As she retraces her path to the ancient land of the Pharaohs, Heena Munshaw unveils the enigma and mystique of Egypt

Then I decided to discover Egypt, I felt like a schoolgirl lost in a history classroom between the many dynasties of the Rameses, the great monuments, the ancient culture, the pyramids, the temples, the structures and mysteries of the country.

We got our first taste of Islamic culture on our flight to Cairo, with no alcoholic drinks being served. On arrival, we were whisked away to an air-conditioned van and then to the comfort of our hotel. En route, we witnessed the bazaars, lit up and busy at that odd hour of the night! It seemed that the city never sleeps.

An important ancient city and a crucial port, Cairo is positioned as the centre of three continents. With a culture of over 5000 years, this city is a beautiful blend of the Pharaonic age, Christianity and Islamic culture. This is very evidently seen in the structures all over the city, ranging from the hanging church to the citadel of Saladin to the towering pyramids.

The last is of course the icon of Egypt. My first gaze at the pyramids left me awestruck, wondering how human beings could build something of such magnitude in that day and age. Spread over 2500 square meters, on the Giza plateau, stand the trio of the ‘Pyramids of Giza’. The two smaller ones belong to queens and the ‘Great Pyramid’ was built for the king. Getting a little adventurous, we explored the monument and made our way into one of the smaller pyramids. The passages in the pyramid are very low and fairly narrow. I had to remain in a crouched position to get in and move around. It’s something like going down a ladder, once inside, we passed various different chambers (all of which had a purpose) till we reached the actual sarcophagus in the burial chamber where the mummy was buried. I considered myself lucky, as only a total of 300 people are allowed to enter the ‘Great Pyramid’ on a given day. About 150 passes for this are sold at 8 am and another 150 at 1.15 pm. The reason for this is the preservation of the monuments. When we breathe we let out moisture, which can damage the colours of the paintings in the pyramids. This is why entry has to be controlled into the monuments and it is essential to pre-arrange your schedule and be there on time accompanied by efficient guides. Fortunately, we had with us our well informed Egyptologist, Mohammed. If you ever venture into the pyramids and have a guide named Mohammed, I suggest you have a good look at him, because if you lose him and shout for Mohammed, chances are you would have a whole army of Mohammeds lined up ahead of you! The most important person on our trip to Egypt, in my opinion, was our guide, without whom we could not have felt the pulse of the past.

For tourists interested in surface level information, an hour in the museum should suffice. For someone with a thirst for knowledge, you can spend a whole day marvelling at the statues staring at you piercingly through their eyes inlaid with semi-precious stones.

I was swarmed by the charming local vendors there, who seemed to love Indians, especially Amitabh Bachchan, our ambassador from Bollywood. I skipped the shopping for a closer look at the great monuments on horseback. As vehicles are not permitted to get too close and it can be a bit of a walk if you want to get from one pyramid to the other, opting for a camel or a horse is a good idea.

After a bit of mental debate between the bazaars and the sound and light show, I settled to see the show hoping to discover yet another facet of the great monuments, giving insight into the history of the pyramids.

Overwhelmed by the mystique of Egypt, the perfect way to end the day was a drink (possible at hotels) with a backdrop of the illuminated pyramid at the Mina Oberoi, located right opposite the Giza. A blush of romance on a historical canvas.

A visit to the museum in Cairo is like walking through an Egyptian encyclopedia. This houses the largest collection of history, art and culture including mummies, sarcophagi etc spread over a large time frame. The fabulous mask of Tutankhamen (weighs 34 kg pure gold) and treasures from Tutankhamen’s tomb indicate the grandeur of an era. These riches belonged to an ordinary 18-year-old prince, leaving to our imagination the worth of the valuables stolen by the world across the ages from the tombs of the great Egyptian kings.

An Egyptian experience is incomplete without the Nile Cruise. Starting from either Luxor or Aswan you make your way to the other end of the river. We flew to Luxor to embark on the cruise which is a completely different experience as compared to modern Far Eastern cruises. We embarked on our riverboat wading our way through many boats which dock alongside each other. On another era, huge pillars were transported along these very waters to construct and create history on the banks.

The river cruise ships carry an average of 120 passengers. The rooms are comfortable providing all basic amenities of a four-star hotel including the luxuries of a gymnasium and pool on the top deck. The dining room offers buffet lunches and plated dinners with the most delicious Arabian sweets rich in dry fruits. It would be a good idea to request special meals if you’re vegetarian. After dinner it’s time to party and swing to the beat of the famous Egyptian song ‘Nari Nari’. And what made us feel absolutely at home was when the DJ agreed to our request and played a Bollywood CD, a brilliant idea for Indian incentives. Evening tea is served on the deck which allows for the best view of the greenery and richness of soil along the banks and you see children happily waving at all the ships passing by perfectly content between history and poverty.

An average sailing would be for four nights starting from Luxor where you remain docked the first day visiting the various temples there. Luxor used to be the capital of the Egyptian empire. The magnificent architecture make Luxor one of Egypt’s greatest tourist destinations. The Temple of Luxor was built by the ancient Egyptians to the glory of Amon Ra, king of the pantheon of Egyptian gods. Rameses II who added a courtyard and two standing coliseums completed it. The temples of Karnak are about three kms from the Temple of Luxor. They comprise three holy complexes, in which every ruling Pharaoh left his mark. There is a spectacular sound and light show presented in different languages telling you about Amon Ra whose marriage to Mut was celebrated annually, when the sacred procession moved by boat from Karnak to the Temple of Luxor.

Luxor is lively at night and while you enjoy a beer at a local pub, you can ponder over Caesar chasing Cleopatra and feel the Roman influences manifest themselves here.

The next day we sailed over to the west bank to visit the ‘Valley of Kings’ where the tomb of Tutankhamen was discovered. The El Deir El Bahari of Hatshepsut, this temple was built by Queen Hatshepsut (she was renowned for dressing like a man). Last stop was the Colossi of Memnon which are the only remnants of a temple commemorating Amenhotep III, these statues are 19.2 metre high.

By evening you sail further to Esna and it is time to visit Edfu that houses the best preserved cult temple in Egypt, still standing in the ancient capital of the region named Apollinopolis Magna by the Greeks. Another unusual temple is found near the village of Kom Ombo. The left side is dedicated to God Haroeris, another personification of the Solar warrior god, and the right side is dedicated to the crocodile god Sobek, a primordial divinity to whom the creation of world is attributed. Here you will also see three mummified crocodiles in glass cases worshiped as Gods of the Nile.

We then sailed on to Aswan, which lies on the right bank of Nile, 886 kms away from Cairo. The gentle landscape of the Nile ends here and so does the cruise.

A visit to the island of Phile followed where the Goddess Isis raises its columns and pillars towards the cloudless sky. Another remembrance is of a ride in boats called Feluccas which glide softly over the water to brilliantly coloured bazaars, where excited enterprising children who speak French, Italian and English, wave frantically for attention and a few dollars.

It was an early start the next morning as we took a short 300 kms flight to Abu Simble temple that in theory was dedicated to the triad Amon Ra, Harmakes, and Ptah, but which was erected solely to glorify Rameses II The Great. To the left is the temple of Hathor, which has been dedicated to his queen, Neferteti, not his only wife but certainly his most loved one.

As my sojourn was drawing to a close, I drank water from the legendary Nile, hoping to return to the land of the Pharaohs as the popular Egyptian belief goes.

(The writer is managing director, Beacon Holidays Pvt Ltd, Mumbai)
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