Back at the pyramids again .....April 14, 2016



Simply Spectacular !

Pyramid #1

Back in the Pyramids and as always, there are fascinating !..
Obviously the most famous are these 3 you see and which have been photographed extensively but there are actually 9 pyramids on the premises.  The other 6 are for the wives of Keouf and Cheops.  The oldest pyramid and the largest was built around 2500BC making it over 4500 years old !  Impressive indeed!!

Sitting on the steps of the pyramid.

 The pyramids can be seen very easily since they are right next to the city.  One moment you are in the middle of the city the next the pyramids loom right by.  This time it wasn't as deserted as the last couple of times I had been there.  There were lots of tourists...from China ! 



Entrance to Queen's tombs

Namaste

Pyramd #2

These immense monuments are built from limestone and it is believed that the top of the first pyramid actually had the tip in gold but was stolen by grave robbers.  The pyramids can still be entered and some tunnels seen but it is illegal to climb them.  Only the first few levels are allowed to be climbed and sat on for photos.  From far away they look like small stones easy to climb but when you get close you see how big these stones are to move from one row to the next.  The first pyramid is the only remaining wonder of the ancient world still standing.

Once you finish seeing the pyramids you are then taken to where the sphinx is and have the opportunity to take more pictures of these magnificent antiquities.  The Sphinx was built many years after the pyramids and placed in the position of guarding the entrance to the pyramids.  As you know the body is of a lion and the face of a human.  Back in the 1800's, Napoleon and his really smart army of soldiers  were in Egypt and used the Sphinx nose for target practice and that's why the Sphinx is nose less.

After taking a trillion pictures we then headed off to a nearby restaurant that had a wonderful of the pyramids.  A lovely lunch courtesy of Mohamed Bahaa from Travel Code  Thank you Mohamed !

I leave you with this beautiful view of the city from the pyramid hills and the camel riders.  

 

 

 

Life is good !

 

Traveling Redheaded Lady !

 

Karnak Temple and The Nile.......April 6, 2016

Karnak !

I've been to many temples throughout Egypt but Karnak is still my favorite .  Its not that its very large,  which it is,  or that it has these huge pillars that seem to reach sky high ,  or the writings, pictures, and engravings all over depicting how life was back in those days, or the lake where the maidens and queens swam in.....its just that I find in that immense structure of courtyards, stones, lakes, rooms..... peace and tranquility.... 


The entrance where the Pharaohs rode up in their chariots to Karnak

You can still see color on the paintings underneath

The great columns at Karnak

One of the obelisks at Karnak and the tallest standing obelisk of the ancient world.

One of the most impressive things in this vast complex are the massive columns all arranged in perfect rows.  There are 134 of these things with 12 of them measuring over 68 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Truly incredible and of course the question remains how was this built ??? !!
 


The sacred lake of Amun-Ra at Karnak



Anybody seen Cleopatra around?

After seeing the temple,  a walk along the Nile is always something soothing and peaceful as well.  When there were more tourists this was full of Felucca boats up and down the Nile but now it's very quiet and tranquil. 



The beautiful Nile

A view of Luxor

Life is good

Traveling Redheaded Lady

Abydos and Dendera Temples............April 5, 2016

Abydos

What amazing temples !  Beautiful archeology and history in these temples.... Abydos is about 2 and half hours away from Luxor and is one of the temples that has retained most of the colorings on the wall.  It is quite interesting seeing the engravings and beautiful bright blues and red colors still on the wall.  



 Abydos, also known as the Temple of Seti I, was rebuilt at the current site but was really a temple that was built over many hundreds of years by many Pharaohs.   The temple has seven chapels built for the worship of the pharaoh Seti I and principal deities that were worshipped.  Also of high importance and interest is what is known as "Abydos King List".  
A very rare list of Egypt's long list of the pharaohs of the principal dynasties are carved on a wall showing the cartouche name of many dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from the first, Namer until Seti I's father, Ramesses I.

 Dendera, about an hour and half from Luxor, on the other hand is supposed to be one of the most preserved temples and a lot of restoration has taken place to return it to its original state but there is still a lot of work to be done.  Finished around the Roman-Greco era and not nearly as old as the Abydos temple, it was however built on the foundations of earlier buildings dating back to Pharaoh Cheops (the famous builder of THE pyramids in Giza.....) and that was over 4,000 years ago !! 



It turns out that through time, with the wave of Christianity and other religions the temples became places where people lived in and hence built fires.  All the soot from the fire damaged a lot of the walls and ceiling.  Truly sad to see this as well as the defacing of many of the faces of the ancient Egyptian Gods because they were considered pagan.

Can you see your astrological sign?

At Dendera, it was were the famous Dendera zodiac was found that now resides at the Louvre Museum in Paris.  It is considered to be the only complete map of the ancient sky and the basis for which later astronomy systems were based.  Actually there is a place in the temple where you can still see depictions of all the figures of astrology, the Ram Aries, the scales of Libra, the Centaur of Sagittarius, the fish of Pisces and all the others. See if you can spot your sign ?!






Cleopatra is on the right

 One also very awesome thing Dendera has is a very rare engraved picture of Cleopatra !  Not many references, pictures or paintings have been found of Cleopatra, so this is truly a special one indeed !

The Crypt !

It was a long day's drive to get to the temples as they were out in the dessert but I'm glad I saw them and have many pictures to remember them by.

Exploring Abydos !

 

Exploring Cairo and its hidden treasures......April 2, 2016

It seems every time I head out with Fatma, my beautiful Egyptian friend and jewelry maker extraordinaire....I find treasures !!

So it was just supposed to be another trip to the market as we had been working on different designs for awhile and after I was fubakkt satisfied with them...we headed back to the market to find the materials we needed.
We stopped first to look for fabric that we needed and the place was chaotic but Fatma said, it really isn't that crowded Julie....yikes !... I can't imagine worse... It's these tiny little spaces that are individually owned , full of bolts of fabrics and full of women fighting to get the attention of the shop keeper to haggle for a good price .... Well, we got what we needed (Fatma did the haggling) and off we went again looking for more material....

Before we entered the market, Fatma said she wanted to stop at the mosque at the entrance to the market to pray.  In Egypt, there are mosques almost every few blocks... Kind of like in Mexico where there is a church in almost every corner. 

Anyway, I decided to stay outside to take pictures while Fatma was inside.  As I was taking pictures a man from the mosque asked me would you like to come in and take pictures?....I said, yes I would... so he lent me a scarf (it's customary and respectful to wear a scarf when entering a mosque) and inside I went and began clicking away.   Another hidden treasure that from the outside seemed like an old dilapidated building...which most of the buildings in Cairo look this way btw.

This mosque happened to be 500 years old !  Not as beautiful as the Al Hussein that I have been too, but it still had beauty to it.   Beautiful lamps, and woodwork all over, I was clicking away when Fatma came out and was surprised to see me inside.  The man said if I wanted to see more of the mosque and of course I said yes so he took us to a higher level to see the mosque from a landing in the back....where of course we had to take a selfie!!!...lol..

Minaret...that's pretty high !

After taking pictures from every angle I could imagine....The mosque man said to me...would you like to go up the minaret?  Now you don't know what these means....this is not a common thing or something to take lightly, .it is a very special thing and a privilege.  Without thinking or any hesitation, I said Absolutely !  Now, the minaret is very high up, and I mean high...quite a feat and I should have counted the steps but I was so concerned about not breaking my neck that I forgot.... So here is a picture of the minaret....

 All I can say is d*** it was high and I was totally out of breath by the time I made it up...It's a winding staircase and I have to admit, I stopped a couple of times to catch my breath and to not get dizzy.  But man....was it worth it !... The view was spectacular !....All of Cairo was there to see.. The Citadel in the back, the winding streets, the market below, truly Wow ! 

Like I said... I step out with Fatma and magic happens....:)




After that spectacular interlude, we continued our quest for beautiful gemstones and the amazing shops at the market. 

  

I always finish exhausted after a day at the market but I get my workout in for sure and keeping up with Fatma's fast pace is a challenge indeed.  Tomorrow I'm off very early to Luxor to search for more treasures and inspirations.  Can't wait to see Mara's House, a true gem in Luxor and laugh at all of Amr's antics !... Stay tuned

Peace and abundance to all

The Traveling Redheaded Lady