Around the World in 90 Days Issue # 7
Around the World in 90 Days Issue # 7
. "Nothing is impossible. The word itself says 'I'm possible!'" — Audrey Hepburn
After the tour around Luxor, the next day was an early morning start – 4:30 am, mainly to beat the heat. This time transport involved a donkey ride to the Valley of the Kings. Fortunately for me, my donkey did not want to be overtaken, so I got to be the ‘leader of the pack’. It was a 7km ride, so I was glad my donkey did not want to dawdle. The spectacular views compensated for the slowness of the mode of transport. The greenness of the fields flanking the Nile was such a contrast to further up the cliffs and the deserts beyond. The Nile is a huge source of irrigation and the further we travelled along it, it became obvious how vital it was for the local people’s survival.
According to Wikipedia, the Valley of the Kings is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt). The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of the Theban Necropolis. The wadi or ravine consists of two valleys, East Valley (where the majority of the royal tombs are situated) and West Valley.
While I was there, I learned about Meretseger, an ancient goddess associated with protection and who was the guardian of the Valley of the Kings. The name Meretseger means ‘She who loves silence’ or ‘She who loves peace’. She was depicted mainly as a cobra or snake-headed woman. I love this Goddess as she had the power to punish anyone who disturbed the peace and the tombs, by causing illness as her preferred form of punishment.
Conversely, she also was merciful and a healing, protective deity. She was regarded as benevolent and compassionate. Overall, she played a crucial role in providing protection to the tombs and balancing her dual nature as a deity of punishment and mercy. Only a woman could do that!
Everything in the Valley of the Kings is located underground. The walls of the tombs are covered in incredibly well-preserved paintings depicting the gods/goddesses of ancient Egypt. Hieroglyphics were deciphered by our guide, but often you did not need the interpretation, as the drawings told the story. A picture paints a thousand words! We were also lucky enough to see Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Why did they celebrate death in such a manner? The chambers were saying “I will share my life’s journey with everyone – because I can’t do it in person, it is recorded here.” No need to write a memoir! It was like the Longfellow’s A Psalm of Life, “Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time”.
Do we Westerners suitably celebrate someone’s life achievements on death?
From donkey rides to a Nile cruise boat, what a different mode of transport!
Cruising conjures up luxury for most, but our cruise boat, MS Amy, was tiny in comparison, closer to the size of most cruise boats’ lifeboats! The size of the boat was compensated by the friendliness and superior service of the staff on board. The maximum number of passengers was 32 which was probably the equivalent of the number of waitstaff on some of the other cruisers. There was a top deck for sun baking and viewing of scenery as we cruised along the mighty river.
The next temple is that of Edfu dedicated to Horus, the Falcon-Headed God, and home of many Egyptian legends.
Wikipedia notes that Edfu is one of the best-preserved temples as it was covered by sand for many years. It is located on the west bank of the Nile in Edfu, Upper Egypt. The city was known in Greco-Roman times as Apollonopolis Magna, after the chief god Horus-Apollo. It was built in the Ptolemaic period between 237 and 57 BC.
The inscriptions on its walls provide important information on language, myth, and religion during the Greco-Roman period in ancient Egypt. In particular, the Temple's inscribed building texts "provide details [both] of its construction, and also preserve information about the mythical interpretation of this and all other temples as the Island of Creation." There are also "important scenes and inscriptions of the Sacred Drama which related the age-old conflict between Horus and Seth." There are many hidden rooms and secret passageways, together with hieroglyphics carved into the walls.
We then headed to Luxor and stopped at Kom Ombo temple which is right on the edge of the Nile.
Just thought I would share this - so everything is clearer and more relevant.
10 Fun and Interesting Nile River Facts
The Nile is traditionally considered the longest river in the world. (It measures 4,132 miles (6650 km) in total.)
The source of the river was disputed for many years. (Arguments arose because the river begins in the area of Lake Victoria, which is maintained by a number of feeder rivers that drain into it. The largest of these feeders, the Kagera river, is now accepted by most as the true source of the Nile.)
The River Nile is formed from two major tributaries. ( The tributaries are the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which meet in Sudan near the capital of Khartoum before continuing northward toward the Mediterranean Sea.)
The origins of the river's name are disputed. (Some people think that the name comes from the Semitic word, Nahal, which means "river." Others think that the Greek word, neilos, which means "valley," is the true origin. Ancient Egyptians referred to the river as aur, which means "black," because its annual flood deposited dark sediments along its banks.)
Ancient Egyptians were dependent on the river for drinking water, food, trade, and transportation. (The Nile also provided rich soil, which was essential for growing crops like wheat (for bread), flax (for clothing), and papyrus (for paper and boats.) As rainfall is almost non-existent in Egypt, ancient residents were dependent on annual floods caused by downpours in Ethiopia to supply moisture and create the thick, rich mud that was ideal for cultivation. Mud from the river was also used to create bricks for building structures and shelters.)
The river played a vital role in the building of the pyramids. (The stone blocks used to construct the pyramids had to be transported by boat. While much of the pyramids' exteriors were made from sandstone, their centres were built from granite, which is much harder and more durable. The granite blocks used likely came from Aswan, some 900 km away, so the Nile proved crucial in their transportation.)
The southern stretches of the river are home to Nile crocodiles. (The Nile crocodile is one of the largest and most dangerous species of crocodilian. According to one study, they are responsible for between 275 and 745 attacks each year (about 63 per cent of which are fatal). At one time, these aggressive reptiles could be found all the way up to the Nile Delta, but their habitat has shrunk over the years)
The Aswan High Dam was built to control the yearly flooding of the river. (The dam was built between 1960 and 1970. Previously, higher floods could wipe out crops, and drier years could result in failures and famine, but the dam now regulates water levels. The dam diverts water into irrigation canals that serve about 36,000 square kilometres of land.)
The ancient Egyptian god of the Nile was known as Hapi. (The god was honoured for the annual floods, which brought fertility to the land and helped sustain life year after year. He was known by a variety of titles, including Lord of the River Bringing Vegetation and Lord of the Fishes and Birds of the Marshes. He is commonly depicted as an intersex person with a large belly and large breasts dressed in a loincloth and ceremonial false beard.)
About half of Egypt’s population lives in the Nile Delta area. (The largest city in this area is Alexandria, which has a population of over four million. The city of Rosetta can also be found in the delta region; it was here that the famous Rosetta Stone was found, its inscriptions helping modern people to understand Egyptian hieroglyphs.)
https://owlcation.com/stem/Top-10-Nile-River-Facts
Hope this clarifies the significance of the Nile River, as it did for me.