Livin' Life

One day in 2008, a co-worker and friend came into my office (funny how adventures begin this way) and asked me a question, “do you want to go to Egypt and dive the Red Sea?” I looked up from my desk and in that moment I saw myself standing at the great pyramid. I said “I’m in, when do we leave?” A notion that I could never possibly do something like that changed in the blink of an eye with a simple “yes.”

Anything is possible

It all started with a very long airplane ride from JFK in New York to Cairo. The people in my group all met at JFK and as mostly strangers to one another, we boarded the plane. I’m feeling a mixture of excitment, anticipation and a sense of uncertainty about what to expect in a foreign country. This will be the first time I’ve have been out of the country besides Canada and Mexico. The trip was a tedious 12 hours. Packed into a little seat with little room to adjust, I tried unsuccessfully to sleep the hours away. Even with the assistance of several mixed beverages, sleeping in an upright position was impossible. It was a long night.

The sun finally rose over an alien world and as the plane made its final approach I veiwed a bleak landscape without color. A city of sand and rock lay below and the beginning of an incredible adventure had begun.

After gathering our luggage, obtaining our visas and exchanging currency I was ready for a beverage and a cool swim. It was not to be. Our first stop after boarding our tour bus was the famous Cairo Museum. The trip from the airport to the museum was an adventure in itself as the driving here has no rules. It’s everyone for themselves and no one wants to give way. This makes driving in New York City look like childs play.

Cairo Museum

The museum was pretty cool. Really it was hot as hell, no AC but that’s part of being here. There was so much to see and after a while the artifacts, as historical and awesome as they were, became almost mundane. Even so, I couldn’t get over the fact that they were 3000 years old. King Tut Ankh Amun’s exhibit was unreal. Very cool.
Cameras were not allowed inside…..

It was nice to finally get to the Cairo Sheridan in the heart of the city and get checked in. Once settled we immediately met at the pool for a cocktail and to wash off the long flight. The hotel was first class, an oasis in the middle of a crumbling city of 8 million souls.

We finished the day off with a long walk through the streets of Cairo. We ended up at the _________ restaurant where we enjoyed some authentic Egyptian cuisine, Mostly fresh sea food straight from the Nile. We finally had a chance to get to know one another and share the excitement of being here. It was a good first day!

As we traveled in our fancy tourist bus, it quickly became evident that there were no traffic laws of any kind. Most roads were without lanes and traffic was a free-for-all. It was actually very entertaining, like watching a movie through our oversized windshield. Who was going to crash first, the guy on the moped carrying his entire family or the dump-truck squeezing between oncoming traffic? It really was amazing.

As we left Cairo behind and ventured out into the smaller villages, the conditions got worse, garbage littering the streets and waterways, children playing in the same water, buildings in total disrepair. I had mixed feelings of empathy for these struggling people and an uneasy feeling of guilt that I was born into a better life. The comments I was hearing from some of the people in my group were unsettling, that somehow they were far superior being from the USA, driving along in our air-conditioned bus looking out at the squalor as though we were insulated from the outside.

As we approached our destination, I caught my first glimpse of a pyramid in the distance. Now you must understand that I have a great reverence for these pyramids. They have always mystified me, the history and mystery that surround them. As we approach the mountain-sized structure, I am in awe of the sight. The bus comes to a stop a good distance from the pyramid. As the doors open we exit into an oven of arid air, an alien environment and I become overwhelmed with the feeling that I am “no longer in Kansas Toto.” I immediately start walking across the sand towards the pyramid. The closer I get the higher it looms against a crystal clear sky of blue. Wow!

There are guards of course protecting these historic monuments. They are, in a sense, tourist guides competing for attention from the tourists that visit and the currency that accompanies them in the form of tips, any tips they can muster for assisting in picture taking, sitting on their camel or allowing visitors to venture into places that are not typically allowed, all away from the eyes of the powers that be.

Our next stop was the Ancient Capital of Egypt at Memphis, the Step Pyramid and the Tombs of Sakkara.

"Big Daddy"

On this visit, the option to go inside was available for an extra fee; it’s a no-brainer. “Let’s go.” I began to climb the massive stones up to the entry point and finally reached the entrance.

Now you would think that once inside the temperature would be cooler but it’s quite the opposite. It’s actually like a sauna. I began to sweat immediately and the smell of ammonia was overwhelming. The deeper into the tomb I went the more pungent the odor. I figured it was from the sweat of many people over time. The tunnel inside was small and steeply elevated, dimly lit by lights.

I had to climb hunched over at the waist. Twice on the way in I came to huge chambers opening up above me and finally to the end in the great chamber. The climb had taken about 20 minutes and I definitely had the sense that I was entombed……

Deep inside, it was like my voice was muffled, void of tone and quality……dead. Before me lay the opened sarcophagus that has been viewed by millions on TV and I’m standing here in front of it, touching it. The granite blocks that make up the inner walls are cut so finely that you couldn’t slide a razor blade into the cracks. I cannot believe where I am. I waited until the few tourists had gone and then took the time to soak in the utter silence, to close my eyes with my forehead against the granite and listen; to picture the past and try to imagine what took place 5000 years ago in this mystical place.