mysterious egypt
What can I tell about Egypt? Yes, oddly enough, for a country visited for the first time, much less than expected. What was expected? Probably more vivid impressions from the country of antiquities. As a child, I dreamed of becoming an archaeologist after looking at pictures in a 5th grade ancient history textbook. Mom quickly stopped my dreams by talking about the curse of the pharaohs. And after watching Indiana Jones and learning that 90% of the work of an archaeologist consists in shoveling dusty archives, I generally calmed down and temporarily switched to journalism.
So now, after many years, I finally have a chance to see everything that is written about in historical novels, history books and shown on the Discovery Channel. Firstly, I immediately decided firmly not to go to the Pyramids and Cairo - living on a bus for a day, climbing in the heat - this is not for my undermined health. And who in our time will surprise with the pyramids? I have long looked at them via satellite, and everyone who was there remembers only the hard road and the heat. Alexandria - probably worth a look, but then again - a day of life right through. Sometime later. Under the influence of Indiana, I have long wanted to go to Petra (Jordan), but, alas, it is impossible to get there from Hurghada. Fortunately, Egypt is very accessible to visit. So let's put it off. Remains of antiquities Luxor (Thebes) - only 3 hours to go, there are a lot of objects, we take.
Luxor is the 2nd capital of Ancient Egypt, a large (by their standards) city on the banks of the Nile, a resort for local politicians and businessmen, because where there is a river, there is life. On the way, the guide Mohammed loaded the people with information about ancient history, about the current demographic indicators of the country. As if at 6 in the morning it’s really possible to remember everything. I honestly overslept everything. I woke up in Luxor when we were driving along the Nile Canal, which allows you to irrigate the land at a distance of 50 m from the water. Within the same limits, the heirs of a great civilization build their dwellings, I would even say huts.
The original country of this Egypt is a miserable continent, as I said when we flew 500 km of desert from the Mediterranean coast to the South. Sand, sandy mountains and narrow belts of roads. There are no fresh sources on the coast of the sea, how do they live here at all? Why did all the Muslims conquer and why did they settle here? It is terrible to live in such a climate, unsanitary conditions and poverty. Apparently, they are rushing, or they are smoking something to make their perlo. This southern province is inhabited by illiterate people, moreover, they are illiterate consciously. They do not need anything in life except for the klaptik of the earth. They do not want to change anything, their children will also be illiterate. The only thing that connects them with the world is a couple of local television channels. They live in unfinished houses, which can only be called shacks, because you have to pay taxes for a completed house. The climate allows for 3 crops per year. And so the whole life in a circle. Mohammed warns us not to give anything to murky children on the street - "they are richer than you and me. " I would not want such a rich life.
My happiness is that in Egypt in winter it is only + 27-32 during the day, in summer I would fall dead on the outskirts of the Karnak temple. Of course, the ruins of the temple are impressive in their scale. But the most important thing is that everything is real. In Luxor it seems that you are walking through a history textbook or scenery for Verdi's operas Aida and Nabucco (it is in Egypt that Aida is regularly staged in real historical scenery - here in Luxor and Giza).
Then we are taken to all sorts of shops where papyri and stone products are produced and sold. The prices are unforgiving. For this country, 10 bucks means the same as 1000 for us, but they demand 25 bucks from me for some crooked-legged and crooked-faced granite cat. I don’t give more than 5, I don’t get cats in return, but I get a tirade in tolerable English about hospitality and love for tourists from the seller.
We are going to the Valley of the Kings. It was here that many pharaonic mummies were found. The local chief of antiquities official forbade any filming of this place, although there is absolutely nothing to film - a narrow road among sandy rocks and 4 empty tombs. I think they are afraid that they will find the remaining decayed kings. However, despite the desert area, there is a feeling of the presence of some kind of mysticism in the air. The heat is such that hallucinations begin. The heart jumps out, and the guide sends us down to the tombs. I only had enough for 1 out of 4. I did not really want to become another 1 mummy in this desert.
On the way back, the naive Mohammed decided to test the knowledge laid down in us in the morning. What dynasties are there, what kings are there, what are 3 Ramses, half a bus even did not remember his name. But I did get my cat as a prize for a couple of answers about the gods. It can be considered that the gypsum-cement incarnation of Bastet has honestly earned.
Ask any vacationer today "What is Egypt? ", you will get the answer - the sun, the sea, the hotel, a lot of food, the heat, the airport, fresh strawberries in the middle of winter, mosques and pestering Arabs outside the hotel. The latter specifically ruined my shopping experience. Rather, I bought everything I wanted, but did not enjoy it. In some places I even had to flee in the literal sense. Only Christians (Copts) communicated adequately. Their shops are easily distinguished by the cross on the door or the Christian icon inside.
In Egypt, I experienced, as they say, hitherto unknown to me the feeling that I read about in the history books, namely: the colonial attitude towards the local population. No matter how ashamed it is to admit it, yes, in the 21st century, a European is capable of experiencing an unfounded sense of superiority over the inhabitants of a 3rd world country. According to my observations, colonial thinking is worse - the behavior inherent in many of our CIS compatriots. For example, a certain man, apparently a resident of the Caucasus region, ran into our guide Mohammed with literally the following words: “Listen, I want to sit on the bus with my child, why are the seats only apart. Go and find me a place. Fast! ". From such rudeness, I even woke up. Fortunately, Mohammed turned out to be the same, don’t put your finger in your mouth, and quickly explained the difference between the pronouns “you” and “you”.
Mohammed is a descendant of a Nubian and a Muslim, a highly educated comrade, graduated from the university, regularly travels to Moscow on travel business, quotes Pushkin right and left. What an inferior Egyptian. But still, the Arabs themselves provoke such an attitude towards themselves - the way they behave with non-Muslim women can only give rise to hostility, disgust and even aggression. Although all the jokes about our people in Egypt are true. We know how to behave ugly - we revel in the ass, run at night through the corridors half-naked, slam the doors so that pictures fall from the walls, knock on the doors of unfamiliar neighbors from above, dance so that the guards have to escort us to the room, well, a lot something else like that. Even we, 3 lovely young ladies, distinguished ourselves - we slapped a mosquito on the mirror, the glass specifically cracked, having estimated the amount of the fine, we developed several options for an action plan. I offered to exchange mirrors with those Tatars who, after a dance of whiskey, scratched at our door for half the night. They still won’t make out in the morning what happened to their mirror. But they settled on a less radical option - they blamed everything on the frenzied neighbors who grunt their doors. Apparently, our honest faces and my fiery English speech convinced the manager that we had nothing to do with it. We were billed for a ridiculous 30 bucks, and for some reason they forgot to collect it.
A pleasant observation is that the most adequate people I meet on vacation turn out to be either Petersburgers or Siberians. There's something about it.
In general, I am very satisfied with the trip. I am glad that I chose the height of winter for the trip. Egypt is very conducive to beach felting. I do not want to fuss, run somewhere on excursions, shops and bazaars. All this becomes unimportant - the pyramids and merchants have been around for millennia, and nothing has changed, so they can wait a little longer. It’s so nice to lie on a well-maintained beach, sunbathe, swim in a coral reef, looking at the “fish soup” around you and knowing that everything has been decided and thought for you in this large infrastructure of the tourist industry for a long time. Thousands of people work day and night to provide you with comfortable rest conditions.
Definitely, what is there in Egypt, which we don’t have, and what is worth seeing and feeling: fresh strawberries for $ 2 per kg, fragrant, although not very tasty guava, regular prayers in the mosques surrounding the hotel - if you accidentally sleep at 4 in the morning , then you won’t be again, water aerobics in the pool and in the sea with cheerful instructors, Nubian folk dances, “fish soup” in the sea, gentle warmth on the beach, mega-huge columns and statues of the Karnak temple against the bright blue sky, the mystical silence of the Valley of the Kings.