Monday was a holiday here in Cairo. When I went down for a rather boring breakfast, I was intrigued by the bread twists that appeared to have a painted hard-boiled egg in the centre. Later, the guide explained to me that the streets were less chaotic because of the holiday that marks the end of winter. That evening, I read in the English addition of the Egyptian Gazette that traditionally people paint eggs and go for picnics in the park. I can remember doing this as a small girl in Malta.
For my tour, I had a driver, my guide, Mostfa, and a mini bus to myself. We headed out for Giza, one of the three cities that make up the huge conglomeration of Cairo. My first glimpse of the great pyramid of Cheops came as we were driving along the busy road leading to the tourist mecca. Even in the setting of a congested metropolis it is impressive. The first glimpse is of two complete pyramids, the second and smaller still with a smooth finish on its apex. The massive free-standing structures were made by placing huge quarried slabs on top of each other, progressively moving in towards the apex. Mostfa quoted statistics about numbers of blocks and workers which were too huge for me to understand. At the side of the Cheops pyramid, he archaeologists found a huge pit with a boat in it. This was the vessel for the sun to make its daily journey across the pyramid. Now it is in a specially built museum next to the pyramid to preserve it and, I suspect, to extract more money from the tourists.
When we arrived at the car park there were already several tourist buses lined up. There are three intact pyramids on this site, but many more have collapsed. It looks stunning from the desert viewing point despite the number of visitors. There are lots of camels and horses for hire and glimpses of them riding through the desert add to the Lawrence of Arabia feel. We walk around the base of the Cheops pyramid and I went down into the chamber of one of the lesser queens. At first I was on my own carefully picking my way down the very steep chute with metal struts and wooden handrails to stop you from sliding. The chamber of course is long empty, robbed by fortune hunters who have become the stuff of legends and Hollywood movies. This tomb was hewn out of the rock rather than constructed around the sarcophagus as happened in more important tombs. Even so, most tombs, apart from Tutenkhamen, have been raided.
I had a few moments to find the small side chamber where the mummy was placed before I was literally descended upon by a busload of French tourists. I started to panic a little as I waited at the side of the long chute whilst assorted sized people picked their way down. As the small chamber filled up, I yelled up the shaft to stop and let me out so they would have more room at the bottom.
Perhaps to help me overcome the smell of fear in a crowded space, Mustfa then took me to the government perfume factory. He emphasised that this was entirely educational and I shouldn't feel pressured to buy. Since I never wear perfume, I thought this was unlikely anyway, even when he told me that he had seen Nicole Kidman at the factory and thought she was incredibly beautiful. As soon as I walked in, I was taken to watch the glass-blower making the bottles. It was a sure way to get me wanting to take something away with me. I love the concentration of a craftsman working and felt privileged to share the moment when a fellow human being makes something of beauty.
Once a beautiful small bottle was sitting on the work bench, a delightful young woman claimed me and took me into a room surrounded by mirrored shelves with bottles of essence and glass containers all around. She sat me down at a low table and asked if I wanted coffee. I half-heartedly explained that I didn't use perfume so wouldn't know what I was smelling. She smilingly gave me a list to tick off and began to explain to me the power of aromatherapy. I was fascinated and came away with four sturdy bottles of essence or oil - frankincence, myrrh, heliotrope essences and sandalwood oil - four lovely small bottles that I will use later to give small gifts to people when I get back, and two candle holder oil burners. It was a tourist experience that will remain with me.
Next we went to the papyrus factory where I learnt that the papyrus plant has a triangular stem which is one of the reasons it holds a special place in Egyptian culture. The papyrus plant is the symbol of Lower Egypt whilst the lotus plant is Upper Egypt's plant. Both plants are carved on Egyptian columns and help to distinguish local architecture from the Graeco-Roman constructions found particularly around Alexandria. In the process of making paper, the outer skin is removed from the stems and the pith is sliced. At this stage, as my demonstrator showed quite clearly, the slices are easily broken but once it is hammered and pressed to remove water it becomes stronger. It is then soaked for several days to remove the sugar. The strips are then woven and placed between two pieces of carpet to be pressed in the sun for several more days. The longer it is left, the darker it becomes. The final product is very strong and was used for beds and chairs as well as a surface for writing and painting.
Again, I bought two small pieces - one showing the papyrus plant and lotus plant and another of a tree with birds that I think represents the family. Someone wrote my cartouche on this one.
After lunch which was buffet style with interesting salads and vegetables and very sweet desserts, we finished off the day with a trip to the museum. This is huge and the Tutenkhamen room is amazing. There were several mummy cases each originally placed within the other like Russian dolls, and four sarcophagus on the same principle. I also went round the animal embalming room but I was getting too full of experiences to take much in. I determined to return today to see more but as you can see, today has become a day of recording rather than experiencing.
On the way back to the hotel, I asked Mustfa to stop and let me buy some water and fruit for dinner. Even though hotel prices are cheap by European standards, I still resent paying 7 Egyptian pounds for a small bottle of water when I can buy a large bottle outside for 2! Back in my hotel room, I heard the call to prayer and when I looked out of the window over the rooftops there were nine kites flying, pigeons wheeling and the two Giza pyramids showed reddish in the sunset haze.
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