Lord Kitchener and Aga Khan

    What do a British general and the leader of a Muslim sect have in common? I only discovered the connection through chance photography.  After our Nile cruise, we visited Kitchener's Island (Island of Plants, or botanical garden) in Aswan. The island was a gift given to Lord Kitchener for helping Egypt in the Mahdist War (1881–99), a British colonial war which was fought between the Mahdist Sudanese and the forces of Egypt, initially, and later the forces of Britain.  So the general turned the island, which he owned till 1916, into a well-kept park of exotic trees and plants, now open as a lovely tourist attraction.

Access to the island is only by a little motorized taxi boat such as this one that happened to pass by our cruise ship window, or by felucca (see below).
Kitchener's Island is seen in the distance,
No, I am not the figure wrapping the sail. This is the captain.

Here is our Nubian captain, who kept running barefoot from front to back to steer us safely to the island.   Coming back, we had to take a zig-zag route as the we were sailing against the current.  This ride was so peaceful and quiet compared with that of the motorized boats. We sometimes changed position in the boat to keep a better balance, though the captain was skillful.

Felucca in full sail in front of the "tombs of the nobles"  in the western hillside (also seen faintly behind the captain above)
Unfortunately, we had no time to investigate these tombs, said to have retained some lovely colored paintings on interior walls.

The entrance to the botanical garden was lined with lovely bougainvilla, as were some of the main roads in Aswan and Luxor.  Reminded me of my years of living in central America. Temperature was perfect.

The trees whispered as they brushed each other's branches in the wind and shade. My soul thrilled to hear this sound that I missed, now living in a city of mullah calls, sirens, horns, and firecrackers.

This "red silk cotton tree" was only one of many trees with interesting names and shapes, for example, the woman's-tongue tree, devil tree,
strychnine tree, and Queensland bottle tree. Many of the trees and plants are not native to Egypt but were brought in from other countries with similar climates.

                                                                             

I took this shot to the west off the island because I thought it was lovely. Only later did I discover that the mausoleum on the hill in the distance belonged to Aga Khan III, who was born in Karachi, became Imam of the Shia Isma'ili (Fatimid) Muslims at age eight, was educated at Eton and Cambridge, promoted education for girls, established hospitals, was president of the League of Nations in 1937, and spent part of his winters living in a villa nearby. I think both Lord Kitchener and Aga Khan were lucky to have lived here in a place they found serene after all of their conquests of the body and mind.

Of Pharoahs and Faiths

     Our heads are still spinning after returning from a fantastic cruise from Luxor to Aswan last week. What did we learn? What will remain of all the facts and impressions we received?       

Entrance to the grand temple of Karnak where our guide explained, for one, that temples generally progressed from an open space for the public to progressively darker and more mysterious spaces until the "holy of holies" was reached--the place where the temple god was housed. This plan seemed not unlike the physical plan of Solomon's temple, only the God of the Hebrews stood in solitary contrast to the many Egyptian gods (crocodile god, falcon god, goddess of love, sun god, etc).

Where you see a narrowing above, is actually a hall flanked with many columns on either side, making us feel like dwarfs. This Karnak site is a monumental complex of the New Kingdom begun in 1550 B.C. (dedicated to the king of gods, Amun Re-"the unknowable") spanning 2,000 years of political and religious history. Here, each ruler wanted to "make their mark" with some obelisk, expansion, additional court, etc. --think of all the monuments on the Mall in Washington D.C.

Countless hieroglyphics everywhere tell many stories. These hieroglyphics with the double images of the bees  and papyrus plant, plus the double parallel lines, indicate that the ruler (Sethi I or Rameses II,1279-1231 BC) claimed to be the king of both upper and lower Egypt. The central image that looks like an Egyptian cross is called a "life-key" and indicates eternal life. Below these bold figures are double oblong shapes (cartuches) filled with symbols that indicate the name of the creator. We were reminded of the Chinese "chops" found on Chinese calligraphy indicating the name of the artist.

Hieroglyphic writing was no longer used after about 320 AD.

     This long line of sphinxes originally stretched for 3 kilometers from Luxor Temple to the Karnak temples. The process of uncovering them is still underway. This processional route was used as part of a land itinerary for the feast of Opet--a joyful celebration of re-birth, re-coronation of the pharoah, and the meeting of the gods of the two temples.
    Here I was reminded of the long rows of stone animals that line the route to the Ming tombs near Beijing, China. Death and re-birth always seem to be connected in the mythologies of many cultures.

   Tombs in the Valleys of the Kings were situated on the West bank of the Nile behind other mountains where the first king to be buried thought their graves would be protected from robbers. Now nearly all graves have been plundered but a few still have colorful and interesting hieroglyphics on inside walls. We visited three tombs but could not take photos.(sorry about the underlining which won't go away.)Both tombs and temples show their self-centered preoccupation with the cycle of eternal life through re-birth after death. This stands in contrast to the God of the Hebrews who seemed more concerned about how people should live in this life rather than prepare for the afterlife. The concept of eternal life that resurfaces in the New Testament era is given a different definition through the life and teachings of Jesus that encompasses both this life and the one to come. In this definition lies rest and not a tiresome cycle of appeasement.

   This grandiose mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut (1479-1457 BC) actually has three levels that are not apparent from this photo. What is apparent on close inspection is that her face has been scratched over or broken wherever it appears. Her adversaries, including her nephew Thutmosis III, wanted to ensure that without a face she has no afterlife and will be given no chance to be reborn. Her name was even left out of some lists of rulers.
   I was reminded of the C.S. Lewis book Till we Have Faces (set in ancient Greece--not far from Egypt) where the main character asks, "How can we meet the gods face to face till we have faces?"

Philae temple was rescued and placed on this island before the Aswan Dam covered it, along with Nubian lands.

We reached it by boat and found it lovely.

Philae was an active temple of Isis worship for 1000 years until Emperor Justinian (527-565 AD) declared the closure of pagan temples. Nevertheless, I am glad some temples have been reopened as historical monuments to help us better understand where some cultural and religious ideas came from.

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The photo to the side shows how Copts scraped off symbols of Isis worship and set up their own altar with a Coptic cross in one corner of the temple. In the temple of Luxor, Christians used one room to hide in when they were under persecution by the Romans. Later, a mosque was built on top of that room.

This inner court of Philae shows some other tourists and a man in local garb. Our tour guide informed us that we were lucky to have come during a time when tourism is down so that we had better access to sites. However, this situation is devastating to the local economies. We did not meet another American on our trip. Our U. S. media is evidently doing a good job of scaring people out of enjoying a good trip to Egypt. Not once did we feel hostility towards ourselves, but we did feel the desperation of folks trying to sell their wares or services to tourists, and I was sad for them.

The upper part of the columns of Kom Ombo temple, located between Luxor and Aswan, show stylistic evidence of the Roman period during which they were constructed by the Ptolemies (180-51 BC). Copts and other folks in later periods carted away parts of this and other temples to use for building materials for their own purposes.

On the walls of the inner temple are found a grouping of surgical instruments being presented to Imhotep, the god of medicine, and a complete pictographic calendar of festivals for the year.

This Nilometer at Kom Ombo, which most temples had, let the ruler know the liklihood of floods and droughts by measuring the heigth of the river's water. In a good year, moderate flooding would deposit the rich silt of the river on the farmlands and ensure abundant crops.Taxation of the populace was based on readings of the Nilometer, which were usually performed by the priests. Projection of a good harvest was cause for a good party!


This is only a small glimpse of our temple tours, but it was an amazing trip that I am so glad we took.

For a fun little explanation of hieroglyphics, you should get The Hieroglyphics Handbook by Philip Ardagh.

Nile Musings

What I really wanted was to sail for days down the ancient Nile

with its ancient earthen villages, its golden cliffs, waving palms, and grassy green strands punctuating blue waters.

To wonder how they will finish their houses, or wonder at the “dishes” on flat roofs 

--how the villagers reconcile

their real lives with the ones they observe on the tube.

To stare at mounds upon mounds of spreading green mango trees in bloom,

punctuated by rows and rows of broad-leaved banana trees bearing the sweet curved fingers we slice into our cereal

To watch men in flowing white, squatting 

or working like their sturdy burros

in their fields of sugar cane and cabbage, 

or pull weeds under banana trees,

Or stand in their small boats near the shore, beating the water

to scare fishes into their net while a boy rows.

To watch foraging goats, munching cows, dawdling ducks,

and patient burros waiting for the day's work order by the river banks under the tall palms providing shade from the eye of the staring sun.

                                                                    

                                                                

To gaze at the azure sky reflected in the calm river

just below some sandy hills and cliffs

     

                                                                                         

                                                                                 To wonder how young steers will get off

the small island they are grazing on

in the middle of the river

to observe the orange beaks and feet of

the dark gray moorhens spreading their tails

into white fans to show off for the females

--and the swift blur of black and white kingfishers darting near the banks

To keep floating with the current like the velvet-headed widgeons,

or fly overhead like the white storks from Poland,

their black wings belying their name

or to stand fishing at waters edge with the cattle egrets and great blue herons

       (I wish I could have taken pictures of all of these marvels that I saw)

And to  bow down like the white turbaned brown man under the graceful green palms 

on the good earth and give thanks

to the One God, no longer subject to the many gods of the ancients

But we have only this day, these hours

To bask in the beauty of this Nile that gives birth

To the garden of Eden with each new illumination

Of the morning sun before moving on to view

 the ancient crumbling temples man made.

                           (written after a cruise on the Nile River between March 11 and 15, 2015)

Visiting Holy Family

Where Holy Family resides

     “Do you believe in saints?” was not exactly a question I expected from the young girls seated before us last Saturday when we crossed the canal by short ferry boat ride to spend a little time at Holy Family, a Coptic ministry to orphans and other young women. Our hostess was Sister Batoul, a wise nun and de facto mother to these young girls.  She also was a student in one of my English classes that just finished. When we entered the reception room, the girls all came, kissed her joyfully, and shook hands with us.

     We were not sure what to expect, but we could count on being offered something to eat or drink. Since the church is in a period of fasting, they could not make anything with milk or eggs, but nevertheless made some crème caramel from a box for us. We appreciated that hospitality.

     Their curiosity and desire to communicate made me wish more than ever to be able to speak their language as they gathered around us chattering to us in Arabic. One language we did share was the language of faith. They sang a praise song for us that had many stanzas. After that, I taught them a simple, repetitious children’s song: “Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah, praise ye the Lord.” Then David and I sang, “For God so loved us” in harmony, which doesn’t seem to be a tradition here. Singing always seems to translate across boundaries in some way.
                                                     

      We asked what their days look like. We found two activities that take priority are to study the Bible and to work with their hands. They take turns cooking and cleaning up, and they have access to craft projects and supplies at any time. The philosophy of the sisters who care for these girls is to give their hands and minds something positive to think about so they will not focus on whatever sad and sordid past they may have come from.


     Their crocheted hats and scarves, as well as the intricate doilies and table runners were very well made.These are sold in the church shops. They were so proud of their good work and did not let us leave without a gift doily.
            

  g

We also saw the place where they make yoghurt, buttermilk, and a simple white cheese, all of which they can sell on the premises. Every part that we saw looked very clean and tidy.

I must say that I am sometimes bewildered by the number of saints they honor for this or that reason, extending back to the time of Christ. I finally told them that “yes, I believe that anyone who lives the will of God can be a saint, since Paul addressed many of his letters to the saints at this or that place.” They concluded that, in this case, we could all be saints. I took it that we had “passed,” as they warmly invited, more like begged, us to come back again and spend a longer time with them. We look forward to being with these sweet young ladies and their loving caretakers in the future.

Anaphora and Anastasia

     "What is this place called "Anaphora" (meaning "uplifting") that we would find just off the barren desert road northwest of Cairo?" we wondered. Last Friday, David and I were invited to join five others, including three persons from an organization called Caritas, to have a tour of a Coptic retreat and training center that we had heard so much about. We were not disappointed except that our time there was too short!

     Upon arrival, we were greeted by Father Thomas and some lovely volunteers at the reception center pictured above. Most of the buildings are constructed with arches and domes, following the pattern of ancient monasteries. Interiors are simply and tastefully decorated with hundreds of woven rugs made on the site by women who come to learn crafts and be healed in spirit. Pillows are bright and make the white interiors come alive also.

 Stone archways around the new chapel

     We were so moved by the spirit of loving hospitality and the vision of Father Thomas to open such a place that is self-sufficient  (having its own gardens and orchards) and serves the whole person: body, mind and spirit. Here, individuals or groups can come to reflect and read, or learn from a seminar on trauma healing, for example. On the other hand, poor villagers from the surrounding area can come to the training center named "Anastasia"  (resurrection) to be empowered by learning marketable skills and receiving encouragement and spiritual guidance.

     We toured several sites still under construction--- an outdoor site featuring biblical stories (for example, Noah's ark) and a large new chapel with bright icons depicting biblical themes or happenings, such as the one below where Jesus is shown as the central vine, with the disciples sitting on the branches. The woman taken in adultery is pictured to the right. Other icons are still in the process of being completed.




     However, the story that will remain with me is that of the sea of blue-clad, newly released prisoners streaming toward Anafora when Egyptian prisons were opened in 2011 masterminded either by Mubarak (who wanted to avert a revolution) or by outside groups like Hezbollah who wanted to free their own. Stories differ. Anafora, being Christian and situated near a very large prison in the desert, was thus vulnerable to attack by released criminals or hard-line Islamists. However, when the prisoners arrived at Anafora, they were met only with food and kindness, Thus the center was spared any harm that might have come to it. Truly, the Christ-like spirit of this place glows like the soft candles lit everywhere to warm the darkness after sunset.



      The candle pictured here was one of many standing in alcoves in the simple, unadorned chapel where we participated in evening prayers, Scripture readings, and rhythmic Coptic hymns accompanied by the gentle strumming of an oud.
     We hope to return sometime to spend a night or two unhurriedly.

A Day in the Life

My wonderful Arabic tutor 

     Life has become accelerated these days.  I will give you a bit of a look at what happened on one blessed day last week...Tuesday, I believe..

    As usual, we made our way due east, passing all the guys washing cars on the streets--taking off the past day and night's dust--or mud. but this time we were on a mission to find and purchase binoculars, a search that began several weeks ago and involving a kind young man at the nearby stationary story. He had given us the names of several places to look. Finally, a few days before, David spotted binoculars in a shop window near the Asian restaurant that he had just found. This time we went during business hours, just after 10:00 (which extends till 2:00).
   Sure enough, we found the shop open, a friendly English-speaking gentleman who had traveled all over the world, including the U.S., spending over twenty years working for a shipping company. We had a good conversation about the U. S. involvement in the Middle East--which he was definitely not happy about. He thought the Clinton era was far better. Our president simply is not high on the list of most people's approval rating here since he backed the disastrous Morsi regime that resulted in a second revolution (June 2013) and installation of current President al Sisi.  Nevertheless, most people are good to us. I was so excited to finally have a compact binoculars in hand...
    The next adventure was with my new language tutor, a very lovely woman who takes me to a private club over-looking the sea during a time when all is quiet (11:00-1:00). We sip tea and she poses  situations. This time I was introduced to vocabulary for going to a fish restaurant. Of course, other vocabulary comes up, and we share our values and stories. She claims it is gift enough that I simply chose her to be my tutor as she is often bored with her life--as are many housewives here, it seems. This day, her 10-year-old son was with her. He goes to a private school, and his English is quite good, but he wanted to stay home to meet a native English speaker.
    At 1:30, I went to afternoon mass for a while and was surprised when Father Gabriel tapped me on the shoulder and called me outside. What had I done?? But no, he had heard that I had questions about the mass and was offering to explain some things in English if I wished.... very kind of him! He said that he had some books he could share with me that might help...
    I came back for our Egyptian lunch that arrives at our door anywhere between 2:00 and 3:00. We were just finishing up our rice and fish, and cabbage, tomato, cucumber, pepper salad when neighbor Father Rewis knocked on the door to share some "holy bread" with us--good soft, fresh-baked bread--their way of extending fellowship.  I am always surprised how sharing people are. Even the vegetable seller on the street offered me a piece of his sesame cake that he was eating when I stopped by to shop. I really love this part of the culture.
    After lunch, I took a quick nap and prepared for the evening classes of teaching Pre-intermediate listening and speaking from 5:00-9:30, with a short break for grabbing supper (usually soup) between the two classes. After class, I am usually both tired and wound up, so cannot retire till 10:30 or after. This is not our preferred schedule, but at least we need only go downstairs to "go to work."
    We never know what the next day will hold, but are confident that we are in the good hands of God and the fellow believers in this Coptic community.