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Contents of the page:

 

1.What is ostrakon O.Turin 57431 telling us about schooling at Deir el-Medina? by Lenka Peacock

 

2. Study hieroglyphs with GlyphStudy!

 

3. Kay and John Hodgins's trip to Egypt, February 2019

4. Lenka Peacock's review of Hilary Wilson's book

5. Janet Diamond writes about her latest adventures on a cruise

6. My name is Janet Diamond and I deliver presentations on Egypt and Italy

 

7. Christine Dubery reflects on her living on the West bank in Luxor

8. Malcolm Dennes's trip to Egypt, November 2014

9. Lenka & Andy Peacock's travels in Egypt in 2007

10. Trevor Rees's trip with Christine Hobson (later el-Mahdi) in 1988

What is ostrakon O.Turin 57431 telling us about schooling at Deir el-Medina?

Lenka Peacock

 

In January this year I spent two weeks in beautiful Turin, in northern Italy, visiting its rich collections, including those of the Egyptian Museum (Museo Egizio, more ME). Among the thousands of objects on display is an inconspicuous piece of limestone measuring just 16.5 x 7 cm and bearing rather faint hieratic signs. It is displayed in case no. 4 in the middle of Room 6, dedicated to the finds from Deir el-Medina. It was found during Ernesto Schiaparelli's excavations at the site between 1903 and 1906. It can be found under the numbers O.Turin 57431 = CGT 57431 or ME Inv. no. S9589.

 

Photography by Lenka Peacock 2023 © of Museo Egizio di Torino

However ordinary this piece of stone might appear to a passing visitor, it caught my full attention - the ostrakon contains a passage from the Instruction of Amenemhat I, one of the Middle Egyptian literary texts that were popular student exercises, but importantly it is the text that we have been translating in our latest GlyphStudy translation group (2022-2023).

A large proportion of the ostraka texts from Deir el-Medina consist of similar student exercises. Most of these were products of advanced schooling, and although there is a complete lack of written evidence of elementary schooling, the large corpus of
this type of advanced schooling is a major source of information for our understanding of the methodology of teaching at the site.

 

We know from circumstantial evidence that places associated with scribal activities, such as the House of Life (pr-anx) or the House of the Book (pr-mDAt), were associated with temples. At the Ramesseum, several small mud-brick chambers with an attached forecourt were identified by the excavators as a school (a.t-sbA) because many ostraca, including literary ostraca, were found there (Jurjens, 2002). The existence of a building dedicated solely to schooling has not been attested at Deir el-Medina, although a building (K2) just outside the perimeter of the main settlement has been suggested as a possible site of a schoolroom on the basis of the discovery of numerous ostraka with pupils' exercises (Davies,2018,97). It has also been suggested that boys from the settlement may have attended classes at the Ramesseum, but it is more likely that teaching took place in the settlement and at other work sites (KV, QV, groups of stone huts at the top of the cliffs, etc.) in small groups by older workers, fathers, uncles and neighbours who were literate. Literacy in the settlement was much higher than in the general population.

 

The children of the necropolis workers were enrolled in their classes according to their abilities and physical maturity, probably between the ages of five and ten (Janssen,2007,60). The lack of elementary school exercises in the excavated material could mean that at this stage of schooling writing began on wooden tablets covered on both sides with gesso, on which the text could be easily erased. Once the schoolchildren had passed the beginner's stage, ostraka were used as writing material. It is believed that writing training began with hieratic, the writing of whole words or sentences. Short passages of composition were learnt during lessons by singing them until they were memorised. It is thought that the passages were then copied from the teacher's models, to be written later from memory. Dictation is rejected as a method because the exercises do not seem to contain errors that would result from mishearing (Janssen,2007,66).

 

O.Turin 57431 is dated to the 19th dynasty, approximately 1279-1213 B.C., the reign of Ramses II. Benedict Davies tentatively dated it to year 60 of Ramses II, based on the fact that the name of a Khaemwaset appears in the text of the ostrakon (Davies,1996,34).

In addition to the lines with hieratic inscriptions containing a passage from the Instruction of Amenemhat I, the ostrakon also contains a colophon. Colophons consist of one or more signatures of students and/or tutors at the end of the exercise. In the colophon of O.Turin 57431 the name of a woman named Henutnefret is mentioned, and some Egyptologists believe that the student copy was actually written by her (Donker van Heel,2016,22).

Below is a transcription of the hieratic text in the colophon by Kenneth Kitchen from his Ramesside Inscriptions: historical and biographical. Vol. 7:

 

Transcription from the hieroglyphic text by Lenka Peacock:

 

in sS-qd m st-mAat nbra

Hnwt-nfrt iry[t n]

 

Translation of the text by Lenka Peacock:

by professional draughtsman (lit. figure scribe) in the Place of Truth Nebre

Henutnefret made [by]

 

Nebre (i) was the "draftsman of Amun" who lived in Deir el-Medina during the 19th dynasty. He was one of the three sons of Pay, who was the patriarch of the most successful family dynasty of draughtsmen in the village during the first half of the Ramesside period (Davies,2018,233). Do we know who Henutnefret was? The name Henutnefer/Henutnefret is mentioned on a stela M.13829, dated to the reign of Ramses III and now in the Liverpool City Museum. The stela belongs to the "Servant of the Place of Truth" Khaemwaset, son of Wennefer (ii) and Mutemopet (i), who is mentioned with his wife Taweretherti. Also named are the 3 children of Khaemwaset and Taweretherti - his son Penamun (iv) and his daughters Henutnefret (i) and Mutemopet (i) (Davies,1996,34). It is accepted that Khaemwaset was active during the reign of Ramses II and thus the later dating of the stela must have been intended as a posthumous celebration of Khaemwaset (i) by his son Penamun (iv), in which case Henutnefret could be the women from the colophon of the ostrakon dated to the reign of Ramses II.

Henutnofret and Nebre would be the contemporaries. The colophon would show that Nebre (i) had been entrusted with her education. Does this suggest that girls were also taught to read and write in Deir el-Medina? We have circumstantial evidence that some women in the village were indeed literate. Some ostraca from there contain letters addressed to or sent by women, and several letters were even sent from one woman to another without the need for a scribe (Janssen,2007,71). Given the high level of literacy in the Deir el-Medina community, it seems likely that some women were educated and that girls may have been educated.

So was this "ordinary" looking object really ordinary? Absolutely not! Behind every object, even the most humble looking, there is a fascinating story that can open up a whole new world!

To read more about the fascinating collection at the Museo Egizio go to https://deirelmedinaegypt.wixsite.com/home/egyptian-museum-turin-italy

Bibliography: 

 

1. Davies, Benedict G..: Life within the Five Walls : A Handbook to Deir el-Medina. 

Wallasey : Abercromby Press, 2018.

 

2. Davies, Benedict G.: Who's who at Deir el-Medina : a prosopographic study of the royal workmen's community

Leiden : Nederlands Instituut voor Her Nabije Oosten, 1999

 

3. Davis, Benedict G.: Genealogies and personality characteristics of the workmen in the Deir el-Medina community during the Ramesside period. Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Liverpool : University of Liverpool, February 1996.

 

4. Donker van Heel, K.: Mrs. Naunakhte & Family : The Women of Ramesside Deir el-Medina. 

Cairo : The American University of Cairo Press, 2016.

 

5. Janssen, J. and Janssen, R.M.: Growing up and Getting old in Ancient Egypt. 

London : Golden House Publications, 2007.

 

6. Kitchen, Kenneth A.: Ramesside Inscriptions: historical and biographical. Vol. 7, Oxford 1989, p. 201

 

7. Mc.Dowell, A.G.: Village Life in Ancient Egypt : Laundry Lists and Love Songs. 

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1999.

 

8. Hieroglyphs unlocking Ancient Egypt / edited by Ilona Regulski. 

London : The British Museum, 2022.

 

9.https://collezioni.museoegizio.it/it-IT/material/S_9589/?description=&inventoryNumber=&title=&cgt=57431&yearFrom=&yearTo=&materials=&provenance=&acquisition=&epoch=&dynasty=&pharaoh=

 

10. Jurjens, Judith: An Unpublished Manuscript of the Teaching of Khety (P. Turin CGT 54019) In : Rivista del Museo Egizio 5(2021)

https://rivista.museoegizio.it/article/an-unpublished-manuscript-of-the-teaching-of-khety-p-turin-cgt-54019/

Study Hieroglyphs with GlyphStudy!

GlyphStudy’s Collier & Manley 2023 Section

Suitable for Beginners

Beginning Monday July 3, 2023

 

We will be using How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Yourself by Mark Collier and Bill Manley as our text. We will spend about 12 months working our way through the book, doing every exercise in addition to some additional materials which your moderator, Loren Pomeroy, will supply.

The book concentrates on variations of the offering formula and self-presentation texts found on middle-kingdom funerary stelae.

You will learn by translating actual ancient texts and not just artificial made-up exercises.

The book’s treatment of grammar is limited to these types of texts, and as such is not a substitute for a more complete grammar, like Allen or Hoch, but is an excellent preparation for our more advanced grammar sections.

You will need to purchase a textbook in order to participate.

The 2003, revised edition (Purple cover) is preferable, but any edition will do if you don't mind checking an errata list.

 

WHAT'S EXPECTED OF YOU

Loren Pomeroy, your Hoch 2023 moderator, will set a reading period for the lessons starting on a Monday and then homework is due every two weeks. Work is always due on Sunday.

 

The pattern for the section is that we spend the two weeks reading (and re-reading) a chapter before students send in the first homework. Then assignments are then sent in weekly until the chapter has been completed.

Each weekly homework assignment will then be collated and shared with the list, so you can compare your work to that of your fellow students. Your moderator will also make some corrections to your work and will comment on various aspects of the assignment.

Since we work by discussing things on the GlyphStudy list and by asking questions and sharing work in the homework collations,

you will get the most out of your section if you send in work and make an effort to contribute to the grammar discussions.

 

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM GLYPHSTUDY AND CM23

 

You should anticipate a friendly interactive group, opportunities to ask questions, resources in the form of flashcards, worksheets and study guides as well as no small amount of hard work. I won't kid you--studying any language is time intensive and studying an ancient language is even more so, but we think tackling it with a group of study friends can also be a lot of fun.

 

SIGN ME UP:

 

Step 1 Send an email with both your first and last name and the textbook section CM23 to Karen's email below. 

 

 

kmotc@swbell.net

 

Step 2 When we get a little closer to the start-up date for CM23, you will be asked to join a 2nd Groups.io group, where you will post your homework. There will be announcements about the CM23 section on the main GlyphStudy list, so stay tuned.

 

If you have any questions about the section, you can contact your section moderator

 

Loren Pomeroy 
lorenpomeroy@yahoo.com

 

If you have any general questions about the GlyphStudy list, please contact the owner/list moderator

 

Karen McCollam
kmotc@swbell.net

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Kay and John Hodgins's trip to Egypt   

 February 2019

We are Kay and John Hodgins who have no specific Egyptian knowledge but just love Egypt. We first backpacked Egypt and Jordan way back in 1988 although at that time we took an overnight train between Cairo and Aswan before continuing onto Abu Simbel and slowly back towards Luxor. Onwards it was to the Red Sea, through Sinai and boat to Aqaba.

 We did subsequently travel in 2013 to Sudan with Aidan Dodson.

 In early 2019 we decided it was time that we travelled by land between Cairo and Luxor and what a wonderful trip it was. After a return to the Giza Plateau we were thrilled to visit and go inside many of the names we had only read about. The list was certainly extensive - Step, Red, Bent and Black pyramids, Abu Rawash, Abu Sir, Meidum, Lisht, Hawara, Tuna El-Gebel, Beni Hasan, Tel El-Amarna, Abydos and Dendera.

 At the end of all this we also managed to visit Alexandria, Taposirus Magna and Tanis.

A walk with Khufu/Cheops boat

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Zoser's Step Pyramid, Saqqara

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Meidum Pyramid - one of Snefuru's trio including the Bent and the Red pyramids

Ramses II at Memphis and surely to show the scale

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The unstable and poorly built Black Pyramid of Middle Kingdom Amenemphat III and the first to also house his wives looms over Cairo and the Nile

Dahshur

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The catacombs at Tuna el-Gebel

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...and deep inside Meidum Pyramid

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A mummified baboon or "the living image of Thoth" at Tuna el-Gebel

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The tomb of Petosiris, a high priest of Thoth from around 300BC

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Anubis at the tomb of Petosiris, Tuna el-Gebel

The tomb of Khnumhotep, governor during the early 12th Dynasty at Beni Hasan

Riches from the Nile - tomb of Amenemhat, a 12th Dynasty governor, Beni Hasan

Aten shining brightly in the heavily defaced tomb for Akhenaton at Tell el Amarna

The tomb of Meryre the scribe, steward and "Overseer of the Royal Harem of Nefertiti, Nobles' Tombs at Tell el Amarna

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The colossal staue of Meritamun daughter of Ramses II at Akhmim

Abydos and Seti I

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Bes at Dendera

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In the presence of esteemed archaeologist Mostafa Waziri at

Dra' Abu el-Naga with a brown wooden coffin that was painted turquoise and rust coloured with offerings that included numerous skulls and vases about to be revealed behind a 3500 year old wall. Obviously no photos permitted before it is catalogued.

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Tomb of Seti I (KV17) in the Valley of the Kings

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Sarcophagus of Ay at West Valley 23

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Catacombs of Kom Ash Shuqqafa, Alexandria

                        Tanis is well represented in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo but despite being next to the Tutankhamun galleries is surprisingly but fortunately for the viewer relatively little visited. There is a glittering collection of gold and silver encrusted objects from six intact 21st and 22nd tombs unearthed at the Delta site in 1939. The tombs rivalled Tutankhamun's in richness but news of the find was overshadowed by the outbreak of World War II. We found Tanis especially interesting because of what had been moved from Pi-Ramessus when that branch of the Nile had silted up and these were now interspersed with the tombs of the 21st and 22nd Dynasty pharaohs which had been found intact by Pierre Montet.

 

Only a few of the forgotten treasures of Tanis at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo including gold collar of Psusennes I 

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The upper part of gilded wooden coffin and a gold mask of Amenemope 21st Dynasty pharaoh from Tanis at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo

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Tomb of 22nd Dynasty pharaoh Osorkan II, Tanis

Within the unlit tomb of 21st Dynasty pharaoh Psusennes I at Tanis

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Tomb of  Psusennes I at Tanis

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With Ezzat, the unofficial "minister of Antiquities" at Tanis

The fallen colossus of Ramses II at Tanis

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Wilson, Hilary: Understanding Hieroglyphs : A Quick and Simple Guide

Review of the book by Lenka Peacock

 

This book is an ideal read for those who would like to deepen their knowledge on matters surrounding the ancient Egyptian writing system. This publication will become an essential companion on your journey to learn hieroglyphic script. It is not a grammar book and will not burden you with any grammatical terms but is a simple guide that provides a comprehensive background to the origins and use of hieroglyphic writing. 

 

The book is divided into 10 chapters covering subjects on personal, royal and place names, royal and priestly titles and titles and terms relating to the professions of daily life. The last two chapters deal with matters of keeping count and marking time. Each chapter contains tables of the most commonly occurring names, titles and associated words written out in hieroglyphs alongside with their English equivalents. As a result, with this publication in hand, the reader should be able to identify, transcribe and understand basic texts. The book also contains numerous translations with examples from monuments and museum objects.

 

This edition, which is an updated version on the 1993 issue, was published on July the 25th 2019 by Michael O’Mara Books for £16.99. It is available in hardback print format with an attractively designed jacket, featuring decoration from Nefertari's beautiful tomb. The publication is accompanied by pleasing black and white drawings by the author, several useful maps - the maps of provinces of Lower and Upper Egypt with their standards, locations and titles are particularly useful - select bibliography and index.

 

The book is also available as an e-book for £5.99 from www.mombooks.com

Janet Diamond writes about her latest adventures on a cruise:

Fred Olsen – ‘Boudicca’ – ‘Ancient Arabia’

This cruise begins in the Far East, and I have been invited to join it for the final leg from Alexandria, across the Mediterranean and back to Dover.

 

Friday 1st February 2019 – Snowstorms and Chaos
Our drive up to Heathrow was a frightening experience as we were caught in the snow blizzard that hit the M4 around Swindon – Reading!

We had allowed a lot of extra time to get there, however, the weather was so bad, that we still only made it just in time to board the plane.

It made the cruise and sunshine seem even more appealing. Once boarded, due to the snow, the plane then waited on the runway

for over 2.5 hours – too long for us to catch our flight at Istanbul! However, at Istanbul, Turkish Airlines pulled out all the stops,

kept the connecting plane waiting and whisked us directly to it waiting on the runway! Very impressive indeed, and we were very grateful.

One small problem – on arrival at Alexandria, we found that whilst we had made the connection, our luggage had not! Five members

of the new Entertainments Team (and partners) – singer, pianist and three speakers were minus all their suitcases and clothing.

We were told there was no time to get the luggage to us before departure from Alexandria, and it would be sent directly to Malta

– three days hence!

So, no change of clothes etc for the duration, and all of us with a job to do – and trying to look professional as we do it.

Everyone made a great effort, and were very inventive in their ways of looking the part;

and it made a great story, quickly broke the ice; and happily we were all reunited with our cases at Malta, as promised.

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2nd – 13th February 2019:
The cruise itself was great!  After Alexandria, we visited Malta, Palma and Cadiz (which I fell in love with).  The weather was perfect – allowing  for plenty of pool and deck-time. There was lots to do, endless great food, wine and company.   And the staff was universally excellent, professional and helpful.

 

The response to my talks was lovely – the passengers were very complimentary and could not have been friendlier or kinder.  How nice for me!
I made many friends, had the best of times and would not hesitate to go on this liner again – should I be lucky enough to be invited, that is!  Fingers crossed!!

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My name is Janet Diamond and I deliver presentations on Egypt and Italy

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EGYPT: A look into the culture and history of ancient Egypt.

ITALY: I found the experience of writing my talks on Egypt so rewarding that I was encouraged to also write

about my other passion – Italy and the Renaissance

 

Egypt and Egyptology:

My fascination for Egyptology arose, when in the early 1980’s, I went to live in Cairo with my husband and young son. Arriving in Cairo, knowing nothing about the land and its amazing, long-lasting history, and wanting to know more, I started reading and learning; so began

a passion that has stayed with me to this day.

 

Ultimately, I began to feel I might have something to share; and that led to the writing of my presentations. However, I was really surprised,

and pleased, to find a ready and willing audience; and have now been giving talks for about 5 years, to a variety of groups, across and

wide geographic area. And I found I just love delivering the talks, and sharing my passion with those who wish to hear it!

 

Speaking on Cruises Liners:

I also harboured an ambition to become a speaker on cruise liners, but felt it could never happen.

 

The Black Watch

However, in June 2017 I applied and was thrilled to be accepted. Next - the nervous wait to see if I would be accepted. Happily, I did not

have to wait long and was soon invited to speak on the Fred Olsen, “Black Watch” - “Wonders of the World” cruise.

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I am also permitted to take a guest along with me - so, with my family not being free

at the time, I invited a fellow member of EST to join me – the delightful, bubbly Vanessa. She accepted in a flash!

See our “Contact Us” page to learn more about Vanessa.

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In March 2018, we were flown to Mumbai to join the cruise there, we then sailed across the Indian Ocean, up the Gulf of Aqaba, the Red Sea, Suez Canal and onto Alexander and disembarked 10 days later to fly back to UK.

Having never cruised before, I had little idea of quite what to expect. However, we received a warm welcome and induction from the Cruise Director. Fellow speakers and entertainers were friendly, helpful and very supportive.

 

For my first presentation, initially I felt a little nervous, but, I soon relaxed and settled into my role as Speaker. I delivered 5 talks, which I tailored to suit what the passengers would be visiting during their time in Egypt - giving them insights into the history of ancient Egypt and what they might see on their visit to Cairo, the Cairo Museum and the Pyramids at Giza. They seemed to enjoy the talk, and were very kind in their comments.

 

Vanessa was the perfect partner; not only was she great fun, she was supportive and helpful in every possible way. Not to mention that she     is very knowledgeable on the subject herself, so we shared many great conversations with the passengers (one of whom even sent us each    a book on Saqqara on our return, by way of thanks to us both! How kind!)

 

So, I enjoyed my first cruise very much: I had great feedback and support; enjoyed getting to know the passengers and entertainment staff; attended fascinating talks and evening entertainments myself; and ate far too readily of the excellent food in a choice of lovely restaurants.

So, tell me - What is there not to like??

 

On my return I was delighted to be invited to choose more cruises, and am very pleased that I have been requested to speak

on another cruise in 2019.

I look forward to the cruise and to telling more.

Christine Dubery reflects on her living on the West bank in Luxor

I have been lucky in that going to Egypt many times years ago, I got to see so many things.  

 

When they were just starting excavating Horemheb’s tomb at Saqqara, I went alone, and the guardians let me in to wander about, just for a small backsheesh. They gave me some nice remnants of ancient stone pots too..

 

I have been in all the tombs, in both the Valley of the Queens and the Valley of the Kings. Many were supposed to be closed, and not open to the public, but travel alone and quietly, and the guardians will lock you inside each one, and return later to release you again. Great way to see in peace and undisturbed.   Also I have been inside most of the tombs near Deir el Bahri that were officially closed, and in all the out of the way temples all over, and in places like tomb of Anktifi. I did that, by hiring a taxi, and taking a road map to find Moalla. Got the taxi to stop when we crossed the railway line, and magically guardians appeared out of the sand hills, and were happy to open the tomb for me. If you were alone there was never any problem about taking photos.  

 

I visited most of the Delta, sites like Bubastis.  I went to Tanis before it was open to visitors and flashed my friends' London Bus pass, which they accepted as official document and we had the place to ourselves all day.  The down side was my friends needed the toilet, so the guardians offered theirs. I was deputised to go first and check it out. I could write a book on dreadful Egyptian Toilets! The floor was awash with water, there was a straddle plate to stand over, and an old tin in a bucket to “flush” with. Also there was a big window in the opposite wall, with no glass or screening, so you were on view to anyone. I came out keeping a straight face and said it was fine, as my friends needed a toilet. My goodness when they had used it they said pity any poor soul who went in there in sandals.  

 

I spent a day in temple of Mut years ago when it was very overgrown and not open.

I never got to see the Bent pyramid etc as that was a military zone back then. But I had Nefertari’s tomb private viewing, with a friend who is married to Egyptian, when they came to Luxor, as his father was in the Government. This was when the Getty Institute had just finished work and before it was officially open.  Magical, my friend and I almost held our breath, it was so beautiful and fresh. We both said in unison, “He must have loved her!”

 

I climbed the hill at the entrance to the Valley of the Kings, on the right side, as there is a temple right at the top that the locals call Temple of the Moon, built by Amenophis 3.  You can ride a donkey to the lower slopes, then it is a steep climb with loose rocks. Your mind boggles at the mud bricks etc they hauled up there plus stone lintels. I don’t think anyone else goes there.

 

I have climbed all over the site of the remains at Deir el Bahri , all three temples, long before anything opened to public. Looked in the store rooms belonging to Deir el Bahri.

 

I rode out to Abusir on a camel, and saw all there, crawling into the pyramids on my belly in fitter days, not thinking about snakes that might be inside.The camel very reluctant to go away from usual tourist routes, but really galloped back home.

 

I explored Sehel, getting there by rowing boat, where there are lots of rock inscriptions.

 

I have not been to the oases at all, or to the mines in the desert, but I have visited all the temples behind lake Nasser etc.

 

I used to go in the summer, when there were virtually no visitors, and you could get two weeks for the price of one. So apart from places like Dashur then out of bounds, really I got to see different things.

 

I spent days at Malkata palace, and there are still bits of painted walls, and the spoil heaps full of blue painted pottery.

 

I went right down in the Osireion at Abydos, and into the secret store rooms below the main temple itself. No wonder Omm Seti loved the place. Her grave is close by.

 

I did a tour with the British Museum - one of the rare guided trips I did - and that was with Vivian Davies, newly appointed as Keeper then, and Harry James who was retiring.. Viv was recording  tombs at El Kab, so he translated wall inscriptions for us. .Pointed out the chief hung upside down from the boat prow in one tomb. Showed us Meroitic writing at Philae. We had three Egyptian guides as well, but they were also keen to learn from real experts. The rules were, you had to listen to the Egyptians on a site,  but we would be taken round corners to have various other things shown to us, and had lectures on the boat in the evenings from the BM experts.

 

All in all I am pleased I did lots of trips when Egypt wasn’t really a busy destination,  and when I was fit. Also going July/August it was very peaceful. You went out early before it got too hot.   One summer at Kalabsha I sat on an upturned old boat, whilst a fennec fox walked around by the boats at the rear of the site, where the water levels had fallen. Beautiful creature with big ears and very pale colour.  I also saw African wild cat - serval. It ran across the desert near Luxor. Lovely creature.

 

Whilst walking round the outer enclosure at Karnak, to visit one of the little temple type buildings, to an adoratrice of Amun, I came face to face with a cobra, sunning himself. He reared up, and spread his hood ,whilst I stood still less than a yard from him, then he decided discretion was better than valour, and that it was sensible to just slither away.

 

When I seperated from my husband I went and lived in Luxor for a couple of years. I taught English to the trainees at the hotel school. One of the most important things was to impress upon them that English people didn’t always understand regional accents.  At the time lots tourists in from Manchester and the north of England. Waiters couldn’t understand what people asked, for so would go away and not come back with an order. I got them to tell people they couldn’t understand what was being said, and please to say it again slowly, or use different words, which saved lots of hassle with irate tourists.

Work permits are difficult in that you may not have job a local could fulfil.  Hence teaching at the institute,and for Egyptian wages!

When I lived in Luxor I was always being asked to help when people were unwell.

 

One old lady said she had been bitten in the mouth by a snake when she was asleep, but her teeth had rotted down and she had abscesses, so I painted her gums with clove oil and got her to the Coptic dentist for treatment.

 

There was good Coptic chemist  in Luxor, and they had so much medication, with the instruction leaflets in English as well as Arabic, so you could get anti-tetanus injections (very much used), and other suitable medication as required.

 

Once a chap got bitten by his donkey, whilst he was digging a well in the mud. I told him he should feed the donkey with the fodder not himself!    Fortunately a donkey’s teeth are set so they slice along the stomach not into it. I cleaned the bite with surgical spirit, made him yell, and put a dressing on, taped well down, trying to explain the flies mustn’t walk on it. I gave him a tetanus shot, and told him next day to slap his stomach across the dressing once. If it didn’t hurt worse leave well alone. Such treatments worked fine.

 

Such fun things happened, as although the locals don’t believe in getting the girls a good education, they respect those who they perceive as clever. One of the most eye opening experiences was when one of the old Aunties in Bairat was hit by a car, and taken to Luxor hospital.   I said I wanted to see her, and the locals were very anti me going (as they see on tv all the posh Military Hospitals with Mubarak, so they know theirs is substandard). WELL what an experience!!!. The rooms were all crammed, with old iron bedsteads, that looked as if they were from a dormitory in Wackford Squeer’s school  from Dickens. They were very battered, and the old lady had a brick tied to her foot with string, which hung over the end of the bed, to act as traction. The nurses were all men. You couldn’t tell them apart from the visitors. The floor was covered with sitting family members cooking food etc, as nothing was provided in the hospital by way of food,  or even bedding. You know how excited Egyptians get with a bit of drama, so the noise was dreadful. In the midst of this you would see the male nurses, no uniform, so they could be anybody, putting up blood transfusions for the really ill, utter chaos. I am sure you really need five family members perched on your bed, and the floor packed with every member of extended family, all shouting and jabbering away non stop.   Honestly it is a wonder that anyone gets better. If for example someone needs tonsils, out they pay a private doctor, and it is done in his house, not with any hygiene, and the patient is taken straight home, to be again swamped by all relatives. Pity help anyone trying to sleep off anaesthetic effects. This private service is well used for even hernias.

 

What fascinated me was the fact that the prominent man of the family, eg the oldest son, had to take his mother, or anyone else to visit a doctor. They would be given a prescription for medicines, which they had to buy in chemist. Then the next day they would go to another doctor, as they  weren’t cured instantaneously, and take the previous bag of medication, and get even more. This went on for days, with by the end, a huge bag of medicines. Most of the doctors and dentists were awful quacks. There was however a good Coptic dentist in Luxor, and a very good French doctor who lived near Medinet Habu. He was called the French Doctor, as he had a french mother and was educated in France. He was a proper doctor.  Extremely nice man, who was only doctor to trust!

 

If you want any jobs done on Luxor you employ a Copt, as they have good work ethic, and even  the Muslims say this, and recommend Coptic workmen as reliable.

 

One thing that amused me, is that they all love an occasion to dress up. Which means that the Muslims also celebrate the Christian festivals rather than missing out. So Easter for example they will dress in their best clothes, and parade up and down the river bank. This often entails stupid frilly unpractical dresses for little girls. They tend to take family boat ride along the Nile on Easter day. There is a monastery of Marie Girgis, (St George) nearby and the Copts do an annual pilgrimage there where they take picnics and eat at the monastery grounds. The Muslims for some reason also like to undertake this, but also use it as an occasion to have mass circumcision for the small boys, who return home with rag tied round their appendage. It had no connection with St George, just maybe they thought his celebration had good vibes.

One Eid, at end of Ramadan, the young men were out in all their finery, galloping horses and camels along the river bank and generally showing off big time. Then a young man, who had fallen off his camel at speed,. was carried to me, rolling around in agony and yelling. They wanted me to look at him, but it was obvious nothing  was broken, but he had fallen on his bottom with great thwack and it had given him the proverbial “kick in the balls” if you pardon the crudeness. I tried to explain that although he felt sick, it would pass, and gave him a bag of ice to hold on the affected area if he liked. They all laughed later.

 

When I was talking about the chap bitten by his donkey, the wound was like a huge deep  graze across his abdomen area. The watchers were impressed by the treatment with liquid that stung, and a queue formed of others with minor cuts and grazes to be cleaned with surgical spirit.  The lacerations got smaller and smaller ,as they all wanted attention. Finally a chap with a small, hardly visible mark, on his hand showed me his so called wound. . So I said to him “There, there, wal-ed, Om will kiss it better!” and planted a kiss in the air above his hand, which made everyone roll in the mud in hysterical laughter. Getting muddy cuts in the fields were a way of life, and so doctor would tell them to get a tetanus injection. The doctor however didn’t do this, you paid to see doctor, then bought a syringe and phial of the serum at the chemist, then you had to pay one of the so called male nurses in the village to give the jab. So I became the tetanus administrator.  Free of charge and they skipped the doctor, got the medicine, and I stuck the needle in. The peasants were very simple folk and the “Hog-nay”, or the injection, by disposable syringe, was big medicine, serious stuff. So much so, that one of the frequent treatments for kids was vitaminsuppleents, as their diet was poor. These were given as a powder, and this you dissolved in sachet of sterile water, and injected into a child, instead if giving it as a drink or pills. This impressed the people far more!

 

After the locals trying many doctors when someone felt unwell, the  last resort was to visit the local Holy man sheikh. He would say some words of magic, and write the spell on a piece of paper in ink. You took this home and put in a large  bowl of water that you then stood in, and poured the water over yourself with a cup to absorb the magic.

 

​It was not unusual for a  family to bring me the bags of medicine to give my opinion on.  A man with obvious TB from poor living conditions would have bag of TB treatment, (Rifampacin), bronchitis medicines , asthma medicines etc most of which had contra indications not to be taken together. I would chuck the wrong stuff out and tell them to take the correct ones. They had great respect for me having some knowledge of such things.  The NHS would have a fit at the overprescribing,but the medicines made under licence and very cheap to buy.

 

One boy had been hit as a toddler years before, by a tourist bus, and suffered a   fractured skull. This made life hard for him, as his concentration was no good, and left him with a degree of learning disability.   At school they learnt chanting by rote, and he was always in trouble as he couldn’t perform, so he would play hooky. One day I heard a commotion, and some of the little girls came to get me. The family had tied him up and were beating him. He was screaming, and the rest of the kids were hysterical. I strode into the fray and rescued him. If he was scared he would panic, and they had had him to doctors, who had given him epilepsy medication (phenobarbitone and other similar drugs), plus medicine supposed to  make brain more active and some to make him comatose. I explained, by drawing, that when his head was crushed, the bone pushed down, and damaged the brain beneath, so he couldn’t think and cope as well as others, and would never be able to. He didn’t have epileptic fits, but got into panics because he was beaten. I said you need to be quiet, and kind and gentle with him, so he dropped out of school, as they refused to send him to a special school that there was in Assyut. So he came to me, and I taught him to write his name, Mohammed, in Arabic, and how to count in Arabic. Once he was treated with kindness, he was so much better able to cope. He was a dear lad, and found life very hard. Last time I visited Luxor he was of the age for National Service, and his uncle, who was the sensible one of the family, was panic stricken at the thought of Mohammed with a gun, so he had gone to Cairo to try and get him exemption. Unfortunately the boy’s parents had thrown away the documents from the time of his childhood accident to prove he was brain damaged. I do so hope that his uncle Mahmoud prevailed.

 

Diabetes was a huge problem in Luxor, as diet was not very varied, and they drank small cups of black tea with many spoonfuls of sugar to have any energy, and this of course led to type two diabetes, with its inherent problems.   Another problem the French doctor told me about, was that the women needed HRT, as they got bad menopausal symptoms and felt worse , because they could no longer produce the large numbers of children that made their husbands feel virile. He said if only HRT was available at reasonable cost, lots of other imagined illnesses of menopausal women would disappear. HRT medication remains expensive.

 

One of the problems, mainly in July and August, when fields are flooded for irrigation, was that the little golden scorpions would come into the houses in the dry. They hid in places like inside shoes, and you always needed to turn light on before putting feet to floor at night. They give a nasty sting  and make the muscles in surrounding area contract and spasm. If bitten, on say arm or trunk, the locals cup the bite, they cut across it and heat jars with candle inside, and put oversite so they draw out the poison, they hope. One night, late, there was a dreadful screaming, as one of the local men had come into his kitchen in the dark and trod on a scorpion  which promptly stung him on his big toe. The whole foot was twitching and the man was screaming. Now you can’t cup a big toe, no matter how you might try, and as always, the whole surrounding village turned out to join in the melee. Honestly, the wives have nil common sense, as they allow the little kids in tears and frantic, to watch their father screaming in agony. I persuaded them to remove the little ones, and made his brother fetch the taxi, and drive to the medical facility on the west bank, which was fairly modern, to ask for some anti venom injection, which they were bound to have, (mainly for the Egyptologists.).   So, screaming patient, his brother, and myself only, went off to the clinic. Of course they did have the antivenom. However instead of giving a series of injections in the big toe area, they stuck needle in, and then proceeded to turn it round whilst under the skin to reach all round the area, and that made my eyes water watching!!! However it did the trick, and he was left with a twitching and sore toe but no longer screaming in agony.

 

We moan about the state of the NHS, but goodness me, Egypt opens your eyes. Of course the Generals and high ups get good treatment in modern hospitals for the government, but not the rest of the population. The country has a long way to go.If only the girls stayed in school instead of being married off young they would opt for family planning, and many things would improve as a result.

 

One aspect of living in Luxor ,was the fact that I saw the annual procession carrying boats through the town, supposedly to do with the local Saint buried in the mosque above Luxor temple, Abu Haggag. Many horses and camels, decked in finery, and boats borne aloft in the middle of the procession, trumpets blown and such like. Quite takes you back in time.

It must have been very like a barque journeying from Karnak to Luxor temples. Strange the ways traditions hang on in various guises. But then the Egyptians never jettisoned a belief, just added others,ad infinitum. So very like the god’s barque in procession between temples. and a link to times past. Made you think about traditions that don’t die out.

 

Egypt needs to keep the girls in school and educate them so they do not marry in teens and have huge families. The young women will bring change hopefully, to the overpopulated country of very poor people. It is strange as they are very aware of benefits of good education, and respect foreigners for their knowledge. Nasser of course decreed that all who completed their full education would be given a government job. As a result there are several people all doing one job, and all have to have input, which makes getting  something rubber stamped takes hours and hours to complete.

Amazingly the peasants are exceedingly generous with what little they have, and not avaricious, watching cruise boats full of holiday makers in skimpy clothes with more possessions than they could ever dream of. Never admire something someone has, as they feel compelled to give it to you.    

 

I like the people very much, and enjoyed my time amongst them, in spite of frustrations at times. Treat them with respect and they repay your friendship. I miss the dry heat and sunshine. Though not the fine sand in everything.

Christine has been a member of our Society since 2017. In May this year we held a sale of some of Christine's delightful watercolours that she kindly donated to us to raise the Society's funds.

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Malcolm Dennes's trip to Egypt,
November 2014

Prehistory to the Romans
by Malcolm Dennes

I have been interested in Ancient Egypt for many years. Since moving to Somerset ten years ago, I have been fortunate enough to be able to attend regular Egyptology lectures at Dillington House, llminster, and with the Egyptian Society in Taunton as well as joining study tours to Egypt led by eminent Egyptologists such as John Romer, Robert Morkot and Stephen Harvey, concentrating on specific areas, for example Aswan and Abydos.

The following are some reflections on my visit to Luxor in November 2014 with the
Plymouth and District Egyptology Society (PADES). The tour was organised by Egypt Archaeological Tours Ltd and led by Lucia
Gahlin, a leading Egyptologist and Chair of the Friends of the Petrie Museum. Enass Salah was our expert local guide.

The sites we visited spanned much of  Ancient Egyptian history, from predynastic rock art to what some consider the last temple in the traditional Egyptian style ever built. We also saw areas where there was almost nothing left to see to some of the best preserved and restored monuments of Dendera, Medinet Habu and Malqata.

It seems reasonable to “bookend” my article by starting with the earliest and concluding with the latest sites. Heading northwest from Luxor, we entered Wadi Hammamat to view the quarries and the rock inscriptions. The rock extracted from the wadi is bekha, a grey meta-greywacke for those geologists among you! It is unsuitable for building but ideal for the carving of statues and the like. As well as some interesting rock art, there were a number of hieroglyphic inscriptions.

Wadi Hammamat's inscriptions

Wadi Hammamat was an important route between the Nile and the Red Sea and, as such, was well protected by the Romans, who built a number of small guard posts along the route. There is also an ancient well, now restored, with the original staircase showing the wear of centuries on the steps.

Heading south from Luxor, we visited Wadi
Baramiya, another important route to the
Red Sea and the gold mines of southeast
Egypt. Some more rock art and ancient
inscriptions, close to the only monument
built in the wadi, a small rock-cut temple
built by Seti I at Kanais.

The Romans must have used it as there is a well and small fort on the same site.

Kanais: Seti's well

Further down the timeline, we called at the tomb of Ankhtify at Mo’alla, on the east bank of the Nile south of Luxor, which dates from the First Intermediate Period. Ankhtify was a local ruler but no trace of his town of Hefat has been identified. It lies close to the area of Hierakonpolis/Nekhen. He is recorded as having fought against the Theban rulers but without success. His tomb is somewhat ”rough and ready” but contains some interesting depictions.

It was something of a relief, after some long journeys over speed-humped roads, to take a gentle boat ride across the Nile to view some of the sites on the West Bank. Our visits there included the Valley of the Queens, Deir el Medina and several tombs of the Nobles. The Valley of the Queens contains few tombs which can be visited. Sadly, that of Nefertari was not available to us but there were some superbly preserved wall paintings in those we saw. In fact, two were of princes (Khaemwaset and Amunherkhopshef) and only one of a queen (Tity). Whose queen she was is still a mystery!

Valley of the Queens: Amunkherkhopshef's tomb:

Several of us set off to make the walk over the hills from Deir el-Medina to the Valley of the Kings but we were prevented from doing this by the local police because of the security risk. This, however, had the advantage of giving us more time to spend on the West Bank. We visited two of the tombs of workmen at Deir el-Medina, where the expression “small but perfectly formed” is entirely appropriate. The tombs of Sennedjem, in particular is spectacular in its colour and preservation and that of Inkherhaw contains unusual images.

Whilst little had changed in the workmen’s village since my last visit in 2010, the enclosure of the Ptolemaic temple of Hathor had been well restored. The mud-brick walls were largely intact. Work in the temple itself was ongoing, with cleaning of the reliefs underway. I was struck by how much a little delicate cleaning lifted the original colours.

One notable feature of the temple is the relief of the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, which is normally only seen in
tombs and not in a chapel.

Work has continued to complete the Avenue of Sphinxes between Luxor Temple and Karnak. Our visit took us to the outside of the 10th Pylon on our way to the Temple of Mut. Some 360 statues of the goddess Sekhmet were found, many of which are still on the site.

Another feature is the largest Sacred Lake in Egypt, also noteworthy for it not being rectangular – perhaps Egyptian pragmatism in using the natural contours of the site!

Sacred lake at the Temple of Ramesses III

Looking west from the first court of the Mut Temple

Karnak: a giant foot of Amenhotep III

Karnak (Temple of Mut): Sekhmet

Karnak: (Temple of Mut) Amenhotep III

Concluding the time-travelling nature of our visit, we went to the Temple of Isis at Deir el Shelwit on the East Bank, a little to the south of Luxor. This is a Graeco-Roman temple, completed in 2 AD.

There are a number of cartouches containing the names of Roman emperors including Hadrian, Antonius Pius, Vespasian and Julius Caesar.

It was notable that, despite the dire state of tourism in Egypt during the last few years, a considerable amount of work on archaeological sites has continued. There is a major restoration of a site of Thutmosis III nearing completion on the West Bank and there is evidence of work in many other areas. The vast complex of Amenhotep III at Kom el Hatan, behind the Colossi of Memnon, is a good example. Statues and stelae have been re-erected and the layout of the site revealed.

Deir el Medina was one area where we encountered other tourists, albeit not many. A feature of the visit was the lack of visitors. Admittedly, many of our destinations were remote and not on the main “tourist trail” but even some of the most popular sites were all but deserted, witness the almost empty car park at the Valley of the Kings in the middle of the day. The signs are that the tourists are starting to return, which can only be good news for those of us who are fascinated by Ancient Egypt.

Malcolm Dennes is a chairman of the Egyptian Society Taunton and a supporter of the Egypt Exploration Society.
He regularly attends lectures and study days at the Dillington House and travels to Egypt with leading Egyptologists.

Our travels in Egypt in 2007

by Lenka Peacock

(This article was originally written for a Slovak travel magazine in late spring 2007)

We have just got back from a two-week mid February (2007) trip when the temperature is still bearable for walking and exploring. We booked the flight and accommodation through lastminute.com about two months in advance as in previous years I have noticed that the later you leave it the more expensive it becomes. The cheap deals are gone by then. We would not call ourselves “budget
travellers” but as I try to manage ideally 3 or 4 holidays a year I always chase a good deal. This year we stayed at the New Winter Palace – a hotel that is attached to the Old Winter Palace – a posh Victorian-style place for guests who are prepared to pay a rather vast sum. This is the hotel where Lord Carnarvon would stay on his visits to Luxor.

You can go and have a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice or a bottle of Egyptian beer (either Stela or Sakara) in the Royal bar, where Carnarvon used to meet with Howard Carter while they were searching for the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1920s or have afternoon tea in Victorian grandeur. Do not attempt to try to come in if you wear shorts or jeans as you will be politely thrown out.

The New Winter Palace is more relaxed but lacking the old world charm found in the Old Winter Palace. You have a choice of the newer Pavilion, which faces the garden and so is a quieter choice (we stayed there last year and loved it), or you can choose to stay in the main building, situated on the main road, which although noisier can reward you with the breathtaking view we had: when we pulled
the curtains open, the palm tree lined Nile bank and the Theban hills came to our immediate view! We could see Hatshepsut’s temple at Deir el-Bahri and many dark openings of tombs scattered around the slopes of the Theban necropolis. Looking to the right of the hotel we could see the Luxor temple some 50 metres away! It is not just the hotel’s location that attracted our attention a couple of years ago.

I believe Winter Palace boasts the most beautiful garden if not in entire Egypt then definitely in the whole of Luxor. An army of gardeners has been creating this tropical gem for over a century. The palm trees are sky high, bougainvilleas blossom in white, orange and all shades of pink, there are exotic trees and shrubs and flowers and the lawn is of Oxford-Cambridge quality. It is also a
paradise for bird watchers: cute hoopoes, elegant white ibises, exotic fly catchers, naughty sparrows and brown doves are everywhere. To see pied kingfishers, you have to leave the garden and stroll along the Nile or the canals. In the evening scary bats fly across the star-filled sky. The garden pool is heated, clean and of a good size.

Luxor itself has changed since last year. The area south of Luxor temple and the mosque of Abu-al- Haggag has been cleared. An open and a vast square has been created. Now you can see the recent archaeological digs that used to be hidden behind fences and broken old walls. Several houses and shops have been pulled down around the bus station. That, as well as bulldozing of old houses on the
West bank, does not create a good atmosphere around the town. I will talk about Qurna houses later on. We walked down Sharia el-Karnak through busy traffic, constant hooting accompanying us all the way to the new library. It was ceremonially opened in the middle of January by president Mubarak and his wife. Unfortunately it was still closed to public for finishing touches. The building
looked impressive, the front is all glass and columns. Just behind the new library we looked at the recently uncovered avenue of sphinxes. It used to connect the temples of Karnak with temple of Luxor. The Brooklyn Museum team has been working on a dig in the Mut temple area. The avenue of sphinxes leading towards the Mut temple was visible from the road we were walking on. Local kids
swarmed around us all wanting a pen for writing at school. We always bring lots and lots of pens, as this seems to make their day.

We did not spend a large proportion of our holiday on the East bank of the Nile. Next I will write about

the West bank of the Nile and how to get there.

We told you all about the Winter Palace hotel and the latest developments in the Upper Egyptian town of Luxor but it is now time to cross the Nile and start exploring the opposite side of the river.

We told you all about the Winter Palace hotel and the latest developments in the Upper Egyptian town of Luxor but it is now time to cross the Nile and start exploring the opposite side of the river.

There are several ways to approach a visit to the West bank. Most tourists are driven from site to site by their tour operators in comfortable air-conditioned buses. The biggest, but not the only drawback of this is that you simply do not have enough time to see each site. It certainly is not the way we like to get around in Egypt. To cross the river we use the local ferry. The port is opposite
the Luxor temple and costs 1 LE (Egyptian pound) per person each way. You can also accept one of the multiple offers you will inevitably get for a motorboat for about 5 LE one-way, although that price depends on your bargaining skills. Once you get on either boat you are likely to get to meet the local taxi driver, felucca captain, camel, horse or donkey stable owner, bicycle rent shop owner or
at least someone whose cousin is one of the above. We usually travel by local pick-up (Toyota flatbed vans with makeshift seating in the back -1 LE pp). Sometimes the conditions are a bit crammed and often my husband Andy has to hang on while standing outside the vehicle on the rear step. But generally it is the best and most interesting way of getting around on the West bank. You need to know the place a bit as you should ring the bell when you want to get off but if you ask to be taken to the ticket office you will be dropped off there.

 

You need to plan your day ahead as you need to buy tickets for the sites at the Qurna office. They get stamped with the date and so you need to use them on the same day. For some sites (Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut’s temple) you can get the tickets at the newly established offices at those sites. So before you leave your hotel in the morning, decide what you want to see on the day and
how you want to get around. Try to stick to your plan and do not let the very persistent locals lead you off your track! La shokran (no thank you) is a very useful Arabic phrase to know.

But back to our first day on the West bank. We took the local ferry and flagged down a pick-up and got off at Qurna. We did not get any tickets for the day as we were not planning to visit temples or tombs. Instead we walked up to the artisans’ village of Deir el-Medina. What a lovely feeling to be back! You can walk around the neatly constructed village of about seventy mud and stone houses, although you cannot enter them any more. There are 3 tombs open to public and they all are worth a visit. The Ptolemaic temple, dedicated to the goddesses Hathor and Ma’at, is well preserved with reliefs that still retain traces of the original paint.
 

We did not stay too long at Deir el-Medina as we had the steep climb up the hill above the village ahead of us. It is the same ancient path the artisans and priests used to take on their way to the Valley of the Kings. The hike takes you high above the valley floor and you are rewarded with outstanding views of the monuments scattered around the desert slopes and of the lush, green and neat fields of the Nile valley. Above you looms al-Qurn, the pyramid-shaped summit, known to ancient villagers as “gate of heaven” inhabited by Meretseger, a local goddess, the sacred lady, who loves silence. The walk is not particularly difficult but always remember to take plenty of water. Although there is sometimes a refreshing wind blowing across the hillsides it can get alarmingly hot in sheltered pockets of the rocky terrain. About half way to the cliffs above the temple of queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri the path turns upwards in westerly direction. We followed it right up to the top. It was a beautifully clear day and we could see the Red Sea Hills in the east, some 40
kilometers away. To the west we could see the Valley of the Kings opening up before us.

 

At the saddle of the pass a settlement of stone huts was built for workmen from Deir el-Medina. This was the place where they spent their nights if they chose not to walk back to their village during the working week. Most of the huts had just two rooms, an inner sleeping chamber and an antechamber with stone seats set along its walls. You can just imagine groups of men sitting and
talking together after a hard days work and enjoying fresh breezes rising from the valley at sunset. The area around the huts is littered with pieces of ancient pottery and thirty-million-year-old fossil clamshells, reminders of a time when this area lay beneath the sea. To our excitement we found five fossils each size of a small fist.

 

After a short break in the shade of al-Qurn we descended to the Valley of the Kings. We wanted to see the site of the newly discovered KV63. Last year we left Luxor just four days before the official announcement about its discovery. The tomb lies at the centre of the Valley, near the remains of another group of workmen’s huts. No team was working on it at the time, the opening being covered and locked. We visited a newly opened visitor’s centre with a 3-D model of the valley and the tombs position within it and then walked back up the hillside from the stifling heat and crowds of tourists. An hour later we climbed down past Deir el-Medina and flagged a pick-up on the main road to return to the port and catch a ferry back over the Nile.
 

The sun was setting as we sailed towards the silhouette of the magnificent Luxor temple.

Counting the number of days we have spent in Luxor over recent years I  arrived at the impressive number of 44. Although the 10 square kilometre site of Luxor is so rich in archaeological finds that even on a year long vacation one could not do them all justice, it is time to peer over the wall and start exploring the country beyond the town perimeter. Some years back certain ancient temples and tombs in Central and Upper Egypt were closed to tourists. Abydos, one of the most extensive and important cemeteries and cult sites of dynastic times, was one of them. Thankfully it is now possible to visit the magnificent mortuary temple of the New Kingdom pharaoh Sety I and the Osireion next to it, although the temple of Ramesses II and the ancient cemeteries are still off limits.

For an individual traveller it is not just a matter of simply hopping on a bus or buying a train ticket to the desired destination. The only way of travelling there is in a police convoy. I was rather reluctant to undergo this ordeal but it sounds worse than it actually is.
I booked my trip with a local travel agency – there are about ten of them on Corniche el Nile, each one of them offering the same list of trips with slightly different prices. I picked a day trip to Abydos and Dendera temples costing LE280.

The convoy was leaving at 8 o’clock in the morning and so I was collected from my hotel at 7.45am sharp. There were five of us on the little minibus: an Egyptian driver and an Egyptian guide, two English ladies and myself. All the various vehicles  that were to make up the convoy had to meet at a road to the north of the Luxor museum. It has army check points at both ends. The paper work was checked by army personnel and the convoy, which comprised of about 7 minibuses and a bus, left promptly at 8am. There was one police car leading the way and another one following at the rear.

We drove swiftly and only stopped a couple of times at police check points. Only then did I realize that the check points are not only in and around the town of Luxor but on every crossroad, no matter how small. Each check point is manned by a considerable number of soldiers all brandishing machine guns. I had the feeling that the purpose of the check points was not only for the protection
of tourists from possible extremists but maybe also to prevent any general insurrection by militants who do not favour the current government.
The countryside was very picturesque with emerald green fields on both sides of the road which ran north on eastern bank of the Nile. I could see desert mountains rising in the distance on both sides of the great river and occasional fishing boats on its blue waters. It was the tomato season and we saw many farmers harvesting their crop and lorries pilled high with crates full of big ripe tomatoes.
Most fields produced sugar cane and we passed one huge factory where the cane is processed into sugar. It all goes for export and Egypt imports cheaper sugar of lesser quality for the native population.

Children were on holiday that week and the convoy must be a popular sight for them to spot – they were all happily waving, their faces lit up with huge smiles. Children are lovely in Egypt and there are plenty of them.
Finally we approached the town of Abydos. How very exciting for me! I had longed to visit the site for many years. The convoy stopped in a little car park and our small group  then headed excitedly to the entrance of the temple of Sety I.

The construction of the temple was begun by Sety I and completed by his son, Ramesses the Great. It is uniquely well preserved. Passing the pillars of the portico we entered the hypostyle hall – a huge chamber with two rows of twelve papyriform columns that support an 8 metre high ceiling. Its elegantly decorated wall scenes depict the kings offering to various deities. The second hypostyle
hall was even bigger – it had three rows, each of twelve columns, the back row standing on a raised platform. Behind this row of columns there were seven doorways leading into seven chapels, each one dedicated to a different deity. The paint on the walls was still fresh and bright. We then walked through the Hall of ancestors, containing the most famous wall known to historians as the Abydos
King List, into the Corridor of the Bulls. The well-carved scenes on its walls show Ramesses lassoing a bull. The corridor lead us out of the temple to the Osireion, a cenotaph of Sety I. Osireion is also regarded as the burial place of the god Osiris. The burial chamber was built in a huge pit cut into the desert and today the entire building is flooded all year round due to rising ground water.

We were given an hour to explore on our own and so I returned back into the temple but not before having to swear to the guide that I would not venture out of the temple and back to the Osireion on my own. Obviously, the security at the site is still a problem. There were soldiers by each door, by each gate and some were patrolling on camels on a hill above the temple.

Just after 1.00pm the convoy regrouped and we left Abydos. We drove south towards another site – the Ptolemaic temple of Dendera, dedicated to the goddess Hathor. The well preserved temple is enclosed within a great mud brick wall and surrounded by a number of other buildings including a Temple of Isis, Ptolemaic and Roman birth houses, a Coptic church, and a sacred lake.

After exploring the hypostyle hall and halls of offerings and of divine ennead, we took the stairs leading us straight to the roof – it is a treasure that must be visited! It was built on several levels. There is a kiosk with twelve Hathor-headed columns and two sanctuaries dedicated to Osiris. The view of the Dendera complex and the surrounding desert and fields was spectacular and we paused to
enjoy and take it all in before descending.

You just read about my trip to the north of Luxor. Now I will take you on a journey in the opposite direction, south to the Ptolemaic temple of Edfu.
I returned to the same travel agency to organise my second venture out of the Theban region. The southern convoy was leaving from the same place as the previous one but at the earlier time of 7.00am. That meant my alarm clock had to be set for 5.15am. All the checking of paper work went smoothly and the convoy set off on time. We drove past the new bridge that crosses the Nile,  about 5 km up river of Luxor which was completed  a few years ago. The countryside was similar to that of the area near Dendera, although there were no tomato fields. Most plantations were of sugar cane and bananas. It was banana picking season so trucks loaded with banana crates could be seen everywhere. We did not stop at Esna, where another Ptolemaic temple is open to tourists and unfortunately we could not stop at el-Kab but at least I could see its rock-cut tombs at the edge of the desert as we drove past.

After a journey of about 100 km we reached the town of Edfu. The modern town is built mainly on the western side of the river, very close to the mud brick enclosure wall of the temple itself. Most of the paint from the temple walls has gone, but the building itself is otherwise in near-perfect condition. Its construction begun in the Ptolemaic period, on 23rd August 237 BC, when the first stones of the
innermost rooms were laid and was completed 167 years later. The temple was dedicated to the god Horus of Behdet (Behdet was the ancient name of Edfu), a deity worshipped here since predynastic times.

 

Once we were within the massive mud brick wall we approached the temple and walked past the mammisi (a Coptic word meaning a birth-house). Its reliefs tell the story of the wonderful birth of Harsomtus (“Horus the Uniter”), the son of Horus and Hathor. As in other parts of the main temple, there are scenes of the Feast of the Beautiful Meeting, the annual ceremony in which these two deities met and married. Several steps down from the mammisi a vast open courtyard lead us towards the massive pylon. A huge granite statue of Horus of Behdet met us at the entrance to the first pylon and there was another, even a bigger one, at the entrance to the first hypostyle hall. As we walked deeper into the temple we left behind the world of daylight. The sanctuary at the centre of the temple, the most sacred part, held a replica of the divine barque of the god and a large granite naos that used to hold a statue of Horus. There were twelve chapels around the sanctuary for us to explore, their walls covered in offering scenes. When we emerged back into the bright sunshine outside the temple into the outer corridor we could marvel at the long walls covered from top to bottom in reliefs and in lines of hieroglyphic signs showing the king smiting Egypt’s enemies.

All too soon it was time to return to Luxor. We returned to the minibus but had to wait for a convoy from Aswan to join us before swiftly driving home, stopping only once at an army check point.

This year we revisited the temple of queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri. We got there from the ferry port not by our usual means of bike, pickup, or foot but in a amazingly dilapidated old 1960s American car owned by a local man we met. He told us that it used to belong to King Farouk. New temple colonnades had been opened since our previous visit. Originally buried beneath tons of debris, the temple
has undergone almost continuous excavation and restoration since the end of the 19th century. The ancient Egyptians called the temple Djeser-djeseru, “Most Holy of Holies”. The temple is famous for its breathtaking location below dramatic limestone cliffs. The Punt reliefs, documenting Hatshepsut’s expedition to the land of Punt are to be found in most Egyptian history textbooks. You find these on the south side of the middle colonnade. The north side of the same colonnade holds the Anubis shrine containing some of the best preserved painted reliefs to be found in Luxor.

In the first part of my writings I mentioned that some of the houses and businesses around the Luxor temple were being pulled down. This has been happening  on an even bigger scale on the West bank around the old town of al-Qurna. The Egyptian government has been trying to move residents from the area for more than 50 years. In December 2006 the authorities began bulldozing the homes of people who agreed to pack up and move to a newly constructed $32m complex less than 5 km away. The main purpose of this clearance is to give archaeologists and tourists access to nearly 1,000 Pharaonic tombs that lie beneath the houses. Opinions are divided among locals. We spoke to people who were quite happy in their new homes although they felt sad to see their family home pulled down. And of course there are people who bitterly oppose the policy and are very resentful of the authorities and also sometimes of the tourists who they believe are being pandered to by the politicians.

One day we decided to visit tombs at the northern edge of the necropolis. This time we got around by bicycle  (15 LE pp/day). We visited two small tombs at Dra 'Abu al-Naja hill: TT255 belonging to Roy, a royal scribe and steward in the estates of king Horemheb, and to his wife Nebtawy. It dates to late 18th Dynasty / early 19th Dynasty. The second tomb, TT13 belonged to Shuroy and his wife, Wernefer. Shuroy was the Head of the Brazier Bearers in the temple of Amun at Karnak sometime during the 19th Dynasty. The tombs were beautifully and brightly decorated.

Once we had finished our visit to the tombs we cycled north to see the house where Howard Carter used to live while he was excavating the tomb of Tutankhamun. It was an unusually windy day and by the afternoon the wind had really begun to pick up and we were suddenly caught in a sand storm. Everything around us disappeared. We could see no further than 20 meters. The Theban hills were nowhere to be seen and we were quickly covered from head to foot in dust. Well, an exciting experience, but we returned to the ferry port as fast as we could peddle.

The last trip I want to share with you is our visit to the tomb of Ay. It lies in the West Valley of the Kings, the much larger and lesser known valley with just four (known) tombs. Again we walked up over the cliffs from Deir el-Medina, past the artisan’s huts, (we saw Kent Weeks lecturing one of his groups there) down into the Valley of the kings, pass the car park and the kiosk, and then turned west. A vast valley was opening in front of us. It was a perfect place for solitary stroll. This was the home of Meretseger, a local Egyptian goddess whose name meant “She Who Loves Silence”. It is clear why she chose to make these hills her home. The silence, the clean clear air, and the play of sun and shade on the towering limestone cliffs make this valley a magical place. The tomb itself is well worth a visit. Its sarcophagus was returned to the tomb after its restoration. The scenes on the walls of the burial chamber are very similar to the ones in Tutankhamun’s tomb.

For the return journey we climbed a small rugged path to the top of the cliffs and east across the peaks to the cliff tops high above the Valley of the kings which we walked around to return to Deir el- Medina using the ancient workers path. The views were spectacular along the whole trek even if a little frightening at times when the rocky paths get very close to the very high sheer cliffs. If you tackle
walks such as these always be sure to take plenty of water with you – its amazing how much you need to drink.

 

The Theban necropolis together with the market town of Luxor have so much to offer to the visitor, especially if one has an interest in ancient art history and archaeology. The weather is guaranteed, with blue skies and sun for most of the year. But temperature raises to blistering heights during the summer months and I recommend January and February as the best months to visit.

The text was written by Lenka Peacock who is a Webmaster of the Society and a member of the Committee. She obtained Diploma in Egyptology from Birkbeck College, University of London and for the last decade has been researching the site of Deir el-Medina (https://deirelmedinaegypt.wixsite.com/home)
Photography © Lenka and Andy Peacock

A trip with Christine Hobson (later el-Mahdi) by Trevor Rees

 

This was my first foreign holiday since I stopped going away with my parents. While I was away Mum and Dad went round the world – part flying and part cruising.

Christine was lecturing at Dillington and during the Saturday afternoon break we had a meeting about the holiday. Unfortunately I did not keep any notes about it.

 

Monday 4 January 1988

A group of us from the society caught the 9:00 train – 2 of the people seeing us off were on the train when it started moving and had to come back from Reading with a note from the inspector. At the Egyptair terminal we had a long wait for someone to turn up and the 2 people who took the later train were there before we were dealt with. Christine's new boot heel broke then we were 2¼ hours late setting off – apparently due to hurricane force winds we were the last plane off. We landed at Athens airport due to all the airports in Egypt being shut due to rain – I really do not like Athens airport.

 

Tuesday 5 January

We got breakfast – orange juice, portions of jam and butter, 2 slices of nearly stale bread and coffee. I heard some people lost 2 days – we only lost about half a day.

Things picked up a bit –Christine said we had the fastest transit through Cairo airport she had known and then it went back down hill – after a long wait to change my travel cheques she ran out of money so I had no Egyptian money and as the hotel had my passport I could not change my travellers cheques elsewhere (or so I was told) – on Wednesday evening I did change them without a passport. We were at the art deco Cosmopolitan hotel. While I was there I was in the lift with a staff member – he saw a friend and opened the lift door to stop the lift. My pillow was rock hard – I used a rolled up towel as it was softer.

Three of us had a wander round – driving in 1988 was as bad as it is now and we saw police with fixed bayonets so the high security is not all new.

 

Wednesday 6 January

We went to the Giza pyramids via a papyrus shop. They did give a short demo. Samir our guide admitted he got a 5% commission. I bought a papyrus with a traveller’s cheque partly for the change. At the pyramids we had a choice of a carriage or camel ride. I chose the camel – only my toes would go in the stirrups and the camel had a shake as soon as it stood up. We went round 2 sides of the great pyramid plus a few more yards at the start. Later we drove round the pyramids and seemed to go past the same place several times. I had my first salesman problem – 10 cards for 1£Egyptian and he slipped me a piece of modern art that wasn’t in the cards I saw.

They say there are no tigers in Africa but the only big cat I have seen in Africa (up to 2011) is a tiger in Cairo zoo en route to the pyramids. We went into the 2 largest pyramids. I have not been in since so I do not know how it compares with today. We walked along planks with slats nailed to them – but some were missing and in the great pyramid it was dim at times. Sweat ran into my eyes and once I met a party going the opposite direction. Later we saw queues waiting to go in. We only got to the ‘Kings chamber’. The other pyramid was easier but even lower.

Then we went to the boat museum which was too expensive to photograph in. It rained as we dashed to it and I saw 2 leaks despite special air conditioning to protect the boat. 1 of the attendants had worked on the excavations and showed us himself on the pictures. We had to wear overshoes and I could not get a pair to fit. 5 or 6 weeks before we got there they drilled into the other pit but no results were available when we were there. I heard that a concrete mixer used to build the museum had been put on top of the pit and had broken the seal so when they put fibre optics in they saw a live beetle.

It was late when we visited 2 mastabas (Idu and father) and Samir tried to put us off saying there was not much to see. There were still traces of the material they used to take impressions.

I found quite a few nummulites – they are fossils like a 2p – Britannica says they are ‘large, lens-shaped single-celled marine organisms, abundant during the Tertiary Period (66.4 to 1.6 million years ago) and particularly prominent during the Eocene Epoch 57.8 to 36.6 million years ago’. Apparently if you polish them they have quite a nice internal structure.

At the valley temple I was particularly impressed by the blocks one of which included 8 right angles.

Of course we were pestered by salesmen (most of who claim to have relatives in England) up to tricks like agreeing a price in Egyptian and the saying it is sterling.

We saw a little fair with a tiny 4 compartment Ferris wheel.

Christine was supposed to give us lectures in the evening but she spent most of the time with her future husband.

 

Thursday 7th January

We visited the Memphis open air museum the Saqqara. The ‘road’ (more a track) was so boggy we had to drive off it. At this time the bent pyramid and its neighbours were in a military zone – Egypt has a huge amount of desert but the military seem to like to set up in areas with interesting archaeology! Made my first solo visit to the Serapeum and had to pull away from a camel driver who grabbed me (1 camel ride was enough). Christine went to see if a friend’s dig was open – it was not. I went into Unas’s pyramid. Some people also went into Teti and said some of the stones had slipped and it did not look very safe. We visited 4 tombs – Kagemni, Mereruke, princess Idut? and Ty. I had to go round one tomb at a brisk walk as the bus was waiting.

On the way back we stopped at an orphanage / carpet factory – some adult workers, lots of cute kids and a baby crawling on the warp threads of a loom.

 

Friday 8th January

The organising firm wanted us to make a 6:30 start but Pat and Chris got it to be 6:45 alarm, 7:15 cases out. Pat was a friend of Christine and our tour manager – she suffered from being a small woman – not only short but slim.

We were supposed to have a packed lunch but surprise surprise there was confusion and we did not get it and then we did not visit the restaurant we were going to go to because of time pressure – fortunately I did not miss it.

At the Meidum pyramid access was quite easy. In the burial chamber were some 6” (150mm) diameter beams of Egyptian oak and about half a dozen small bats.

At Hawara there were lots of bones and mummy wrappings which you could pick up. There was about I guardian. Some of the wrappings were big enough to show fancy techniques. I also saw 2 skulls and a rough sarcophagus lid lying about.

We then had quite a long drive through the desert with the road often ripped up by tanks crossing. We saw quite a few birds including hawks and plover like birds.

At the last pyramid El Lahun we drove through the town – the road was about I bus wide and the locals seemed as interested in us as we were in them – annoyed with myself that I took no photos. There were some quite substantial pieces of pottery lying about. There were some structures round the back and neither Chris nor Samir knew what they were.

At our hotel in Minya we were warned not to wander because of fundamentalism. From now on the pillows were soft. Our hotel was in 2 parts separated by the main road which was supposed to be bridged (but was not). I saw the last few minutes of Carry on Sergeant with Arabic subtitles. The food was good with the dips artistically decorated with coloured stuff sprinkled on to make flowers etc.

 

Saturday 9th January

En route to Beni Hassan we saw several houses with domed roofs – they have problems with termites eating roof beams. We crossed the river by a rickety ferry. The gangplank had no hand rail and movement meant the gap varied from 4’ to 8’ (1.3m to 2.6m).

We went into 4 tombs including the one with 3 bands of wrestlers looking like a text book illustration. They tombs had been inhabited and people had cut niches into the walls. On the way back we saw 2 herons drifting by on rafts of water hyacinths and some children playing with a 3’ (1m) dead snake – the only one we saw much to Christine’s relief. I was told that on one trip she saw a snake and ended up on top of the bus! If you did not know her she was not athletic.

At Ashmunein I sat on a large baboon statue and ate my packed lunch including my first olives (not too bad with cheese). We saw several things like a Roman column on a Greek base on Egyptian stonework. Some people got talking to a Polish archaeologist who was working on an old church. He said that at the Coptic Christmas there was a service there – they used Arabic crib sheets to sing the hymns. He pointed out where a step used to be – when he showed you, you could see that they had used different chisels.

We saw 1 of the Amarna boundary stellae – when I went next time it was in a glass container with steps up.

At Tuna-el-Gebel we saw the vaults of the mummified animals including a wrapped cobra that looked like a walking stick. We visited the tomb of Petosiris and it was dark by the time we got out. We also saw a mummy with a tragic love story attached but I have forgotten it. My bootlace snapped and through all the rest of my trip I could not get another.

 

Sunday 10th January

We had forgotten that it was Sunday. Visited Tel-el-Amarna - 3 tombs plus all the buildings except the South palace. The ferry was rickety and powered by an old truck engine still with the dashboard attached. We were pulled by tractors in covered carts – no windows and a bench along the side... There was a feud between the 2 villages – I was told 13 had been killed. We saw 2 beautiful bee eater birds perched on a fence round 1 of the temples.

We saw a lot of fishing in the irrigation canals – quite often from a boat. Even in non tourist towns saw caleches with brass trimming. I did not see any working shadufs – they only seemed to be used for small plots. Most irrigation is by power pumps or animals walking in circles.

The temperature was just warm enough for a short sleeved shirt.

Bought some fruit – looked in the bag it came in and it said ‘Egyptian Portland Cement’.

We visited a mosque to use its loo. Most of the mosques have coloured fluorescent lights up the minaret.

We had a job finding the hotel – it was called the Aluminium hotel and is in the aluminium smelting complex. It is very tatty and a bit dirty – my bath was badly stained and the sheets were crumpled. The food was edible. It was originally a 3 star hotel but the president stayed there and you can not have the president of Egypt staying at a 3 star hotel so it was given 2 more stars.

 

Monday 11th January

Went to Abydos – the Seti temple was dark and we did not have quite enough time. I and about 3 others dashed to the nearby Ramses temple – had to do a Japanese i.e. photograph now and look later. The colours were beautiful but the walls were only about 6’ (2m) high. On way back I think I saw a woman with a ‡ tattooed on her lower lip.

Next we went to Dendera. The crypt was very good but I was afraid of banging my camera so I left it outside. We went onto the roof. The steps were so shallow and worn I treated them as a ramp.

We reached the Old Winter Palace in Luxor. My room is huge – about 20’ (6m) high. Mostly very nice but a few tatty bits.

 

Tuesday 12th January

Went to Karnak temple for about 1/3 day. Impressed by the size and by the stuff in the outdoor museum - £1e extra. (Not as much reconstructed then as now.). Then the Luxor temple – apparently conditions were good to see the Christian images – but they still were not that clear. I did quite a bit of shopping. We had the rest of the day free. I went to Luxor museum on my own. Despite not paying for express service I got my Laundry back in about 7 hours.

In the evening we went to the son-e-lumier – good but not much better than the free one they did in Taunton at about this time. I think we were lucky as the crowd for the previous one was huge.

 

Wednesday 13th January

To the Valley of the Kings. The coach had a 2 hour drive to meet us on the far side of the Nile. We started at 10:15 – Bales started the idea of early starts now everyone has copied it so 10:15 is a good time. We had a conducted tour of 3 tombs including Tuts (and I think Ramses III and VI). Then we went round some on our own. Some of the tombs had so many graffiti in the entrance area there was no room for more.

After we left we went to an alabaster ‘factory’. At the rate they were working I think it would take most of the year to make one bowl.

We then went to the Valley of the Queens. We didn’t visit many places – Of course Nefertari was not open. We did see the beautifully painted tomb of Amen-her-kopeshef. A geologist in our party said the best place for tombs was on the unexcavated side covered in rock slides.

Finally we visited the workman’s village and 2 marvellous tombs – Inkher and Senejem. We had to go in 2 (or 3 groups) because of the size. Christine did not want to be left alone with the gaffir (foreman). We did not go into the Ptolemaic mud brick temple.

My torch started to play up. Samir got us some key rings with cartouches – we could have camel bone or ivory but he recommended camel bone as that is probably what both choices would be. In the hotel garden there were tables set up as bars including at least one with no one around (at night).

 

Thursday 14th January

Another day on the far side of the river. We had a quite long walk to the ferry. The itinerary of today and yesterday has been changed so the driver can get an oil change done. Firstly we visited Hatshepsut then we visited the noble’s tombs. In Ramose? where was an under 3” (70mm) horses hieroglyph with a bridle and a 2½” (65mm) tall vulture with feathers. We also visited Userhat and Khaemhat the surveyor of granaries for Tuthmosis III and Amenhotep III. In 1 was a man sitting in the back of a chariot with his feet on the ground.

Rekhmemre (Tuthmosis III’s vizier) had a ceiling which had the same slope as most pyramids.

We also saw Sen-nefer a mayor of Luxor under Amenhotep IV. We failed to get into Malkata palace. We went to the temples of Ramses III and II. In Ramses II is a horseman who according to the books should not exist (apparently there is another on Luxor temple which can be seen from the road.

We are getting a new bus. For the 1st 2 days service was passable but for the next 2 it was very slow and food was cold.

 

Friday 15th January

Our first stop was Esna. We stopped on the river front and walked through the interesting town. Some houses had model eagles which mean that the owner had been on the hajj. Samir bought 2 large bags of the local speciality, lentils for his mother. The temple was built in about 200bc and is now about 30’ (9m) below street level.

We visited Edfu but I do not remember much about it then we went to El-Kab. We walked on the walls of the old city –about 600’ (550m) square and 1 of the 1st cities built. Outside the rock cut tombs are several slits a few inches high and a few feet wide which Christine had not noticed. If anyone knows what they are I would be pleased to know.

We finished by visiting the double temple of Kom-ombo 1 day early. It was sunny and windy.

We stayed at the old cataract hotel. It was very nice but the people who painted the bathroom had really splashed the paint around.

 

Saturday 16th January

As a change of plan we had a free day. I did not do much – missed a parade for the 100th anniversary of Aswan but did some parachutists trying to land on a platform in the Nile – it was windy again. I saw some aubergines the size of my head. I watched quite a bit of local TV including one that seemed to be at least 10 minutes of adverts (including Omo, KFC, and Knorr chicken stock). Many of the actresses seemed to be Europeans talking Arabic. In the evening by taxi to Philae for the son-et-lumiere. We had 10 minutes with the boat stopped and a Nubian musician playing.

 

Sunday 17th January

To the unfinished obelisk (often called Hatshepsut’s but the only thing to indicate what king it was made for is the size which points towards Ramses II). Then on to the high dam which I think should be called the wide dam past the monument to Egyptian-Soviet friendship. The water level was so low we were able to walk to Kalabsha past grounded boats and mummified fish.

In the afternoon we had a felucca trip round the islands to the Aga Khans mausoleum which was very crowded (it was school holidays so there were a lot of Egyptian tourists about). We then went to Saheil island which as far as I remember had no sign of any antiquities service interest unlike today. It was dark and quite cold when we got back despite having the best skipper who beat the others by quite a bit.

 

Monday 18th January

We visited Philae in the morning – it was very good but not as good as some people rave about. We then drove to Abu Simbel – despite 4 cables confirming it we were told in the afternoon of the 17th that the temples we wanted to visit were in a military zone and we could not visit. The desert drive took 3½ hours and was quite interesting. With baggage delays etc. flying probably would not have been that much faster.

The hotel was nice despite some bad reports we had heard. Saw quite a lot of birds -mostly birds of prey. For a small charge we saw some Nubian dancing – the accompaniment was 2 drums and a bell less tambourine.

 

Tuesday 19th January

I did not bother getting up for the sunrise – a mistake as I found on my second visit many years later. Admission was £6.50e as against rarely more the £2e elsewhere. We had a local guide – good but hurried us a bit then we had time on our own.

Christine was very ill – a combination of a chill from the felucca and asthma? Eventually she was flown to Aswan on the 20th with her son Tony and Vera Greenham (an ex senior nursing officer). We were delayed for 2½ hours as Samir was needed to interpret due to the doctor’s heavy accent. The hospital was apparently very grotty. Later we heard she had a heart arrest.

I was sitting in my anorak at 11:50 in the day and I did not feel the need to take it off which shows how cool it was.

 

Wednesday 20th January

The weather has improved a bit. At 22:00 I was cool but comfortable in just my shirt. Noticed the Old Cataract charged US$ 39.70 a night and £5e for breakfast.

We visited the tombs and a museum on the island.

I had my first and only coin of the holiday (not counting one I found).

At 17:30 we were on the sleeper train and it started at 18:30. The compartment was cramped for 1 let alone 2. The train shook more than a British one but I slept quite well. When you flushed the toilet you could see the tracks.

 

Thursday 21st January

At 10:10 we arrived at Giza station (less crowded than the main one). At 11:30 I went to the Egyptian museum on my own. At 13:15 Samir came to guide a party round. I bought a photo permit for £5e which was pinned to me. The museum shut at 15:50 but I did not feel up to doing anything on my own.

Christine was well enough for us to hold a ‘finish the duty free’ party in her room.

 

Friday 22nd January

The bus was ½ hour late owing to an error in their itinerary however 1 of our party was missing – he had got the flight and departure time mixed up. He was an hour late but other things meant he only delayed us by 5 or 10 minutes. Mark Hobson went to look for him and nearly got left himself. A Bales representative was ready to wait for him and take him to the airport by taxi.

The flight got very bumpy just as I was drinking my coffee otherwise the trip home was uneventful – but I did have to have a bath at my cousins because my water heater would not work.

 

ODD NOTES

  • At one hotel the money changer tried to short change the women but not the men.

  • Several cases were damaged as they were loaded onto the bus.

  • One evening I had quite a bad attack of gypy tummy but was OK in the morning.

  • It is illegal to photograph bridges as they are military objectives.

  • ‘Posters’ were all hand painted.

  • The exchange rate was about £4 Egyptian to £1 English.

  • About the only fruit we saw were oranges/tangerines and a few bananas.

  • The metro had started

  • Cars were parked with so little space you had to dodgem back and forward to get them out.

  • Samir had a nick in his ear-his mother had lost 3 children before him and did it to protect him from the evil eye.

  • Samir saw a woman in European clothing throwing something into the Nile – it turned out to be afterbirth – it was something magical.

  • We saw no McDonalds but there were several Wimpys including one with a Mr Wimpy dressed as a beefeater.

 

 

                                                            Trevor Rees is a member of the Egyptian Society Taunton.

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