Walk like an egyptian boat asia, ssf annual - Mediactive Pte Ltd

ecause it rests on top of Roman towers founded during
the 9th century. However, our pilgrimage was to the Church
of St Sergius (Abu Serga), which was built during the 5th
century over a crypt where the holy family apparently took
shelter during their stay in Egypt. It did feel like a sacred
sanctuary, perhaps also a respite from touts who are not
allowed to enter the church ground.
Our evening cruise on the river Nile allowed us to witness
the most glorious sunset. I understand now why the
ancient Egyptians were sun worshippers: The sun transforms
everything it beams on into the most
luxurious glow. I noticed the next day,
that it was not just the sunset alone
that radiated this golden illumination,
but throughout the entire day.
Karnak temple and Luxor temple, two
of the stops along the Nile, are best
viewed at night. The Great Hypostyle
Hall of Karnak, located within the said
temple complex, is dedicated to Amun-
Ra. Filled with 134 columns, each 15m
high, the temple with its pharaonic
monuments and dramatic lighting is
simply breathtaking.
Like Pompeii in Italy, much of it used to be covered by sand
and the village of Luxor is built over it. Excavations that had
begun in 1885 are still ongoing. One of the two obelisks
was carried off to Paris, and you can see it at the Place de
la Concorde. A famed French author once commented on
the plight of the obelisk in Paris, “how bored it must be…
how it must miss its Nile.”
Interestingly, the street-level 13th century Mosque of Abu
al-Haggag is perched atop the bricked-up colonnade of the
ancient Luxor temples. While we were there, the muezzin
call of prayer filled the temple. It was a surreal experience
especially when the site so resembles a movie studio set…
I kept expecting a roller coaster to emerge out of nowhere.
Another must-see is the famous Valley of the Kings – the
resting place of the pharaohs. So far, 63 tombs (and still
counting) have been discovered, excavated or looted. The
tomb of King tut is the most visited, but to truly view the
full glory of his treasures, one must visit the British Museum
in London. Our experienced and trusted guide, Hamid,
brought us, instead, to other tombs with lesser tourists, yet
these graves were decorated with the most well-preserved,
colourful hieroglyphics, reliefs of goddess and gods with
solar affinity, ceilings filled with cobalt blue star-motifs of
Orion, from which the ancient Egyptians believed they were
descended from.
Right after our visual feast came our Indiana Jones moment!
Hamid dropped us off on a path and as we waited, we saw
in the distance, two young boys about 12 years old, leading
a dozen donkeys towards us. We were to ascend the donkeys
and make a 15-minute ride to the summit of the rugged,
isolated, sacred Hill of thoth where the ancient city of Thebes
was located. Thoth was the god of language, mathematics
and sacred science, said to be the tongue of the Sun God
Ra. It was a journey we had been waiting to accomplish.
The boys were rather impatient in getting us to set off on
our donkey rides, ignoring our looks of bewilderment and
near panic! It probably didn’t occur to them that we were
city folks and had only ridden on ponies at the zoo for a
few minutes and led by a zookeeper at that! Now here we
were, left to tackle these donkeys by ourselves.
Amidst our great amusement and lots of stumbling, we
managed to mount the humble yet magnificent creatures and
even learnt a smattering of Arabic to control them. It turned
out to be the most pleasurable and calming experience, so
much so that a famed CEO of a Singapore company in our
group had half a mind to buy a donkey to ride around in
Singapore. Not a bad thought, especially since a donkey
costs only US$100.
After the exhilarating climb, we headed back to our cruise ship
and docked at Aswan, where our rooms faced the gorgeous
hills of the tombs of Nubian’s nobles. At the vibrantly hued
Aswan Bazaar, we boarded a felucca (traditional sailboat of
Egypt’s Nile) to Philae at Aglika Island to pay our respects
to one of Egypt’s most important goddess, Isis. Be sure to
stay for the Sound and Light Show at the Isis temple. It
is truly magical under the mystical constellation of Orion.
We sailed back to Cairo for our grand finale: A private visit
to the Sphinx, a camel ride on the Giza Plateau under a
full moon, followed by a private visit to the King’s chamber
of the Great Pyramids of Khufu. Standing in between the
paws of the mysterious Sphinx is one of the most profound
nautique jul/aug
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