to the ship by horse and carriage just in time to sail to our next destination- Luxor.” On the Way to Edfu’s Temple of Horus On the way by horse a carriage 114 115 A wave from a three-wheeler for hire. This is a common form of transportation 116 This driver exchanged places with our drive. Don’t know why. We had or original driver for the return trip. Horse and carriage was obviously a major and competitive business. The Philae Temple 117 Front Entrance The Horus Falkin 118 119 120 121 One of many faces of the Horus Falcon The sacred barque 122 123 124 Sailing Back to Aswan After touring the Temple of Horus we went back to the boat and cast off for the return trip to Aswan. We passed through the lock with several people on boats trying to sell things to us 125 126 127 This was a very relaxing part of the tour. Lois and I spent time on the stateroom balcony watching the shore pass by with the wildlife of the land, water and air. I took lots of photos. 128 There is the appearance of dense jungle foliage on the banks and then there is the desert behind it Saturday, 11-12-2022 A hot air balloon ride was an optional event at an additional cost of about $110. Lois and I decided to take it. The scene that greeted us as we disembarked to go to the balloons 129 130 The shopping area above the dock, the steep concrete stairs with no railings and the street above Hot Air Balloon Ride 131 Early preparations for the balloons to fly at dawn. We saw the progression of the sun, other balloons, the earth, including some antiquities, below. 132 133 134 Antiquities from high up 135 136 We reluctantly landed behind the other highfliers. It was a great ride. We then returned to the river and took a small boat to a farming village on the far side. Excerpts from Your Final Document Booklet: “This bank, where our ship is currently docked, is Luxor like you’ve always imagined: home to bustling markets, the elegant old winter palace hotel, and the grand Luxor Temple. The other side of the Nile, however, seems like a different world entirely. Rural, reedy, and less developed, the west bank is home to subsistence farmers who are far removed from the Hollywood – ready attractions just across the water. Most of the houses here are modest, made from mud bricks or concrete and surrounded by date-palm, Henna, and fruit trees.” Visit to a Farm Where we meet our host and guide through the town, Ahmed al Azab. In this shot he is showing us bread as it made by every family in the village. 137 138 It is baked in an outside oven and finished in the sun. She is turning the bread. She allowed me to take her picture The photos below are to illustrate life in this farming villiage 139 140 141 The school We had lunch with a villiage family. This is the main meal in Egypt. We were warmly welcomed by the family’s grandmother (matriarch) and served a very good meal. We ate outside under a roof 142 We were shown the house and barn. These photos depict conditions of the villiagers z 143 144 145 146 147 In the midst of this villiage are fine home for rent, persumable constructed as an invetment by non-resident owners Faces of the Villiage 148 149 150 151 We returned to the Nefertiti by sailboat that sometimes had to be rowed . A helping hand decending these steep steps to the Nefertiti was much appreciated A friendly towel sculpture greeted us as we entered our stateroom Excerpts from Your Final Document Booklet: “At about 1:45 PM we begin sailing toward Qena. Situated north of Luxor, Qena sits at the bend of the Nile, and is ideally positioned at the intersection of two main roads. Both a market town and a provincial city, Qena is also the perfect base for visiting the nearby Temple of Dendera” 152 Sunday, 11-13-2022 I woke up with a sinus infection. I took an antibiotic that I brought on the trip for just such an occasion and decided I should stay on the boat rather than participating in the visit to the temple scheduled for this morning. In the afternoon the boat got underway to return to Aswan. I took advantage of this opportunity to sit on our stateroom’s balcony and photograph the scenery as we passed by. The vision on the banks and the wildlife above it, on it, and below it in the water is quite beautiful. I enjoyed my time convalescing, while allowing the antibiotic to do its work, photographing as we cruised back to Aswan. 153 154 Two contending landscapes, lush vegetation and desert. 155 156 157 It is hard to believe that a few short miles inland from the river it is desert for hundreds of miles. Lois decided this would be a good opportunity for a nap while checking her cell phone. Monday, 2022-11-14 Excerpts from Your Final Document Booklet: “Around 7 AM, we’ll depart our ship for ½ hour motorcoach ride to the west bank of the Nile, the hilly area that was once the Necropolis of Thebes. It’s here that we visit the Valley of the Kings, with its many tombs chiseled deep into the cliff sides. Several great leaders, as well as many less important rulers are buried here and more tombs are being discovered even today. This is where Howard Carter discovered the treasures of the Tutankhamun in 1922, which we will have the opportunity to discover for ourselves. Each tomb is long and narrow, has the King’s formal name and title inscribed in it, and each is decorated with his images and statues. Because these tombs were long sealed from the elements, their walls have retained the vibrant colors and deeply chiseled details that were added by the original builders thousands of years ago.” Valley of the Kings This shows some of the intricate passages and room that were in the many tombs in this Valley of the Kings Here are the entrances of many of the tombs. We visited three of them. 158 Tomb of Tutankhamun (King Tut) 159 160 Into the depths of the tomb A mummified King Tut 161 162 Tomb of Rameses VI 163 164 165 166 Tomb of Rameses III 167 168 Apophis, god of Chaos. He is associated with many natural disasters 169 170 Tomb of Rameses IV 171 172 173 Temple of Queen Hatshepsut Excepts from Gardenvisit.com: “Hatshepsut's temple is the most ancient masterpiece of western landscape architecture. Her temple and its setting are one. The temple was known as Djeser Djeseru 'Holiest of the Holy' to the Ancient Egyptians and is now known as Deir el-Bahri, 'Monastery of the North' after the Coptic monastery which used the site from the 5th century to the 19th century AD. Hatshepsut (also known by her throne name Maat-ka-Re, 'Justice is the soul Re') ruled from 1479 to 1458 as Queen of Egypt and 'God's Wife' (high priestess) of Amun. As became common in the New Kingdom, Hatsheput's mortuary temple and tomb are in different locations. Her tomb, where the treasure lay, is the oldest dateable tomb (KV20) in the Valley of the Kings. A mountain path leads from the desolate valley to her temple on the edge of the Nile Valley agricultural land. The temple, designed by Senenmut, governor of the domains of Amun, in co-operation with the chief treasurer, Djehuty who recorded that he 'acted as chief, giving directions, I led the craftsmen to work in the works of Djeser-Djeseru'. The temple was carved from living rock. There are three great rectangular courts, connected by ramps and commanding extensive prospects of the valley. A serpent rail with a falcon's head followed the ramp. No trees or shrubs survive in the temple compound but archaeological investigations have revealed evidence of tree pits in the lower court. They formed a sacred grove which contained two T-shaped pools abutting the central path. Traces of papyrus were found when the pools were excavated and tree pits, dug into the rocky ground and filled with Nile mud, surrounded the pools. The pools may have been used for rituals connected with plants and animals. The Book of the Dead (Chapter 186) shows Hathor, as a cow, coming from a sacred mound int a clump of papyrus, representing the margin between life and death. The sycamore fig was her sacred tree. Hathor was the Goddess of the Western Mountain and a chapel was dedicated to her. The middle terraceï¾… The top terrace, which contained the inner sanctuary, had reliefs of Amun's sacred lettuces in a grid of beds. Their milky sap symbolized the semen of the fertility god and were thought to be aphrodisiac. A relief shows an expedition to 'the land of Punt' [Somalila] to collect incense trees and thus provide Amun 174 with resin. The trees arrived in baskets and were probably Myrrh trees. They may have been grown in pots on the terraces. A processional route, used for the Festival of the Valleys, led to the Nile and was lined with sphinx, representing Hatshepsut. They were placed at 10m intervals and were 3m x 1m in size. Napoleon's experts saw traces of their positions, which have not disappeared. Djeser-Djeseru is a deeply symbolic place. To it makers, the symbolism emphasized the legitimacy of a female pharaoh, as a daughter of a great king (Tuthmosis I) and incarnation of Amun-Re. To us, it is a superb temple layout, integrating site, symbol, art, architecture and function.” 175 Hather, Goddess of love, Beauty and Sensuality Excerpts from Timeless Myth: “In the mythology of ancient Egypt, Hathor was one of the most powerful and highly regarded goddesses of the pantheon. Hathor was considered the protector of women and was also honored as the Egyptian goddess of love, music, fertility, beauty, cosmetics, and pleasure. Hathor was also believed to assist souls traveling in the afterlife in reaching their destinations. Worshiped before the dawn of Egyptian civilization during the Predynastic Era and throughout the history of Egyptian empire, Hathor was the mother (and sometimes partner) of the god Horus. In addition, Hathor was believed to be the daughter of the son of Ray (and sometimes sister, consort).” Things could sure get complicated in the Egyptian mythological world. It’s hard to keep up with what each god is responsible for and how he or she relates to the rest of the god family. This goddess exemplifies the point. 176 Statues of Osiris, Deir-el-Bahri Colossi of Memnon 177 178 Avenue of the Sphinxes 179 We returned to the to find another towel sculpture. That’s just fun. 180 After dinner on the boat we road to Lexor Temple. School Girls at Luxor Temple 181 Luxor Temple 182 183 Statue of the pharaoh, Ramses II The base of the oblique above 184 King Ramses II King Ramses and King Tut 185 186 187 188 189 Tuesday, 2022-11-15 The Karnak Temple This morning we will visit the Karnak Temple and then fly to Cairo. Excerpts from Your Final Document Booklet: “The Karnak Temple is a huge complex of shrines, built and enlarged over a period of 1300 years. The ancient Egyptians called the enormous temple complex of Karnak, “the most perfect of places,” and today it is one of the most important sites in Egypt as it encompasses a wealth of ancient Egyptian history, primarily between the 12th and 13th dynasties. Construction began under Senusret I in the 19th century BC, and subsequent rulers continued to expand the complex with their own shrines, rooms, and monuments. It’s centerpiece is the huge Hypostyle Hall, with the outer walls decorated with battle scenes. Two other major features are the Hall of Pillars and the tallest obelisk in Egypt. The hall has 134 columns each being 97 feet tall and weighing approximately 320 tons. These columns were raised by Queen Hatshepsut’s in honor of the god Amun. The walls of the temple are covered in hieroglyphics that seem as deep and pronounced today as they might’ve been when they were first carved 3000 years ago.” 190 This map shows the overall view of the Nile River with the area we have travel on the Nefertiti from Aswan to Luxor to Qena and back. 191 192 A replica of this huge, sprawling temple 193 One of the rambs in the line above Massive columns Closeup The statue of Ramses II with his daughter, Merit-Amon in the temple of Amun-RA in Karnak 194 195 Tallest obelisk in Egypt In the afternoon we flew back to Cairo Wednesday, 2022-11-16 We are back at our five-star hotel, the Semiramis Intercontinental. This morning we visited what is probably the main tourist attraction in Egypt, the pyramids. Here is an excerpt from Your Final Document Booklet: “We will travel approximately 45 minutes via motorcoach to the Giza Plateau, home of Egypt’s signature attraction: the Pyramids of Giza. The largest of these three structures is the Great Pyramid of Khufu, probably built more than 2000 years before the time of Christ. Standing 480 feet tall, this pyramid is the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that still stands. We will also see the in inscrutable and mysterious Sphinx, carved almost entirely from one piece of limestone. When Napoleon first set eyes on the monument, it was still covered in sand up to its neck. Today it has been excavated, revealing the pause of a resting lyon and chambers at its base.” The Giza Pyramids 196 197 The obligator photo for any tourist to take while at the Giza Pyramids People heading to the entrance to the main pyramid. 198 Lois on the walkway to the entrance 199 Our Group at the base of the pyramid There was also the opportunity to ride a camel. Since Lois and I had ridden a camel before, and didn’t feature repeating that tortuous ride, we skipped it. Many in our group took the ride. How often do you get to see kissing camels? This looks like a difficult way for a camel to get to a lying down position. 200 201 The Sphynx Profile of the Sphinx Two more obligatory touristy shots 202 203 Papyrus A number of us on the tour wanted to see how papyrus was made, so a trip to see a demonstration and perhaps do some shopping was arranged after the pyramids This woman did the demonstration. She signaled me to take her picture. I took 3 or 4, She took a photo of the viewfinder of my camera but I knew wanted something better, so I later sent them to the store for delivery to her. She sent me a thank you. 204 Two examples above of images on papyrus 205 206 Selling on the street. Different than in the papaya store above, but the objective is the same. Thursday, 2022-11-17 The Hanging Church Excerpts from Your Final Document Booklet: “We will start this morning with a visit to old Cairo, also referred to as historic Cairo and Islamic Cairo. This section of the city is characterized by its far-reaching history. No matter which direction you glance, you’ll be met by preserved remnants of cities long gone the bustling locals, winding roads and shops and houses mixed together creating a colorful scene.” Text from dreamstime.com: “Church of St. George, Old Cairo is the home of Cairo s Coptic Christian community. The Coptic Orthodox Church traces its founding to Saint Mark the Apostle in 42 AD, and is thus arguably the world s oldest Christian denomination. While the majority of Egyptians converted to Islam in the 12th century, the Church has survived through centuries of persecution, not only from hostile Muslim rulers such as the Fatimids, but also at the hands of the Crusaders, who viewed the Coptics as heretics. Today, Egypt has some 12 million Copts, but the narrow alleyways of Old Cairo still have the feel of an island set apart from the rest of the city. Visitors are welcome to visit Coptic churches, even during services, which are now mostly held in Arabic. Note that Copts use the Julian calendar, so Christmas falls on January 7th and Easter can fall on a different date.” This church is also called the Hanging Church because it partially hung over the ruins of a Babylonian fortress. 207 208 209 Entrance to the Hanging, Babylonian, Coptic Church. A mosaic mural at the entrance to the ancient Hanging Church in Old Cairo, built on the ancient, circular fortress of Babylon 210 211 212 We met a group of school girls who stopped to chat with us. Inside the cave under Abu Serga Church (the Cavern Church) in Cairo where it is said the holy family hide from Romans who were hunting for baby Jewish boys 213 The Cavern Church has several names as Abu Serga Church, the St. Sergius Church, or Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church. It lies in Coptic Cairo beside the Hanging church. The church is dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus, who were soldier-saints martyred during the 4th century in Syria by the Roman Emperor Maximian. Our next stop was the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization National Museum of Egyptian Civilization The main part of this very modern, and beautifully organized exhibits were in a very large room and set in such a way that you could start at the beginning of human life in the area of this world now known as Egypt through the various phases of human development on to the present day. I decided that I would not be able to adequately photograph all of the displays in the time we had available to be able to tell the story in a satisfactory manner. As nearly as I could understand the early story is much like it was in other parts of the world with man involving over millions of years in the later story being directed at evolving within the environment of the country of Egypt. After our time in this museum we returned to the hotel. Most of the people on this trip would be returning to their homes following day and those who were scheduled 214 for the post trip would be going to Alexandria. This was a time for everyone to prepare for travel next day. Friday, 2022-11-18 Lois and I boarded a bus with about nine other people for a three hour ride to Alexandria. Before checking in at our hotel we took a tour of the city in our bus and described by Ahmad, our tour guide for the post trip to Alexandria. Alexandria Ahmad 215 On entering the city we were greeted by the Mediterranean, the marketing activity, transportation and the buildings of the city. 216 We left the bus to get a better look on foot. 217 218 219 A castle surrounded by a fortress wall overlooking the harbor 220 221 Life on the Water’s Edge Fresh Fish on the Dock 222 People on the Streets of the City 223 224 Helnon Palestine Hotel We reboard the bus for a ride to our hotel. It took about ten minutes to travel through a short distance through a construction site that made the travel very pumpy and slow. We had to travel this torcherous route at least twice a day when we left and the returned to the hotel. 225 Hotel’s beach Views from our room’s balcomy 226 Saturday, 2022-11-19 Cemetery for World Wars 1 and 2 We started our first full day in Alexandria with a visit to a cemetery that was not on the tour’s agenda. The plaque below indicates that this was a cemetery for those who died in World War I, however, Ahmed told us that there were people from the First and Second World Wars buried here. 227 Of course, being a Deere & Company retiree, I had to take this photo 228 229 On the way to the Alexandria National Museum we passed by the mounted statute of the founder of the city, Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great Alexandria National Museum Our next stop was on the agenda, Alexandria National Muuseum 230 231 Princess Isis Ancient hand 232 233 234 Mohamed Ahmed Restaurant After leaving the Alexandria National Museum we had lunch in a famous Egyptian restaurant 235 Our table where lunch was served. The menu was beans with a choice of topping. I chose eggs and Lois chose curry. 236 Tom and Susan Carroll A Nice Story About an Egyption One Pound Note Friends we met on the Ancient Egypt and Nile River tour, Tom and Susan Carroll. Tom is a serious photographer. Lois and I had many pleasant and informative conversations with them. When Tom and I had completed our lunch we headed outside to the street to see if we could engage any locals in conversation. We did find a group of four or five young men in their late teens or early 20s who did chat with us. At first they were a little shy of our cameras but still wanted to have their pictures taken. Tom and I obliged. 237 Then a boy approached us with his younger sister and wanted to have his picture taken. I took the photo with the two of them and showed it to them on the back of my camera. He took a picture of the back of my camera with his cell phone. Then I isolated his sister in the viewfinder and he took a photo of her, as well. Then he retreated to an automobile that was close by, parked at the curb. He returned with the request that I take a picture of his sister who was in the car. I went to the car and did take a photo through the window after making sure I had her approval to do so. She smiled broadly when I showed her the photo in the viewfinder of the camera. His mother was in the front seat watching the scene play out. She gave me a big smile and indicated that she would be willing to have her picture taken also. I did so and showed her the results in the viewfinder. Some minutes later the boys father returned to the car and got into the driver’s seat. He was a pilot in the Egyptian Armed Forces and had studied for two years in the United States. After conversation with him I asked if I could take his photo. He readily agreed so I did so. He was pleased with the resulting image in the viewfinder. That would’ve been a memorable exchange but it became even more so when after I stepped away from the automobile and perhaps five or six minutes had passed, the young boy approached Tom and me and gave each of us a 1 pound Egyptian note. My inclination was to not accept this money, however, it occurred to me that its value was only approximately four cents in US currency and to do so would be an insult. I accepted the note and in walking back 238 to his car I told him I would not spend it, but would keep it as a reminder of him and his family. Here are the photos to go with the story. 239 240 241 242 243 I think Tom and I made some friends on a city street in front of a famous restaurant in Alexandria Egypt. Lois and Susan emerged from the restaurant to see what we were doing. The Catacombs Our next stop was the Catacomb. 244 Excerpts from Egypt Vacation Tours: “The Catacombs of Kom el-Shuqafa are considered the first catacombs in the whole world. It is a complex of impressively decorated tombs dating back to the Roman period. It is located in the district of Karmouz to the east of Alexandria. The Kom el Shoqafa is its Arabic name, meaning in the English language the mound or hill of potsherds, referring to the broken dishes and plates that was found in this place. Also, the word Catacomb means a rock-cut tomb around a well. This place is considered an open museum, as, besides tombs, there are several Roman monuments as the fountain and the bathtub. The Catacombs of Alexandria This Catacomb was discovered by chance in 1900 when a donkey fell in the well. It is one of the most important examples referring to the fusion between ancient Egyptian art and Greco-Roman art. The Catacomb originally belonged to a wealthy Roman family who started to use it for burial in the middle of the 2nd century AD. Later, the catacomb was expanded to be a public cemetery. It consists of 3 floors housing rock-cut tombs in the 1st and 2nd levels, but the 3rd is completely underwater. These two levels can be accessed by a central spiral staircase to a depth of 35 meters around a well. When you descend the catacomb, you can see a circular hall with a vaulted ceiling called the rotunda. This hall contained 5 busts (now these busts are displayed in the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria). After that, you will move to the Triclinium hall, where the visitors of the tomb were taking some rest after descending the stairs of the tomb. This hall supports by 4 pillars and contains 3 benches, taking the shape of the letter U. It is thought that this hall was used by the visitors of the tomb for eating food. Then there is another hall containing bones of horses. It is called Holy Horses Hall, as it is believed that these horses were used in horse racing. Finally, there is the main shrine of this catacomb. There are 2 statues, their features combining between the ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman arts. It is thought that these statues belonging to the original owners of the catacomb.” Stairs leading down to the catacombs 245 246 Tomb of Tigrane The tomb dates back to the 1st century A.D. It was discovered in 1952 and is famous for wall paintings done in the Hellenistic style. 247 Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa 248 On the way back to the hotel we passed through streets in Alexandria where all of the shops exhibited the same or similar merchandise. One major example is an area with several blocks of stores selling parts for automobiles. This commerce has succeeded because Egypt has no automobile manufacturing facilities and importing is difficult. So, if a privately owned vehicle breaks down, repair parts will have to be acquired within the country. 249 When we arrived back at the hotel I noticed the painting above the reception area depicting early Alexandria on the Mediterranean and the new Alexandria Library, and the walls by the elevators that were translucent and back-lit. 250 Sunday,2022-11-20 This morning we visited a site that was not on the tour’s agenda, the Eliahu HaNavi Synagogue, but Ahmed knew of it and thought it would be an excellent experience for us, especially when we had some free time. Lois and I agreed that he was right. This is a facility that is beautiful on the outside and the interior and it is not being used because of lack of the ten male jews required to hold services. The Alexandria Eliahu HaNavi Synzagoque Here is an excerpt from the Sephardi Voice UK: “The Eliahu HaNavi synagogue, on Nabi Daniel Street in Alexandria was built in the 1850s by an Italian architect. One of the two biggest synagogues in the city, it could hold up to 700 people - including many of our interviewees. In 2017 plans were put in place by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities to restore the crumbling building, and in 2020 it was rededicated. The synagogue is now open for prayer and tourists. It is included in the World's Monument Project. On 10th June we hosted our second Zoom event, a discussion on the reopening and rededication of the Eliahu HaNavi Synagogue in Alexandria. Just before Coronavirus changed our lives, 180 Jews from all over the world gathered in the Eliahu HaNavi synagogue. As they sat in their father's seats the synagogue was filled with the sound of a full congregation on Shabbat for the first time in over 60 years.” The following is an excerpt from Alexandria.gov.eg: “In fact, Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue Alexandria located in Nabi Daniel street. was built in 1354. Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue Alexandria was bombed by the French during their invasion of Egypt in 1798. Egyptian Jews constitute one of the oldest and youngest Jewish communities in the world. The historic core of the indigenous community consisted of Arabic speaking Rabbanites and Karaites. After their expulsion from Spain, Sephardi and Karaite Jews began to emigrate to Egypt. Their numbers increased with the growth of trading prospects. It was after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Jews from territories of the Ottoman Empire, Italy and Greece went to main cities of Egypt . They settled there where they thrived. The Ashkenazi community began to arrive in the aftermath of the waves of pogroms. It hit Europe in the latter part of the 19th century In the late 1950s, Egypt expelled its Jewish population and sequestered Jewish owned property. In 2014, the Jewish population of Egypt was estimated at less than 40, down from between 75,000 and 80,000 in 1948. Further details about Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue Alexandria:Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue Alexandria re-built in 1850 with contributions from the Mohammad Ali Dynasty. Although services still held in the synagogue, it now caters to a small community of Jewish. This is due to the dwindling number of Jews in Alexandria. Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue is one of the largest synagogues in the Middle East. This magnificent Italian built structure served Alexandria’s once thriving and cosmopolitan Jewish community. The interior of the synagogue features immense marble columns and space for more than seven hundred people. There is also extra seating upstairs for women. There are brass name plates still affixed to the regular seats of male worshipers. Since the wars with Israel and the 1956 Suez Crisis, the community has dwindled, and rarely musters the 10 men necessary to hold a service. Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue will give you an idea about what the Jewish community was like in the prime. Moreover, more than 50.000 Jews lived in Alexandria. More details about Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue Alexandria:The Synagogue s impressive interior will give you an idea of just how vibrant the community was. At the front of the synagogue building there is a closed chamber which holds 30 Torah scrolls. They collected from the city’s other.” We were shown the facility by the head of the Jewish community in Alexandria. She was very helpful in our understanding of why this grand facility is not in use for Jewish services. The photos below will give some understanding of its grandeur and its beauty. 251 252 These are strikingly beautiful pink pillars. According to the leader of the Jewish community, they were the original pillars that were shipped from Italy as one giant block fashioned into the pillars on site. That would be a tremendous volume and weight of stone. 253 254 A segment of the original construction 255 256 Bibliotheca Alexandria (a very modern library) Our next stop was the very beautiful and very functional Library of Alexandria, also known as Bibliotheca Alexandrina. It has vast stores of documents digitized for easy access by those wishing to take advantage of the library’s web site to reach the databases in the main library in Alexandria and the satellite locations with databases in countries all over the world. It was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts. Excepts from Wikipedia: “ Alexandria came to be regarded as the capital of knowledge The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts.[10] The idea of a universal library in Alexandria may have been proposed by Demetrius of Phalerum, an exiled Athenian statesman living in Alexandria, to Ptolemy I Soter, who may have established plans for the Library, but the Library itself was probably not built until the reign of his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The Library quickly acquired many papyrus scrolls, owing largely to the Ptolemaic kings' aggressive and well-funded policies for procuring texts. It is unknown precisely how many such scrolls were housed at any given time, but estimates range from 40,000 to 400,000 at its height.and learning, in part because of the Great Library.[11] Many important and influential scholars worked at the Library during the third and second centuries BC, including, among many others: Zenodotus of Ephesus, who worked towards standardizing the texts of the Homeric poems; Callimachus, who wrote the Pinakes, sometimes considered to be the world's first library catalogue; Apollonius of Rhodes, who composed the epic poem the Argonautica; Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who calculated the circumference of the earth within a few hundred kilometers of accuracy; Aristophanes of Byzantium, who invented the system of Greek diacritics and was the first to divide poetic texts into lines; and Aristarchus of Samothrace, who produced the definitive texts of the Homeric poems as well as extensive commentaries on them. During the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes, a daughter library was established in the Serapeum, a temple to the Greco Egyptian god Serapis. Despite the widespread modern belief that the Library of Alexandria was burned once and cataclysmically destroyed, the Library actually declined gradually over the course of several centuries. This decline began with the purging of intellectuals from Alexandria in 145 BC during the reign of Ptolemy VIII Physcon, which resulted in Aristarchus of Samothrace, the head librarian, resigning from his position and exiling himself to Cyprus. Many other scholars, including Dionysius Thrax and Apollodorus of Athens, fled to other cities, where they continued teaching and conducting scholarship. The Library, or part of its collection, was accidentally burned by Julius Caesar during his civil war in 48 BC, but it is unclear how much was actually destroyed and it seems to have either survived or been rebuilt shortly thereafter; the geographer Strabo mentions having visited the Mouseion in around 20 BC and the prodigious scholarly output of Didymus Chalcenterus in Alexandria from this period indicates that he had access to at least some of the Library's resources. The Library dwindled during the Roman period, from a lack of funding and support. Its membership appears to have ceased by the 260s AD. Between 270 and 275 AD, the city of Alexandria saw a Palmyrene invasion and an imperial counterattack that probably destroyed whatever remained of the Library, if it still existed at that time. The daughter library in the Serapeum may have survived after the main Library's destruction. The Serapeum was vandalized and demolished in 391 AD under a decree issued by Coptic Christian Pope Theophilus of Alexandria, but it does not seem to have housed books at the time and was mainly used as a gathering place for Neoplatonist philosophers following the teachings of Iamblichus. 257 The idea of reviving the ancient library of Alexandria in the modern era was first proposed in 1974, when the Lotfy Dowidar was president of the University of Alexandria. In may 1986, Egypt requested the executive board of UNESCO to allow the international organization to conduct a feasibility study for the project. This marked the beginning of UNESCO and the international communities involvement in trying to bring the project to fruition. Starting in 1988 UNESCO and the UNDP worked to support the international architectural competition to design the library. Egypt devoted four hectares of land for the building of the library and established the National High Commission for the library of Alexandria. Egyptian President. Hosni Mubarak took a personal interest in the project, which greatly contributed to its advancement. An international architectural competition took place in 1989 with Norwegian architectural firm Snohetta winning the competition. Completed in 2002, the Bibliographic Alexandrina now functions as a modern library and cultural center, commemorating the original Library of Alexandria. In line with the mission of the Great Library of Alexandria, The Bibliotheca of Alexandrina also houses the International School of Information Science, a school for students preparing for highly specialized postgraduate-degrees, whose goal is to train professional staff for libraries in Egypt and across the Middle East.” Photographing this huge facility from street level is impractical if not impossible. The above photo is the replica located inside the library. Our arrival created some excitement among other groups, especially male and female students. Quite a few of the girls wanted me to take their picture. Here are some examples. 258 259 Groups of boys were there who also wanted their picture taken 260 Throughout this journal I have spent quite a bit of time and space with photographs of people we met along the way. Although this tour was primarily one of ancient Egypt, I felt it was important to recognize the people of today’s Egypt, especially the younger ones. This is a large space with computers for accessing the various databases of the library and workspaces for reading and otherwise assimilating the information acquired. The right side of the space is filled with various exhibits including some of the earliest printing presses. 261 262 This is an example of the multiple layers for storage and study. This is an amazing place both in its architecture and its ability to give access to a vast store of gathered and digitized information. What follows are photos of art I thought was of particular beauty and/or of interest. Key of Life, Bronz An antique piece of Kiswah of the Kaaba dating back to 1243 H/1828 CE A bulls face, bronze, 1972 Chest Base, Colored Gibson with iron base, 2006 Statue of a stylized horse Demetrius Phalereus (350-280 BCE) The Inspirer of the Ancient Library 263 264 265 This frog is just for fun Royal Jewelry Museum From https://egymonuments.gov.eg: “The Royal Jewelry Museum was established to display the holdings of the Alawite family established by Muhammad Ali Pasha, which ruled Egypt for more than 150 years from 1805 to 1952. The palace was built in Zizinia in 1919 by Sayyida Zainab Fahmi and completed and resided by her daughter, Princess Fatima, daughter of Prince Ali Haidar, grandson of Muhammad Ali Pasha, and serves as a stunning backdrop for the magnificent properties of the Alawite family, as it reflects the high taste of the princess in paintings, gilded ceilings, and mosaics that adorn many rooms of the palace. The palace consists of two eastern and western wings connected by a corridor, each consisting of two floors and a basement. The museum displays the properties collected by the family throughout their reign in all the magnificent halls of the palace, reflecting their lavish lifestyle: among the museum's holdings is a diamond and emerald necklace belonging to the founder of the family, Muhammad Ali Pasha, a golden chessboard, golden binoculars set with diamonds, rubies and emeralds, and gold cups inlaid with precious stones. Dazzling jewellery prepared by Europe's top designers, adorned by queens and princesses from Egypt's royal family, is also on display. Also on display are the dazzling jewelry prepared by Europe's leading designers, which adorned the queens and princesses of Egypt's royal family.” 266 A plaque in the museum 267 268 269 270 271 This was the final site in Alexandria. We boarded our bus for the trip back through the very rough construction site to our hotel. It seems that the hotel had filled the swimming pool and spruced up its beach area just in time for our departure. Lois would have enjoyed a swim in the pool. 272 Monday, 2022-11-21 We board the bus for a six hour ride back to Cairo where we will overnight in the Meridian Hotel Cairo. The hotel is connected to the airport which made it more convenient for us to catch our plane than Atlanta and finally Moline. However, we have a stop at a monastery on the way. St Bishoy Monastery Excerpt from Egypt for Americans: “Saint Bishoy (also known as Pishoy) was a monk who took up a residence in this monastery in Wadi El Natrun. This monastery, built in the fourth century, is found between Alexandria and Cairo and is the eastern most monastery of the Nitrian Desert. Bishoy was born in 320 AD and was the youngest of seven brothers. His mother met an angel who asked for her to give one of her sons to God. She offered them all, but Bishoy, the weak and frail child, was chosen. At the age of 20; Bishoy was led to the location of the present-day Saint Bishoy Monastery and began his life as a hermit. While many monks gathered around him, Bishoy was known for his love, wisdom, simplicity, kindness, and extreme self-discipline. Bishoy was believed to have met Jesus on several occasions. Within the monastery there are pictures depicting Bishoy carrying Jesus and washing his feet. Because of his love for Jesus, he was promised his body would see no corruption. Bishoy was forced to leave the monastery when the Berbers invaded. 273 However his body was eventually returned to the Saint Bishoy Monastery in Wadi El Natrun. You can see it, along with the body of St. Paul of Tammah, today within the Saint Bishoy Monastery. Today, monks still live at the Saint Bishoy Monastery. However, it is also a wonderful place to visit. You will have the opportunity to not only see Saint Bishoy, but you will also have the opportunity to see where the monks used to prepare and eat their meals as well as the places where they sought to worship. Coptic Egypt has many other monasteries and churches to show in Egypt; Saint Catherine Monastery, Saint Simon Monastery & the Cave Church, the Hanging Church in Coptic Cairo and many more.” Our host and guide 274 275 276 277 278 279 From the monastery we drove the rest of the way to our hotel in Cairo. Tuesday, 2022-11-22 Representatives from OAT met us in the lobby and helped us and our bags transfer as far as they were allowed into the airport. Security in Egypt All the sites we visited, including hotels and most restaurants, required you to pass through a metal detector and any handbags or luggage to be placed on a conveyor belt and x-rayed. Our bus was checked by a trained dog and a security person checked the underside of the bus with a mirror on a long pole. The airports had extremely tight security. You had to pass through three checkpoints before getting to your gate. The first one required a show of passport and x-ray of your checked luggage. The second one required you to place everything in your pockets, and a jacket or coat you may be wearing into one or more plastic boxes to go through the x-ray machine along with any carry-on luggage. You then had to pass through a metal detector. The third one required you to do the same things as the second one except in addition you removed your belt and shoes. All the potential delays at each one of the stations, mostly having to do with the long lines at each one, put a premium on arriving at the airport a minimum of two hours prior to flight in three hours being a more prudent time. This process not only takes a 280 considerable amount of time and patience, it also requires a good deal of energy, both mental and physical. Travel Home Our flight home had a few bumps. Getting through the Cairo airport is like being in an athletic event. We made our scheduled flight on British Air without incident, We were scheduled to fly on British Air from London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare. Unbeknown to us, we had been switched to American Airlines from British Air for that leg of out journey home. We didn’t have enough time to make that flight so we were directed to Delta. They were able to book us to Atlanta and said they would get our bags off the American flight before it left. When we got to what was labeled “Passport Control” in Atlanta we found ourselves in a very large room with a line that went back and forth through twelve switch-backs. We thought we were going to miss our flight t Moline, assuming we would still have to claim our bags and go through “Custom.” Passport Control turned out to be Customs also. We never saw our bags. When it was finally our turn, the officer asked some routine questions and waived us on through. We easily made our plane to Moline and were met by Ron and Vicky who took us home after about 16 hours in the air and 30 hours from the hotel in Cairo to home in Davenport. Final Comments I started reviewing my photos and composing the beginnings of this Journal after awakening very early the next morning from jet lag. As I started reviewing the photos, it became clear to me that I was going to have to do a fair amount of research to positively identify who or what many of the photos were about. I am sure we were told much of what the research revealed, but, as I mentioned earlier, I was unable to either get or assimilate all of the information we were given. Gaining information from the research made this Journal more informed and the trip more valuable. The information from the research did two things:  I gained a better understanding of what I had seen, heard and photographed, and  It gave me a better appreciation for the importance and place in history of the subjects of the sites we visited and the images of these sites in my photographs. It has added value to this Journal and to the trip. What we saw and were told about Egypt 4,500 years ago is prologue to Egypt today and where it will be tomorrow. That is another important story. Harry G. Hoyt 5 December 2022 281 Appendix A Summary of the Major Gods and Godesses of Ancient Egypt The following profiles and images were taken from britanica.com: 11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica The curation of this content is at the discretion of the author, and not necessarily reflective of the views of Encyclopaedia Britannica or its editorial staff. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, consult individual encyclopedia entries about the topics. © Amanda Lewis/Dreamstime.com Egypt had one of the largest and most complex pantheons of gods of any civilization in the ancient world. Over the course of Egyptian history hundreds of gods and goddesses were worshipped. The characteristics of individual gods could be hard to pin down. Most had a principle association (for example, with the sun or the underworld) and form. But these could change over time as gods rose and fell in importance and evolved in ways that corresponded to developments in Egyptian society. Here are a few of the most important deities to know. 282 Osiris Osiris, one of Egypt’s most important deities, was god of the underworld. He also symbolized death, resurrection, and the cycle of Nile floods that Egypt relied on for agricultural fertility. According to the myth, Osiris was a king of Egypt who was murdered and dismembered by his brother Seth. His wife, Isis, reassembled his body and resurrected him, allowing them to conceive a son, the god Horus. He was represented as a mummified king, wearing wrappings that left only the green skin of his hands and face exposed. Isis The origins of Isis are obscure. Unlike many gods, she can’t be tied to a specific town, and there are no certain mentions of her in the earliest Egyptian literature. Over time she grew in importance, though, eventually becoming the most important goddess in the pantheon. As the devoted wife who resurrected Osiris after his murder and raised their son, Horus, Isis embodied the traditional Egyptian virtues of a wife and mother. As the wife of the god of the underworld, Isis was also one of the main deities concerned with rites for the dead. Along with her sister Nephthys, Isis acted as a divine mourner, and her maternal care was often depicted as extending to the dead in the underworld. Isis was one of the last of the ancient Egyptian gods to still be worshipped. In the Greco-Roman period she was identified with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and her cult spread as far west as Great Britain and as far east as Afghanistan. It is believed that depictions of Isis with the infant Horus influenced Christian imagery of Mary with the infant Jesus. Horus Depicted as a falcon or as a man with a falcon’s head, Horus was a sky god associated with war and hunting. He was also the embodiment of the divine kingship, and in some eras the reigning king was considered to be a manifestation of Horus. According to the Osiris myth, Horus was the son of Isis and Osiris, magically conceived after the murder of Osiris by his brother Seth. Horus was raised to avenge his father’s murder. One tradition holds that Horus lost his left eye fighting with Seth, but his eye was magically healed by the god Thoth. Because the right and left eyes of Horus were associated, respectively, with the sun and the moon, 283 the loss and restoration of Horus’s left eye gave a mythical explanation for the phases of the moon. Seth Seth was the god of chaos, violence, deserts, and storms. In the Osiris myth, he is the murderer of Osiris (in some versions of the myth, he tricks Osiris into laying down in a coffin and then seals it shut.) Seth’s appearance poses a problem for Egyptologists. He is often depicted as an animal or as a human with the head of an animal. But they can’t figure out what animal he’s supposed to be. He usually has a long snout and long ears that are squared at the tips. In his fully animal form, he has a thin doglike body and a straight tail with a tuft on the end. Many scholars now believe that no such animal ever existed and that the Seth animal is some sort of mythical composite. Ptah Ptah was the head of a triad of gods worshipped at Memphis. The other two members of the triad were Ptah’s wife, the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet, and the god Nefertem, who may have been the couple’s son. Ptah’s original association seems to have been with craftsmen and builders. The 4th-dynasty architect Imhotep was deified after his death as a son of Ptah. Scholars have suggested that the Greek word Aiguptos—the source of the name Egypt—may have started as a corruption of Hwt-Ka-Ptah, the name of one of Ptah’s shrines. Re One of several deities associated with the sun, the god Re was usually represented with a human body and the head of a hawk. It was believed that he sailed across the sky in a boat each day and then made a passage through the underworld each night, during which he would have to defeat the snake god Apopis in order to rise again. Re’s cult was centered in Heliopolis, now a suburb of Cairo. Over time, Re came to be syncretized with other sun deities, especially Amon. Hathor The goddess Hathor was usually depicted as a cow, as a woman with the head of a cow, or as a woman with cow’s ears. Hathor embodied motherhood and fertility, and it was believed that she protected women in childbirth. She also had an 284 important funerary aspect, being known as “the lady of the west.” (Tombs were generally built on the west bank of the Nile.) In some traditions, she would welcome the setting sun every night; living people hoped to be welcomed into the afterlife in the same way. Anubis Anubis was concerned with funerary practices and the care of the dead. He was usually represented as a jackal or as a man with the head of a jackal. The association of jackals with death and funerals likely arose because Egyptians would have observed jackals scavenging around cemeteries. In the Old Kingdom (c. 2575–2130 BCE), before Osiris rose to prominence as the lord of the underworld, Anubis was considered the principal god of the dead. According to the Osiris myth, Anubis embalmed and wrapped the body of the murdered king, becoming the patron god for embalmers. Thoth Thoth, the god of writing and wisdom, could be depicted in the form of a baboon or a sacred ibis or as a man with the head of an ibis. He was believed to have invented language and the hieroglyphic script and to serve as a scribe and adviser for the gods. As the god of wisdom, Thoth was said to possess knowledge of magic and secrets unavailable to the other gods. In underworld scenes showing the judgment undergone by the deceased after their deaths, Thoth is depicted as weighing the hearts of the deceased and reporting the verdict to Osiris, the god of the dead. Bastet In her earliest forms, the cat goddess Bastet was represented as a woman with the head of a lion or a wild cat. She took the less ferocious form of a domestic cat in the first millennium BCE. In later periods she was often represented as a regal-looking seated cat, sometimes wearing rings in her ears or nose. In the Ptolemaic period she came to be associated with the Greek goddess Artemis, the divine hunter and goddess of the moon. Amon Before rising to national importance in the New Kingdom (c. 1539–1292 BCE), the god Amon was worshipped locally in the southern city of Thebes. Amon was a god of the air, and the name probably means the “Hidden One.” He was usually 285 represented as a man wearing a crown with two vertical plumes. His animal symbols were the ram and the goose. After the rulers of Thebes rebelled against a dynasty of foreign rulers known as the Hyksos and reestablished native Egyptian rule throughout Egypt, Amon received credit for their victory. In a form merged with the sun god Re, he became the most powerful deity in Egypt, a position he retained for most of the New Kingdom. Today the massive temple complex devoted to Amon-Re at Karnak is one of the most visited monuments in Egypt. 286 287 Appendix B Profiles for Six Important Pharaohs 288 289 290 291 292 Appendix C Coverings Used by Muslim Women Who Cover These photos and commentary explaining types of covers used by Muslim women was taken from “4 News, 22 Oct 2013” Within Islam, dress codes are known as hijab, a term which refers to the principle of modesty and which includes behaviour as well as dress, writes Channel 4 News Home Affairs Correspondent Darshna Soni. These rules are open to a wide range of interpretations. Some Muslim women believe in covering every part of the body, others do not observe any special dress rules. Here is our quick guide. Hijab This is the most common type of headscarf worn by Muslim women here in the UK. It is a headscarf that covers the head and neck, but leaves the face clear. The scarves come in many different shades and shapes and are often colour co ordinated with women’s outfits. Niqab The niqab is a combination of a head covering and scarf that covers all of a woman’s face except for her eyes. It usually flows down to the mid-back to cover a 293 woman’s hair, and may flow down to the mid-chest in the front. It is most often worn in Arab countries, but an increasing number of Muslim women in the west are choosing to wear it. Although the majority of scholars agree that hijab is obligatory, only a minority of them say that the niqab is. Burqa The terms niqab and burqa are often incorrectly used interchangeably; a niqab covers the face while a burqa covers the whole body from the top of the head to the ground. It is the most concealing of all Islamic veils. It covers the entire face, including the eyes (with a mesh cloth to see through) and the body. Chador The chador is a body-length outer garment, usually black in colour, worn mainly by women in Iran. It is not secured at the front by buttons or clasps, so the woman holds it closed Jilbab/Abaya These are long, loosely fitted garments worn by Muslim women to cover the shape of their bodies. They are often worn in combination with the hijab or niqab. Further definition of types of cover taken from “Pulse Religion” There are at least five different types of Islamic covering used by Muslim women. Here are the various types of Islamic covering you can expect to see on Muslim women. Hijab This is the most common one, worn by a lot of Muslim ladies all over the world in different shapes and colours. It covers only the head and neck. Niqab This could be regarded as the second most commonly worn covering. It is basically a veil and scarf that leaves the eyes open while covering the rest of the face. Hence, the woman’s hair and chest, for the half-length ones, are also covered. Burqa Unlike the Niqab, this one covers the entire body from head to toe. Another major difference between the two is that the Burqa usually has a woven mesh area around the eyes. 294 Abaya Like the Burqa, the Abaya also covers the entire body as it is a full-length outfit. However, it can be worn with a hijab or niqab as it comes in various styles. Chador This could be called the least common one, at least in this part of the world. Women in places like Saudi Arabia can be seen wearing the chador, another body length black clothing. Unlike the rest, this particular covering has no clasps or buttons, leaving the wearer to do the job of ensuring that it is closed. 295 296 Appendix D Battle of Kadesh From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . Coordinates: 34.57°N 36.51°E Battle of Kadesh Part of Second Syrian campaign of Ramesses II Ramses II during the battle, shown slaying one enemy while trampling another (from relief inside his Abu Simbel temple) Date Late May 1274 BC[1] Location On the Orontes River near Kadesh Result Inconclusive[2][3]  Continued hostilities  Egyptian Enlargement Policy temporarily stalled Belligerents New Kingdom of Egypt Hittite Empire Commanders and leaders 297 Ramesses II  Grand Vizier Paser  Prince Amunherkhepeshef  Prince Ramesses  Prince Khaemweset  Prince Pareherwenemef Muwatalli II  Ḫattušili III  Mittanamuwash of Pitassa  Masturish of Seha River Land  Piyama Inarash of Wilusa  Sahurunuwash of Carchemish  Shattuara of Mitanni  Niqmepa of Ugarit  Talmi-Sarruma of Aleppo  Niqmaddu of Kadesh Strength 20,000–53,000 men[4] (half engaged)  16,000 infantry[5]  2,000 chariots[6] o 4,000 men[5] 23,000–50,000 men  15,000[7]–40,000 infantry[8] (not engaged)  2,500–10,500 chariots[8][9] o 9,000 11,100 men[10] Casualties and losses Unknown ("heavy")[11] Unknown (2,000 chariots destroyed)[12] 298 Kadesh class=notpageimage| Location of the Battle of Kadesh. Show map of West and Central Asia Show map of Syria Show all The Battle of Kadesh or Battle of Qadesh took place between the forces of the New Kingdom of Egypt under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, just upstream of Lake Homs near the modern Lebanon–Syria border. [13] The battle is generally dated to 1274 BC from the Egyptian chronology, [14] and is the earliest pitched battle in recorded history for which details of tactics and formations are known. It is believed to have been the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving between 5,000 and 6,000 chariots in total. [15][16][17] As a result of discovery of multiple Kadesh inscriptions and the Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, it is the best documented battle in all of ancient history. [18] Contents  1Background  2Contending forces  3Battle  4Aftermath  5Documentation o 5.1Hittite allies o 5.2Hittite fallen  6See also  7References  8Further reading  9External links Background[edit] After expelling the Hyksos' 15th Dynasty around 1550 BC, the Egyptian New Kingdom rulers became more aggressive in reclaiming control of their state's borders. Thutmose I, Thutmose III and his son and coregent Amenhotep II fought battles from Megiddo north to the Orontes River, including conflict with Kadesh. [citation needed] Many of the Egyptian campaign accounts between c. 1400 and 1300 BC reflect the general destabilization of the Djahy region (southern Canaan). The reigns of Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III were undistinguished, except that Egypt continued to lose territory to the Mitanni in northern Syria. [citation needed] During the late Eighteenth Dynasty, the Amarna letters tell the story of the decline of Egyptian influence in the region. The Egyptians showed flagging interest here until almost the end of the dynasty. [19] Horemheb (d. 1292 BC), the last ruler of this dynasty, campaigned in this region, finally beginning to turn Egyptian interest back to the area. [citation needed] This process continued in the Nineteenth Dynasty. Like his father Ramesses I, Seti I was a military commander who set out to restore Egypt's empire to the days of the Tuthmosid kings almost a century before. Inscriptions on the Karnak walls record the details of his campaigns into Canaan and ancient Syria. [20] He took 20,000 men and reoccupied abandoned Egyptian posts and garrisoned cities. He made an informal peace with the Hittites, took control of coastal areas along the Mediterranean Sea and continued to campaign in Canaan. A second campaign led to his capture of Kadesh (where a stela commemorated his victory) and the Amurru kingdom. His son and heir Ramesses II campaigned with him. There are historical records that record a large weapons order by Ramesses II in the year before the expedition he led to Kadesh in his fifth regnal year. [citation needed] However, at some point both regions may have lapsed back under Hittite control. What exactly happened to Amurru is disputed. Hittitologist Trevor R. Bryce suggests that although it may have fallen once again under Hittite control, it is more likely Amurru remained a Hittite vassal state. [21] The immediate antecedents to the Battle of Kadesh were the early campaigns of Ramesses II into Canaan. In the fourth year of his reign, he marched north into Syria, either to recapture Amurru[22] or, as a probing effort, to confirm his vassals' loyalty and explore the terrain of possible battles. [21] In the spring of the fifth year of his reign, in May 1274 BC, Ramesses II launched a campaign from his capital Pi-Ramesses (modern Qantir). The army moved beyond the fortress of Tjel and along the coast leading to Gaza. [23] The recovery of Amurru was Muwatalli II's stated motivation for marching south to confront the Egyptians. Contending forces[edit] 299 The Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II (green) bordering on the Hittite Empire (red) at the height of its power in c. 1279 BC. Ramesses led an army of four divisions: Amun, Re (pRe), Set, and the apparently newly-formed Ptah division. [24] There was also a poorly documented troop called the nrrn (Ne'arin or Nearin), possibly Canaanite military mercenaries with Egyptian allegiance[25] or even Egyptians, [26] that Ramesses II had left in Amurru, apparently in order to secure the port of Sumur. [citation needed] This division would come to play a critical role in the battle. Also significant was the presence of Sherden troops within the Egyptian army. This is the first time they appear as Egyptian mercenaries, and they would play an increasingly significant role in Late Bronze Age history, ultimately appearing among the Sea Peoples that ravaged the east Mediterranean at the end of the Bronze Age. Healy in Armies of the Pharaohs observes: It is not possible to be precise about the size of the Egyptian chariot force at Kadesh though it could not have numbered less than 2,000 vehicles spread through the corps of Amun, P'Re, Ptah and Sutekh, assuming that approx. 500 machines were allocated to each corps. To this we may need to add those of the Ne'arin, for if they were not native Egyptian troops their number may not have been formed from chariots detached from the army corps. [27] On the Hittite side, King Muwatalli II had mustered several of his allies, among them Rimisharrinaa, the king of Aleppo. Ramesses II recorded a long list of 19 Hittite allies brought to Kadesh by Muwatalli. This list is of considerable interest to Hittitologists, as it reflects the extent of Hittite influence at the time. Battle[edit] 300 Rameses II in the Battle of Khadesh. Muwatalli had positioned his troops behind "Old Kadesh", but Ramesses was misled by two spies whom the Egyptians had captured to think that the Hittite forces were still far off, at Aleppo, [16] and ordered his forces to set up camp. [citation needed] The false intelligence caused Ramesses to march hastily towards Kadesh, where the Egyptians were caught off-guard. [28] Ramesses II describes his arrival on the battlefield in the two principal inscriptions that he wrote concerning the battle, which were the so-called "Poem" and the "Bulletin": (From the "Poem") Now then, his majesty had prepared his infantry, his chariotry, and the Sherden of his majesty's capturing... in the Year 5, 2nd month of the third season, day 9, his majesty passed the fortress of Sile. [and entered Canaan] ... His infantry went on the narrow passes as if on the highways of Egypt. Now after days had passed after this, then his majesty was in Ramses Meri-Amon, the town which is in the Valley of the Cedar. His majesty proceeded northward. After his majesty reached the mountain range of Kadesh, then his majesty went forward... and he crossed the ford of the Orontes, with the first division of Amon (named) "He Gives Victory to User-maat-Re Setep-en-Re". His majesty reached the town of Kadesh... The division of Amon was on the march behind him; the division of Re was crossing the ford in a district south of the town of Shabtuna at the distance of one iter from the place where his majesty was; the division of Ptah was on the south of the town of Arnaim; the division of Set was marching on the road. His majesty had formed the first ranks of battle of all the leaders of his army, while they were [still] on the shore in the land of Amurru. [From the "Bulletin"] Year 5, 3rd month of the third season, day 9, under the majesty of (Ramesses II)... The lord proceeded northward, and his majesty arrived at a vicinity south of the town of Shabtuna. [29] 301 Shasu spies shown being beaten by the Egyptians. As Ramesses and the Egyptian advance guard were about 11 kilometers from Kadesh, south of Shabtuna, he met two Shasu nomads who told him that the Hittite king was "in the land of Aleppo, on the north of Tunip" 200 kilometers away, where, the Shasu said, he was "(too much) afraid of Pharaoh, L.P.H., to come south". [30] This was, state the Egyptian texts, a false report ordered by the Hittites "with the aim of preventing the army of His Majesty from drawing up to combat with the foe of Hatti". [30] An Egyptian scout then arrived at the camp bringing two Hittite prisoners. The prisoners revealed that the entire Hittite army and the Hittite king were actually close at hand: When they had been brought before Pharaoh, His Majesty asked, "Who are you?" They replied "We belong to the king of Hatti. He has sent us to spy on you." Then His Majesty said to them, "Where is he, the enemy from Hatti? I had heard that he was in the land of Aleppo." They of Tunip replied to His Majesty, "Lo, the king of Hatti has already arrived, together with the many countries who are supporting him... They are armed with their infantry and their chariots. They have their weapons of war at the ready. They are more numerous than the grains of sand on the beach. Behold, they stand equipped and ready for battle behind the old city of Kadesh."[31] The Hittite chariots attack the Ra division. After this, Ramesses II called his princes to meet with him and discuss the fault of his governors and officials in not informing the position of Muwatalli II and his army. As Ramesses was alone with his bodyguard and the Amun division, the vizier was ordered to hasten the arrival of the Ptah and Seth divisions, with the Re division having almost arrived at the camp. [32] While Ramesses was talking with the princes, the Hittite chariots crossed the river and charged the middle of the Re division as they were making their way toward Ramesses' position. The Re division was caught in the open and scattered 302 in all directions. Some fled northward to the Amun camp, all the while being pursued by Hittite chariots. The Hittite chariotry then rounded north and attacked the Egyptian camp, crashing through the Amun shield wall and creating panic among the Amun division. However, the momentum of the Hittite attack was already starting to wane, as the impending obstacles of such a large camp forced many Hittite charioteers to slow their attack; some were killed in chariot crashes. [33] In the Egyptian account of the battle, Ramesses describes himself as being deserted and surrounded by enemies: "No officer was with me, no charioteer, no soldier of the army, no shield-bearer[.]"[34] Ramesses was able to defeat his attackers and to return to the Egyptian lines: "I was before them like Set in his moment. I found the mass of chariots in whose midst I was, scattering them before my horses[.]" The pharaoh, now facing a desperate fight for his life, summoned up his courage, called upon his god Amun, and fought to save himself. Ramesses personally led several charges into the Hittite ranks together with his personal guard, some of the chariots from his Amun division and survivors from the routed division of Re. [33] Ramesses counterattacks. The Hittites, who believed their enemies to be totally routed, had stopped to plunder the Egyptian camp and so became easy targets for Ramesses's counterattack. His action was successful in driving the looters back towards the Orontes River and away from the Egyptian camp, [35] and in the ensuing pursuit, the heavier Hittite chariots were easily overtaken and dispatched by the lighter, faster Egyptian chariots. [16] 303 Final phase of the battle. Although he had suffered a significant reversal, Muwatalli II still commanded a large force of reserve chariotry and infantry, as well as the walls of the town. As the retreat reached the river, he ordered another thousand chariots to attack the Egyptians, the stiffening element being the high nobles who surrounded the king. As the Hittite forces approached the Egyptian camp again, the Ne'arin troop contingent from Amurru suddenly arrived, surprising the Hittites. Finally, the Ptah division arrived from the south, threatening the Hittite rear. [36] After six charges, the Hittite forces were almost surrounded, and the survivors were pinned against the Orontes. [37] The remaining Hittite elements, which had not been overtaken in the withdrawal, were forced to abandon their chariots and attempt to swim across the river, according to Egyptian accounts hurriedly ("as fast as crocodiles swimming"), where many of them drowned. [38] There is no consensus about the outcome or what took place, with views ranging from an Egyptian victory to a draw, [39] or, in the view of Iranian Egyptologist Mehdi Yarahmadi, an Egyptian defeat, with the Egyptian accounts being simply propaganda. [40] The Hittite army was ultimately forced to retreat, but the Egyptians were unsuccessful in capturing Kadesh. [36]  Battle scene from the Great Kadesh reliefs of Ramses II on the Walls of the Ramesseum 304  The original relief from the Ramesseum Aftermath[edit] Main article: Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty The Siege of Dapur Logistically unable to support a long siege of the walled city of Kadesh, [3] Ramesses gathered his troops and retreated south towards Damascus and ultimately back to Egypt. Once back in Egypt, Ramesses then proclaimed victory since he had routed his enemies, but he did not even attempt to capture Kadesh. [2] In a personal sense, however, the Battle of Kadesh was a triumph for Ramesses since after blundering into a devastating Hittite chariot ambush, the young king had courageously rallied his scattered troops to fight on the battlefield and escaped death or capture. The new lighter faster two-man Egyptian chariots were able to pursue and take down the slower three-man Hittite chariots from behind as they overtook them. [3] Hittite records from Hattusa, however, tell of a very different conclusion to the greater campaign in which a chastened Ramesses was forced to depart from Kadesh in defeat. Modern historians conclude that the battle ended in a draw from a practical point of view but was a turning point for the Egyptians, who had developed new technologies and rearmed before pushing back against the years-long steady incursions by the Hittites. [3] 305 The Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, is believed to be the earliest example of any written international agreement of any kind.[3][unreliable source?] The Hittite king, Muwatalli II, continued to campaign as far south as the Egyptian province of Upi (Apa), which he captured and placed under the control of his brother Hattusili, the future Hattusili III. [41] Egypt's sphere of influence in Asia was now restricted to Canaan. [41] Even that was threatened for a time by revolts among Egypt's vassal states in the Levant, and Ramesses was compelled to embark on a series of campaigns in Canaan to uphold his authority there before he could initiate further assaults against the Hittite Empire. [citation needed] In the eighth and ninth years of his reign, Ramesses extended his military successes. This time, he proved more successful against his Hittite foes by successfully capturing the cities of Dapur and Tunip, [42] where no Egyptian soldier had been seen since under Thutmose III, almost 120 years earlier. Ramesses's victory proved to be ephemeral, however. The thin strip of territory pinched between Amurru and Kadesh did not make for a stable possession. Within a year, it had returned to the Hittite fold, which meant that Ramesses had to march against Dapur once more in his tenth year. His second success was just as meaningless as his first since neither Egypt nor Hatti could decisively defeat the other in battle. [37] An official peace treaty with Hattusili III, the new king of the Hittites[3] some 15 years after the Battle of Kadesh, and in the 21st year of Ramesses II's reign (1258 BC in conventional chronology), finally concluded running borderlands conflicts. The treaty was inscribed on a silver tablet, of which a clay copy survived in the Hittite capital of Hattusa, now in Turkey, and is on display at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. An enlarged replica of the agreement hangs on a wall at the headquarters of the United Nations, as the earliest international peace treaty known to historians. [3] Its text, in the Hittite version, appears in the links below. An Egyptian version survives on a papyrus. [citation needed] 306 Documentation[edit] Main article: Kadesh inscriptions There is more evidence in the form of texts and wall reliefs for this battle than for any other in the Ancient Near East, but almost all of it is from an Egyptian perspective. Indeed, the first scholarly report on the battle, by James Henry Breasted in 1903, praised the sources that allowed the reconstruction of the battle with certainty. [43] However, some historians argue that the battle was a draw at best and that Egyptian influence over Amurru and Qadesh seems to have been lost forever. [44] The main source of information is in the Egyptian record of the battle for which a general level of accuracy is assumed, despite factual errors and propaganda. [45] The bombastic nature of Ramesses's version has long been recognized. [46] The Egyptian version of the battle is recorded in two primary forms, known as the Poem and the Bulletin. The Poem has been questioned as actual verse, as opposed to a prose account similar to that recorded by other pharaohs. Likewise, the Bulletin is itself simply a lengthy caption accompanying the reliefs. [47] The inscriptions are repeated multiple times (seven for the Bulletin and eight for the Poem, in temples in Abydos, Temple of Luxor, Karnak, Abu Simbel and the Ramesseum). [48] In addition to these lengthy presentations, there are also numerous small captions used to point out various elements of the battle. Besides the inscriptions, there are textual occurrences preserved in Papyrus Raifet and Papyrus Sallier III, [49] and a rendering of these same events in a letter from Ramesses to Hattusili III written in response to a scoffing complaint by Hattusili about the pharaoh's victorious depiction of the battle. [50] Hittite references to the battle, including the above letter, have been found at Hattusa, but no annals have been discovered that might describe it as part of a campaign. Instead, there are various references made to it in the context of other events. That is especially true of Hattusili III for whom the battle marked an important milestone in his career.