Day 5 - Shutterbugs

In the absence of other more worthwhile entertainment on board the Cruise, the Osirians all turned into shutterbugs :)

Day 5 - River Nile Cruise, Part II

Dec 13, 2005

After our uneventful morning on top of the sundeck, we had our buffet lunch which was pretty uneventful as well:P Nope, nothing to rave about there, though the tomatoes are really really fresh:) I'm not a big tomatoes fan, but they taste good...:)

We were to go to the Edfu temple after lunch as the ship has docked, but Mohammad told us to "take our time" during lunch and not to rush...but later he reprimanded us as apparently we took too long...when Woonie pointed out that he was the one to tell us to "take our time", his reply was "I said to take your time, not other people's time". Hmmm...guess the Egyptians have a different definition of the phrase then =o/

We took a horse carriage to go to Edfu temple. Efdu is a pretty small and rural looking town...again it gives me that tiny feeling of sadness...how is it that Egypt, which was one of the greatest civilizations ever and have such a rich history, be so...under developed? Granted there are probably loads of places far worse than this, but I guess I didn't expect the situation to be so before I came:P...


Soon enough our carriage reached Edfu temple. Seems that going to Edfu by horse carriage is quite the common thing to do as there was a row of tiny stables where the carriages and horses can 'park' and wait as their passengers went to vist the temple. The Edfu temple is dedicated to the Falcon God Horus, and is HUGE (supposedly it is the second largest temple in Egypt). There is an arch welcoming us that reminds me of the one we saw in Philae, and when we walk in there is this absolutely huge courtyard with big, towering columns on both sides. If I don't remember wrongly, there are 8 columns on each side, each column with different carvings and designs, but they are the exact replica of the column opposite them across the courtyard.

Inside it was like a maze:P So many different rooms, nooks and crannies to explore...Woonie says that it is a good place to hide and seek haha:P There was also a boat, which according to Mohammad was the boat that Isis used to search for the missing body of the slain Osiris (Osiris and Isis are Horus' parents), but the websites that I found (links below) says otherwise so...my guess is as good as anyone's:P

Another cool thing about the Edfu temple is that some of the hieroglyphs are protruding out of the walls, instead of being carved into it. Meaning that they have to scrape off the rest of the walls in order to have the designs jut out so that you can touch them...something like Braille I guess?:P Needless to say, of the two ways of carving hieroglyphs this is the more difficult method.. The temple has both kinds of hieroglyps (lots of them) so it was just cool to see and touch the difference:P

After more pictures and a stop at the souvenir shops (though we didn't get anything), it was back to carriage for our ride back to our Cruise. We stopped for some mineral water (finally!!!) and after tipping our carriage driver (who was none too happy when we asked for our change back as we didn't have smaller change to tip him:P), we went back to the cruise which was about to set off for Esna, our next stop.

So...back to the cruise it was, where the day was long and we were just itching to find something to do :p So how did we keep ourselves occupied? Coming in the next blog entries ;)...

http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/edfu.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/edfut.htm
http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~nicholson/egypt/temples.html

Day 5 - River Nile Cruise, Part I

Dec 13, 2005.

The three of us woke up early as instructed by Mohammad as we will be visiting the Kom Ombo temple before our breakfast while the ship is docked there. Armed with our digital cameras and our sweaters, we got down and walked up to the temple complex while breathing in the fresh morning air. We were the first visitors to arrive at the temple for that day, and even the shops and markets outside were not open yet. Looking back now, I guess in a way THIS particular trip to Kom Ombo was the most pleasant for me because:


1) We had the whole place to ourselves =D

2) Cameras are allowed so we took lots of pictures (and since there was no one else around, you can take pictures at every single photogenic place without waiting for your turn or worrying about the view being hidden by someone else's head:P)

3) It was an open temple complex unlike Abu Simbel, so our tour guide can lead us straight to the hieroglyps and carvings on the walls to explain to us instead of refering to pictures and us trying to find the exact spot as shown in the picture later:P

4) Well...there's just something magical about observing a deserted (i.e no one else around but your tiny group), ancient ruin that has been around for thousands of years while the sun slowly rises up in the east...it's kind of like the temple is saying :"As the sun is still here, I am still here..." ;)


The Kom Ombo temple is dedicated to two Gods, which are Sobek, the Crocodile God and Horus, the Falcon God. Aside from the columns and hieroglyphs and all that, this temple is also famous in that three mummified crocodiles was found here...They mummify everything here in in Egypt according to Kok Hin:P




The entrance to the temple is pretty impressive with tall Roman-esque columns...Mohammad led us inside and showed us a wall of hieroglyphs that actually showed the old Egyptian calendar. The ancient Egyptians used to divide one year into three seasons which revolved around the River Nile. If I'm not wrong I think it is the flooding or inundation of the Nile, the receding (air surut:P) and the planting and farming season that can be carried out later when the banks of River Nile is made fertile due to the flooding. In one year they had 12 months, 300 days and 10 days per week. The detailed hieroglyphs showed of how for every day of the month there was something to be done (working , harvest, festival etc) and it also charts the shape of the moon for everyday. As for the remaining 5 days in a year? Well Mohammad said that the remaining 5 days are rest days for the ancient Egyptians, therefore these days are not recorded in the "working" calendar:P That was pretty cool to learn and you're really amazed by the ingenuity of these people :)...

After several more explanations of the drawings on the walls (mostly depicting the two Gods), the three of us were pretty much left on our own free will to take pics:P One of the cool thing that I realized was that, the temples of Egypt were not originally so brown!:P Meaning that actually all their hieroglyphs and drawings had colour on them initially (quite bright colours mind you:P), but over the ages they have disappeared and grown brown...There was one particular column which still had some colour on it (though faded), so that was quite a novelty because so far it has been pretty much brown monuments and stuff:P... There was also a funny moment when Woonie climbed the enclosure to take a picture, but then was told by the 'caretaker' of the place to get down...after the picture was taken :P....oops. Wanted to take one myself but they guy was keeping an eye on us so no go:P

After one last group picture, it was back to the Cruise for breakfast :) Strangely, breakfast is the meal that all of us look forward to most in a day:P Probably because food during breakfast tastes better than lunch and dinner heheh:P I mean at least breakfast food tastes as they SHOULD be tasting you know:P....Breakfast buffet everyday is the same, with cereals, cheese, buns, potatoes (either wedges or mashed), salad, fresh tomatoes and HAM :)...yum...what I like to do is place the cheese and tomato and ham together and munch them at one go...delicious :) Another cool thing is that you can get freshly cooked omelette according to your taste. There are several ingredients to choose from (onions, tomatoes etc) and you can just tell the chef what you want in your omelette and he will fry it there and then for you :) Or if you want it to be plain, or half-cooked etc...unfortunately he doesn't seem to know mata kerbau style though as Kok Hin didn't exactly get what he ordered:P

As we were having our breakfast, the Cruise started moving and we could see the banks of the River Nile pass us slowly at a leisurely pace...Pretty cool. We drank as much juice and tea and milk that we could as we haven't bought our supply of water yet and would only be able to do so after lunch, when we will be stopping by Edfu where we will see yet another ancient temple. Till then, we were pretty much free to do anything we liked on board:).....which, we found out later, was pretty much nothing:P

After we finished our breakfast, we went up to the sundeck. The other tourists (which is around 3 to 5 other people:P) were all suntanning in bathing suits and such, but I was still wearing my sweater hehe:P It was sunny, but pretty windy on the sundeck. Me and Woonie stood there looking at the River Nile for awhile...the fact that we were sailing on the world's longest river didn't really register in my head because the River Nile is pretty narrow, and from the sundeck we could see both banks of the Nile quite clearly. There is plenty of lush vegetation on both sides, with the occasional herd of cattle here and there. With all these agriculture surrounding us, it was easy to see how the River Nile is an important lifeline for Egypt.

After getting down and changing into my more comfortable sarong:P, I got myself some postcards at the souvenir shop onboard. They had a pretty good selection, and I got quite a lot there since I had quite a lot of people to write to:P And that was pretty much what I did the whole morning, writing postcards:P We didn't have much options available really as there wasn't much on the cruise to entertain us...there were like three exercise machines in lieu of a gym, a tiny swimming pool (and I can't swim anyway:P)...and that was pretty much it:P We asked for poker cards from the receptionist, but seems that they didn't have any kind of board game aside from backgammon:P So...writing postcards and spreading the love it is :)...As for Woonie and Kok Hin, they spent much of the morning reading "Tales of Ancient Egypt" and "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" alternatively, both books that I brought along (though I didn't think that we will actually read it :P ). After that it was lunch, and off to another temple...but that's another blog entry;).


For more information on Kom Ombo, go to these links:
http://www.eyelid.co.uk/komombo1.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/kom-ombo.htm
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/kom_ombo.htm

Day 4 - Aswan, Part II

Dec 12, 2005 - Evening.

By the time we woke up from our slumber in the van, it was already dark and we were rushing in order to get to Philae and catch the Sound and Light Show. I would have loved to say that we arrived there just in time, but we didn't :P We had to use a boat to get to the island, and by the time we got there the show has started around 10 minutes =o/...We couldn't wait and catch for the next show as :


1) The next show was in German (or French I cant remember:P), so we wouldn't have understood it:P

2) We had to get to our Cruise where we will be having our dinner...

The Sound and Light Show was a bit different from what I expected. I though that there will be real life actors reenacting scenes of things that really happened with the temple as the backdrop and stage...in the end it turns out that it's actually just different parts of the temple complex being lit up with different voices narrating and "acting "out the stories...The story that was told was of how the Goddess Isis (whom the temple is dedicated to) went in search of the body of her husband, God Osiris who was murdered by their evil brother Set (it was the custom of the ancient Gods and Pharaoh of Egypt to marry their own siblings). There were actually drawings on the walls depicting the different Gods and Goddesses, so every time someone was talking , the light will fall on the wall with the respctive God's/Goddess' drawing....i.e you imagine that the walls are speaking to you and telling you their stories-lah :P Hmm...interesting :P Nonetheless, the temple is really beautiful though, bathed in yellow light...gives it a kind of eerie beauty....

After the story of Isis and Osiris was told, we were led to an area where there were several rows of benches for us to sit down. From this area we could see the three main temples located on Philae which are the Isis Temple, Hathor Temple and the Temple of Emperor Hadrian. This part of the Sound and Light show tells of the story of how over the years, people of different races (from the Egyptians, Greeks and all those people who came after to rule them:P) and religions has come to this island and used the temple as a place of worship and honour, despite their differences. This part was a bit funny because everytime they wanted to tell about another new bunch of people going to the place, they will play this multi-layered, different, loud and soft and sayup-sayup track of voices that keep chanting :"I come, I come, I come...":P Of course it's to show the diversity of the people coming and how this temple has been honoured through the ages-lah....:P So everytime you hear the "I come, I come, I come..." track coming on you know that it means another new group of people has conquered Egypt or something :P The story of the island is brought across through a conversation between Isis and the River Nile God (i think, or was it Osiris, or Amen-Ra?:P)...Of course they used quite "bunga-bunga" (frilly and poetic) words...They also tell of how men has tamed the River Nile by building the High Dam, and how the temple, like Abu Simbel, had to be transported to its current place in order to not be drowned with the building of the dam...

So anyway, how was this show that our tour guide promised to be so spectacular fared for me?
Uhm, pretty ok I guess....not THAT spectacular:P but the island itself is beautiful...I just wished we could have seen it in the daytime, I'm sure it would have looked quite majestic and magnificent :)...

After the show ended, it was a journey back to the van by boat, then off to the River Nile Cruise where dinner was waiting for us :) The Cruise was not really as I expected at first :P For one, it seemed smaller than I though, and surprisingly empty:P I figured that the other travellers were probably out having a tour of Aswan or something...Even the dining room was empty and we were the only people there...again dinner was buffet style, nothing spectacularly delicious but just usual dishes of rice, beef, chicken, potatoes and fish. By this time I was so thirsty I ordered plain water (which costs us RM10) but I was beyond caring, I needed my water!!! When we told Mohammad about this he said that we will stock up on our water when we get down at one of our stops the next morning, and before then we should try to make do with what we have and also try to drink as much coffee/tea/juice during breakfast which were free:P

Mohammad finished earlier than us so he went to the bar where there was some performance of a guy twirling this big, oblong shape thingy on his arm was happening:P The only spectators (aside from the few staff there) were four middle-aged Germans and us:P The next performance was just plain weird though. There was this brown skinned man, dressed a bit like Tarzan in leaves and stuff, jumping all round, making funny (some even obscene gestures) and yammering gibberish!:P It's supposed to be one of those "interactive" shows and guess who got lucky to be invited up to perform with this crazy fellow???:P

So there I was, standing between to 2 German Aunties (one of them had very kind, smiling brown eyes and she was so excited when I told her I was from Malaysia:P) and 1 German Uncle, and we were supposed to follow whatever actions that the guy was doing, else we will be 'whipped' by this thin string thing he had around his neck. Soon enough, Woonie was also called up to join us, and me, her and one of the German auntie were asked to do some funny gestures and sounds that strangely sounded a lot like the "U Ke Le Le" mating dance rollcall we always do in AIESEC:P. Hmmm....am I feeling weird about this? Yes I am.....Anyways we were let off with big claps after that (the Germans seemed to have enjoyed it very much), and when we asked Mohamamd what did the guy actually said, he told us that the guy "is just saying that you are good because you follow what he said...". Woonie remains unconvinced:P

After Mohammad briefed us on the next morning, it was off to bed...it's been a long day after all. The three of us shared a cabin, with a "damn small bathroom" (as quoted from Kok Hin), a room phone and TV that doesnt work, and an extra single bed for Kok Hin with a too-thin mattress. They later gave him an extra mattress, and the TV was also changed, but our happiness was short-lived as it only had two local channels on...most of the time, depending on which angle the antennae is at. Yes ladies and gentleman, we ARE on a Cruise:P. Still it was good to finally have a bath after almost two days...and despite everything. mine and Woonie's bed was comfortable and warm (except for these 2 scratchy pillows which we didnt use, thank goodness they had another two plain white linen pillows), so it was off to dreamland until the next morning...:)

* My digicam ran out of batteries by this time which explains my lack pf pictures:p And for more information on Philae, click the link below
http://www.bibleplaces.com/philae.htm

Day 4 - Aswan, Part I

Dec 12, 2005

Me and Woonie were woken up from our deep slumber on our cosy sleeper train bunk beds by the train porter's knock on our door. After I brushed my teeth and freshened up, I had my first breakfast in bed! Cool or what?:P There was croissant and sesame bun and cakes, with more of that yummy peach jam =D...All the while our train was still chugging along but according to the porter we will reach Aswan in a while, which was the last stop for the train.

Soon enough we reached Aswan where we were greeted by tour guide Mohammad who led us to our van. We were first brought to the Aswan High Dam, an architectural wonder which was built from 1960 to 1970 to regulate the yearly flood and also acts as a water reservoir. I was more amazed by the bright blue waters of Lake Nasser....so beautiful :) After the high dam, we were supposed to take a boat to the island of Philae, where the temple dedicated to the Goddess Isis stands, but unfortunately we were running late as our train arrived late in Aswan, and we needed to rush as we will be travelling to Abu Simbel in a convoy and we didn't want to miss THAT (we paid an extra $USD80 for it:P). In the end Mohammad suggested that we go to Philae at night for the Sound and Lights Show (he swears we will thank him for suggesting it as it is supposed to very very good :P) in order that we can make it in time to Abu Simbel...initially we were supposed to pay extra for the Sound and Light show =o/ (but after that Mohammad managed to convince the travel agency that it was not our fault the train was late so no extra charges:)...)

We had another stop before we embarked on our journey to Abu Simbel, which was the Unfinished Obelisk. It was actually situated in a quarry from where most of the granite used to build monuments and temples in ancient time came from. According to Mohammad, workers will chisel the three sides of an Obelisk as well as its pointed tip from the rock. When the sides are done, they will start chiselling from the bottom or underneath, and as they get further and further in chiselling the Obelisk out they will slowly put in logs...until they are finally finished when the logs will act as an escalator thing and they can move the Obelisk to River Nile, which would then float it to whichever part of Egypt that is its intended destination. Hmmm...I don't think you guys can imagine what I just described huh?:P Anyways, the Obelisk that we saw is Unfinished because there was a crack in the middle, so scientists figured that when that happened, workers abandoned it to start on something new :P We actually saw a couple of obelisks in Paris and Rome, some were gifts from Egypt to the respective country, while some were looted:P As I was listening to the explanations from Mohammad I thought of something too...is that why there are so little trees in Egypt? Because they used up all the logs to trasfer the rocks and stuff?:P

After that it was off to the great temple of Abu Simbel. Along with the convoy (our tour guide was reluctant on explaining to us why we need to go in a convoy, he just said it's for our safety:P) which consisted of a few tour buses and vans, we set off on the long and hot journey which will take around 3 hours (if I don't remember wrongly). We had a packed lunch which consisted of a few tomatoes, bananas, ham and sesame bun, cake, guava juice and also a packet of (very salty) Egyptian potato chips:P It was a pretty uneventful ride as the area from Aswan to Abu Simbel seemed drier and arid than that between Cairo and Alex. It was pretty much desert country I guess, but instead of being the lush, brown sands and dunes that we always see in movies, this desert is quite pebbly and none too fascinating:p Again, it was off to dreamland most of the ride, with more Egyptian music (the songs sounded a bit more old-fashioned and after repeated listening, quite irritating, than the ones we heard in Cairo though:P) playing on the stereo the whole way...

Next when we woke up we were in Abu Simbel...the town around it seems pretty small..it gave me the feeling that the only reason the whole place exists is because the great temple is there:P We got down at a slightly greener looking plain (there were some bushes), then walked over to the entrance of Abu Simbel where there was a canteen and loos and ticket counter. The scenery at the entrance was quite nice, with palm trees and flowers...and when we started walking to the temple we could see Lake Nasser on our right...with the hot afternoon sun beating down on it, the blue waters was just sparkling...you really can't describe it in words:)

Before we reached the temple, we saw a couple of rocks with hieroglyphs on them. Supposedly these were inscribed with the name of Abu Simbel and also the Pharaoh who built them, Ramses II. After walking a little while more we saw it, and YUP, it's HUGE. Four magnificent statues of Ramses II (one of them whose face has broken off) watching over Lake Nasser which was directly opposite it. And a bit further down, is the smaller temple of Nefertari (with a row of pretty tall standing statues of Ramses II and Nefertari) which Ramses II built for his wife of the same name. Before we went in, Mohammad explained about the carvings, hieroglyphs and statues inside the temple with picture books that were on sale. Pictures were not allowed in the temple and as a show of reverence, tourists were asked to be quiet, hence the reason tour guides explaining things outside of the temple.

Another interesting thing about Abu Simbel is that its current location is not the original place it was built. When the Aswan High Dam was built, the original Abu Simbel location was one of the places that will be flooded so as works on the dam was done, simultaneously works of relocating the temple was also in progress....and they had to cut off the temple one piece by one piece....amazing:P

The inside of the temple is just as amazing...with several huge statues of Ramses II as pillars as well as paintings and hieroglyphs depicting him in battles etc. There are also 4 statues of different Gods inside, one of them being a headless statue which is supposed to be the statue of Ptah the God of darkness. Another interesting trivia, during 2 times in the year, the sun rays will go all the way to the back of the temple and light the faces of the Gods...all except the statue of darkness, who will not be hit by the sun ray and remain...in darkness:P Pretty cool architecture huh? For more pics and info of the inside of the temple (which I can't provide:P), surf over to http://www.lexicorient.com/egypt/abu_simbel01.htm or http://www.delange.org/AbuSimbel/EP66.htm

Next we went to the smaller temple of Nefertari. Inside it was pretty much the same, though much smaller, with Hathor (Goddesss of Love) columns suppoting the ceilings. We were runing out of time( and I was also feeling a bit dizzy because of the hot hot sun and lack of water:( ), so after a few more pics we set off back to where Mohammad was waiting. Before we got back to our van we also read some pictorial descriptions of how Abu Simbel was relocated. Then it was back to the van, another long and sleepy 3 hours ride, as we try to rush back to Aswan in order to catch the Philae Sound & Light Show in time...

For reasons unknown to me, I can't seem to upload any more pictures in to this particular blog entry despite numerous tries...so for pics on the events, surf over to this link :
http://www.imagestation.com/album/index.html?id=2115961753
There are captions so you'll know what the pictures are about:P...


For more information on the places that we have been, surf over to these websites...
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/Modern/aswandam.html
http://touregypt.net/unobelisk.htm

Day 3 (Part II) - GIza & Khalili

Day 3 - Part II (Giza & Khalili)

And now, off to Giza for the Great Pyramids! :) It was pretty sunny by now but still chilly due to the strong winds. There are 3 pyramids at Giza and the first of them was built for King Cheops. These were the last of the Pyramids and after their "evolution", these pyramids turned out to be the ones with the most magnificent architecture due to its perfect angles and stuff. There used to be an outer layer of drawings and hieroglyphs on the pyramids (probably depicting stories of the Pharaoh buried there) but over the ages this outer layer has gone and what we can see now are only the big huge blocks of granite that forms its structure. And believe me the blocks are huge! It's almost as tall of me!!! (see pic) Several small steps are carved onto the foundation blocks so tourists can go up and touch and see the Pyramid up-close.

Now remember in my previous blog entry I talked about the huge Egyptian schoolkids tours? The "rombongan lawatan sambil belajar"? Now here is where the 'interesting' stories come:P There were a lot of these groups on that day and, for reasons unknown to any of us, it seems to be that they kind of consider us some stars or something:P My first experience was when this couple of girls came up and asked to take pictures with me. I was so shocked I just obliged:P But seems that Woonie and Kok Hin were not spared either and as we walked around the place we had to entertain lots of questions of "Where you come from?", "What's your name?" and also picture-taking. The funniest part was when this group of schoolgirls asked me and Woonie for our autographs! And I'm like "What's that about...?":P

After lots of pics later, we experienced what turned out to be the highlight for me of my Egypt Trip - the camel ride =D Initially we were supposed to pay $USD10 each for the ride, but after Kok Hin's negotiations and a call to Ahmad the PIC, the fee was scrapped off:) Our camels were to take an around 15 minutes walk to a tiny hill where we will be able to take snapshots of all 3 pyramids at the Giza plateau together:) The camel ride was bumpy and I remember holding on for dear life because I was so afraid that I will fall down from that way up high seat! :P But I guess that fear is partly why the experience was so exciting , kinda like a roller-coaster ride you know? :P Oh, the ride was pretty smelly too because there was camel dung everywhere haha:P Another funny thing is that our camels were constantly trying to kiss each other or something ( you can see it in the picture), but according to their keeper they're both males! Hmm....anyway, all too soon the ride ended and we had to say goodbye to Cleopatra (that's our camel's name ;) ).

Next it was to the front of the second biggest pyramid there, where the Great Sphinx lies guard. This pyramid was built for Pharaoh Chephren, and supposedly there was a big piece of stone in front of his pyramid so they decided to carve it into the Sphinx with the face that is supposed to be Pharaoh Chephren's. Poor thing has lost a nose now though:P....Woonie was saying that the SPhinx is not as big as she though it was...I thought that it was nearer to the Pyramid but actually its not:P Also, as we were walking to the Sphinx, there were more schoolkids tours hanging around and asking for pictures and stuff, whick got slightly annoying especially when you're trying to get a decent picture but you can't as the kids keep trying to get into the frame:P In the end Noha had to tell some of them off so that they would stop bugging us:P.

Next it was off to another factory, this time a Papyrus factory. Remember when we were in school and we learnt about "kertas papirus" being used to write documents and all that? Well we saw how the papyrus scrolls are made. The Cyperus papyrus plant grows along the banks of the River Nile and the ancient Egyptians has made papyrus paper since 4000 BC. For more information of the process of how to make the papyrus paper, go to this link http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/dailylife/papyrus.html. :) Hehe I can't really describe the process well so...:P Again, when the demonstration was done, there was another sales pitch as the shop is covered with framed papyrus scrolls with beautiful Egyptian paintings and artworks on them, depicting myths, legends, Gods and Goddesses and also scenes of Egypt. With the smallest scroll retailing at RM60 each, this was another factory that saw all 3 of us leaving empty-handed:P

After that it was off to the Mosque of Mohammad Ali which is supposed to be the twin of the Blue Mosque in Turkey. More schoolkids tours, again Noha telling them off :P...The mosque was pretty impressive, but my jaw really dropped when I went inside (my first time in a mosque too!:)) The interior was just magnificent...there were these round lights hung all around that illuminated the place..and the columns and dome in hues of gold and green with Quranic verses carved on them...me and Woonie were so impressed that we said a collective 'Shit" the moment we stepped inside, meaning that in the most reverent way possible of course :).




A pretty late lunch was next :) Still had it in a tourist-only restaurant, but this time we had it buffet-style instead of the usual one dish meal of either chicken, fish or beef. Being the Malaysians that we are, all three of us were starting to get a little bit bored of the food so the buffet was a welcome respite :) I also tried several traditional Egyptian desserts, but couldn't finish them as all of them were so sweet...After that we bid goodbye to Noha as we were to leave for Aswan that night, where we will be joined by another tour guide, but before we left Cairo, there was one more place for us to go...the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar for some major shopping! :D


Shopping at Khan El-Khalili Bazaar is definitely an experience of its own. As you walk down the streets everyone from every shop is asking and telling you things like "Where you come from?", "Come come I give you good price!", "Only 1 dollar 1 dollar!" etc etc...You could just be absent mindedly fingering something and you can bet that you will be stuck at that shop for quite sometime as the shopkeeper keeps haggling you to get something :P And when you DO actually like something, be prepared for some serious bargaining!:P

For example, a typical bargaining conversation between Woonie and a shopkeeper will sound something like this :

(Woonie looking at a shawl)
Shopkeeper: You like? $USD60 for the pashmina, very good price, this very good quality.
Woonie (shakes her head) : No...it's too expensive (makes to go away)
Shopekeeper (stops Woonie) : No no its ok you tell me your price, you tell me...
Woonie (laughs) : You will scold me if I tell you...
Shopkeeper (shakes head, maybe try to put arm around Woonie) :No no no...how much you want come tell me, I give you good price...
Woonie (holds up both hands) :10 Egytian Pounds!
Shopkeeper (looks away...) : No no no....55 pounds, this good price, good quality!!

...and it goes on and on....until either :
i) We get to buy the product for a fraction of the price
ii) We walk away to other shops around the area:P

In the end we did get some nice shawls for a pretty good price from one of the shops...In fact Woonie got more than shawls, the shopkeeper also offered to line her eyes with kohl for free!:P So we went up to the attic of his shop, and after some time, Voila! Woonie with bigger, darker eyes :)





We contiuned walking down the bright colourful streets of the bazaar. Some of the more common souvenirs that we found included shishas of every sizes, t-shirts, jewellery, brightly coloured Galabea (traditional costumes), sexy belly dancer costumes with dangling beads, statues of all the things that we connect with Egypt (pyramids, pharaohs, gods and goddeses, cats, the Key of Life or Ankh which is a symbol of good luck, the scarab etc), and also papyrus bookmarks and scrolls depicting Egypt's myths and legends. As we were walking, me and Woonie got a lot of funny, flirtatious stares and looks (sometimes shouts) from the male shopkeepers and locals (which is pretty much everyone there, for reasons unknown we saw very few Egyptian ladies) so it was really a bit uncomfortable....There was even an incident where we walked into a shop and the shopkeeper put his arms around Kok Hin's shoulders, and then proceeded to hug and kiss me and Woonie =o/ He was like "Where you come from? Malaysia? My brother is in Malaysia!!!", and before me and Woonie knew what was happening he swooped down on us...scary...

But I guess the funniest incident for me that whole night was when this following conversation happened as we were leaving the bazaar...

(Me walking, an Egyptian guy in front of me turned around and stared at me)
Guy : Where you come from?
Me : (still walking) Malaysia...
Guy: (still staring) I will make you happy forever!

I was so flabbergasted I faster walked away and when I saw Kok Hin immediately grabbed his hand, Woonie all the while laughing uncontrollably beside me:P.

After our unforgettable shopping experience in Khalili, we got into our van which sent us to the train station as we were taking the sleeper train to go to Aswan. Ahmad and Sharif was there to send us off, and as the train was later, I slept in the waiting room while Woonie, Kok Hin and the rest chatted. When I woke up it was time to get onto the sleeper train. Fortunately me and Woonie got into the same cabin :) The sleeper train's cabin is pretty compact, but inside there is a tiny wash stand for us to brush our teeth and things, and after we had our dinner (served by this really nice and comical porter:P), he pulled some level or other which 'magically' transformed our seats into bunk beds! =D SO cool...the only thing that I wasn't happy with was the fact that I can't take a bath as there are no shower facilities :o/ Still, I made do with my wet tissues:P After brushing my teeth and a visit to the loo and back (coincidentally on my way back to the room I got to meet a fellow Malaysian, Stanley who was on the same flight as us to Cairo from KL:P), I settled down on the cosy bunk bed with Bobby (my yellow teddy :)), and promptly fell asleep as the train rocked gently all the way to Aswan the next day....:)

Day 3 Part I - Sakkara & Perfumery

Dec 11, 2005 (Part I)

Today's is the day! The day that we get to witness one of the Wonders of the World, the Egyptian Pyramids :) We brought along our bags that has been packed the night before as we will be leaving for Aswan in the evening, and after we finished our breakfast (they have very very good peach jam, yum :)), we sat in the lobby awhile as Kok Hin and Woonie discussed our travel initinerary with Ahmad, the PIC (person in charge) for our tour from the Egyptian tour agency. Actually our itinerary was screwed up by the Malaysian travel agent as the initial PIC resigned and there was no follow-up from his other colleagues and we only got our travel initinerary one day before our flight (also the Malaysian travel agent lady didnt reply my eamil! >:( ). We were unsatisfied as initially we thought that travelling to Abu Simbel will be part of our itinerary, but it wasn't in the list...In the end, we had to pay an extra $USD80 in order to go to book the trip to Abu Simbel...sigh...there goes a big chunk of my shopping money...sigh...

At first Noha planned to bring us to the Great Pyramids of Giza, but as there was a pretty heavy mist (again, a chilly morning ), we decided to head to Sakkara to see the Step Pyramids first. In order to get there, we went through a more "kampung", greener side of Cairo where there was lush agriculture. From what I saw they plant lots of cabbages and dates. We also saw a lot of donkeys (either pulling carts, being ridden on or carrying things), horses, and even a whole flock of sheep which went past our van! :)


Soon we reached the arid area of the Step Pyramids. It was quite a big contrast...on one side all you could see were light brown earth, and yet when you turn around, there was like an estate-ful of palm trees! :P And of course, there was the Step Pyramid looming in front of us... :) Did you know? That the there is actually an evolution of the Pyramids before they perfected the art of making them into those perfect triangle-shaped structure:P The Step Pyramids were actually the first of the Pyramids and it got its name from all the tingkat-tingkat:P All in all (regardless of their shape or whether they are still standing or has crumbled down), there are (or was) around 101 Pyramids in Egypt. The Pyramids, of course, were built as the final resting place of Pharaohs and their mummified bodies as well as the treasures and things that they will need in the after life are buried with them...its something like an extra, extra big tombstone, and then some:P

We walked around the place for quite awhile, not just admiring the Pyramid but also looking at the ruins of the walls that used to enclose the area. The size of the blocks these guys used to build them...there were almost as tall as me (gasp!)! As we walked along, we also saw a camel up close for the first time in Egypt :) I really couldn't help myself and gave the fellow a pat, and, well, it is as good a photo opportunity as any! :) So I took a couple of pictures with the camel (the feeling of the camel rising up and you're up there looking down at the world is so cool! :) ), and when it was over, tipped the camel rider and his camel $USD1 for the "service" :P.


We then returned to the city of Cairo, again passing the rural streets... as our van was moving along the road leading to town, guess what we saw??? A Kancil!!! =D Managed to catch this not so clear pic of it on the road...:P hey it's hard to get a good shot when the car's moving in and out you know:P Anyways, what can I say? Malaysia Boleh! :)




Our next stop was not yet the Great Pyramids, but to a perfumery to see and learn more about the traditional perfume and essential oils of Egypt. After weaving in and out of several narrow alleys and little backstreets (at least seems like that to me:P), we arrived outside a building with the sign "Golden Eagle Perfume Palace" on it. When we walked into the place, I was dazzled by the array of colourful glass perfume bottles, in all shapes and sizes, on display...the walls were lined with mirrors so along with the glass perfume bottles it made the whole place look like this delicate glass palace... also the heady perfume of thousands of unnamed flowers greeted our senses from the first step. We were led to a long room which had a counter at the end (on which there were several big bottles containing clear-coloured essential oils). We were then asked to sit down on the sofa, and offered a welcome drink of our choice (either tea, coffee or Hibiscus Tea). We later found out that the welcome drink is a common gesture of hospitality in Egypt. Of course all of us were game to try out the local drink so we chose Hibiscus Tea. The tea is red in colour and quite sweet, with a tangy taste to it and a flowery aroma :). It is mostly served cold.

When we were settled down, our guide at the factory, whose name was either Ahmad or Mohammad (I really can't remember:P) started explaining about essential oils to us. He gave us a list of names of the essential oils available in the factory which were divided into three categories which are "Essences of Flower Perfumes", meaning that these oils are extracted from one main flower or plant, the "Blend" category, which are essential oils made from a mixture of extracts of differet flower/plants, as well as "Spice Scent" which is pretty self-explanatory. According to our guide, the essential oils are actually the main ingredient used to make all the famous perfumes in the world, and he was even able to give names! Seems that the major cosmetics label would take an essential oil, mix it up with alcohol and other ingredients (normally the essential oil only forms 5%-10% of the perfume), package it beautifully and then sell it for those outrageous prices (me thinks the money mostly goes to the adverts, packaging and marketing:P). For example, my Ralph Lauren Blue perfume comes from the essential oil blend named "Shahrzad". Also normally a certain range (example Ralph Lauren) will use the same essential oil for their whole range of perfume, just mixing it with different ingredients or in different quantities in order to create slightly differing scents in order that the signature scent of the range or brand is still retained.

It was quite a scent-sory (pardon the pun:P) experience for all of us as the guide dabbed different essential oils on our wrists and fingers for us to smell and try :) My personal favourite was the Lily of the Valley extract (used to make Estee Lauder's Pleasures Intense) as well as the not exported, found only in Egypt "Secret of the Desert" essential oil blend (made from extracts of 55 different flowers). Why is it not exported? Well, supposedly, the "Secret of the Desert" essential oil (for her) and its 'for him' alter ego, called "Arabian Night" are both very powerful aphrodisiacs, which, according to our guide (and I quote him) "will make one like horse on the wedding night", so he says "we keep these two for ourselves, and you can only buy it in Egypt, nowhere else in the world." ;)

After sniffing so many scents, our noses were on an overdrive, so out came the magic weapon...voila! A tray of grounded coffee bean was placed in front of us and we were asked to sniff it too. Turns out that the aroma of coffee beans can help neutralize scents or something like that, so everytime the scents all start to smell the same, take a sniff of the coffee beans and your nose will be as acute as ever :P With all the explanations done, it was time for the sales pitch :P Basically the smallest jar of essential oil costs USD$15, and though I found the essential oils undoubtedly tempting, knowing that I was already USD$80 poorer without having even started on my souvenir shopping list, I resisted the urge to get one myself :P. Neither Woonie and Kok Hin bought any either.

Read on for Part 2 in the next entry...:)