FALLING IN LOVE WITH EGYPT’S 5,000YEARS OF CIVILIZATION
Ancient Egypt is super-advanced. Before visiting its pyramids, I fell in love with 5,000 years of civilization. While other populations were still in the stone ages, the Egyptians, it seems, were born modern.
The people of ancient Egypt were way ahead of their time. They were civilized, possessing early knowledge of architecture, medicine, gynecology, ophthalmology, social etiquette, engineering and more.
There are more than 100 existing pyramids in Egypt but the Pyramids of Giza are the most outstanding and astounding works of architecture and engineering. The construction of these pyramids some 5,000 years ago was so mindboggling that, I read somewhere, they could have been built by aliens. (Of course not… right?)
I always wondered what it was like inside the early pyramids. Were there mummies, treasure chests inside? So I was quite excited to finally explore my childhood curiosities when Royal Way Tours in Egypt (represented in the Philippines by the indefatigable Ching Nejal) allowed me to tick Egypt off my bucket list. Before going to Egypt, my BFF Bum Tenorio and I checked the weather and found out it was very hot — the temperature was between 38 degrees and 52 degrees — so we prepared ourselves mentally and physically for this big adventure. (We were told the best time to visit Egypt is between November and February.)
We boarded Etihad, which was very comfortable and cozy for our evening flight. Before we went to sleep on the plane, Bum and I exchanged notes on what we knew about the Great Pyramids of Egypt. We imagined coming up close and personal to the mammoth tombs, even seeing Cleopatra in our mind’s eye dancing in her golden garments.
When we woke up, we were in Cairo. Together with the mem- bers of our rambunctious and loving group, we could see the pyramids in the distance just outside the busy city. Egypt was searing when we arrived but the thought of seeing the pyramids of Giza — the only existing of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — was more than inviting. Well-hydrated and well-covered for the heat, we toured neighboring cities of Cairo and Giza. Since it was Sunday when we arrived, we heard a Mass first officiated by the priest with us in the group, Fr. Bernabe dela Cruz, in a private chapel under the care of nuns. Yes, in a Muslim country like Egypt, freedom to celebrate one’s faith is tolerated. Out of the 95 million population of Egypt, according to our highly knowledgeable tour guide Shereen Tousson, 10 percent are Christians.
The knowledge we had of the Egyptian pyramids seemed Lilliputian when we came face to face with the actual Giza pyramids, the most substantial and mysterious ancient structures in the world. Shereen mentioned to us that the three pyramids on the Giza plateau are funerary structures of three kings of the fourth dynasty (2575 to 2465 B.C.). The Great Pyramid is attributed to Khufu (Cheops); next to it is the pyramid attributed to Khafra (Chephren); and the smallest of the three is that of Menkaura (Mycerinus).
If you’re looking for mummies and their sarcophagi, you don’t have to look very far because when you enter the Royal Museum in Cairo, they welcome you at the first-floor entrance.