EGYPT
ALEXANDRIA / CAIRO / THE PYRAMIDS, EGYPT (visited 10/99 & 11/99; written circa 7/00)
During my high school days, I was very fortunate to have taken an art history class with a knowledgeable teacher named V.P. Smith. During the class we spent a significant amount of time learning about the amazing art and architecture of ancient Egypt. I would often fantasize about visiting the tombs of Pharoahs and the pyramids, and contemplate the spiritual transformation that might accompany such a visit. However, fantasy is called fantasy for a reason!
Egypt offers so much mystery and intrigue, yet somehow the reality of actually visiting some of the sites I had previously seen in slide shows and textbooks was not as awe-inspiring as I expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, seeing the great pyramids slowly approaching in the distance outside of the tour bus window is an unforgettable experience - they are truly massive. This was accompanied by a feeling of victory: "Yes! I actually did it - I made it to see the great pyramids of Egypt!" It wasn't something I ever expected to be able to do.
During the visit, I told myself to remain open to whatever transpired. However, there was no drama - no levitation, the sky didn't open up, no earthquakes, no "signs" of any kind, actually. The only thing I did notice is that most of the visitors had a feeling of light-heartedness, even in the midst of the intense desert heat. Maybe that is a miracle in and of itself. I started thinking that many of these people had probably saved money their entire lifetimes just to be able to come and visit this place.
A part of me thought "What a fraud! This place is a monstrous glorification of the Pharoah's ego and the ruling class, built off of the labor and sweat of slaves." Then I thought "well, there is so much that is unknown about the origin of these structures, and what IS known shows advanced intelligence in terms of mathematics, architecture, and astronomy (the three pyramids line up perfectly with the stars of Orion's belt). Or maybe they were indeed built with the help of extraterrestial beings, built in order to bring cosmic stability and tranquility to a troubled world - who knows?"
There is one entrance where you can actually go inside one of the pyramids. I saw many people doing it and coming back outside with expressions of extreme claustrophobia on their faces, gasping for air, so I decided against it. I have no regrets about that decision!
I asked one of the Egyptian tour guides about the spiritual power connected with pyramids, and he just laughed. He said people come from all over the world every day and perform all kinds of strange "New Age" rituals, and nothing ever happens. The vast majority of Egyptian people today are Islamic, and they don't place any spiritual value on the pyramids. They are grateful to the pyramids as a much needed source of tourist revenue, and that's about it.
We also visited the National Museum, which has an astounding collection of artifacts, including King Tut's collection. We were made very aware than many other countries have led expeditions into Egypt in the past, and as a result there are ongoing disputes as to the legality of ownership of many items, with accusations of theft and cultural imperialism abounding.
Alexandria is a very large and very dirty port city with some historical buildings of European design, however I don't remember much about the place. I do remember taking a cab to a so-called "mall" (very small by American standards) which was the only place that was known to have an internet cafe. The city sprawls on for many miles, and there is a lot of poverty. Egypt seems to be a very conservative and traditional Islamic culture, but there are pockets of modern influences here and there. The 40 minute cab ride cost about $2.50. The same cab ride in the NYC metro area would have cost upward of $60.00!
PORT SAID, EGYPT (visited 10/99 & 11/99; written circa 7/00)
A city smaller than Alexandria, Port Said is located at the mouth of the Suez Canal. The main reason the ship stopped here was as a convenient pickup point for passengers returning from their overnight tours to Cairo and the pyramids, and for refueling before going through the canal.
The city has some remnants of European influences, and there is definitely a modern day Islamic conservative vibe in the air. I had another somewhat "transcendent" experience, similar to the one I described earlier in Istanbul, while listening to the sound of various call to prayers being sung and bouncing off the walls of office buildings, reverberating all through the downtown area. Cool!
THE SUEZ CANAL (visited 11/99; written circa 7/00)
Being in the Suez Canal was a trippy experience. First and foremost, there were flies everywhere. It was difficult to even stand outside for more than a few minutes without going crazy from swatting away flies. I secretly enjoyed seeing the tables turned on all the cigarette chain-smokers on the crew, who came outside on deck to smoke and were suffering because of the flies! For a little while they got to experience being the annoyed instead of the annoyers!
The ship was in a "holding pattern" for the better part of a day in one of the canal's parking areas (also known as a "loop") before we had clearance to go through the actual canal. There was absolutely nothing but sand in every direction. Ships that had already received clearance appeared to be floating in the opposite direction over the sand in the distance, because the dunes blocked the view of the water and created the illusion of phantom landlocked ships sailing on sand. Triiipppy!
SHARM EL SHEIK, EGYPT (visited 11/99; written circa 7/00)
This is a resort area for wealthy Egyptians and Europeans. There are some strikingly beautiful vistas as you drive around the Sinai Peninsula desert, but overall I'd have to say the place felt kind of lonely and repressive. Maybe I was just projecting my own state onto the geography, but whenever I see secluded resorts that have heavily armed guards in front, I feel a little funny about where I am. We did kind of "sneak" into one resort, but were promptly told we could not hang out by the pool. We all went down to the beach, which was OK, but the water seemed kind of dirty. I probably would not choose to come back to this place!
SAFAGA / LUXOR, EGYPT (visited 11/99; written circa 7/00)
Safaga is the nearest port city to the ruins at Luxor. It's a tiny little run-down desert town with not much to see. However, the feeling is more relaxed here than at the other Egyptian places I had visited up to this point. The shopkeepers are really desperate to sell anything, and when they saw me and a friend walking down the street (the only foreigners from the ship who bothered to venture into the town) they were quite eager to invite us into their little shops. One guy seemed pretty nice, so I braced myself for a hard sell, and went inside. I ended up buying a very nice scarf-like cloth from him for about $3.
Luxor is the second largest tourist attraction in Egypt after Cairo and the pyramids, and with good reason. There's plenty of fascinating sights to see, including the temple of Karnak (not the one made famous by Johnny Carson). The question that kept on coming up for me was "How did they do that?" Humongous monuments are everywhere, including incredibly large stone pillars with hieroglyphics spanning their entire length.
Another exciting thing we did was descend, via tunnels, into the buried Pharaoh's tombs to see all of the extensive hieroglyphic painting that adorns the walls and ceilings down there. Believe me, I was praying like crazy that no earthquakes would hit Egypt at that particular moment - being buried alive is not my idea of a good time! It's fun to wonder how many more buried treasures there are beneath all of that desert.
On our way back to the ship, out in the middle of some farmland, an overloaded pick-up truck flipped over on the highway in front of us. We all gasped as we slowly drove by the wreckage. Some of us asked the tour guide to stop the bus so we could offer our assistance, but the tour guide declined and said that we needed to keep on going. The tour guide was strangely detached from the situation, as if he sees that kind of thing all of the time. There was not even a hesitation - we wouldn't be helping them, and that was that. He said he would inform the police up ahead at a checkpoint.
Well, he did inform the police, but it didn't seem like they were all that interested. I wondered how long it would take for an ambulance to get to the scene, and indeed if there were any ambulances at all. I felt really bad for the people inside of the truck, and prayed for them. I also became very grateful, once again, for the extremely fortunate life I had growing up, and the life I continue to have, in the USA. We certainly tend to take a lot for granted in America.
At the end of our visit to Luxor, the tour bus made a stop at.... McDonald's!!! Believe it or not, there is a Mickey D's right across the street from one of the ancient temples. At first I boycotted the idea, on the grounds of not wanting to participate in American cultural and economic imperialism, but then I realized that I was quite hungry, and some fries and a chocolate shake would hit the spot for the three hour trip back to Safaga. So I caved in, went inside and was astonished to see how crowded with tourists the place was. Why anyone would travel halfway around the world, only to end up eating American junk food, is way beyond my limited comprehension!
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