Get Out and Get Busy!

My friend Karen is a proud Democrat and someone I admire because she takes the political process very seriously and knows that being smart and active can make a difference. When I saw this I immediately thought of her...

Luxor

You don't have to go all the way to Egypt to see Luxor, you know. Las Vegas has its very own version of Egypt right in the good ol' USA.

But if you want something a teensy bit more authentic, you'll have to make the trip. Luxor was my favorite temple of the ones we saw. It wasn't the grandest, or the best preserved, but it had that iconic feel of ancienct Egypt. Plus, it was smack in the middle of town, which added a little air or the surreal to the visit! We crossed back from the west side of the Nile via a little motor boat and could see the temple rising from the city on the edge of the water.

Luxor, once called Thebes, was the place where the upper and lower kingdoms of Egypt were united. The Luxor temple was built by Amenhotep III, but King Tut, Ramses II, and Alexander the Great also added their mark over time. Later, Romans built a wall around the temple that the Arabs called Al-Uqsur (which is where the name "Luxor" comes from). Early Arabs didn't realized it was a temple. Thinking it was a palace, they added a mosque within the temple in the 1300's.

Luxor was very pretty and very clean. We loved seeing the big gate to the souq (the market), and yes, we did get a terrific kick out of eating at a McDonald's while overlooking an ancient temple!

Ramses II definitely made sure he left his mark. The 2 seated statues are all that remain of the original 6 at the entrance, while a courtyard inside continues the "more of me is better" theme. As I said before, though--the repetition has a very powerful effect on the viewer. It's not hard to imagine the awe that people felt when they saw these temples in full glory!

Most temples followed a similar layout, with the pylons at the entrance, showing a pharoah's defeat of his foes. Obelisks were often placed at the entrances, topped by gold. There was a peristyle courtyard which was generally very sunny and light. The hippostyle hall, with rows of columns, led to inner chambers and finally the sanctuary, with rooms becoming progressively smaller, darker, and more mysterious.

The hippstyle halls were impressive at every site we visited. The symmetry and size focus your attention to the next area of the temple and draw you further in. Of course, no one but the priests were considered holy enough to enter the temples!

Other visitors left their mark. Ancient visiting Romans had painted scenes on part of the courtyard wall. A team of Italian restoration professionals was busy working on this beautiful and surprising scene. Could this be considered an very old form of grafitti?!

I think it would take years of study to fully understand how the ancient Egyptians saw their gods and understood the relationship between life and death. Apparently, the gods used to periodically come out of one temple and want to visit another and wanted a nice safe place to walk. The temple of Karnak is located just outside of Luxor and this avenue of the sphinxes once stretched the distance between the 2 temples--almost 2 miles!

We were warned about "pharonic overload". The kids helpfully dramatized what that might look like to a family approaching the end of a week's tour of Egypt! Truthfully, we wavered between times when we felt a bit rushed and wanted to see more of something and having "deer in the headlights" moments where we didn't think we could possibly absorb one more detail about some guy who built some thing for some god. A reminder that we were also traveling with Mark's parents--and his mother had dislocated her hip and had it put back in while on safari only a couple weeks before. We were proud that we all were able to work together to make sure everyone continued to have a good time and see what they wanted to see without feeling out of sorts.

Stars on PPTV

Last week the primary school put on a show called PPTV (Primary Perspectives TV). It was a culmination of their work on their guiding questions the first half of the year. Each term students have a guiding question that shapes how they approach learning in all the subject areas, and as much as possible they try to incorporate lots of aspects of life from Tanzania. Ava's class had been working on "A Seed is a Promise" about the life cycle and habits of plant life on Earth, while Noah's class was "Dig It" looking at archaeology and different ways to learn about the past. The format was like a television show. Each class, according to their question, had a TV "show." There were cooking shows, animal shows, gardening, do-it-yourself, soap operas, MTV, and a talk show. The older students had been studying communication and persuasion and provided all of the commercials. About 120 students ages 3 through 12 participated in the show. It was an amazingly clever way to showcase what they have been doing!

Ava's class did a nature show on the importance of the baobob tree to the ecosystem. She played a bush baby.

The makeup residue around her eyes (after 3 days) made her look like she had taken up heavy drugs and cigarettes and given up sleep! She did a great job with her lines and singing her songs.

Noah's class did a roundtable discussion on a mystery object that had been discovered at a dig. A panel of experts examined the object and then weighed in with their opinion as to what the object backed up by their evidence.

One of the best things about the kids' school is that they are given so much freedom to be creative and there's always the assumption that the students can handle the challenges and responsibilities, even down to getting the sound system and microphones ready and working. Everyone pitches in and turns out in support, so younger kids interact with the older ones, and the older ones support the efforts of the younger. The kids did this show (which lasted 2 hours) 4 times in 3 days! They were exhausted but oh-so-pleased with their work. As they should be

Hatshepsut's Temple

The approach to this temple (tour buses and parking lots notwithstanding) was impressive. Cameron and Noah thought it looked like a desert version of Helm's Deep from Lord of the Rings. Hatshepsut was married to her half-brother, whose son was to be his successor. Because he was so young, Hatshupset became regent when her husband died and later proclaimed herself pharoah. She ruled for 20 years. She is often portrayed as a male pharoah, with the false beard typical of her rank; at other times, she appears definitely female.

The temple has been quite vandalized and has deteriorated over the years. Still, it's an amazing site. Originally, the walls on either side of the main steps were completely carved. You can still see many of the remnants of the enormous serpent and other carvings. Many of the paintings have faded, but are still so interesting, while the repetition of statues of the pharoah never stopped catching our attention. Clearly, if one statue was good, 10 or so was a whole lot better.

The hieroglyphics surrounded by an oval circle are called a cartouche. It represents the name of an important person, in this case Hatshepsut. Most people have heard of the Rosetta Stone, the tablet discovered near Alexandria that contained a passage written in Greek, hieroglyphics,

and a local (demotic) language. When the Rosetta Stone was found, it was a cartouche that helped Jean-Francois Champollion crack the code and decipher the hieroglyphic writing. And, as long as I'm digressing a bit, you can read more about the Rosetta Stone's very interesting history and how the Egyptians feel about this particular artifact being owned by the British.

Hazy and hot and dusty, but a good illustration of my description of the land irrigated by the Nile and the dramatic line where the desert begins.

Day 5 and still going strong!

The Colossi of Memnon

One of those breathtaking immense ancient sights--right smack on the side of the road! They are each about 60 feet tall and are all that remains of what was once the largest complex on the West Bank of the Nile. It was built by Amenhotep III and may have been larger than the temple of Karnak which is approximately 1 mile long and 1/2 mile wide! A description of the temple read "white sandstone, with gold throughout, a floor covered with silver..." Statues and fragments from the temple are in the Egyptian and British museums, among others.

Sadly, the temple was located on the flood plain of the Nile and annual rising water has worn away everything but these 2 statues. Even during the Greco-Roman times these were big tourist attractions (isn't it funny to think of a tourist industry hundreds and hundreds of years ago?) The Greeks believed they represented King Memnon, the son of the goddess of the dawn Eos, and who was killed by Achilles during the Trojan War.

One of the statues used to emit a musical sighing sound every morning at sunrise. Rumours ranged from a mother whose child had been killed and who called to her every night to King Memnon himself greeting his mother each morning. The truth--the upper part of the statue was badly damaged during an earthquake. The heat of the morning sun would heat the dew-soaked stone. Sand particles would break off and the crumbling would resonate in the cracks. The statue was repaired in the 3rd century AD and the song was silenced.

Somehow I like the stories better than the reality. Cameron liked the science.

They Come, They Go, They Leave Behind Pretzels...

Of course, they bring more than pretzels. They bring energy, enthusiasm, and their talents to help out at PHS. Dana and Cindy (Dana is a PHF board member) spent 2 weeks with us, working, eating, and playing. They discovered a big interest in jigsaw puzzles with the students. Dana discovered that his beloved Blackberry works from just about everywhere in Arusha!

Tom and Jeanne were only able to spend a day at PHS where Dr. Tom reviewed health records for our students and made some recommendations for further care. They (actually one of their sons) discovered that an allergy to horses also meant an allergy to donkeys! Fortunately nothing serious, however.

I think everyone discovers that you can eat pretty darn good here. Between Stiggy's and the Hillman BBQ and the PHS lunches, people are well-fed.

We were also fortunate to have Lauren, Grace, and Sarah, 3 student nurses from Gustavus, who spent a week with us organizing health charts and examining every student. A big job for 3 young women who speak no Swahili! Thanks to them things are much better organized, students who need medical care are getting it, and we know that everyone is basically doing well. They are also the PHF volunteer pioneers, being the first ones to spend nights at the site. Remember, we have no toilets (and the latrines have no seats, just a hole cut in the floor), little electricity, and water hauled from a pump in buckets for washing. They were game for a week of roughing it and did great!

Katie and Adam are here for 3 months, primarily working on our library books. We are hoping to have them all catalogued by the end of their time. They will also help out with student activities and with some projects around the site as well. They are also living at the site, and are understanding that "roughing it" could maybe be an understatement? They have the additional factor of being the only non-Tanzanians onsite in the evenings and weekends so there is a culture shock and adaptation as well. We are glad they are here and so grateful for their help.

We want to say THANK YOU to Al who made a generous donation toward the students being able to travel to Ngorongoro Crater on a field trip. The majority of Tanznanians can go their whole lives without seeing the amazing wildlife of their own country, yet they are told constantly about environmental and ecological needs and troubles. By giving them the opportunity to see these sights for themselves, we hope to broaden their horizons and gain a better understanding of the importance of balance between development and conservation.

We are looking forward to another P640 group at the end of the month. They alway come ready to have fun and work hard and we're sure this group is no exception!

Finally, meet Gina. Her husband is Max, who is the estate manager at PHS. Gina is taking over the lead on volunteer coordination and is starting things off with a bang! When you start making your plans to volunteer you'll quickly see why we are so lucky to have her on the team. You can send questions about volunteering to her at gina@peacehousefoundation.org

THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who is able to share their time and talents at PHS and PHF. You are making a difference!

Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Kings was hands down one of the favorite stops on our trip. Unfortunately, cameras aren't allowed in the tombs (although camera phones are, so be prepared if you visit). The valley is located on the west side of the Nile--because the sun rose in the east and set (died) in the west, tombs and monuments are generally built on the west bank, while the city and houses are on the east bank. The valley is located completely in the desert between high cliff walls. Nothing is growing and everything is the same sand color. I thought of Moses and the Israelites who wandered for 40 years in a desert very similar, and how many many people were born, lived their lives, and died following him in such a barren place. At the same time, it's quite beautiful.

In the beginning the pharoahs built large monuments to their deaths, like the pyramids. Obviously, though, it was easy for thieves to figure out where the kings were buried, along with all their treasures. Later kings decided to move their burial location to a remote area near Luxor. By being buried in a nondescript tomb out of town, they hoped that their afterlife would remain undisturbed. Of course, I'm assuming it was a LOT of work to get all that treasure transported into those tombs, leading everyone to know still where the kings and their riches lay. The end result is that most of the tombs were eventually found empty, except for the body in some cases. Approximately 62 tombs have been excavated.

King Tut's tomb (the most recently discovered in 1922) is one of the big draws here. There is an additional fee to see the tomb, which is not one of the more decorated or well-preserved ones. We decided it was worth the fee, though, to see the actual mummy in the coffin in the tomb. Unfortunately, the coffin was closed--our guide said that periodically they do that to give the place a rest. We also overheard some other people saying they thought the mummy was on the American tour. Either way, we decided to skip it.

We saw 3 tombs--Ramses I, III, and VI. The boys opted to skip the last Ramses for the tomb of Thutmosis III, which was up higher on the hill and required a longer steeper descent under ground. Unlike crawling through the pyramids, the hallways here were much bigger. The paintings are unbelievable. Up til now we had seen mostly carvings, with bits of paint remaining. Here everything was decorated floor to ceiling, including the ceiling! Most of the hallways were covered in plexiglass to protect them, but the actual rooms where the sarcophagi were found were not--I wondered how the designs were holding up over time, given the massive number of people who visit every day! There was a definite sense of reverence--no one needed to be told to speak quietly or walk slowly. What I found most amazing is the amount of detail and work that went into designing and decorating the tombs--after all, they are places that were never meant to be seen by the living. Everything that was put in or painted on the tombs was for the pharoah in his afterlife. The colors are so bright--as bright as they were when they were first painted? Who knows, but the detail and the level of preservation was unbelievable. One of the tombs also had the stone sarcophagus still in the chamber, which added an extra air of solemnity.

One of the tombs (I can't remember which one, sadly) was amazing in it's size. As we walked down the corridor there were passages and room filled with rubble extending on both sides at different times. At the end, there was a hole in the wall. Looking through we could see chamber after chamber, pillars, dusty carvings and paintings, etc. going back farther than we could see. The pharoahs began planning for their afterlife as soon as they ascended the throne--but even the most long-lived pharoahs ruled for less than 60 years. It's hard to imagine the work force and effort that was focused on the preparations for death.

Incidentally, although I don't know if it's true for these tombs, it's a myth that the pyramids were built by slaves. The business of monuments and temples was such that there was a labor force, skilled and unskilled, devoted to just that. Archaeologists are excavating sites around the pyramids that show an entire city, established in a way that would preclude them being slaves. It makes sense to think that these kinds of projects (since every pharoah would engage in them) would provide ongoing employment for generations of workers.

Cameron and I loved the map at the entrance. At first, we didn't understand why it was made of white semi-translucent plastic, which made it look like an ice field or a glacial map. Then, we could see something underneath. When we bent down we could see that each tomb had been mapped and was suspended underneath to show how far down or how big each tomb was. It was a terrific way to show above and below ground.