10/49

#10: Time Machine

I have always loved visiting Ancient civilisations, from the age of the Egyptians, Chinese, Nabateans, Jewish, Greek, Roman, etc. There are so many stories to be told and lessons to be learnt from their way of life and be in awe about the fact that they had no modern technology yet were able to build such beautiful structures that can withstand the passage of time. However, it is saddening that many of these structures and buildings were destroyed not by natural factors but rather by human action. I agree that whenever a country or city ushers in a new ruler or dynasty, it is inevitable that the bulk of the past will be erased so that people can truly embrace the new. Such a way of running a nation or ruling a country has resulted in us only being able to see ruins from the past.

Over the years, I have been to many of the places which were the main capitals of the various civilisations in the world but I have never been able to see what it was like exactly in the past. While in Turkey, we saw so many fragments of past Roman and Greek civilisations but they are nothing but ruins. Nevertheless, the Romans truly impress me. The way they had organised and built the city with whatever natural resources they could find is simply amazing.

I would think the Gaza Pyramids, Ramses II Temple in Abu Simbel and Rome Colosseum ranked among my top three favourite ancient architectures because they were kept intact in the best possible conditions. Petra Treasury ain't too bad either. The Pyramids in Gaza have stood for 5,000 years and they have only been defaced by weather. Although there are reports claiming that the pyramids have started to tilt and might collapse in the near future, the shift in inclination is very slight and will probably withstand another 1,000 years or even more. Ramses II Temple in Abu Simbel was covered in sand hence it was never being defaced deliberately by any human action. It is amazing how they actually moved the temple piece by piece up to higher ground before the construction of the Aswan high dam. Having been to Abu Simbel, I feel Petra Treasury pales slightly in comparison. Lastly, the Colosseum is one of my favourite ancient architectures despite the negativity behind its construction. Part of it was shelled by bombing during World War I and I find it a pity that the Italian government has not made any effort to try to reconstruct it.

On the other hand, the Jerusalem Temple Mount, Athens Acropolis and Ephesus's Temple of Artemis are three that I find it a pity that nothing was left behind. Although there are computer graphics that attempt to reconstruct the building, I still think seeing is believing. So, I have always wondered why is it that there is no intention for any rebuilding to take place. The destruction of Temple Mount was due to religious reasons and its rebuilding has too many complications owing to faith, religion and politics hence I doubt I will ever witness its reconstruction during my lifetime despite interest. As for the Acropolis, the financial situation of Greece sums it all. As for the Temple of Artemis, I guess there are way too many of such temples around but somehow this temple has been claimed to be the most magnificent among the many that were built for various Gods and Goddesses. However, the Turks are unlikely to have any serious interest in Roman civilisation so I guess there will not be any rebuilding any time soon.

If I could have a magic lamp and a genie in the lamp can grant me a wish, I would ask for a time machine that can allow me to visit the past and see what it is like to live in the olden days. However, I will not time travel to the future because I believe I am in control of what comes next.

Egypt IV - Abu Simbel

Built by Ramses II during his 67 years reign, it only gained its fame in the 1960s when UNESCO and the few powerhouses around the world decided to undergo major relocation of the temple.

Abu Simbel is located 40km north of Sudan, and 270km from Aswan, the city in the most Southern part of Egypt. Ramses II built Abu Simbel primarily to show off his awe to Egypt's African Southern counterparts after successfully deterring them from invading Egypt. However, the sweetest thing I like about this narcissist Pharoah was his love for his wife. He had 47 wives and 111 children in total, but he had only one love of his life, Nefetari! He is the only Pharoah in ancient Egyptian history to have built a temple for his wife.

So I suppose he wanted to be with Nefetari and only Nefetari in his after-life and eternally. :))

What exactly is the catch of Abu Simbel then?

1) It has two temples, one for the King and the other for the Queen, which is one of a kind in Egypt.

2) On 2 days of the year, 20th February and 20th October, for 2 minutes, the Sun will shine right into the temple and onto Ramses II's face and lit up Ramses II's statue. Why these 2 days?

Bingo, it's the birthday and coronation day of the Pharoah! :)

3) It used to be completely buried under the sand and not so soon after the archaeologists discover it, the temple faced the risk of being submerged in Lake Nassau, an artificial lake that was about to be formed by the construction of the Aswan High Dam back then. So UNESCO stepped in and with more modernized equipments and technology, they decided to cut the temples up in blocks and pieces so as to shift the temple 210m and 70m up and away. :)

4) Ramses II placed himself on the same status quo in the temple, he was worshipped as per the likes of other ancient Egyptian Gods like Amon, Goddess of Earth (think it's Hathor), God of darkness (can't rmb the name). The only Pharoah to be worshipped like a GOD. Maybe he's really GOD-LIKE (at least to himself).

That ends the "A story a day from Egypt".

Mirage on our way back! You can see the reflections of the sand dunes as though there's a lake in the desert but it is merely an optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions.

Artificial Lake - Lake Nassau: Beware of CROCODILES! They used to reside in the Nile but the Aswan High Dam deterred their entry into River Nile due to uneven water levels and barricades I think.

Abu Simbel - Temple for Ramses II (left) & Temple for Nefetari (right)

That's Nefetari, wife of Ramses II, at the foot of his statue.

Abu Simbel

Lake Nassau again!

Egypt III - Giza & the Ancient Egyptian Civilization

Have you ever wondered why Ancient Egyptians build pyramids? Have you ever seen the pyramid that is being printed on the US$1 notes with the wordings, "In God We Trust"?

I never did, until I went to Egypt.!

Ancient Egyptians believe that their soul will rise to the sky upon their death and they will have a 2nd life i.e. after life and this after-life is eternal. However, the prerequisite of having an after-life is a well preserved body that the soul is able to visit every night. Otherwise, (maybe) your soul will vanish into thin air. :(

So, understanding their culture and beliefs is only the first step to understand the various religious practices of ancient Egyptians.

(1) Mummified Body

(2) Pyramids

Mummification keeps the body intact so that the soul will be able to recognize its own body and visit it every night. It involves 4 main processes, mainly immersing the body in some kind of liquid mixture to preserve the body, dehydrating the corpse, followed by the removal of key organs like the lungs, intestines, stomach, and brain, and finally wrapping it up in linen cloth.

Even with our current biotechnology and scientific knowledge, no one is able to figure out the composition of the liquid mixture because it is the key to mummification. Without first preserving the body, all other procedures will not fall in place accordingly. Experiments that have been done thus far suggests that ginger, herbs, some other natural plants that were found in ancient plants are necessary. The process of producing the liquid mixture is a complete mystery that awaits insight.

The removal of key organs involves 2 main steps, first a 10cm cut in the right abdominal to extract the intestines, lungs, and stomach. The second step involves squeezing the brain out through the nose, though I am clueless as to how our nose and brain are connected. Only the biology students can shed some light on this.

** Ever thought of doing something great and impossible? Research on the liquid mixture necessary for mummification and improvise it such that it can be used to preserve live human bodies. You'll make it big.**

Upon preserving the bodies, it is then necessary to bury it. Pyramids are only meant for the royalties since ordinary beings can hardly afford to build one. In addition, the deceased has to be buried together with all its personal belongings in his or her first life thus they often require gigantic tombs. The first ever pyramid that was built are not those of GIZAs but the STEP PYRAMID in Sakkara. Its architect was Imhotep and his rationale of constructing a tomb shaped like a pyramid is so that the coffin can be placed right in the centre of the pyramid since the tip of the pyramid is at the highest point of the tomb and the soul of the deceased will ascend to heaven from the tip. But it was the Pyramids of Giza who acquire fame and worship through its majestic structure and ancestry.

Belonging to the three Pharoahs of the same bloodline, Cheops (Father), Chephren (Son), Mykorinos (Grandson), the first pyramid is the biggest pyramid in the world. It decreased in size because the descendent, out of respect, felt that its tomb should not be bigger than that of his ancestor. Since only pharoahs built pyramids, and their personal belongings are exquisite, or made of gold, the prominent appearance of the pyramids started to draw tomb robbers. Thus, subsequent generations of pharoahs stopped building pyramids as tombs. Instead, they had their tombs built underground in Valleys which bring us to the 2nd most important site in Egypt, Valley of the Kings. :))

Do you want to be mummified?

Egypt II - Alexandria

The city was non-existent prior to 322 B.C. and you can deduce its founder from the name of the city itself. It is none other than Alexander The Great, a Greek who invaded Egypt in 322 B.C.

Alexandria is located at the northern coast of Egypt, close to where the Mediterranean Sea is. A pretty chilly city, completely off imagination of the typical weather in Egypt. We covered 3 main tourist attractions in Alexandria, mainly Pompey's Pillar, Qaitbay Citadel, and Montazah Palace.

And of course, Alexandria is where all the stories about Cleopatra originated as well!

Pompey's Pillar is a Roman Triumphal Column that rises out of a pile of debris (it was previously the site of a temple), as I'd call it honestly. Pompey is a person's name and he was thought to be a revolt to the then Roman Emperor, Dicoletian. So the emperor ordered his arrest and public decapitation. It was rumored that the pillar was where they hanged Pompey's head. However, subsequent sources proved it wrong but they still kept the name. Perhaps it's a way to lure the tourists to visit.

Qaitbay Citadel, the guarding fortress of Alexandria city. Egypt has a strategic location like Singapore as it connects the East and the West in the past when harbours were still the main gateway to trade. Thus, many Western countries covet over the city of Alexandria which is close to the Mediterranean Sea. As such, invasions or attacks by the enemies were common. According to the guide, there is a distinct difference between citadels and fortresses. Kings and Queens do not live in the fortresses but they do reside in the citadels.

The citadel is the exact site of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. However, repeated invasions and an earthquake led to the destruction of the lighthouse with only the bottom to survive, but only as a watchtower. :(

Montazah Palace was built by Turkish rulers of Egypt and it was meant to be a Summer Palace. Alexandria was chosen as the destination for the summer palace due to its relatively cooler climate compared to the South, I deduce it myself. :) Really awesome architecture and nice gardens, you can tell that it's a place meant for kings even from afar.!

Cleopatra - The last pharoah that ruled Egypt before the nation became a Roman province. :)) Interesting stories about Cleopatra but my memory is dying on me. Cleopatra is of Greek lineage i.e. descendent of Alexander the Great. Unlike her precedents who ruled under the Ptolemaic dynasty, she picked up Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of an Egyptian Goddess. In addition, she was a socialist princess who won the hearts of the masses, and fought with her step-brother over the throne after the death of their father. As her step-brother held tight control over the military power, in order to solidify her grip over the throne, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar, a Roman King. After Caesar's death, she aligned with Mark Antony and subsequently Caesar's legal heir Augustus unseated her from the throne leading to the fall of Egypt into the Romans' hands. The couple, Antony & Cleopatra both committed suicide sequentially and it was rumored that Cleopatra died in the conventional way of an asp bite. :))

And from all that we know, she was GORGEOUS! :))

Much Awaited Post about Egypt - Land of Ancient Civilizations

These days, I get increasingly lazy when it comes to blogging about my trips. It's not as though I am so swamped with work ever since I am back. :))

Thus, to find the constant motivation to blog about the trips, I've decided to force myself to write a blog post everyday on a city that I visited. :))

The first post is of course dedicated to the overview of the places that I've been to spice up my readers' interests to conscientiously log in to read the posts daily. Lol! Sounds so lame.!

Anyway, a summary of the route we took:

Day 1, 27/May : SIN-CAIRO

Day 2, 28/May : CAIRO-ALEXANDRIA; Pompey's Pillar; Qaitbay Citadel; Montazah Palace

Day 3, 29/May : Pyramids of GIZA; Papyrus Paper Factory; Perfume Palace

Day 4, 30 May : Egyptian Museum; Drive to Hurghada

Day 5, 31/May : Desert Safari Trip; Red Sea Resort @ Hurghada

Day 6, 1/June: Hurghada-Luxor; Karnak Temple; Valley of the Kings; Temple of Hatshepsut; Temple of Luxor

Day 7, 2/June: Hot Air Balloon; Sailing on Nile Cruise; Lock of Esna; Horse Carriage Ride

Day 8, 3/June: Temple of Horus (Edfu)

Day 9, 4/June: Temple of Kom Ombo (Kom Ombo)

Day 10, 5/June: Abu Simbel; Aswan City Bazaar

Day 11, 6 June: Aswan High Dam; Uncompleted Obelisk; Felucca Ride; Temple of Philae; Overnight sleeper train to Cairo

Day 12, 7June: Sakkara; Step Pyramid; Khan Al Khalili Bazaar

Day 13, 8 June: Home Sweet Home

As you can see, the itinerary wasn't all packed due to the long hours of sailing on the Nile River Cruise. Fortunately, it was arranged so because Day 6 entirely drained us out since we were under the Sun for more than 8 hours. Furthermore, certain trips like the Hot Air Balloon Ride & Abu Simbel required us to wake up at 3-4 am in the wee hours of the morning! Thus, the entire Cruise journey on the Nile was all rest and relax, where I spent most of time lying on the bed reading, or trying to repay my sleep debt. :) The same goes for my SIS. However, something positive we took home from the cruise was we both improved on our table tennis skills! ;))