EGYPT - THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS

Hello,

As promised I am back on the blog with my story of our trip to Egypt.

The highlight of course starts with the Pharaohs and continues with them through out.

The Pharaohs belived in life after death and I assure you that if you visit Egypt you will surely feel them come alive around you.

We started our tour at Sharm El Sheikh, which is a different world altogether. I will talk about this part of the trip later. I might add though that the experience was good but not as awesome as the remainder of the tour.

We landed in Cairo and were welcomed at the airport by our tour guide who informed us about our plans for the day. The plan was simple

• A trip to the Museum and
• A visit of the Pyramids.

A visitor to Egypt should visit the Museum. This Museum can boast of the largest number of artefacts and the portion that is dedicated to the Boy King 'Tutankhamen' can make your eyes bulge out in astonishment.

Pharaohs, as I have said earlier, were buried in Pyramids and tombs. They started with Pyramids but later when they realized that Pyramids were being targetted by thieves they shifted to tombs in an area near Luxor called the 'Valley of the Kings'. Archeologists have been able to identify and dig out 62 tombs till date and only five such tombs are open for the viewing public.

While the Pharaohs were sure that the Valley was a well kept secret and I am sure it did survive their reign, it did get the attention of the bounty hunters afterwards and almost all the tombs were looted. The Tomb of Tutankhamen is significant as this was the only one that escaped the attention of the thieves. All the treasure that was buried along with the King was found intact and most of them are now displayed in the Museum in Cairo. It is understood that some of the artefacts have found their way to museums in the western world as well.

But it is not the treasure that is important. It is the workmanship of the ancient Egyptian that leave you awe struck.

The pyramids are huge structures rising above the sandy soil like a mountain. The fact that this mountain is built by men like us make us wonder. The boulders used are almost cubical in shape and measure about 6 feet on all sides. It is difficult to fathom the technique they might have used to move these boulders from the hills to the site and then place them on top of each other.

But that is not all. The pyramids have a passage carved out in the boulders and there are a couple of rooms of the size of a modern bedroom within the structure. The science of weight, design, etc, was so well understood by the builders that their creation stand in their original grandeur even after the passage of so many years.

If the graudeur and scale of the Pyramids was mind boggling I feel the Pharaohs and their architects outdid themselves at the 'Valley of the Kings'. The tombs cut out into the belly of small rocky hills are examples of master craftsmanship and artistry. They camouflaged the tombs and the passage to the actual tomb in one case had a a booby trap also. It was so very well thought out and scientific but it is also the art in the form of paintings and sculptures in the belly of the hills astonishes you. All the tombs have been robbed except one.

Do you know why the thieves were not able to trace the tomb of Tutankhamen?

Coming up next.

Best regards,

Manoj