— Paulash Chatterjee

“The Nile is life; its waters nourish both body and soul.” – Ancient Egyptian Saying

Egypt has always captured our imagination from childhood, with stories about pyramids, mummies, pharaohs and the Nile River. During our time in the country, we closed our eyes and reminisced about the Bengali film “Misr Rohosyo”, based on Kakababu-Santu story of Sunil Gangopadhyay! Ancient Egyptians were undisputedly great artists and engineers with unmatched talents. They created works of enduring art and engineering that still amazes the world. It was about 3100 BC that the Pharoh’s emerged with dynastic rules and built a civilisation based around the river Nile, sun god Ra, temples and pyramids. Their belief in afterlife led to their innovation of ‘mummification’ and construction of amazing tombs with burial chambers, and filling them with incredible material used, as well as their decoration of the mummies with wealth that we still find difficult to fathom.

Ancient Cities of Egypt

Cairo – we visited Tahrir Square, the exact spot of the “people’s revolution” during the Arab Spring of 2011. Whilst sitting in a 100-year-old café and sipping on Egyption coffee, we listened to our tour guide’s experience of that time. The next step was the famous Khan El-Khalili bazaar, which was giving us “Gariahat vibes”. We used our bargaining skills to purchase some souvenirs from the various stalls!  We then visited the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan complex and the Qalawun complex in the heart of Islamic Cairo (both buildings were established during the Turkish/Ottoman era). One part of a mosque had a sign indicating that it was a hospital (‘bimaristan’). The most interesting point after this was Manshiyat Naser, informally known as ‘Garbage City’, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Cairo. The primary residents of this area are mainly Coptic (Egyptian) Christians and Muslims living side by side. The people use donkey carts and trucks to transport garbage collected in the city where a manual sorting and recycling process takes place. It is a unique system of recycling a large portion of waste and finding new uses for discarded items – part of a circular economy! The last stop of the day was a beautiful old church, Monastery of St. Simon, located on the top of a hill.

Aswan – we took a ferry for Agilkia Island, where Philae Temple was located. Originally, the temple complex was located on Philae Island. To save the temple complex from flooding, it was totally dismantled and relocated to a nearby island – Agilkia – over two years from 1977 to 1979. We also visited Abu Simbel Temple (four hours drive from Aswan). The most famous attribute is four large statues of Rameses II and the adjacent Lake Nasser. This temple featured in films such as The Mummy Returns (2001) and the The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Another interesting place was Kom Ombo (temple dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek) and the nearby crocodile mummy museum.

Luxor – it is an ancient city of Egypt, full of architectural beauty. We visited Karnak Temple complex (dedicated to the god Amun-Ra). Another place we visited was Luxor Temple, lying on the East Bank of the Nile River. Other points of interest were Valley of The Kings (an ancient necropolis or burial sites) and The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut (multi-tiered ancient temple on a cliffside honouring Queen Hatshepsut, a powerful female ruler).

Pyramids

It is one of the most famous ancient wonders of the world! It was amazing to witness three small pyramids and three large pyramids across the Giza Plateau. We also stopped at the Sphinx – a mythical creature with lion’s body and human head. It represents the divine power and royalty of the pharaoh, embodying the strength of a lion and the wisdom of a human. Another symbolism is that it is as a powerful guardian, protecting sacred sites like the pyramids, and signifies the connection between the ruler and the gods, particularly the sun god Ra. The final stop was Saqqara, a vast ancient burial ground near the city of Memphis (ancient capital of Egypt). The pyramid of Djoser, sometimes called the Step Pyramid of Djoser or Step Pyramid of Horus Netjerikhet, which was the first Egyptian pyramid to be built.

Museums

We visited the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (one of the oldest, opened in 1902) that had artefacts of ancient Egypt, and also from the Greek and Roman eras. We also stopped at The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (opened in 2021). The most interesting aspect was that all the mummies that had been stored in The Egyptian Museum were transferred to The National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation in a special ceremony known as “Pharoah’s Golden Parade”.

Journey on Train

The journey from Cairo to Aswan reminded us of Rajdhani Express, as each cabin had two tiers and was comfortable enough. In general, there was an old-world charm which seemed to transport us back in time to the 1940s!

Nights on Nile

We stayed for two nights on a traditional Egyptian boat known as “felucca”. These motor-less, wind-powered boats offer a quiet, authentic, and relaxing way to experience the Nile River. We relaxed on mattresses on the deck, enjoying the breeze, sunset and scenery, with amenities provided like blankets and pillows. It was accompanied by a motorboat where we put our luggage and had our meals. We had an amazing time dancing to authentic Nubian music and also the old Hindi film song “Mehbooba” (by our felucca boat captain, who loved India)!

Ancient Egyptians called their homeland ”Kemet”, meaning “Blackland” in reference to the dark, fertile, soft agricultural land that the flooding of Nile River left behind. It may be of interest to the readers that Cleopatra was the last Pharaoh of Egypt and she lived closer to modern times than to the times of building pyramids. Egypt today is a time capsule inviting interested people to experience dimensions filled with culture, customs, history, stunning hieroglyphic scripts and above all “ageless wonders”. It was a unique once-in-a-lifetime experience. We can say that the Nile is truly the ‘life” for Egyptian people.

Pyramid & Sphinx

Valley of the Kings

Pharoah statue

Hatshepsut Templex, Luxor

Entrance to Abu Simbel Temple

Entrance of Mt Simon Church