Welcome 2011 ! Gosh I have been on this Earth for a while now, to be more precise I have existed for close to 21 years and 9 months from the moment I was a zygote. Actually one could argue that I have existed for up to 52 years + a few months ( < 9 ) - well at least half of me ! In case you're wondering how I came up with that, that's simply the age of my mom and since egg cells exist in a woman from birth or even longer it is fair to say that half of me may have existed for that long.
Still some of the structures I got to see over the last few days have been standing for much longer, up to 5000 years ! You got to admit that kind of time scale really has a "wow" factor to it. What is interesting is that it's not just the structures that have survived, but their stories as well which are inscribed all over their walls in hieroglyphics. It is these stories that really resurrect the whole civilization. I don't know how to read hieroglyphics, however, it is possible to have a guess at the meaning of some of the drawings by careful observation and some thought. For example at one temple in particular; the temple dedicated to the God of protection; Horus, at a place called Edfu, I noticed that that there were several pictures of a man offering different items to the God Horus. It is not difficult to imagine that priests were required to offer these very items to the golden statue of the God that once laid in the inner sanctum of the temple ( the "holy of the holies" room). 
All the temples we visited on this trip had the same basic structure; a large front wall with an obelisk or two and some statues of the pharaoh who built the temple followed by an open passage way leading from the front wall to the holy of holies. The front wall often had large drawings of the pharaoh in battle being blessed by the God for which the temple was built. Off course not all the obelisks, statues and drawings were in pristine condition ! The temple of Luxor dedicated to the Sun God; Amon Ra, even had depictions of the Pharaoh's "private" life.
I guess such topics only became taboo much later. I wouldn't be surprised if this was meant to be a depiction of Ramses the second who had 52 wives and 132 children, clearly any documentation of his lifestyle had to include such hobbies.
Away from temples, we also visited tombs. The grandest of these was the tomb built by the pharaoh Kheops, of the 4th dynasty. This tomb took the shape of a colossal pyramid and is known as the pyramid of Giza, because it lies in a place called Giza. There are another two smaller pyramids next to the Giza pyramid. These were built by the descendants of Kheops; Khefren and Micerino ( Greek names). Incidentally Khefren also built the famous Sphinx that is in front of his pyramid.
This large sphinx is the first and largest sphinx constructed in ancient Egypt. The idea seems to have become very popular and mini sphinxes are all over the place; in front of the Karnak temple, the Pompei tower and on walls all over. It is clear that the ancient Egyptians associated various animals and figurines with certain specific characteristics, their whole language is filled with depictions of animals and objects. Perhaps the sphinx came to be a symbol of having two characteristics at once; the strength of a lion and the intelligence of a human - an intimidating combination.
I could go on trying to tell you more about what I learnt and deduced about ancient Egypt, but I think that would eventually get boring and after all, my trip was more than just about enjoying the marvels of ancient Egypt. The plan was also to relax on a cruise, eat good food and celebrate the new year. In those respects Egypt wasn't all that great. The Christmas dinner organised for us was below par and was frankly disappointing. You may think that I'm just being fussy, but c'mon it's Christmas and we paid for and expected a great meal at a place with great ambiance. Eventually we chose to leave the rest of the group we were with and eat elsewhere ( not in the place that was organised for us). The meal was good, but our moods had already sunk and it wasn't a very "merry" christmas meal. Unfortunately that was just the first of several let downs and soon being fussy became a habit; we were grossly overcharged for the "Sound at light" show at Giza, New Years was a dull occasion, and we spent an inordinate amount of time on sleeper trains that weren't too nice. Still there were some exciting moments like the ride on the hot air balloon on the first day of 2011, a high start to the new Year, literally. These little moments coupled with the glory of ancient Egypt saved the trip. All in all, I enjoyed my visit to the land of Pharaohs.
Still some of the structures I got to see over the last few days have been standing for much longer, up to 5000 years ! You got to admit that kind of time scale really has a "wow" factor to it. What is interesting is that it's not just the structures that have survived, but their stories as well which are inscribed all over their walls in hieroglyphics. It is these stories that really resurrect the whole civilization. I don't know how to read hieroglyphics, however, it is possible to have a guess at the meaning of some of the drawings by careful observation and some thought. For example at one temple in particular; the temple dedicated to the God of protection; Horus, at a place called Edfu, I noticed that that there were several pictures of a man offering different items to the God Horus. It is not difficult to imagine that priests were required to offer these very items to the golden statue of the God that once laid in the inner sanctum of the temple ( the "holy of the holies" room). 
All the temples we visited on this trip had the same basic structure; a large front wall with an obelisk or two and some statues of the pharaoh who built the temple followed by an open passage way leading from the front wall to the holy of holies. The front wall often had large drawings of the pharaoh in battle being blessed by the God for which the temple was built. Off course not all the obelisks, statues and drawings were in pristine condition ! The temple of Luxor dedicated to the Sun God; Amon Ra, even had depictions of the Pharaoh's "private" life.
I guess such topics only became taboo much later. I wouldn't be surprised if this was meant to be a depiction of Ramses the second who had 52 wives and 132 children, clearly any documentation of his lifestyle had to include such hobbies.
Away from temples, we also visited tombs. The grandest of these was the tomb built by the pharaoh Kheops, of the 4th dynasty. This tomb took the shape of a colossal pyramid and is known as the pyramid of Giza, because it lies in a place called Giza. There are another two smaller pyramids next to the Giza pyramid. These were built by the descendants of Kheops; Khefren and Micerino ( Greek names). Incidentally Khefren also built the famous Sphinx that is in front of his pyramid.
This large sphinx is the first and largest sphinx constructed in ancient Egypt. The idea seems to have become very popular and mini sphinxes are all over the place; in front of the Karnak temple, the Pompei tower and on walls all over. It is clear that the ancient Egyptians associated various animals and figurines with certain specific characteristics, their whole language is filled with depictions of animals and objects. Perhaps the sphinx came to be a symbol of having two characteristics at once; the strength of a lion and the intelligence of a human - an intimidating combination.
