Skip to content Skip to navigation

Egypt – through my eyes

the-sphinx-and-me-dec-2008Hello friends! I am Abhimanyu. As my father works in Jubail, Saudi Arabia; we live here. This winter break, I was very lucky to be able to visit Egypt. On a pleasant December evening, our plane touched down at Cairo, the Jewel of the Orient, the City of Thousand Minarets and the Melting Pot of Ancient and Modern Civilization. It is the largest city in the Middle East and Africa and has a population of more than 20 million.

As we were passing through the city from the Cairo International Airport on our way to the hotel, we saw the City of Death where the poor and the needy used the burial chambers as their houses and the coffins and tombs as tables and chairs, which is why it is referred to as the City of Death. At night, we went for a cruise on the Nile. The Nile is the world’s longest river. Egypt is otherwise a desert, except both sides of the Nile, which is extremely fertile. On the cruise, we had a sumptuous dinner and watched an amazing oriental show in which two men kept rotating a colorful umbrella-like canvas around their bodies and balanced various objects.

The next day we went to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World — The Pyramids of Giza. It is said,  “ Man fears Time, yet Time fears the Pyramids”. It is the only surviving original world wonder. Near the Pyramids, we saw the Sphinx, which was the biggest one in Egypt. We then went to the Egyptian Museum, which is located at the heart of Cairo. The museum houses a magnificent number of antiquities. Inside, we saw impressive drawings and paintings in papyrus paper, which is made from the papyrus plant. We also saw treasures from King Tutankhamen’s tomb. Tutankhamen was actually crowned King at the age of 9! And so he is also referred to as ‘Child King’. He ruled Egypt for 9 years until his mysterious death at the age of 18. We then went to the Khan El Khalili Bazaar where saw and bought different local Egyptian souvenirs.

On the third day, we reached a place called Luxor, which was the ancient capital of Egypt for almost a thousand years. The ancient pharaohs accumulated incredible wealth here. In Luxor, we went to the Valley of the Kings. This valley houses tombs of many kings including King Tutankhamen. This whole valley was formed of stone known as alabaster. Inside each of the tombs in this valley, there were various symbols in hieroglyphic script, which is why it was easier to decipher names of various kings, their achievements, etc. We then went to the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. This temple was the only one in Egypt, which has three floors and is a spectacular piece of architecture. We then saw the Colossi of Mammon, which consists of two huge statues sitting side by side and one of the major tourist attractions throughout time.

The next morning, we went to see two of the most famous temples in Egypt. The first one was the Karnak temple. It was the largest temple in Egypt occupying an area of 100 acres. We actually saw history of beyond 2000 years ago scripted in the walls and statues of the temple. With its famed temple of God Amon, it is the largest column temple in the world. The next temple we visited was the Luxor Temple. This Temple occupied an area of only 2 acres, but was extremely beautiful. This temple also had a famous mosque inside it.

Our next stop was Alexandria – the Pearl of the Mediterranean. This was a city, which was named after Alexander the Great. It is said that he built this city like a chessboard in 331 BC and his tomb is supposed to be at the exact centre of the city. Also, Alexandria is one of the busiest ports as it is near the Suez Canal. Here, we saw the famous Pompey’s Pillar. We then went to the Catacomb — one of the oldest tombs in Alexandria discovered as early as in 1900 AD. Inside, it was like a hollow cylinder and we had to go down in circular steps. We saw hundreds of chambers where mummies were kept buried deep inside. We then visited Montazah Gardens where we saw many exotic ships and speedboats besides a view of the magnificent Quaitbay Fort. As we were leaving Alexandria, I witnessed several ruins of the incredible Grecko-Roman architecture.

Then it was time to get back home. As we were on the plane back to Jubail, a few things kept coming to my mind, specially the story of the Final Judgment. It seems that after death, our hearts are measured and weighed against a special feather. If our heart is heavier than the feather, we are sent to hell and if our heart is lighter than it, we go to heaven. Amazing ancient Egyptian belief, isn’t it?

Altogether, I really enjoyed this trip!!!

By Abhimanyu Hazarika
Class VI, International Indian School,
Al- Jubail 31961,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Comments

Hello ,
I am happy reading your article. It has given me a lot of information about Egypt. Thanks for it. Do keep writing. Never stop your Pen !
Regards,
Dibya J Borthakur
Nagaon, Axom