Swirling sandstorms, prominent pyramids, and eye-lined Egyptians are a few things that come to mind when one thinks of Egypt. On my once-in-a-lifetime trip to Egypt, I saw all of these things and much, much more, from the crowded city of Cairo to the lonely view of the desert dunes on an island in the Nile River near Aswan. So many important events took place all over Egypt, and it is mind-blowing to see and be where the rich culture once existed. The ancient people who lived there long ago were the strongest builders and architects we have ever seen. The humongous sculptures and priceless artifacts that are more than five thousand years old, have still survived today! Egypt is a truly fascinating country that has a long and winding history and will definitely continue to survive for a very long time.

On December 23rd, my parents, my brother, my grandparents, and I, landed in the Cairo Airport. We wanted to arrive at least a day earlier so we could have time to see the city for ourselves.

Early the morning, it was very damp and foggy as we got in line to actually go inside the biggest of the three pyramids called the Pyramid of Cheops. When we got to the site of the pyramids, at first we could see nothing. Then, as the sun rose higher into the sky and the fog cleared out of the way, a vast pyramid loomed out of the mist only 20 feet in front of us! We stood in awe for a moment, gaping at how we hadn’t even realized there was a pyramid right before our eyes. It was a very special moment for me because I had learned so much about these pyramids at my school. Being there in person was incredible. The rocks that were used to build the structure were taller than me when I stood next to them!

As my family and I entered the Pyramid of Cheops, I could immediately feel the air getting really warm. Inside the pyramid, it is so closely packed with people jostling around trying to go up and down a single ladder, fitted in a narrow shaft, leading to the heart of the pyramid. Then we took a look at the other two pyramids built by the son and grandson of Khufu, builder of the one we went inside. Just as we were getting ready to leave, we were swarmed by an army of vendors trying to get us to buy their products. They tried to convince us by stating the names of famous Indian actors and actresses when they realized we were Indians. Originally, the plan was to leave as soon as we were finished with the pyramids, but after a huge bargaining session, we bought a few souvenirs. That evening, we went to a Sound and Light Show. It was situated in a spot where the sphinx and all three pyramids could be seen in the background. The show gave some general information about Egypt’s history. That ended our very first day in the city of Cairo.

The following morning, our guided tour began. Just like almost all of the other Egyptians there, our tour guide’s name was Mohammad. That day we visited Memphis, capital of the Old Kingdom, where we saw a colossal statue of Ramses ll and the huge Alabaster Sphinx. This sphinx is not actually made of alabaster, but a few decades ago, scientists discovered alabaster –like properties in the stone. Later, they came to realize that this stone was not alabaster, but actually calcite. Even though it was broken in half, the limestone statue of Ramses ll was impressive. Instead of having the palms open, the ancient Egyptians made the huge hands into fists, so as to not show weakness. They even further showed that Ramses ll was not a mere mortal by closing the little gap in his fists, that supposedly still showed weakness, with a seal on which his name was engraved in hieroglyphics. In these sculptures there are so many little meanings that add up to a great amount of significance.

After we saw all this, we went to the railway station. At eight o’clock, we boarded an overnight train to Aswan. On arrival in Aswan, we took a bus to the High Dam. It was a very helpful building project that has many benefits. The dam creates Lake Nasser which protects Egypt from floods and draughts, increases agricultural production because of a steady supply of water all year, increases employment and electricity production, and provides a smoother navigation system that helps tourism. A beautiful view surrounds Lake Nasser and the sky was very clear and bright.

The next part of the day was a trip to the Unfinished Obelisk. An obelisk looks like the Washington Monument because it was modeled after this type of Egyptian architecture. This unfinished obelisk by Hatshepsut would have been the largest and heaviest of all the obelisks ever made in ancient Egypt. Scientists think it is unfinished because Tuthmosis III came with his supporters and made large cracks in it. Hatshepsut kept King Tuthmosis III, her step-son, from being pharaoh so he set out destroying some of the monuments she made. I closed my eyes and I could imagine the young King Tuthmosis III rushing to the site with some supporters following him with big clubs and hammers, ready to destroy the obelisk. All of them dressed in desert robes except Tuthmosis III; he was wearing royal jewelry, the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and riding on a chariot with the sand blowing behind him. It was during the night when all the workers had gone home and there was no one left at the site. It was done quickly and in the morning when the workers headed out to the site to start working again, the damaged obelisk in front of them was what they found. When I opened my eyes, I felt as if Tuthmosis III had been there the night before and it seemed as if this was exactly how he had left it. When the day ended, our group was escorted to a cruise ship where we would spend the next three nights on the Nile River.

The Abu Simbel temples built by Ramses ll during the 13th century BC are enormous and are a lasting tribute to himself and his wife, Nefertari. They also serve to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Kadesh and intimidate the Nubians. We had to take a plane from Aswan to the site. When we reached there, we found out that this was not the original location of the great temples and why it had been moved. These temples were relocated in order to keep them from being submerged by Lake Nasser. In 1964, the process of the dismantling the temples and relocating them to higher and farther ground began. The entire site was painstakingly cut into blocks weighing an average of twenty tons each. These blocks were then carefully reassembled 200 meters (656 feet) away from the river and 65 meters (213 feet) higher. This entire project was one of the greatest challenges archeologists and engineers had ever faced. It took four years and 40 million dollars to complete, but it was a huge success. Inside the bigger temple, the colors on the walls were preserved very well. There were many small rooms and chambers inside. The other temple which is slightly smaller than this one is called The Small Temple. It is dedicated to Nefertari and the goddess, Hathor. This was only the second time that a temple was dedicated to a Queen. The first time was when Akhenaten dedicated a temple to Nefertiti, his great wife. After looking around the temples and taking lots of pictures, we took a plane back to our cruise ship. 

Enjoying a breezy felucca ride, all of us looked forward to going to Aswan’s Botanical Gardens. All around, there were so many varieties of trees and flowers, much more than I expected in the dessert. One of the trees even came from India! There were also cats of different colors everywhere we went. After taking several pictures, we sat down on a couple of benches enjoying the scenery and Offlinetranquility. With the light breeze blowing, a view of the sand dunes untouched by wandering feet, the fiery sun starting to set, the Nile flowing beneath the garden, and a shady spot in a quiet corner, I wanted to stay there forever, just enjoying the moment.

Day six of our guided tour began with a visit to Edfu, the location of the most well preserved temple and the second largest temple in Egypt. It is dedicated to the falcon god Horus. It is very important to archeologists because it provides important information on the myths, legends, culture, and society back then. There are also scenes about the conflict between Horus and his enemy, Set. We proceeded to the temple of Karnak. This temple has 134 columns that each have different hieroglyphics, pictures, and scenes represented on them. This hall is called the Hypostyle Hall. Outside the temple are numerous ram-headed sphinxes. Again, we took loads of photos like all the other places, and at the end of the day, we had captured countless moments in our memory holder.

We started our day off at the Valley of the Kings. This incredible place was filled with tombs of New Kingdom pharaohs. We visited four of the 62 tombs in the valley. Out of all of them, I found Tutankhamen’s tomb the most exciting. Tutankhamen’s tomb was very small compared to the other tombs we saw and had only one wall decorated with drawings and representations. The 5,000 artifacts that were crammed inside his tomb are now all over the world. Only his mummy and sarcophagus remain inside the tomb, but this isn’t why I was so excited to see King Tut. I had learned so much about him before coming here at my school. He was the youngest boy pharaoh to rule Egypt and he died very young at age 19. His tomb was the only tomb which had a complete set of artifacts untouched by grave robbers. Archeologists learned so much by studying at the artifacts in his tomb. We know that he loved to hunt and was worshipped as a god. What we don’t know is how he died. We studied and watched videos on theories about how he died, and to this day, no one can say for sure how he died. Even with a CT scan taken in 2005, which shows 3-D pictures and can be seen layer by layer even inside the skull, archeologists couldn’t say how he had met his death. King Tutankhamen has many mysteries waiting to be unraveled.

The most appealing tourist attraction of the day was the Egyptian Museum. There were hundreds and thousands of artifacts to explore and if you tried to see every single object there, it would take you approximately nine months, going every day, from opening time to closing time. That’s how big the museum is. Since we obviously couldn’t see the whole museum, our tour guide, Mohammad, picked the most important and interesting artifacts for us to see. There was an entire floor just for all the treasures found in Tutankhamen’s tomb, including his priceless burial mask. The first of two separate rooms on the floor was for things made just out of gold. The second room was for all the jewelry that had been found in different baskets and boxes. How could they have known about the colorful jewels or glittery gold? We also so mummies of different animals such as cats, dogs, birds, and even alligators! In every tourist attraction we visited, we always had to pass through some sort of gift shop or market to get to the exit, and this time was no different. With our minds filled with thoughts of ancient jewelry and gold, we made our way back to the tour bus for a relaxing evening.

Our whole trip seems so serene compared to what is going on in Egypt today. Just a few weeks ago when my family and I were there, Egypt was buzzing with tourists and people going about their daily lives. There was a bus full of explosives in Alexandria when we were there, but fortunately we weren’t there at the time. Now, protests formed by thousands of Egyptians against the president, Hosni Mubarak, are taking place. After being in charge for thirty years, now they’ve finally had enough and want him to resign. They also want to be able to have fair and free votes. It has become so extreme that the army has been called in to the streets of Cairo and internet and phone service has been terminated in all of Egypt. Many people have been hurt or injured and shops and stores are being broken into and robbed. President Obama recently advised any Americans who are in Egypt to stay indoors and not get involved with the protests. Egypt is in political turmoil.

I’m glad when we visited Egypt, we were able to enjoy all the wonders and not worry about any of the things that have been going on for the past few days. I really got to learn and relearn plenty of information that will stick with me forever. I sailed on a river larger and longer than the Nile and these memories contain moments with my family that are worth more than King Tut’s gold burial mask to me. All of us had a fun experience on this family trip and I’ll never forget the feeling of rediscovering the wonders of the Egyptian world.

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Shrunothra San, 12 Years is studying 7th Grade at the  AMSA Charter School, Marlboro, MA. Her hobbies include Reading, Writing, Travelling, Bharathanatyam, Cross Country Running, Ice Scating, Swimming, Hiking and Chess.

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