The Trip To Egypt, 2004

 Jim Hayes' Web Pages

Egypt Home
Day 1, Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Day 2, Pyramids and Sphinx At Giza
Day 3, Dahshur (Bent and Red Pyramid),
Day 3a, Sakkara (Stepped Pyramid)
Day 4, Abu Simbel
Day 4a, Aswan
Day 5, Philae Temple
Day 5a, Kom Ombo Temple
Day 6, Edfu Temple
Day 6a, Esna Temple
Day 7, Luxor, Medinet Habu, Village of Deir El Medina
Day 7a,Temple of Hatshepsut
Day 8, Valley of the Kings
Day 8a, Valley of the Queens, Luxor Museum
Day 9, Luxor, Tut's Tomb
Day 9a, Temples of Karnak and Luxor
Day 10/11, Cairo, Museum, Manial Palace, Churches and Mosque

Day 3, Dahshur (Bent and Red Pyramid)

 

 

 Jan's Notes  Jim's Photos And Comments

Dashur

Senefru, father of Cheops built 3 pyramids-who knows why?

Limestone from across the river. Started to master the art of the pyramids. Used the Nile flood when river moved fast to ship stone. The Nile had more fingers then & Cairo was a swamp. Now Cairo has a subway.

No art before 2640 AD. Bent Pyramid-why this shape? Either the king died & they had to finish fast or economy bad & just didn't finish.

Found advice to daughters: don't marry mud-brick maker; they smell. This is a low job. Always mixing mud & straw w/their feet.

In Sakhara, found papyrus in a jar that said "I will go there (afterlife) first. If I see you there don't look me up. I will pretend I don't know you." This is an ancient Egyptian divorce!

 

Culture

Sabah al Khair = good morning

Tea = shy
Coffee= ah-hwah
How much=bekam
Dried=malish (also enough-end argument)

Medical school=in English=6years + 1 internship year

A lot of diabetes research; National institute of Cancer which is increasing especially cancer of the bladder which is a side effect of balezria coming from dirty stagnant canal water.

Language
Paella=Arabic word meaning leftovers
Matador is Arabic
Spanish & Arabic became common due to Moorish influence. Arabs learn Hebrew most easily.
Matador=kill the bull. When the bullfighter asks the king, "Can I kill the bull?" and the King says, "Matador! Matador! Matador!" Started as a verb & became the noun. Matamores, PA=kill the Arabs! This name was inspired by the Spanish who moved to new land & kicked the Arabs out of Spain.

Guadalajara, Mexico = valley of the stones.

Arabs use many adjectives in speaking; very indirect language. If you want to negotiate w/an Arab you need lots of practice in indirect communication.

The Nile is a very clean river; Cleaned last 10 years. Canals are dirty, though since sewage dumped in them.

Grow cabbage & alfalfa; only way Egyptians today eat cabbage is as a cabbage role.

Village of Shopbramant=famous & unique. One of 3 villages where children all weave. Only here. Not known anywhere else in the country. Ancient Egyptian art almost lost. They start at 7-8 years of age. They still go to school. This is only 3-4 hours/day. Highly honored young artists. Also good for handicapped children; gives them a trade. Use sheep shearing & camel shearing & mothers raise silkworms. (Bought rugs.)

All trees in Egypt used for shade only. Import wood from Canada & Scandinavia.

Bedouins moved here to mend house made of mud w/straw, even furniture. Land is flat & food always scarce. Food shows feeling. "put your fingers in my food, my friend". Usual Arab breakfast is 'fool mesdames' (phonetically what I think Aki said) This is fava beans & olive oil stuffed in bread and feta cheese from the cow & milk. Tea drunk due to British influence. Lunch is the main meal and is eaten 2:30-3 or so & is rice + tomato sauce + meat. No lamb. Egyptians eat veal or beef. Dessert is fruit. Dinner eaten after 10pm and in the summer after midnight and is leftovers from lunch.

100 acres/person/farm is the maximum due to reform. King had owned 90% of the land. After the monarchy collapsed, land was divided & given free to farms. Farming done by hand; to small a plot for machine and livestock critical. 98% of electric power due to Aswan dam.

This is a desert culture. If you want to go to heaven you should offer water to a stranger, treat your mother right & be kind to animals. Animals are living souls. Farming is now using fewer chemicals so birds are back. By 2007 no chemicals of any kind will be used in the fields. They grow 90 kinds of dates & mostly eat them fresh.

Dashur has several pyramids, including one that is in total ruins, but this one is verywell preserved for being a few millenia old. Note how big it is - you can see clouds making patterns around it.

No matter where we went, the vigilant tourist police were there to protect us and occasionally nap on the back of their camel in the morning sun.

The way the ancient Egyptians made the pyramids is seen here. The blocks are precisely cut to fit in place and use no cement.

Local produce at a farm near Memphis

 

 

Memphis next
Only 30% of all monuments have been found. Got a police escort! Doesn't make much impact on traffic despite siren!

King came in 3100 BC. King wanted all the land so killed the king & put his crown on top of his own so now wearing crowns of both Upper & Lower Egypt-I am king of all Egypt! Then he built mud-brick white-washed wall called menshf. When the Greeks came they called the word menflios and the word Memphis came from that. Dynasties 1-6 were at Memphis which then was The Place. Then kings moved north.

The fallen statue of Ramses II in Memphis.

The guards at Memphis. That machine gun is an antique!

We stopped at a school where rugs were woven. A number of us bought rugs. We bought a big one and had it shipped home.

Because of Ramadan, most tourist places closed early, so we tried to get as much touring done before they closed as possible. As a result, we sometimes had "lunch" at 4 PM, like today at this place that specialized in grilled chicken. The appetizers were so good, the bread so fresh (baked on site), we ate everything on the table so that the chicken was too much for us when it arrived.

 

 

 

(c) 2004, Jim Hayes

 

Return to Jim Hayes's Home Page