Being in Egypt: The Surreal

Traveling to an ancient country like Egypt speaks to the long emotional memory of our roots as human beings. We hear the dates long Before Christ (B.C.), and we feel it in our DNA that our own history ties to this long-off place we have only seen in media, in artifacts, and in history classes. Then, you stand in front of your first pyramid and look up at the towering mystery that is a tomb for some distant king. And there you have it - the surreal experience of beholding a 6-step pyramid at Sakura first constructed around 2700 B.C. Thousands and thousands of years have passed, yet the uniqueness of this first stone pyramid, built high into the sky exceeding the usual one-step pyramids that existed prior, has stood the test of time.

The Egyptian vendors steal away your moment as they call out $1 for your very own turbin, $2 for your very own mini pyramids and $10 for your very own papyrus calendar. We are told to avoid them, but the vendors are playful, wrapping our heads in turbans, asking us if we want to get on the donkey, insisting we want a free picture with them and the pyramid. We break down at the lightness of turbans and donkeys, and realize that the snapping of these photos will be a memory never forgotten. And of course that free picture comes to a $1 for the guy with the donkey, a $1 for the kid on the horse, and a $1 for the vendor offering his shared turban for a timeless picture.

To be buried by the great King Zoser is considered an honor. So, smaller pyramids are built near the 6-step, and others go to the afterlife knowing that greatest honor of having their own tomb burial near such a great Man and immense pyramid.

Our travel route to the first pyramid carried us through the streets of Giza. Delayed by our police escort due to fog, we anticipated our first full Egyptian day and what was ahead. As we waited, we began to think about police escorts and security guards and what this meant. Not having considered Egypt to be unsafe since the time between their 2011 revolution had lengthened to almost 7 years, we were to learn otherwise that Egypt had put into place precautions to ensure foreigners are safe. After all, we are still visiting a developing country and that comes at me like a quick slap in the face. Of course, safety looks different.

After the first of many security delays, we were finally looking out our bus window seeing the City and modern Egypt pass us by. The mounds of garbage collecting along the canal, sides of the streets, and generally floating in water are our first glimpse into a peculiar problem that cannot be ignored, yet is in fact wholly ignored. Later, we will learn that government spends much money on sports centers, including all the lighting it takes to be open at night when the country cools off some, yet the collection of garbage is given no priority. As a tourist, I know that I would rather see clean streets than brightly lighted sports centers. How do Egyptians handle this type of prioritizing? What does it say about the pride in their country, especially since tourism is their #1 source of income?

On the drive we spotted dome-shaped concrete or mud structures of various sizes. The dome-shaped mounds have many holes where pigeons can go to roost. A delicacy in Egypt, they are fattened and served up as a meal. A somewhat difficult thing for Americans to visualize or even want to imagine as we have been taught that our own pigeons are often unclean. We also see egrets, considered friends to the farmer because they eat the bugs that can kill crops. The egret is a white bird, also called an Ibsis. In comparison a crane is black and grey.

Rice is an every day meal in Egypt, which we quickly learn at our own meals - rice is even served at breakfast. The government had to make a decision in recent years to withhold water from the rice fields, as the people needed what water there was. This shortage might mean a rice shortage in the near future, which could be devastating for the people of Egypt. While they have other crops to depend on like cotton, sugar cane, and dates, the every day dependence on rice could be a hardship for certain.

For us, it was even more meaningful that same day when we visited the Carpet store where we learned the difference between the knotting and weaving of carpets. In addition, the owner conducted a show and tell on the dazzling flipping of carpets to show the changing of colors as you turn a carpet. Silk changes colors as you flip it, and weaving has the same pattern on both sides. An impressive endeavor: it can take 4 people an entire year to knot a patterned carpet.

All in all it was a very good day with a visit to the Imhotep Museum, the pyramids, and Egyptian lunch, and the carpet store.