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Following in the Footsteps of Watchers & Shining Ones!

Join Gypsy and Prism as we travel on an extraordinary adventure to explore ancient Egypt and the interaction between sacred sites and expanded states of consciousness with author Freddy Silva. Another "bucket list" adventure!

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Post-Egypt ...

5/25/2020

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March 10
My first morning home is a gorgeous one — a perfect Spring morning. The sun is shining and the hills are that crazy almost psychedelic green. All that's missing is my pup, Ricky, as I sit on the patio sipping hot tea.

Still coughing and congested, I've already called both my primary care doctor and my travel medicine / infectious diseases 
doctor, who I saw prior to leaving for Egypt. The reason for my calls is simple. Before Gypsy and I left on our adventure there were less than two-dozen cases of Coronavirus in the US, and the Department of State indicated none in Egypt. 
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Warm, sunny morning friends
In less then 2-weeks, COVID-19 has spread widely throughout the US and an outbreak occurred on a Nile River cruise boat, which was quarantined in Luxor, a few days ago while we were there. Before leaving Egypt, Gypsy and I had made a pact that we would self-quarantine for 14-days after arriving home to be sure that we were not carrying the Coronavirus and see about getting tested. Neither of us want to be part of the “problem” potentially spreading the virus.

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Presently, tests are scarce and both of my doctors suggested that I continue taking Mucinex and Flonase for my symptoms, monitor my temperature several times a day, avoid going out and being in contact with others, and if so, wear a mask. 
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A very tired Ricky
Mid-morning, equipped with a disposable surgical face mask, I picked up a few essentials at the grocery store — surprisingly, only two others were wearing masks and neither were store employees. Then I picked up Ricky from overnight puppy camp. It was so good to see him and he was sufficiently “played” out that I knew a few chill days home would be fine.

No sooner did we start for home and it began to rain — yea!!!
March 11
This morning's news reported lots of rain and flooding expected in Cairo today. Warnings, too, about flooding. Too bad, as our Egypt group is due to return there today. 

​Thankfully, I'm still not running a temperature, but my cough and congestion are not getting better. Ricky and I are taking short walks between rain showers and watching movies.

March 12

Gypsy and I were suppose to be having a chill day at the Mena House spa in Giza today. Oh, well … with my continuous coughing and congestion, it wouldn’t have been much fun! 
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Gypsy is running a temperature and feeling shitty — no energy. Doesn’t sound like she’s picked up my bug ... hope its not Coronavirus. Ricky has fully “recovered” from overnight puppy camp and is wanting more exercise than walking around the fenced portion of our property. Sadly for him, I've not the energy. Since it's not raining, we are outside more today.

A dear friend has made a Costco / TJ run for me and left it outside our security gate — no contact. Called the doctor again today to see about getting tested for Coronavirus as there are news stories of increasing cases. Still no tests available in our county.

March 13

Gypsy and I were suppose to be flying home today from Egypt … thankfully, we had presence of mind to come back earlier because Trump just blocked travel from Europe, which we would have been connecting through. Who knows how long it might have taken us to get home! Meanwhile, Gypsy continues to run a slight temperature and I’m still coughing incessantly. Sinus congestion has finally started to abate. 

March 17
Gypsy called tonight to say she was taking herself to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital to be tested for Coronavirus — testing became available here yesterday — as she is still running a slight temperature and feeling awful. Meanwhile, I'm still hacking away, except for those hours I am able to sleep! By the way, we've had 4" of rain since returning home from  Egypt!

March 18
Gypsy sent a text in the wee hours while I was asleep … she didn’t get home from the hospital until 3 AM and will not hear test results for at least 4-5 business days! I made the decision after our conversation last night to drive into Santa Barbara and be tested as some news stories are finally saying people can be asymptomatic and still carry / spread the virus to others. This is day nine of our self-quarantine.

On the drive into Santa Barbara, my travel medicine doctor called to tell me that Gypsy had called her last night and gone to the hospital for testing and she was recommending I do the same. I told her I was already on my way, asked if she
would arrange for me to have a chest x-ray to be sure I didn’t have pneumonia, and that hospital ETA was about 40 minutes having to drop Ricky off at puppy day care. At least one of us will have fun!

Upon arriving at the hospital’s emergency room, I was whisked off to have my temperature and blood pressure taken, followed by the standard COVID-19 Testing Triage questions, and then a chest x-ray. Thankfully, the results from my chest x-ray came back negative, and since I was on the borderline of being tested for COVID-19, they went ahead and tested me.

When the doctor appeared an hour or so later, he told me that I tested positive for Rhinovirus so they didn’t test for COVID-19. WHAT? I was told to continue my self-imposed quarantine for the full 14-days or until my cough was completely gone, and to continue taking Mucinex and Flonase for cough and congestion. If I develop a temperature, notify my primary care doctor and possibly get retested. Also, if my friend’s test comes back positive, and my cough persists, come back to be retested. Well, that was unsatisfying and it took five hours! At least Ricky had a good time playing ... we were both exhausted.


March 24
It’s now been 14-days since our self-imposed quarantine and most of the US is sheltering-in-place. Gypsy’s test results came back negative for COVID-19 and she is feeling a bit better. Though still fatigued, she no longer runs a temperature. I’m still coughing, but less so. So, my quarantine continues. Not missing much as sheltering-in-place is virtually the same. In fact, self-quarantining has started to feel like my new norm. I am so thankful for living in a small rural valley with lots of places to safely walk without seeing or possibly infecting anyone. And, for now, friends are still picking things up for me when needed. Since returning home from Egypt, I’ve only left our property three times. It’s been a month since the housekeeper and gardener have been here. The gardener will start back next week, but I've no idea how much longer before I feel comfortable having our housekeeper back.

May 25
I have been healthy (no cough) since the end of March. Sadly, a dear friend who shared the same surname as me passed away last month due to complications during surgery. And a new friend, whom I met on the trip to Egypt, died this month.

This past weekend, I was suppose to be in Montana for the semi-annual Cinnabar Foundation board meeting. Due to everyone still sheltering-in-place our two-day meeting was held via Zoom
. I really miss not being in Montana — hopefully travel will be a “thing” come September (fingers crossed) so I can get up for the fall meeting. Perhaps like me, Zoom has become a part of your life — I am so thankful for this technology!
It is overwhelmingly sad to hear each day about the exponential growth of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the US and worldwide. [I’ll refrain on sharing my thoughts about our government’s role in (not) handling this crisis.] Conversely, I love hearing stories about the courageous health- and other essential workers, who are keeping us safe, healthy, and as well provisioned as possible during this time.

Quite honestly, though, there are many aspects of sheltering-in-place I really am enjoying ... hearing the sound of a breeze through tree branches and being woken by the sound of what seems like thousands of birds greeting the dawn each morning. 
​Where I live is always quiet, but this is a deeper quiet that has created space to slip effortlessly into timelessness and to be more fully present. What a gift!
I like that there is not nearly the amount of truck traffic on the highway and love the lack of tourists in our communities since hotels, wineries, non-essential shops are all closed. I also like not driving 30-45 minutes to attend county hearings and instead tune in (or not) via computer. Not that that wasn't an option, but it was not something I gave myself permission to do. I like that favorite restaurants are providing take-out, and love that some even deliver to my home … how brilliant is that! I love that friends and I, who typically stay in touch a couple of times of year, are reaching out more frequently. And, I love that my life's doing-ness is reducing down to essential elements that feed my soul — being involved in community issues and foundation work; chronicling my Egypt adventure through this blog and assimilating the personal work / experiences more deeply; taking social-distancing pup walks with a few friends; reading (during the day!); pulling weeds in the gardens; and cuddling with Ricky … though he’d whine “not enough!”

​Thank you for sharing my Egypt adventure. Stay healthy and safe!

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Exit Egypt — A New World Order

3/9/2020

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Barely slept last night, but felt rested. Perhaps it was just adrenaline from the anticipation of travel kicking in. Oh, and yes, I was still coughing continuously even though I'd been taking Mucinex, collodial silver, Yin Chaio and oil of oregano steadily for the past 24 hours. Anyway, Gypsy and I were up, dressed, and out the door a few minutes before 4AM to meet our driver and leave for the Luxor airport.

​At that hour  virtually no one was on the roads and even the airport was almost completely empty. Going through security and immigration were a breeze — and thankfully, no one questioned my cough! With time to spare, we made our way to a snack bar to buy water. Thankfully, our plane was on time so we were able to board at 5:30AM The flight was short, so even with waiting for everyone (not that many people) to board, we were in Cairo less than two hours later.

​Disembarking the plane, we figured out in what direction was our next gate. Enroute, we met with the Kemet representative Tamer, who reimbursed us, in US money, for the GEM tour that was unable to be scheduled. Another "to do" checked off the list!
While waiting for our Cairo to London flight, we inquired about upgrading to Business Class and were delighted to learn that it was possible for a very reasonable cost. We also learned reading the NY Times online: "When tourists in Luxor woke up on Monday to find themselves confined to their hotels or cruise ships on the Nile, it seemed that Egypt was taking extreme measures to confront the coronavirus in the ancient town at the heart of its tourism industry." Guess we dodged yet another bullet!
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This flight, too, was relatively empty — at least in Business Class. As with our flights to Egypt, we immediately took out our disinfectant wipes and cleaned every surface that we might tough — even though a posted sign said that the plane crew had already done so. Never too clean and disinfected!

​Looking out the plane's window during take-off, I felt tears well up. Being in Egypt meant so much more than crossing a "bucket list" adventure off my list. The spiritual and energetic connection that I felt and was now leaving was strong. Hopefully stronger than time and space. As we climbed in elevation, moisture droplets ran down the window's exterior, mimicking my sadness to be leaving. As I watched Cairo fade from sight, I set an intention to return one day soon to see what I had missed and revisit some of the very powerful places we had.
After breakfast, I slept through most of the flight — about 4 hours — so no one was overly disturbed by my coughing.

London's Heathrow Airport was eerily empty, not unlike LAX when we left for Egypt. Our connection was tight, but we did have time to upgrade again to Business Class at an incredible price. Not unlike the airport, the plane was so sparsely filled that even flying steerage, we could have spread out and had individual rows to ourselves. After everyone was on board, we moved our seat to one with no one on any side of us and began disinfecting. With drinks in hand, we "cheered" for a great adventure and an equally great departure!

I've a vague recollection of finishing the movie "The Goldfinch" that I started on our trip to Egypt and eating dinner, but for the most part I slept. Waking up once or twice briefly, I slept for at least 8 hours. The last time I woke was to the smell of food being served and soon afterwards landed in Los Angeles around 6PM.

LAX was even more  devoid of people than when we left from here just 12 days ago. A new World Order has definitely set in. Speeding through immigration and customs, with barely a nod as I held by breath for fear of coughing and being whisked into a backroom for possible quarantine. Once through, we waited for the next
Santa Barbara Airbus shuttle to take us closer to home. Not surprisingly, I slept most of the way, as it proved to once again be a sure way not to continually cough. Meanwhile, Gypsy arranged for an Uber to meet us at the drop-off and take us back to her home. Totally rested be now and wide awake, I gathered up things I'd left at the start of our trip and drove home to the Santa Ynez Valley. When I arrived around 11PM it felt so good to be home!
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Out of Here ... COVID-19 Outbreak!

3/8/2020

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Woke this morning with two thoughts … first, I actually slept through the night and my throat is still soar, swollen and I’m coughing … second, my cell phone started chirping text messages.
The texts were from my brother and several friends informing us of an outbreak of COVID-19 on a Nile River cruise boat, like ours, that was quarantined here in Luxor —  the Egyptian Minister of Health announced the incident on 6 March 2020 that was picked up yesterday by the world press. Stunned, but angrily not surprised, that neither our local guide Vivian or Freddy had said anything before we boarded this boat late yesterday afternoon. Gypsy and I processed this information in nano seconds. 
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Coupled with our very scary and equally unsatisfactory experience last night with the boat’s management, to decide on leaving the boat and tour immediately. After dressing and packing up the few toiletries, we headed out our stateroom door. Immediately we were hit with the smell of bleach and other disinfectants and noticed that the staff were wearing latex gloves. Not a good sign, but at least there seemed to be some recognition that precaution was warranted.
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How boats line up when docked necessitating walking through others to get to the one you're booked on
​At the concierge desk we ran into Vivian and explained why we were leaving the boat and tour — recounting our experience after dinner with our stateroom and text messages pouring in to be sure we were safe and aware of the outbreak. Still croaking, I ended by saying because the tour company she works for did not inform us of the outbreak in Luxor and health danger due to how boats dock and passengers move between boats for ingress / egress, and this boat’s lax management to take our experience seriously last night convinced us that the health and safety of us tour participants was not a high priority. And, that was unacceptable.
 Vivian told us she had no idea about the outbreak and offered to arrange for us to return to the Pavilion Winter Hotel while we made arrangements to fly home the next morning. Despite my tirade, Gypsy and I did give her generous tip for her many contributions to making our trip — up to boarding the boat last evening — so memorable.

Next, we headed to the dining room in search of our tour leader Freddy to inform him of our decision. I quietly asked to speak with him privately for a few moments and was brushed aside saying he would do so after he finished his breakfast. Knowing that would be at least 30 minutes or more, Gypsy and I had omelets freshly made so as not to eat anything from the buffet. We sat with two others from our tour and said nothing about leaving the tour. After finishing our breakfast, we noticed Vivian going over to Freddy's table and the two of them going off to speak privately. Gypsy and I immediately joined them, knowing that she would be telling him about our decision. Croaking some more, I informed Freddy about our decision. He was very cavalier about it, saying he had no idea about the outbreak, and besides there was virtually no chance anyone in the group would contract it. Before parting, we mentioned our decision not to share with anyone in our group that we were leaving and the reason why — in that it was their responsibility as tour leaders to inform the others about the outbreak and possibility of exposure. With that we left to get our bags and wait for a ride from the tour company to the Pavillon Winter Hotel.
Interestingly, once in the tour company's car, I asked Kemet's Luxor representative about the COVID-19 outbreak and press announcement by Egypt's Minister of Health. He said they learned of it yesterday morning. Hm-m-m, so there was no reason for them not to have passed that information to us long before we boarded the M/S Blue Shadow 2.

Back at the hotel, we divided our efforts. Gypsy began searching for alternative flights and I contacted the Marriott Mena House to cancel our reservation for our last two nights in Cairo. 
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Next, I called the owner of the Egyptian tour company to arrange for a reimbursement of funds owed us due to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) no longer offering behind-the-scenes tours. Last, I emailed the owner of Sacred Earth Journeys so she knew we had left the tour and why. While driving to the hotel, I had a premonition that neither Vivian or Freddy would share with the group about the COVID-19 outbreak on another Nile cruise boat, so suggested she text everyone so they could make informed decisions about their health and well-being, and she could protect her company since Kemet put SEJ at great risk. While Gypsy was still collecting alternative flight information, I contacted United to see if they could expedite new flight arrangements for us. Thankfully, they could and they did. We booked flights from Luxor to Cairo, Cairo to London, and London to Los Angeles.
Relieved, it was now already 2PM. Not realizing how hungry we were from stress and barely eating our omelet for breakfast, we headed to the hotel's poolside café for lunch. Feeling like we dodged a bullet and had secure plans to leave Egypt, I began to relax — though still coughing continuously.
Back in our room, I reorganized my suitcase, carry-on and bags of other things picked up along the way, and jettisoned others. I showered, and read for awhile before heading to the Royal Bar aka Agatha Christie Bar for a final Champagne Kir Royale and light bite of dinner.
An early bedtime and sweet dreams ... as our taxi to the airport picks us up at 4AM!
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The Trilogy: Part 3: Valley of the Kings

3/7/2020

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I could spend days here, maybe even weeks ... unfortunately, we had but a couple of hours ...

While ancient Egyptians built massive public monuments to their pharaohs, they also spent time and financial resources creating hidden underground tombs.
The most well-known collection of elaborate tombs is the Valley of Kings. Known to the ancients as Biban el-Muluk, (Gate of the Kings), it is actually a ravine necropolis located under the watchful gaze of a pyramid-shaped mountain often referred to as the “Crown of Thebes.”
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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
As you may remember from my last post, Thutmose I originated the practice of separating his tomb from his mortuary temple. Moreover, he elected to have his body buried in a secret, inaccessible place. This innovation changed the course of 1700 years worth of ancient Egyptian burial tradition. His architect, Ineni, excavated a shaft tomb in this remote ravine, but a steep stairway into the rock, and at the bottom built the sepulcher. This plan was followed up all subsequent pharaohs during Egypt’s New Kingdom period (1539-1075BCE).
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Valley of the Kings Site Map
Thus the Valley of the Kings became a royal burial ground for pharaohs, including Seti I, Ramesses II, Tutankhamun, as well as queens, high priests, and other elites of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties.
These tombs depict elaborate preparations for the next world, in which humans were promised continuing life and pharaohs expected to become one with the gods. Mummification was used to preserve the body so that the deceased’s eternal soul would be able to reanimate in the afterlife.

​Further, these underground tombs were well stocked with all the material goods a ruler might need in the next world — furniture, clothes, jewelry and enough food and drink (including wine and beer) for royal feasting in the beyond. Sacred objects to help the deceased achieve eternal life and even favored companions were also left in these tombs. Pets were even buried nearby.

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Sadly, the repose of Thutmose I, like most of the pharaohs, didn’t last long … systematic plundering by tomb robbers, treasure hunters and archaeologists began early, despite round-the-clock guards during the entire Pharaonic period. The thieves stole tomb furnishings, but the mosts coveted object was the “heart scarab,” the amulet placed over the mummy’s heart so the deceased could save themself on the day of judgment when his actions were weighed by the god Anubis. Ancient Egyptian records testify to the harsh punishments handed down to tomb robbers, and it is estimated that nearly all of the royal tombs were plundered by the end of the 20th dynasty.
Meanwhile, during the reign of Ramessides, the Priests of Amon, lost all of their authority and power. They did, however, remain devoted to their deceased kings. In order to ensure them an undisturbed afterlife, they began surreptitiously moving the royal mummies from one burial site to another. Ramesses III was buried three times before the priests prepared a virtually inaccessible secret hiding place in the mountain of Deir el-Bahari. 

There, the priests had a shaft dug about 40-feet deep. A long corridor led from the bottom of the shaft into a spacious room.
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At night, they stealthily moved the pharaohs themselves from their sarcophagi in the Valley of the Kings and laid them all to rest in the cavern with name plates around each of their mummy’s necks for identification. Forty pharaoh remains including Ahmose, the founder of the 18th dynasty, Thutmose III, Seti I, Ramses II and others remained hidden in the heart of the mountain for 3,000 years. That is, until a young tomb raider named Ahmed And el-Rasul, discovered their hiding place purely by chance in 1875 … but that’s another story!
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King Tutahkamun
Many thought that the 62 tombs discovered at the Valley of the Kings before 1922 were all that would be found … until Howard Carter discovered the resting place of the boy king, Tutankhamun. Then, in 2005, a team of archaeologists led by Otto Schaden discovered the valley’s first unknown tomb since Tutahkhamun’s. Named KV63, after the numerical system invented by John Gardner Wilkinson in 1927, this site was about 50-feet from the walls of King Tut’s tomb. KV63 had no mummy, but housed a sarcophagi, pottery, linens, flowers and other things, so some archaeologists speculate there must be a tomb somewhere to go with it.
TOMB OF RAMESSES IV
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There is a wonderful visitors center with displays at the entrance to the Valley of the Kings. Here I read about the archaeological history and got my bearings from a large 3-dimensional map.
As a group, we headed to the Tomb of Ramesses IV, who was a pharaoh during the 20th dynasty and son of Ramesses III. 

​Already middle-aged when he ascended the throne, Ramesses IV reigned for  six years (1156 to 1150BCE).

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His priority as pharaoh was to maintain Egypt's prosperity, which he did through extensive building activity in an era of deteriorating internal and external conditions. At times he had more than 8,000 men quarrying the course sandstone  (graywacke) and transporting it back to western Thebes where he began building two temples at Deir al-Bahri. One was a colossal mortuary temple that, if completed, would have been the largest ever built. He also completed the decoration of the sanctuary and surrounding chambers in the Temple of Khons at Karnak.​
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Here in the Valley of the Kings, the Tomb of Ramesses IV is considered a small one (216-feet long).  The walls of his tomb are rich in hieroglyphs and include scenes from the Book of the Dead, the Book of Gates, and the Book of Caverns. 

It also contains his sarcophagus. On the ceiling of the burial chamber, for the first time, two of the Books of the Sky were placed next to each other. 

They depict a double representation of 
Nut, back to back. Nut is shown as a woman supported by the god Shu, who holds her body aloft as she swallows and gives birth to the sun each day. Shu was the Egyptian god of air and the male half of the first divine couple. His consort was Tefnut, goddess of moisture.

​As late as the 5th century AD, the tomb was used as a church by a small Christian community nearby.

TOMB OF SETI I
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The only other tomb Gypsy and I had time to explore was that of Seti I, who you may remember built the temple at Abydos where the Osirion is also located.
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The second pharaoh of the 19th dynasty,  Seti I was also considered the last great pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom. As the son of Ramesses I, he was his father’s chief of archers and vizier. As pharaoh, Seti I continued the policy of eastward expansion, advancing into Syria as far as Tyre, drove back the Hittites, and recaptured Phoenicia. After Seti I’s reign ended, Egypt fell into a chaotic period of internal strife and disorder. 

Seti I's tomb (KV17), in the Valley of the Kings, is considered one of the most spectacular. 
In fact, Seti I's tomb is the longest, measuring almost 400-feet and deepest. It was discovered in 1817 by Giovanni Barrista Belzoni, who we learned about at the Khafre Pyramid at Giza. In fact, the tomb of Seti I was discovered only a few days after that of his father, Ramesses I.

Known for high achievements in art and culture, Seti I’s tomb was one of the hallmarks of his building projects. So gorgeous is his tomb that I was frustrated to run out of "juice" in my iPhone so not able to take more photos of the highly refined bas-reliefs with much of their polychromed surfaces intact.

Historically, this tomb marks the first time that decorations covered every passage and chamber. Its decorative style established a trend that was duplicated in full, or in part, by every succeeding tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

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Structurally, the tomb is very complex, and there is a clear division between the upper and lower sections. 
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A succession of steeply sloping stairways leads down to a first and then a second passageway. The Litany of Re appears on the walls of the first and second passages. The Litany is in two parts and was created during the 18th dynasty. In the first part, the sun god (Ra) is presented in 75 different forms. The second part is a series of prayers in which the pharaoh is praised for his union with the sun god as well as other deities. From the time of Seti I, this text was used in the entrance of most tombs.

​Also in the second passage are scenes from the Amduat (Book of the Secret Chamber), which is the oldest of the royal funerary books and documents the sun god’s (Ra) journey through the 12 divisions of the underworld, beginning on the western horizon and reappearing as the newborn sun in the East. The 12 divisions correspond to the 12 hours of night and depicts the dead pharaoh’s travels through the underworld to the afterlife in his solar boat.
The second passageway ends in a small room in which Belzoni found a shaft that was evidently dug to confuse unwanted visitors. He also noticed a 2-foot crack on the wall immediately behind the shaft. Widening the crack, he discovered a room that was meant to stay hidden. 

​Beyond what is now a doorway-sized opening is the “Room of the Four Pillars” that is decorated with bas-relief scenes from the Book of Gates (5th and 6th hours). Like the Amduat, but somewhat more sophisticated, this book references the hours of the night as the “12 gates” or barriers that one encounters in the underworld — for example Apophis (the great serpent or crocodile) represents evil and destruction and tries to devour the Solar Boat of Ra as it sails the heavens); justice; material blessings; time. The latter barrier was perceived as originating from the depths of creation and eventually falling back into the same depths. Also here is the Osiris shrine.

Beyond the “Room of the Four Pillars” is another room with two pillars referred to as the “Room of Drawings”. When I first saw the sketched drawings on the walls, I thought this room was undergoing restoration. In actuality the sketches are unfinished bas-reliefs of the 9th through 11th hours of the Amduat. As an artist and having installed scores of art installations, I know better than to touch works of art without gloves. However, I couldn’t stop myself from touching these ancient and timeless works of art and chronicles of this pharaoh’s life and beliefs. Reverence, awe and gratitude barely express the feelings I felt in Seti I’s tomb. This room dead-ends.
At the back of the four-pillared room another staircase, carved into the floor, descends to the remainder of the tomb. It leads to a third passageway and a final stairway with a small antechamber and a six pillared burial chamber. Scenes from the “Opening of the Mouth” ceremonies decorate the lower passages and Belzoni called the antechamber the “Hall of Beauty” because of the exquisite bas-reliefs of Seti I sacrificing and praying before Anubis, Isis, Horus, Hathor and Osiris.

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The burial chamber is divided into two parts with a vaulted ceiling — an innovation of Seti I. The pharaoh was laid to rest in the back crypt area beneath stars and astronomical imagery that records specific constellations in the night sky along with various decans (10-degree divisions of a sign of the zodiac) in a translucent alabaster sarcophagus that is now part of the Soane Museum in London. The mummy of Seti I was not found in his tomb, but in the previously mentioned hiding place near Deir el-Bahari some 70 years later. The larger section of the burial chamber is a 6-pillared area with decorations that include passages from the Book of Gates and the Amduat. Some of the decorations on the pillars were removed and are displayed, entirely intact, at the Neues Museum in Berlin — which I saw when there in 2017 — and, in fact, reignited my 4th grade interest in someday experiencing Egypt!
Off the burial chamber to the left is a room with two-pillars completely decorated with scenes of Osiris. On the upper walls are scenes from the sixth through eighth hours of the Amduat, and on the lower walls are depictions of items that were buried along with Seti I in his tomb. Unfortunately the latter imagery deteriorated considerably over time.

Blocked off was access behind the crypt area to another room that connect to the underworld by a still deeper passageway to water level.
Watching the time ... damn, I hate having to do that ... Gypsy and I made our way back through Seti I's tomb to the sunlight and to meet up with our group.
After boarding our bus, we headed to the Nile River cruise boat — the M/S Blue Shadow 2 — that will be our "home" for the next four nights. The bizarre thing, to me, was to reach our boat, we needed to walk through the lobbies of at least four other similar boats. Each has its own distinctive "Las Vegas-style" lobby area with spiral staircases leading an upper deck. Not exactly what I'd pictured in my minds-eye. I'd hoped for something more like the boat in the movie adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile!"

Our stateroom was compact, yet roomy enough with dark wood paneling. After settling in ... I immediately unpacked. Gypsy immediately became sensitive to the smell of disinfectant and other toxic cleaners in a cart outside our room. As we headed off
to find the bar, we stopped at the concierge desk to ask for the cart to be moved. After repeated attempts and getting nowhere, we called our local guide to explain what we wanted moved and why. That problem "solved," we headed up the winding staircase to the bar where we met  a few others from our group already imbibing. Then, to dinner, which sadly was buffet-style. At the best of times I dislike buffets, and now in a time of more caution due to Coronavirus, I am even more wary since it is no longer our small group sharing meals.
Returning to our stateroom after dinner, we immediately were overwhelmed by the smell of diesel fumes. When Gypsy went to open the window to air our room, even more of the smell infiltrated due to a small boat spewing the stuff docked next to us. In short order, my throat began to close up. In response, I also began coughing uncontrollably. Back to the concierge desk we headed.

After 30 minutes or more of trying to explain the problem with the fumes in our cabin — coughing and croaking — we were told that the only other option was a one king-size bed stateroom that was available. Definitely not. After another 30 minutes or more of coughing and croaking, we were told that another stateroom with two beds was available and a steward would move our belongings for us. Wary, we asked to see the stateroom first. We were led up the spiral staircase to a room directly above the one we had just vacated. As soon as the steward opened the door the same intensity of diesel fumes hit us. Though not needing to say anything, I croaked out “definitely, not!” The steward understood as he, too, was overwhelmed by the smell. Back downstairs, we waited even more time before the concierge offered us another option on the other side of the upstairs hallway and closer towards the lobby. Still wary, we hiked back up the spiral staircase to the “new” stateroom, which was diesel smelling-free!

Too tired and feeling horribly from coughing and my throat still constricted from the smell of the fumes, I went to bed without unpacking. How could such an amazing day, turn so awful so quickly?!?
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The Trilogy: Part 1: Up, Up & Away!

3/7/2020

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Not sure whether I slept or not. My alarm went off at 4AM, giving me time for a quick shower before meeting those of our group who were ballooning this morning.
 Pitch black outside, we literally walked across the street, down a ramp to an area where tourist boats line up in the river and shops are strung up across the narrow pathway. After a bit we headed down a pier where a number of small boats were lined up. What fun … an unexpected part of this morning’s balloon ride … a boat ride across the Nile River!
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With barely time to find a seat, we were served tea and a roll. So quick was our trip across, my tea was barely cool enough to sip before we were disembarking and directed to one of three vans that drove us to the balloon launch site.
I’ve only ballooned once before, in a 4 person (plus balloon operator) basket in Kenya’s Serengeti Reserve. Today there are at least five balloons that were just beginning to be inflated. After a few instructions that were almost impossible to hear over the roar of the heated gas filling the balloons, we made our way over the dirt tarmac to where our balloon was being filled.
Our pilot Khalad pointed out Hatshepsuts’s Mortuary Temple, which we will be visiting later this morning, the Valley of the Kings where we will visit this afternoon and Luxor. I easily spotted the Luxor Temple and the Winter Palace Hotel. What’s more, from this vantage one really gets a sense of the Nile’s floodplain and the extent / limits of its fertile belt. Amazing to think how little of the country produces so much. It is also incredibly sad to see development occurring in the fertile floodplain. No different than back home. So incredibly short-sighted.
Going back to my first and only other balloon ride in Kenya. We were schooled to stoop down into the basket and hold on to rope handles for the landing, and be prepared for the basket to tip over. This morning before landing our operator also instructed us to stoop deeply into the basket and hold on to rope handles. The difference was that our operator today set us down on the shoulder of a road within feet of our waiting vehicles. There was no tipping over, no bump, just a very smooth landing. Needless to say, we all burst out in hoots and applause!
Another difference between the two ballooning adventures. We had a fabulous champagne breakfast after our balloon landed and the ground crew met up with us in the Serengeti. Today, we piled back into the vans and drove back to our hotel. 
​Once back at the Pavillon Winter Hotel, I met up with Gypsy (and everyone else on our trip) who was already at breakfast.
Afterwards, we finished up last minute packing. Leaving our bags outside our room to be picked up, Gypsy and I headed to the lobby to meet up with our group and board the bus for our next adventure ... so much had already happened and it was only 9AM!
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Gypsy and Prism
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The Trilogy: Part 2.5: Medinet Habu

3/7/2020

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On our way to the Valley of the Kings, we stopped briefly — way too briefly — at Medinet Habu, a small village that was called Djanet by the ancient Egyptians, and according to legend this was the place where Amun — king of the gods — first appeared.
This monumental complex includes: the Temple of Amun, Temple of Ramesses III, the shrine of Thutmose I and three chapels of the Divinities of Amun. The site is possibly on the ruins of a still more ancient temple. Due to its cosmological significance within the ancient Theban ritual landscape, Ramesses III incorporated these other shrines within his fortified mortuary complex in the 20th dynasty. 
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Ours was such a quick stop it was impossible to see, experience and genuinely fee all of the energy that is still held here. We entered through the Migdol entrance, a fortified gate-house.
Just inside the enclosure to the left are the chapels to the Divinities of Amun, who collectively served as the Divine Adoratrice of Amun and individually were God’s wife of Amun or high priestesses:
  • Amenirdis I — a princess from the Kingdom of Lush, she was God’s Wife of Amun during the 25th dynasty and ruled as high priestess from 714-700BCE.
  • Shepenupet II — an Egyptian princess during the 25th dynasty, who served as high priestess from 700-650BCE
  • Nitocris I — was the daughter of the 26th dynasty pharaoh Psamtik I, who compelled Shepenupet II to adopt Nitocris as her heir to God’s Wife of Amun. She served as High Priestess for 70 years (655-585BCE)
 From ancient times, it was the place of worship dedicated to Amun. The core of the present temple was built during the time of Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III (1504-1450BCE). The energy here held my attention after others moved on. Overall it was strong and vibrant. In one, I felt as if the energy was reorganizing the very molecules in my body. There is a seated statue of Sekhmet and within that same chapel is a boarded up and locked wooden door with a small hole that afforded a view of a badly damaged and powerful second sculpture of Sekhmet.
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Damaged sculpture of Sekhmet
A man, who shooed us away from staring through the small hole in the door, led us to the north saying he was going to show us where the sacred water comes from. He led Gypsy and me through a narrow passage and down shallow stone-hewn stairs. The farther we descended the dimmer the sunshine could seeped in. Worried about snakes, we let him continue down into the darkness. After a while, we heard the splashing of water as he tried to show us the source.
 The first pylon leads into an open courtyard with columns flanked with images of Ramesses III and the entrance to his mortuary temple.
The second pylon opens into a second courtyard and ​Peristyle Hall.
All of the Medinet Habu complex was excavated by the Architectural Survey of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago between 1926 and 1932.

As mentioned, we unfortunately couldn't spend more time here. As there was so much more to experience and photograph.


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The Trilogy: Part 2: Hatshepsut Temple

3/7/2020

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We are off to Deir el-Bahari and the funerary Temple of Hatshepsut. This is the incredibly impressive and modern looking temple that I saw so prominently from the hot air balloon. Designed by the architect Senenmut, in the 18th-dynasty, it was constructed sometime after Hatshepsut came to power in 1479BCE.

Hatshepsut’s temple is partially built into the mountains where the goddess who presided over this necropolis lived and whose progressive rock falls from the cliffs were largely responsible for much of its destruction.
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The temple was uncovered in 1894-96AD and underwent a partial restoration. A fuller restoration that included the third terrace, sanctuary and retaining wall was begun in 1968.
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The Temple of Hatshepsut was modeled after the nearby mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II, who built the first structure at Deir el-Bahari. His temple was a completely innovative concept in that it served as both tomb and temple — though the pharaoh would not have actually been buried in the complex, but rather in a tomb cut into the rock of the cliffs behind it. 

While Senenmut’s design for Hatshepsut’s temple mirrored that of Mentuhotep II, it was on a much grander scale. 
The temple faces east and consists of a series of vast terraces — all three levels exemplify the traditional Egyptian value of symmetry. In addition, Senenmut’s design marked another leap forward in Egyptian architecture — it blended organically with the surrounding landscape and towering cliffs. So new and revolutionary was this design concept that the temple was called Djeser-djeseru “more splendid than splendid.”
Originally a tree-lined avenue of 100 sphinxes and obelisks led up to the temple, with ramps connecting terrace to terrace. This temple along with its neighboring ones built by King Mentuhotep II and Thutmose III were linked by a half-mile long causeway to valley temples with docking facilities along the Nile. 
Queen Hatshepsut, as you may remember, was the daughter of Thutmose I, who also fathered her step brother Thutmose II, whom she married before she was 20 years old. During that time Hatshepsut was elevated to the position of God’s Wife of Amun, the highest honor a woman could attain in Egypt  after the position of queen. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter. Thutmose II fathered a son, with his lesser wife Isis, named Thutmose III and who was named his father’s successor. Thutmose II died while his son was still a child, so Hatshepsut became regent, controlling the affairs of state until Thutmose III came of age.  
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In the seventh year of her regency, she broke tradition and crowned herself pharaoh of Egypt.​ Her reign was one of the most prosperous and peaceful in Egypt’s history, characterized by successful trade, a booming economy, and many public works projects that employed laborers.

At either end of the second level colonnade were two temples: The Temple of Hathor and the Temple of Anubis.

As a woman in a position of power,
Hatshepsut had a special relationship with the goddess Hathor. A temple to Anubis, the guardian and guide to the underworld of the dead, seems to be a common feature in mortuary temples.
The Punt Colonnade depicts Hatshepsut’s glorious expedition, in 1463 BCE, to the mysterious “land of the gods” — Punt — to bring back incense trees. This land was known to the Egyptians since the Early Dynastic Period (3150-2613 BCE) but either the route had been forgotten or more recent pharaohs didn't consider an expedition worth their time and resources. Most likely Punt is what we know today as Somalia. Her ability to launch such an expedition was testimony to her ambition in reviving the traditions and glory of the past as well as the wealth of the country under her rule.
Meanwhile, her stepson Thutmose III had grown up, was leading the armies of Egypt on successful conquests of other lands, and was restless to rule in his own right. In fact, he is considered one the great military leaders in the history of ancient Egypt and remembered still as the Napoleon of Egypt.
In 1457 BCE, he led his armies to victory at the Battle of Megiddo, and afterwards Hatshepsut’s name disappears from historical record. Thutmose III assumed the position of pharaoh and had all evidence of Hatshepsut’s reign destroyed by having her image and name cut from all public records and monuments. He then took the bold step to backdate his reign to the death of his father, and all of Hatshepsut’s accomplishments as pharaoh were ascribed to him.
Old Kingdom of Egypt
 2613-2181 BCE

New Kingdom
1570-1069 BCE

Third Intermediate Period 1069-525 BCE
Ptolemaic Dynasty
​
323 - 30 BCE

Expunging Hatshepsut’s name on earth was, according to Egyptian belief, to condemn that person to non-existence. Because one needed to be remembered in order to continue one’s eternal journey in the afterlife. Scholars believe that his actions had less to do with Hatshepsut personally, and more to do with eradicating any overt evidence of a strong female pharaoh, because traditionally all rulers were male … and the “god forbid” women in the future emulated Hatshepsut!
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Statue flanking ramp
Besides the damage to the temple by Thutmose III, who replaced her images with his own and buried her statues nearby, it was also desecrated by the later pharaoh Akhenaten (1353-1336BCE). By Akenaten’s time, Hatshepsut had been forgotten, so his angst wasn’t with her being a female pharaoh, but with her god.

The ramp to the third level brought us to the three most significant areas: Royal Cult Chapel, Solar Cult Chapel, and the Sanctuary of Amun-Re. The latter is cut into the mountain itself.
The Sanctuary of Amun-Re is through a granite portal off the Peristyle Courtyard. It is composed of interconnected room: Barque Hall, Statue Room, two chapels dedicated to the Theban triad, and the innermost Sanctuary. In its day, the Sanctuary was only accessible to the pharaoh and the priests responsible for performing the prescribed rituals.
Still later, Hatshepsut’s Temple became a Christian convent. Ironically, the Christian’s use of the temple guaranteed that it would not be further destroyed.

Hatshepsut’s name remained unknown up until the mid-19th century when excavations nearby unearthed the statues of her broken by Thutmose III. However, it wasn’t until later when Jean-Francois Champollion, who published his translation of the Rosetta Stone in 1824, visited Hatshepsut’s temple was it realized that the hieroglyphs referenced a female pharaoh during the New Kingdom of Egypt.

How and when Hatshepsut died was a mystery until recently. She was not buried in her mortuary temple, but in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. From a tooth in a box in her tomb, her identity was confirmed, and scientific methods have determined that she died in her 50s from an abscess following the tooth’s extraction.

Many of the statues of Queen Hatshepsut
and the sphinxes that once stood in the temple have been reconstructed from the thousands of smashed fragments found. Some of these will be on exhibit at the new G.E.M. when it opens and others can be found elsewhere in the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York — I’ve most likely seen at least one there in the past.
Sadly, there wasn’t nearly enough time to spend here to fully soak in the energy and photograph. But, starving ... Gypsy and I  head off to find our group ... just in time for a group pic!
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Trilogy: Part 3: Valley of the Kings

3/7/2020

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A short distance away, we arrived at the Valley of the Kings ... I could spend days here ... unfortunately we had but a couple of hours ...

While the ancient Egyptians built massive public monuments to their pharaohs, they also spent time and financial resources creating hidden underground mortuary temples (mausoleums). 
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The most well-known collection of elaborate tombs is the Valley of  the Kings. Known to the ancients as Biban el-Muluk, (Gate of the Kings), it is actually a ravine necropolis located under the watchful gaze of a pyramid-shaped mountain often referred to as the “Crown of Thebes.”
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
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As you may remember from yesterday's post, pharaoh Thutmose I originated the practice of separating his tomb from his mortuary temple. Moreover, he elected to have his body buried in an inaccessible and secret place. This innovation changed the course of 1700 years of ancient Egyptian burial tradition. 
Thutmose I's architect, Ineni, excavated a shaft tomb in the remote ravine that is now known as the Valley of Kings. A steep stairway into rock led to the sepulcher. This plan was followed by all subsequent pharaohs during Egypt’s New Kingdom period (1539-1075BCE).

Thus the Valley of the Kings became a royal burial ground for pharaohs, including Seti I, Ramesses II, Tutankhamun, as well as queens, high priests, and other elites of the 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties.

These tombs depict elaborate preparations for the next world, in which humans were promised continuing life and pharaohs expected to become one with the gods. Mummification was used to preserve the body so that the deceased’s eternal soul would be able to reanimate in the afterlife. Further, these underground tombs were well stocked with all the material goods a ruler might need in the next world — furniture, clothes, jewelry and enough food and drink (including wine and beer) for royal feasting in the beyond. Sacred objects to help the deceased achieve eternal life and even favored companions were also left in these tombs. E
ven their favorite pets were buried nearby.
Sadly, the repose of Thutmose I, like most of the pharaohs, didn’t last long … systematic plundering by tomb robbers, treasure hunters and archaeologists began early, despite round-the-clock guards during the entire Pharaonic period. The thieves stole tomb furnishings, but the mosts coveted object was the “heart scarab,” the amulet placed over the mummy’s heart so the deceased could save themself on the day of judgment when his actions were weighed by the god Anubis. Ancient Egyptian records testify to the harsh punishments handed down to tomb robbers, and it is estimated that nearly all of the royal tombs were plundered by the end of the 20th dynasty.
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3-dimensional layout of the Valley of the Kings
Meanwhile, during the reign of Ramessides, the Priests of Amon, lost all of their authority and power. They did, however, remain devoted to their deceased kings. In order to ensure them an undisturbed afterlife, they began surreptitiously moving the royal mummies from one burial site to another. Ramesses III was buried three times before the priests prepared a virtually inaccessible secret hiding place in the mountain of Deir el-Bahari. There, they had a shaft dug about 40-feet deep. A long corridor led from the bottom of the shaft into a spacious room.
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At night, they stealthily moved the pharaohs themselves from their sarcophagi in the Valley of the Kings and laid them all to rest in the cavern with name plates around each of their mummy’s necks for identification. Forty pharaoh remains including Ahmose, the founder of the 18th dynasty, Thutmose III, Seti I, Ramses II and others remained hidden in the heart of the mountain for 3,000 years. That is, until a young tomb raider named Ahmed el-Rasul, discovered their hiding place purely by chance in 1875 … but that’s another story!
Many thought that the 62 tombs discovered at the Valley of the Kings before 1922 were all that would be found there … until Howard Carter discovered the resting place of the boy king, Tutankhamun. Then, in 2005, a team of archaeologists led by Otto Schaden discovered the valley’s first unknown tomb since Tutahkhamun’s. Named KV63, after the numerical system invented by John Gardner Wilkinson, in 1927, this site was about 50-feet from the walls of King Tut’s tomb. KV63 had no mummy, but housed a sarcophagi, pottery, linens, flowers and other things, so some archaeologists speculate there must be a tomb somewhere to go with it. Thus, this area is still being excavated.
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King Tut
OUR ADVENTURE
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As a group, we headed to the Tomb of Ramesses IV. This is considered a small tomb (216-feet long). It contains the sarcophagus of Ramesses IV, a pharaoh of the 20th dynasty and son of Ramesses III.
The walls of the tomb are rich in hieroglyphs and include scenes from the Book of the Dead, the Book of Gates, and the Book of Caverns. As late as the 5th century AD, the tomb was used as a church by a small Christian community nearby. On the ceiling of the burial chamber, for the first time, two of the Books of the Sky were placed next to each other. They depict a double representation of Nut, back to back. Nut is shown as a woman supported by the god Shu, who holds her body aloft as she swallows and gives birth to the sun. Shu was the Egyptian god of air and the male half of the first divine couple. His consort was Tefnut, goddess of moisture.
Her reign was one of the most prosperous and peaceful in Egypt’s history, characterized by successful trade, a booming economy, and many public works projects that employed laborers. 

​At either end of the second level colonnade were two temples: Temple of Hathor and Temple of
Anubis. As a woman in a position of power, Hatshepsut had a special relationship with the goddess Hathor. A temple to Anubis, the guardian and guide to the underworld of the dead, seems to be a common feature in mortuary temples.
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Big Guns: Part 1: Karnak

3/6/2020

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Great sleep — all was quiet until 5AM when the over a loudspeaker broadcasted a muezzin calling the faithful to prayer … laid in bed meditating on my experiences yesterday in the first Secret Crypt at the Dendera Temple. 

Forgive me for not mentioning earlier in this blog, but at each sacred site we visited there was generally men who offered to show one or more of us various things. For instance, it could be a particular bas-relief, a chamber, or sometimes even to suggest that I placed my hands or heart on a sculpture or a bas-relief of a god or goddess. I doubt they are paid by the overseers of the sites or government, and they always asked for money in reciprocity. So far, these have always proven to be experiences that have energetically been of value to me … possibly immense value as these energetic exchanges between temple / pyramid / effigy and I have a chance to grow our relationship. 

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Horus
Anyway, while in the first Sacred Crypt yesterday at the Dendera Temple, a man suggested that I place both hands on either side of a bas-relief of Horus and my forehead (third eye) against his falcon’s head. Doing so, I immediately felt the energy exchange through my hands and travel down my spine. Then, the man followed me as I made my way to the other end of the crypt. As I was staring at a bas-relief of Hathor, having especially been drawn to this one of many, he motioned for me to lean into it with my whole body. Like a jolt of electricity my heart-center exploded open, leaving me feeling momentarily disoriented afterwards. 
Now, lying in bed, my mind questions the two experiences to open my heart further — Saqqara and Dendera — are connected to my not feeling Rick’s presence with me here in Egypt. Immediately, I hear Juan Apasa reminding me not to be seduced by premature evaluation. With that, I head off to shower and dress for today’s adventure.
By 7AM, Gypsy and I are heading to Le Bouganvillier for breakfast. A sumptuous buffet of fresh fruits, pastries, cheese, bread, meats and a to-order omelet bar is on hand. Such a gorgeous morning, we opt to sit on the outdoor terrace where most everyone in our group has arrived.
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Karnak
The archaeological site known today as Karnak is the ancient site of the Temple of Amun at Thebes. The early Egyptians called the site Nesut-Towi (Throne of Two Lands), Ipet-Swt (Selected Spot) due to the belief that Thebes was the first city founded on the primordial mound that rose from the waters of chaos at the beginning of the world. At that time, Atum (the creator-god) stood on the mound to begin the work of creation. It is believed that Karnak was also an ancient observatory and place of worship where the god Amon interacted directly with the people of earth. The temple is uniquely aligned with the winter solstice sunrise, and its enclosure is situated at the only place where the solstitial line is perpendicular to the course of the Nile.

Karnak encompasses a vast area that was built gradually over many centuries, with each new ruler adding to it, starting from the beginning of the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782BCE) through the New Kingdom (1570-1069BCE) the throughout the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30BCE). Some archaeologists have even suggested that it dates back further to the Old Kingdom (2613-2181BCE) due to the style of some of the ruins and a list of kings from the Old Kingdom monarchs inscribed by Tuthmose III (1458-1425BCE).
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The complex is divided into three main areas. The largest of these is the Temple of Amon, which is laid out along two axes with a sacred lake at the intersection. The principal axis extends east-west from the great entrance to sanctuary at the rear of the temple. Along this route, which was designed to track the passage of the sun from its rising to its setting, are courtyards, shrines, altars and obelisks.​
The other two areas are the Temple of Montu (god of war), and the Temple of Mut (goddess of the sky), and consort of Amun-Ra. The latter area is still archaeologically largely unexplored and is connected to the Sanctuary of Amon by an avenue of sphinxes.

Unfortunately, there was only time to explore the largest of these areas — the Temple of Amon — and even then there not time to "see it all". This temple is, in fact, the world’s largest religious structure with columns and according to some historians could contain the whole of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
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We approached the Temple of Amon by walking up the Avenue of Sphinxes to the 1st Pylon (monumental gateway). This pylon was the last to be built at Karnak. It was never completed and left undecorated, and now serves as the main entrance to the temple. The 1st Pylon dates back to the Ptolemy dynasty and was built by Nectanebo (380-362BC), who is also credited for building the enclosure wall surrounding all of Karnak. Between the front paws of the ram-headed sphinxes is a small effigy of Ramesses II, in the form of Osiris.

I am overwhelmed by my first glimpse at the immense scale of this temple. It did not disappoint!
The first courtyard is known as the Ethiopian Courtyard and dates back to the IX dynasty signage explains the chronology of the temples built here. To the right is the entrance to the Temple of Ramses III. [4c and 4c2].
As we approach the 2nd Pylon, to the right is the remaining column of the once gigantic Pavillon of Ethiopian King Taharka. Standing almost 70 feet tall, it features an open papyrus top.

On the left stands the 34-foot tall statue of Ramesses II. This statue was later usurped by Ramesses VI (1143-1136BC) and still later by Pinedjem, who was the
High Priest of Amon in Thebes (Luxor) and later the XXI dynasty pharaoh. The king wears the headdress with double crown symbolizing his reign over both Upper and Lower Egypt, and his crossed arms hold a crook and flail representing his kingship. At his feet is his daughter Princess Bent'anta.
Passing through the 2nd Pylon, which was begun by Horemheb (1323-1294BC) and completed by Ramesses I, we entered the Great Hypostyle Hall. The hall, which  is considered one of the greatest pieces of ancient Egyptian art, was built by Seti I.

There was so much to see, photograph (as the light was so beautiful) and feel energetically that after a few minutes listening to Freddy, I found myself wandering through the  334-1/2’ x 174’ hall. It’s truly amazing to imagine what this might have looked like at its zenith — these 134 massive 75-foot tall columns — once polychromed and holding up a roof decorated perhaps with bas-relief stars and celestial maps.
Breathtaking as is … I took lots of photographs! 

The outer walls on the north-side depict Seti's battles. His son, Ramesses II completed the south-side of the hall and usurped the decorations of his father — noticing a theme. Later pharaohs including Ramesses' III, IV and VI added hieroglyphs and decoration to the walls and columns.

​[Historical Note: On October 3, 1899, a dozen columns toppled in the northern part of the hall. A massive reconstruction effort was instituted soon thereafter which is evidenced in some of the photographs.]
Walking further towards the 3rd and 4th Pylons, we stopped to look back at the Obelisk of Thuthmosis I — once upon a time there were four obelisks, but only one remains. It is 75 feet tall and weighs 143 tons (286,000 pounds)!
Next, we headed towards the Temple of Ptah. You may remember that Ptah was the god of Memphis, the old capital in the north of Egypt. His priests believed he created the world. By the third millennium, he was ranked third in the ancient Egyptian divine hierarchy — behind Amon (king of the gods; god of Thebes) and Ra (sun god). Together, the latter two gods became, by the 18th dynasty the supreme god of all of Egypt and known as Amon-Ra.

The walk itself was interesting in that the exterior walls of the Temple of Amun have  scenes carved into them detailing the pharaoh's building projects and restoration work, which they believed to be as important as new buildings. Some carvings depicted rituals, festivals and military exploits. Pharaohs also typically completed unfinished projects started by their predecessor, who often was their father. Though their color has long since worn away, these wall decorations were originally brightly polychromed.
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Walking further we stopped at the small chapel of the Temple of Ptah that offered me the most powerful experience of the day.
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Sekhmet
 A statue of Sekhmet, whom up to that moment I was totally unaware. As it turns out, Sekhmet is the lioness aspect of Hathor also referred to as the “Powerful One.” As the mythological story goes … when Ra  — the sun god and Hathor’s father — became old, humankind began to plot against him. Hearing this, he became enraged and sent the divine Eye, the terrifying burning power of the sun to slaughter them. The Eye took the form of Hathor, as the lioness Sekhmet, who killed all of the wicked men and women in a massive bloodbath. When Ra determined that enough killing had taken place, he called an end to the slaughter. Had he not intervened, Sekhmet would have destroyed all of humanity.

​Owing to 
Sekhmet's importance as a fierce goddess, many larger-than-life size stone sculptures of her were carved during the 18th dynasty rule of the pharaoh Amenhotep III. She is portrayed as a lion-headed woman with a sun disc behind her head and carries a papyrus-scepter and the ankh-sign in her hands that represents her capacity to give life and fertility through the annual Nile floods.
While most everyone crowded into the tiny chapel’s room where Sekhmet stands, with only the light from a small hole in the ceiling to illuminate her, I went back to the room at the chapel’s entrance where a decapitated statue of Ptah sits. Feeling compelled to put my hand on Ptah’s back at I felt a slight energetic vibration enter my body, but when I simultaneously put my other hand on the statue at its heart center the vibrational frequency rose substantially and I felt it as a jolt in my solar plexus (3rd chakra).
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Ptah
As others in our group moved out of Sekhmet’s room, I went back in to quietly experience her energy and photograph. Also there were Gypsy and Paddy. Just as we were about to leave, an Egyptian man that had been hanging out at this chapel motioned for us to stay and one by one step over the chain barrier and ask Sekhmet’s help in some aspect of our life. I needed no encouragement, and holding each of her hands in mine, asked for her help to more finely align my vision with my actions. As I silently asked Sekhmet, I felt a surge of energy course up my arms into my third eye and crown chakras
All I wanted to do was sit quietly somewhere and hold the energy that was coursing through my body. Lovely as that would have been, there was still so much I wanted to see and experience. We three retraced our steps back to the Great Hypostyle Hall and then parted company. Gypsy and I headed back to the Ethiopian Courtyard and then onto the Temple of Ramses III ​(1184-1153BC).

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For days now, I’ve found myself infatuated with the hieroglyphs and pictorial imagery. How I wish I had both time and someone knowledgable with me to teach me how to decipher all that has been painstakingly created. There is so much information and knowledge written on the walls of tombs, temples and pyramids … what do they say … what was so important for these ancient ones to communicate …
Then, making our way back through the Great Hypostyle Hall, we turned right between the 3rd and 4th pylons. Stopping briefly to photograph the exterior of the Building of Pharaohs.
Instead of continuing on to the 10th pylon, we cut over to the Sacred Lake where ancient Egyptian priests purified themselves before performing temple rituals. Once there, we met up with others who led us to a granite statue of a huge scarab (khephri), which was worshipped by ancient Egyptians since the time of Amenhotep III. The front face of the sculpture’s pedestal was flattened to form a stele that is carved in sunk relief. 
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On it, is depicted a kneeling king making an offering to Atum, the god of creation. Between two extended wings is a sun disk. The hieroglyphs describe Khephri, as a scarab or scarab-headed man who was patron of the sun, creation, life and resurrection. More specifically his job description was to roll the sun like a huge ball through the sky and then through the underworld to the eastern horizon. In other words, his sacred duty was to renew the sun each day to bring life into to the world.
The two Aussie gals on our adventure, Deb and Olga, told us that the ancestors believed walking around the statue three times brings good luck, going around seven times brings marriage, and nine times causes infertile women to become pregnant. Counting very carefully, I walked around the sacred scarab six times … great relationship with no attachment of marriage?

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For a while we just meandered around walking towards the 6th Pylon.
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​For a while we just meandered the 6th Pylon and the Middle Empire Courtyard.
Eventually we found our way to the Temple of Hatshepsut, who was the fifth ruler of the 18th dynasty and daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmose. Apparently it was common during that time, in royal families, to marry her half-brother Thutmose II, and they had a son, Thutmose III. When Hathepsut's husband died (1479BC), their young son was appointed heir. However due to his young age, Hatshepsut was appointed regent. Together, mother and son ruled until 1473BC, when she declared herself pharaoh. Hatshepsut disappeared around 1458BC, when her son Thutmose III led a revolt and reclaimed the throne. An unforgiving son, he had her shrines, statues and reliefs mutilated. [NOTE: We will visit her mortuary temple at Deir el Bahari outside of Luxor tomorrow.]

The Temple of Hatshepsut contains some beautiful imagery with some of its original polychrome finishes. Here is where I had my second profound experience ... in one very moving image, a completely disfigured Hatshepsut (the work of her son) walks towards the god Horus while encased in an arch of ankhs symbolizing eternal life that flows from two vessels held on the left side by Horus and the other by Thoth, creator of magic and the inventor of writing. Thoth was also a messenger of the gods and divine record-keeper and mediator.
Immediately after, we walked into the holy of holies — the Sanctuary of Philip Arrhidaeus — who was Alexander the Great's successor. This is where I had my third powerful experience for the day.

The wall of the Sanctuary are inscribed with a storybook of images while the ceiling looks to have been painted blue with thousands of stars. At its center is a huge block of granite that emits very powerful energy. Placing both hands and my third eye upon it, a rush of energy coursed through my body — a great energetic cleansing of energy centers! 
With only about 40 minutes left before we needed to meet up with our group and leave Karnak, Gypsy and I raced back towards the 10th Pylon. This south axis, which intersects with the main axis, at the 4th Pylon was constructed during the reign of Hatshepsut, who also built the 8th Pylon. Later, her vengeful son Thutmosis III erected the 7th Pylon along with his obelisks, and a repository chapel for the Amun barque (sacred boat) used during the annual Opet Festival.

Amenhotep III began construction of the 10th Pylon, which was completed by Horemheb, the last king of the 18th dynasty. As you may remember, Horemheb also built the 2nd Pylon as well at the 9th Pylon.
This processional “avenue” used during the annual Festival of the Sanctuary, was once lined with stone sphinxes spaced at 16-foot intervals — over 1,000 sphinxes — extended to the Precinct of Mut and to the Temple of Luxor.  For centuries this “avenue” was covered by sand, debris, other roadways and buildings. 
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It is now being slowly restored to its ancient glory by Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities. It is an epic undertaking worthy of the ancient pharaohs!

​Hungry, thirsty and with less than 10 minutes, we rushed back to the
meet our group ... and head to lunch!
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Big Guns: Part 2: Luxor

3/6/2020

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Lunch today was at Sofra Restaurant and Café. It's probably not true, but it seems that lunches are the same everywhere we go ... not complaining, as they have been all good. It's just that Egyptian cuisine must be more varied than what we've experienced thus far.
Afterwards, on our drive back to the Pavillon Winter Hotel, we stopped at a jewelry store whose owner Vivian knows. There were cases upon cases of silver and gold jewelry; silver on the left and gold on the right. Desiring to purchase an old, traditional Bedouin-designed scarab ring, I was disappointed not to find one. However, I did purchase a 3" lapis scarab sculpture ... having learned my lesson in India not to buy a 4' tall sculpture that takes almost six months to receive!
Returning to our hotel, we passed by the Luxor Temple, which we will visit later right before dusk. ​​
Luxor
While Gypsy cat-napped, I began packing as we leave tomorrow for the next portion of our adventure and I have a very early start tomorrow morning.
After an extremely brief bus ride, we entered the grounds of the Temple of Luxor through the Courtyard of Nectanebeo and the Pylon of Ramesses II. The temple is part of the vast temple complex of ancient Thebes and was known as the Southern Harem of Amun. 
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 As such, it was was built to honor Amon-Ra, the king of gods during the reigns of two pharaohs — Amenhotep III and Ramesses II — and honors the Theban triad of Amun, Mut (his consort) and Khonsu, their son the moon god. Its primary purpose was the celebration of the Opet Festival, when once a year, for several weeks, the people of ancient Thebes went on extended holiday to rejoice in the presence of the gods and ask them for favors. Only at this time did the gods come out of their hidden temple rooms to be among the people. Small statues of the gods were carried along the processional avenue between Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple or carried on the sacred barques along the Nile.

Luxor Temple was largely completed during the 18th dynasty rule of Amenhotep III with subsequent additions made to it by Ramesses II in the 19th dynasty. Still later it was modified by subsequent rulers, including Alexander the Great. Its design remained coherent in contrast to the sprawling Karnak complex.

The processional avenue we saw earlier today that extended beyond Karnak’s 10th Pylon connects here, 1.2 miles later, to the Pylon of Ramses II. In fact, this portion of the avenue is much further along in its restoration. The original ram-headed sphinxes were replaced in the 30th dynasty with the ones I now saw with human heads.

The Pylon of Ramesses II in very imposing. Standing over 200-feet tall, its front is decorated with now barely discernible bas reliefs depicting Ramesses II's military victory over the Hittites at Qadash. Two 82-foot obelisks originally fronted the pylon. Today, stands only one. The other was moved to Paris, in 1833, and placed in Place de la Concorde as a gift from the Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali to the people of France.

Over the centuries Luxor Temple was engulfed in sand and silt, and a village grew up within its walls.
Sometime around 1881AD archeologist Gaston Maspéro rediscovered the temple, which is just over 850-feet long. But, before it could be excavated the village had to be removed. Only the Abu al-Haggag Mosque built by the Arabs in the 13th century AD, which sits on top of a 6th century AD Coptic church, was left intact and sits high above the temple on the layers upon layers of accumulated silt.
Past the entrance is the Court of Ramesses II with its double row of columns with closed papyrus capitals and statues of Osiris. There are also colossal statues of the pharaohs Ramesses II and  Amenhotep III, in mid-stride, sculpted out of granite and granodiorite.  Funnily … Ramesses II created statues of his predecessor as a way to associate himself and share responsibility for the magnificence of the Luxor Temple — then, right before a big celebration Ramesses II had Amenhotep III’s name removed from each of the statues representing him and replaced with his own. Clearly, large egos are not a modern phenomenon!
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On the east side of the court towering above is the mosque Abu al-Haggag Mosque. On the opposite side is the small temple, built by Thutmosis III, that housed the sacred barques and dedicated to the Thebean triad of Amon, Mut and Khonsu.
One of the things that has swirled in my subconscious since coming to Egypt is the similarity of ancient cultures that used building materials from one monument or temple to build another. Or, how one pharaoh or Inka built on top of, or added to, another's structure.
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Backside of Ramesses II sculpture
There is something quite extraordinary in experiencing this layering of civilizations / dynasties compared to our present culture that can’t tear things down fast enough to build something new (and cheaply) and, for the most part, without architectural soul. Each of these ancient Egyptian sites have a unique energetic quality. How lovely it would be to just sit in stillness and absorb the energy and feel the stories these structures, bas reliefs and hieroglyphs have to tell. I feel so very grateful for the first few days of our trip when we often had sacred sites all to ourselves. Just not enough time. Now, in Luxor, there are many more people and it is much more challenging to find stillness.
Beyond the court is the Colonnade of Amenhotep III with two rows of seven columns with open papyrus capitals. The embellishments on these columns were made during the reign of King Tutankhamun and depict the annual Opet Festival when the statues of Amun, Mut and Khonsu were taken in procession from Karnak to Luxor.
This opens to the Peristyle Court, which was built by Amenhotep III​ and is surrounded on three sides by two rows of columns with closed papyrus capitals.
A transverse hypostyle hall at the far end of the courtyard serves as a vestibule to the main temple. It has four rows of eight papyrus capped columns that are inscribed with the cartouches of Ramesses II, Ramesses IV, Ramesses VI and Seti I.
This leads to an antechamber with beautiful bas-relief depictions and hieroglyphs and beyond the most intimate and sacred part of the temple — the Holy of Holies. Leaving the group, I wandered through several other halls including the Hall of Sacred Marriage and the Chapel of Mut.
As the sky darkened the artificial lights at the Luxor cast wonderfully dramatic shadows.
While others went off to ride in horse-drawn carriages, Gypsy and I elected to walk back to the Winter Palace Hotel for a bite of dinner at the bar. Happily, the piano player was there, too.

​After dinner, we headed back to our room for an early night as I needed to be up by 4AM to meet those who signed up for our next adventure! Stay tuned …

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    My "nuest'a name is Prism ... and like my name implies, my passion and dedication lie in collecting experiences, internal reflection, and dispersing light in its fullest complement of hues.

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