Cairo
Well this is the last day (except for travel home) of our journey. We struggled our way back through the downtown Cairo traffic to the Museum. The guides have it down to a system though and even though we were once again stuck traffic, we were only 8 minutes late. Bob (our guide) walked us through the museum explaining the difference in the old, middle and new kingdoms as well as the transitions. The one point he kept stressing was how logical the ancient Egyptian was. When he got through explaining the reasons behind their activities and the meanings of some of the hieroglyphics it started to become clear. For example, that civilization paid more attention to their preparations for the after life than they did in their activities in this life. Why? Because you spend much more time there.
After the museum we were taken to a papyrus factory and showroom. The manager gave us a good explanation of how papyrus was and is made and some of the inherent properties of the finished product. The rest of our time there was spent shopping. Ann and I bought a picture of the Day of Judgment. The short version of the story is that when the person died they were taken to the god Anubis and they had their heart put on a scale with a feather on the other side. If your heart was lighter than a feather you got into the afterlife If not you got lost. Obvious question, how was anyone’s heart lighter than a feather.
Our next stop was the pyramids. Again, Bob (the guide) gave us great explanations of the differences in the pyramids. He also discouraged us from actually going into the pyramids. However, Ann and I ventured into the second pyramid, [Khafre’s]. The tunnel was even lower than Hezekiah’s tunnel, but thankfully shorter. The air started to get a bit stuffy and, basically the guide was right there wasn’t really anything to see. But, how often to you get to go into a pyramid? We stopped for a Kodak moment on an overlook and gave some of our trip a chance to ride camels. Then we moved on for a tour of the Sphinx area, which included Khafre’s mortuary.
Well this is the last day (except for travel home) of our journey. We struggled our way back through the downtown Cairo traffic to the Museum. The guides have it down to a system though and even though we were once again stuck traffic, we were only 8 minutes late. Bob (our guide) walked us through the museum explaining the difference in the old, middle and new kingdoms as well as the transitions. The one point he kept stressing was how logical the ancient Egyptian was. When he got through explaining the reasons behind their activities and the meanings of some of the hieroglyphics it started to become clear. For example, that civilization paid more attention to their preparations for the after life than they did in their activities in this life. Why? Because you spend much more time there.
After the museum we were taken to a papyrus factory and showroom. The manager gave us a good explanation of how papyrus was and is made and some of the inherent properties of the finished product. The rest of our time there was spent shopping. Ann and I bought a picture of the Day of Judgment. The short version of the story is that when the person died they were taken to the god Anubis and they had their heart put on a scale with a feather on the other side. If your heart was lighter than a feather you got into the afterlife If not you got lost. Obvious question, how was anyone’s heart lighter than a feather.
Our next stop was the pyramids. Again, Bob (the guide) gave us great explanations of the differences in the pyramids. He also discouraged us from actually going into the pyramids. However, Ann and I ventured into the second pyramid, [Khafre’s]. The tunnel was even lower than Hezekiah’s tunnel, but thankfully shorter. The air started to get a bit stuffy and, basically the guide was right there wasn’t really anything to see. But, how often to you get to go into a pyramid? We stopped for a Kodak moment on an overlook and gave some of our trip a chance to ride camels. Then we moved on for a tour of the Sphinx area, which included Khafre’s mortuary.
