My First Egyptian Experiences = 211; David Breslin

Egypt today still conjures up for us images of the Great Pyramids, Sakkara, Valley of the Kings, Queens, Nobles, Temples= of Luxor and Karnak, Abu Simbel, Alexandria and the many other Pharaonic sites. The evocative vision of the Giza Pyramids, which seem to= rise from the desert in perfect geometric forms, provoked in me the same intense emotions as it does in any visitor to this ancient land. The Pyramids and Sphinx were the concrete expression of a particular human situation: once t= hey represented the absolute power of the Pharaohs, but they were created by hu= man labour, the great “motor” of five thounsand years ago. Every stage in the long course of human history is marked by some form of tangible evidence, of which architecture constitutes a fundamental portion. Testimony of a civilization, visual expression of a particular conception of the world, the monuments of= Egypt t= ell a story that has lasted for millenniums. This technical capacity for construc= tion has never been surpassed and has impressed even the least tutored visitor t= o Egypt.<= o:p>

Early Intere= st in Egypt

At the age of 13 I was on holiday at Portrane Stra= nd Co Dublin and remember reading an article in the Irish Independent newspaper all about the Giza Pyramids and the Great Sphinx. My sister Gloria explained to me all about the wonderful treasures = of this Ancient world. During those early years despite looking in bookshops a= nd in Navan Library information was hard to come b= y on Ancient Egypt. My father however, used to read the National Geographic magazine since 1934= and had amassed a big collection where I found many fascinating articles, with pictures and photo’s that inspired me to study all I could about this intriguing subject. This was the start of my interest and it hasn’t abated yet.

My First Vis= it to Egypt 1964

As I always wanted to visit Egypt my dream came true in October 1964. I was working in = Chelsea in London and managed to save up enough for a low price trip to the land of the Pharaohs.= The two week holiday included Cairo, Luxor and Alexandria where I stayed and visited m= any historical sites. The flight via Amsterdam= was in an old DC3 airplane took almost seven hours to reach Cairo where it landed safely despite a = stormy journey which I remember well.

Cairo & The Egyptian = Museum

After breakfast the next day I made my way to the Egyptian Museum on Ta= hrir Square. The museum was built in 1903 and house= s a great collection of displays started by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette in the 1880’s. I saw the statues= of Rahotep and his wife Nofret, Khafre, Menukare, Akhenaten and Rameses II.= I was able to take photos of the treasures of Tutankhamun on the first floor. I visited the Pyramids Plateau by taxi that night and watched the Son et Lumiere show at Giza. I saw= the Pyramids and the Sphinx for the first time. Next day it was back to the mus= eum to see the Royal Mummies and other treasures. On Monday 19^th, two Irish women and myself took a taxi to the Pyrami= ds, Sphinx and the Temple of Khafre. We entered the tunnel in the Great Pyramid leading to the Grand Gallery, Queen’s and King’s Chambers. There was no light in the Queen’s Chamber and the air was foul but I used my torch and did not = fear the curse of strange spirits. Although suffering from vertigo, I was asked = if I wanted to climb up the Great Pyramid and the opportunity was too good to pa= ss up. I took us 45 mins to reach the top where I = took many photographs of the wonderful views. Of course we forgot to take any wa= ter with us and it took another 30 mins to descend = and have that welcome bottle of water. Alas you cannot climb the Pyramids any m= ore as it is forbidden and rightly so. The following day we saw the Coptic Chur= ch of St Mark’s where the Blessed Virgin was supposed to have appeared a= nd on to the Abdin Palace Museum once lived in my King Farouk. He gambled all his money in the casinos of France = and was overthrown by Gambel Nasser in 1952. We then vi= sited the bazaars for some shopping always keeping a keen lookout for thieves and pick-pockets.

Luxor= and Valley of the Kings

I flew on to Luxor on 22= ^nd and stayed in the Winter Palace Hotel for four days. Next day I went to Luxor Temple armed with a= 35mm camera and four rolls of film and a 8mm cine cam= era with six rolls of film. Excavation was going on at the Avenue of the Sphinx= es linking Luxor = and Karnak temples. The Temple of Luxor = was dedicated to the cult of Amun and built by 12th Dynasty Pharaohs. It was augmented by successive Pharaohs including Rameses II and Alexander the Great. I was fascinated = with the two seated colossi of Rameses II and obelisk placed beside the pylon as well as the beautiful colonnade of Amenhotep III in the peristyle court. Later in Luxor I bought two shabti, five flint implements, a wooden model of a sailor, four Roman coins, a bronze= razor and bronze arrowhead for £20. The following day I went to Karnak temple and explored the huge complex of religi= ous buildings, pylons, courtyards, the great Hypostyle Hall, Sacred Lake and statues of gods and Pharaohs. On Saturday 24^th we made our w= ay to the west bank to see the Valley of the Kings, Colossi of Amenhotep III and Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple. It was very hot traveling by ta= xi but it was worth it to visit the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I, Rameses VI and Amenhotep II. Many of these tombs are now closed to t= he public due to damage. Hatshepsut’s Temple at Deir el Bahari was magnificent amid the towering cliffs. One slight prob= lem to recall, the coach taking us to the airport left without me and it looked like I would miss the flight but the hotel porter gave me a ride on his motorbike and we made it just in time to which I was very grateful to him. =

Cairo and Alexandria<= /st1:City>

Back in Cairo we took another taxi trip to see = Djoser’s Step Pyramid built by his architect Imhotep 4,600 years ago. Rising in six steps to a height of 198 ft it is still in a very good condition. Then = it was across the desert to see the tomb of Ti 53 which consisted of the statu= e, beautiful painted bas-reliefs on the walls and a small chamber with a grani= te sarcophagus which was plundered by ancient robbers. Next was the tombs of Apis, the secred bull discovered by Mariette in the 1850’s= . We also saw the fallen museu= m of Rameses II. Then it was on to Alexandria by train, a very crowded train may I say as I ended up standing for most of= the journey. I stayed in the Palace Hotel overlooking the Mediterranean once owned by King Farouk. The city was founded by Alexander the Great 2,330 years ago. The city was famous for it great Library and Museum which was bu= rned down in the 3^rd century AD. Having returned to Cairo to connect with our flight home I= could not resist visiting the Pyramids one last time. We flew back to London on 3= 1^st but since then I have returned in 1993 with Risteard O’Colman a member of the ESI and with my wife M= ary in April 2001 but more about those subsequent trips another time.

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